U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

Ramirez v. Arlequin (05/03/06 - No. 05-1494)

Dismissal of political discrimination claim is reversed where policymaking exception does not apply to contractors seeking to collect for services rendered, but affirmed where: 1) procedural due process claim did not allege lack of adequate state law contract remedies; and 2) substantive due process claim is precluded by First Amendment claim.

http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/1st/051494.html

U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Am. Home Assurance Co. v. Hapag Lloyd Container Line, GMBH (05/03/06 - No. 04-5605)

Partial summary judgment to rail carrier defendant on its right under governing contract to limit its liability to $500 per package is affirmed over claims that the district court: 1) improperly conflated the concepts of whether the Express Cargo Bill had been issued and whether its terms governed the parties; and 2) erroneously divided the shipment into two separate carriages, one by rail and another by ship.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/045605p.pdf

U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals

Ferrostaal, Inc. v. M/V Sea Phoenix (05/03/06 - No. 05-1837)

The fair opportunity doctrine has no place in the application of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA). In a dispute involving goods damaged in transit, grant of partial summary judgment to defendants holding that COGSA limited their liability to plaintiff to $500 per package is affirmed where the district court correctly analyzed a choice of law question, and the fair opportunity doctrine is inconsistent with COGSA.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/051837p.pdf

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

Caradon Doors & Windows, Inc. v. Eagle-Picher Indus., Inc. (05/05/06 - No. 04-3747)

A district court's reversal of a bankruptcy court's grant of a motion to stay a contract and patent action, involving artificial-wood door manufacturing against a reorganized debtor, is affirmed where the definition of post-confirmation recoverable administrative-expense claims in the debtor's reorganization plan covered plaintiff's claims.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/6th/043747p.pdf

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Lakeview Tech., Inc. v. Robinson (05/01/06 - No. 05-4433)

Denial of preliminary injunction to enforce an agreement not to compete is vacated and remanded with instructions to enter the injunction where the defendant's previous deceit and lack of assets with which to satisfy any possible sanction tipped the balance of equities in favor of injunctive relief for the plaintiff.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/054433p.pdf

U.S. v. Moore (05/02/06 - No. 04-2989)

Conviction for concealing material fact about the award of government contracts is affirmed where: 1) the indictment alleged facts that constituted an offense and the evidence was sufficient for a conviction; 2) jury instructions were adequate; 3) the information was material; 4) there was evidence of concealment; and 5) an HUD regulation was not vague.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/042989p.pdf

United Airlines v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n, Inc. (05/04/06 - No. 05-1460)

District court judgment is reversed in a bankruptcy proceeding involving the retention of airport facilities where an arrangement between airline and bond-issuing public entity was improperly qualified as a lease, rather than a secured loan.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/051460p.pdf

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals

ING Fin. Partners v. Johansen (05/01/06 - No. 05-2531)

Summary judgment for an employer and a permanent injunction enjoining a former employee from pursuing her claims of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliatory discharge for whistleblowing, in arbitration are reversed and vacated, respectively, where the district court erred in finding that an agreement unequivocally exempted the claims at issue from the parties' agreement to arbitrate.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/052531p.pdf

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

E. & J. Gallo Winery v. Andina Licores S.A. (05/01/06 - No. 05-16504)

Denial of a preliminary injunction, sought by a California winery to enjoin a wine and liquor distributor headquartered in Ecuador from proceeding with foreign litigation regarding a distributorship agreement, is reversed where the district court abused its discretion in the denial, as defendant had involved plaintiff in messy, protracted, and potentially fraudulent foreign litigation in direct contravention of a valid and enforceable forum selection clause.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0516504p.pdf

BP W. Coast Prods. LLC v. May (05/01/06 - No. 05-15076)

Summary judgment for plaintiff finding that it did not violate the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act when it sold its interests in gas facilities operated defendants' and non-renewed its franchise relationships with them is affirmed where plaintiff acted in good faith and in the normal course of business when it determined to sell the facilities.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0515076p.pdf

Patel v. Del Taco, Inc. (05/02/06 - No. 04-16208, 04-16604)

In a dispute involving the alleged breach of a franchise agreement in the restaurant industry, an order granting defendant-franchisor's motion to remand a petition to confirm an arbitration award and awarding it attorney's fees is affirmed, and an appeal from an order staying plaintiffs' fraud and civil rights claims and compelling arbitration of those claims is dismissed.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0416208p.pdf

Mattel, Inc. v. Bryant (05/02/06 - No. 05-55696)

An order denying plaintiff-former employer's motion to remand a tort and contract action to the state court in which it had begun its suit against defendant-former employee is affirmed where diversity jurisdiction was not defeated by the intervention, as a defendant, of a non-diverse corporation which was not an indispensable party.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0555696p.pdf

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

Kruchowski v. Weyerhaeuser Co. (05/03/06 - No. 04-7118)

Summary judgment for defendant-employer on plaintiffs' claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is reversed where releases of claims, which were signed by plaintiffs in order to obtain a severance package in exchange for a waiver of the right to assert an ADEA claim against defendant, failed to conform to the statutory requirements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA).

http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/getcase/10th/case/047118&exact=1

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Bd. of Trs. of Bay Med. Ctr. v. Humana Military Healthcare Servs., Inc. (05/04/06 - No. 05-1501)

In a dispute involving administrator-provider contracts for medical services, denial of defendant's motion to dismiss or transfer its complaint and denial of a motion for reconsideration are affirmed where contract claims brought by plaintiffs were not claims for money damages against the government, and there was no abuse of discretion in denying the motion for reconsideration.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/fed/051501p.pdf

Supreme Court of Texas

Evanston Ins. Co. v. ATOFINA Petrochemicals, Inc. (05/05/06 - No. 03-0647)

Judgment of a court of appeals in favor of respondent, additional insured, on its indemnification suit against an insurer involving the settlement of an underlying wrongful death suit is reversed where policy language excluded coverage for the respondent's sole negligence.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/texasstatecases/sc/030647.pdf