Seventh Circuit: Pronschinske Trust Dated March v. Kaw Valley Companies, Inc

A guarantee of a minimum production royalty nested within a provision describing the discretionary commencement of mining operations does not guarantee such a royalty if the party elects not to operate the mine.

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D08-10/C:17-2889:J:Rovner:aut:T:fnOp:N:2200780:S:0

Seventh Circuit: Andrew Schlaf v. Safeguard Property, LLC


A management company that leaves notices on the doors of a residence when mortgage payments fall behind is not an indirect debt collector for the purposes of the statute.

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D08-10/C:17-2811:J:Ripple:aut:T:fnOp:N:2200827:S:0

Seventh Circuit: Alfredo Miranda v. County of Lake

14th Amendment and negligence claims against jail physicians for the self-starvation and dehydration death of a non-citizen arrested for evading jury service present an issue for trial when the jury might reasonably decide that the denial of treatment was objectively unreasonable.

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D08-10/C:17-1603:J:Wood:aut:T:fnOp:N:2200463:S:0

Fifth Circuit: USA v. Florencio Rosales-Mireles


Prudential grant of mutual motion to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing upon remand from the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/16/16-50151-CR1.pdf

Second Circuit: Trusted Media Brands, Inc. v. United States of America


Tax.  Where one section of a statute grants an extended period of time to do X, and Y is an alternative to X, a reference elsewhere in the law saying that X and Y are governed by the initial provision can simply mean that they are separately governed by it.

(Probably.)

http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/cb713570-cf6f-478b-a928-4f292687255f/1/doc/17-3733_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/cb713570-cf6f-478b-a928-4f292687255f/1/hilite/

First Circuit: Peaje Investments LLC v. PR Highways and Transportation


Corrigendum.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-2165E-01A.pdf

First Circuit: Torres-Pagan v. Berryhill

Omission of significant medical records can justify remand to the agency for insufficient development of the factual record where the petitioner suffers from cognitive impairment; the claimant does not have to make a showing of discriminatory effect of the omission.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-2146P-01A.pdf

First Circuit: US v. Harrison

Within-guidelines sentence of lifetime supervised release procedurally and substantively reasonable, where the court specifically indicated an awareness of history and a desire to restrain the defendant.

As there was a plausible sentencing rationale and a defensible result, sentence not substantively unreasonable.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-2088P-01A.pdf

First Circuit: Puerto Rico Elec. Power Auth. v. Ad Hoc Group-PREPA Bondholders


Corrigendum.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-2079E-01A.pdf

First Circuit: US v. Reid


Below-guidelines sentence not substantively or procedurally unreasonable; given the deft's objective criminal history, the court did not abuse its discretion by not explicitly comparing the history to mitigating circumstances in the deft's life.



First Circuit: US v. Perez-Crisostomo


Increase in sentence for Obstruction warranted where deft maintains false name throughout proceedings, and there is some chance that the deception interfered with sentencing.

No plain error in denial of sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility where, in addition to acquiescing in the sentencing procedures, the deft attempts otherwise to obstruct justice.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1914P-01A.pdf

First Circuit: Lassend v. US


Corrigendum.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1900E-01A.pdf

First Circuit: Medical Mutual Insurance Co. v. Burka


Given the terms of the policy, the insurer has no duty to defend a physician who allegedly improperly accessed medical records, since the records were not acquired in the course of professional treatment.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1872P-01A.pdf

First Circuit: Carlson v. University of New England


Where an employer claims that an allegedly retaliatory transfer was voluntary, misrepresentations made by the employer to the employee must have a non-retaliatory justification in order to prevail at summary judgment.

In order to present an issue for trial, a claim that an annual raise was artificially low must be supported by a benchmark of prior years salary decisions.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1792P-01A.pdf


First Circuit: Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively

Circuit courts do not have jurisdiction under the direct appeals statute to reform unflattering dicta in the opinion below.

Where diversity jurisdiction is pleaded but conceded during the proceedings to be a fiction, the court has the prudential right to invoke judicial estoppel against an attempt to shift the basis for jurisdiction to diversity of parties.

Where pendent state law claims raise sensitive and undeveloped questions of state law, the court does not abuse its discretion in declining to exercise supplementary jurisdiction and dismissing the pendent claims without prejudice.

Initial motion to dismiss did not ripen into grounds for the judgment, and is therefore unreviewable.

http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1593P-01A.pdf

End of Day

8th and above out of scope.  Slew of  cases out of the 8th today. 

Going to try to work back up to full daily coverage over the next week or so -- seems like a good goal to have. 

-CB

Eighth Circuit: Bruce Munro v. Lucy Activewear, Inc.

Product's name served as a source-identifying device for trademark claim, as the plaintiff is the person who produces things of this name.

Light-based art installation is protected by copyright, not trademark.

No error in denial of leave to amend.

http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/08/164483P.pdf

Sixth Circuit: Robert Davis v. Detroit Pub. Sch. Cmty. Dist.

Refusal to place ballot issue is not sufficiently concrete or particularized for standing. Placing tax decisions in the hands of the electorate means that redressibility for tax harms is uncertain.

Fifth Circuit: Stephanie Odle v. Wal-Mart Stores, Incorporated


Dissent from denial: ln the caselaw, where parties voluntarily dismiss the action, the court does not have sufficient authority over the case to consider whether other intervenors should be added.

Statement in support of denial of en banc: Minor exceptions from exigency.


http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/16/16-10347.CV1.pdf

Third Circuit: USA v. Chaka Fattah, Sr.

Trial court judge did not abuse discretion in interviewing jurors in the course of deliberations about the conduct of another juror.

No abuse of discretion in dismissal of juror for not deliberating where juror informed courthouse deputy that he intended to hold out "no matter what."

Jury instructions did not comport with Supreme Court holding issued after verdict but before sentencing on the scope of official acts within the bribery statute -- remanded.

Formal proposal for Congress to fund a specific project was a sufficiently official act.

Sufficient evidence for RICO conspiracy convictions.

&c, &c...

http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/164397p.pdf