Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the appellant's complaint, ruling that the appellant forfeited challenges to personal jurisdiction and venue by failing to properly raise them in his opening brief. The court also denied the motion for appointment of counsel and dismissed the motion to compel as moot.
The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the City of Boston, ruling that no reasonable jury could find the police department's disclosure of a former officer's disciplinary records was motivated by retaliation. The court held that the department's actions were driven by standard procedures and legal obligations rather than a desire to punish the plaintiff for protected conduct.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment to MetLife, holding that the insurer's denial of accidental death benefits was not arbitrary or capricious. The court ruled that the insured's pre-existing chronic lung disease contributed to her death, triggering a specific illness exclusion in the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Act policy.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a decades-long lawsuit by the de Csepel family seeking the return of Holocaust-era artwork seized by Hungary. The court held that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because the family failed to prove the takings violated the specific international law of expropriation.
The First Circuit held that Massachusetts General Laws chapter 272, section 16, prohibiting open and gross lewdness, is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law. The court reversed the Board of Immigration Appeals' removal order, ruling that the state statute does not require proof of lewd intent.
The D.C. Circuit reversed the dismissal of a civil suit alleging pharmaceutical companies aided terrorism in Iraq by knowingly providing substantial assistance to a terrorist-controlled ministry. The court held that the plaintiffs adequately pleaded a nexus between the defendants' corrupt payments and specific terrorist attacks, satisfying the secondary liability standard set forth in Twitter v. Taamneh.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal employee's retaliation claim under the False Claims Act against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The court held that Congress did not expressly waive federal sovereign immunity for such claims, barring the suit against the United States.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of residents' constitutional and statutory challenges to a new zoning district because they failed to allege specific, concrete injuries required for Article III standing. The court held that vague assertions about potential property value changes and generalized grievances were insufficient to establish a personal stake in the outcome.
The First Circuit affirmed a district court order enforcing a global settlement resolving Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage claims against a luxury hotel. The court held that a single attorney could simultaneously represent individual plaintiffs and a certified class in negotiating the deal without creating a disqualifying conflict of interest.
The Supreme Court held that Delaware's affidavit-of-merit requirement cannot be enforced in federal court because it conflicts with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. The Court reversed the Third Circuit's dismissal, ruling that federal pleading standards govern the sufficiency of a complaint in diversity cases.