Correspondent
White House correspondent, covers patent, trade and regulatory news
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed this appeal for lack of prosecution. The court denied all pending motions as moot and issued a mandate to the lower court.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed a petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The dismissal occurred because the petitioner failed to pay the required docketing fee within the time permitted by court rules.
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, holding that withdrawing a debt collection complaint without prejudice does not constitute a favorable termination under the Pennsylvania Dragonetti Act. The court reasoned that the statutory requirement for a claim to terminate in the plaintiff's favor was not met because the withdrawal was not an abandonment in bad faith.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal in a patent dispute between Cognipower and Samsung. The dismissal was granted by mutual agreement of the parties under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Maserati because the plaintiffs failed to provide expert testimony proving a vehicle defect caused a garage fire. The court clarified that while expert testimony is not always required for complex instruments, it is necessary when the average juror cannot deduce the cause of failure without technical knowledge.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Waffle House, ruling that an employee's stabbing of a customer was an independent criminal act outside the scope of employment. The court held that the employer was not liable under Florida law because the assault was not reasonably foreseeable and the employee had stepped away from his duties at the time of the incident.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a bankruptcy court ruling that unpaid salaries owed to former employees are nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The court held that the debtor forfeited a key statutory defense by failing to raise it in the lower court and failed to meet the high burden of proving plain error.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se homeowner's federal lawsuit challenging a state court tax sale ruling. The court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred the federal claims because they sought to overturn a state judgment, and res judicata precluded claims that were or could have been litigated in state court.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a default judgment on trademark infringement claims, finding no clear error in the lower court's analysis of likelihood of confusion. The appellate panel upheld the dismissal of the plaintiff's claims, ruling that the marks were not sufficiently similar and the businesses were geographically isolated.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal as untimely because the appellants failed to file their notice of appeal within the mandatory thirty-day period. The court also affirmed the denial of a one-day extension, rejecting the argument that mailing the notice via FedEx satisfied federal filing requirements.
