Case Summaries
Injury & Tort Law
[03/08] Ortiz v. Lorie
Summary judgment for defendant in a negligence action arising out of plaintiff's fall from defendant's allegedly defective ladder is reversed where there were issues of material fact as there was evidence that he fell while descending defendant's ladder and that the ladder was defective.
[03/08] Pertofsky v. Arbor Living Ctrs. of Florida, Inc.
Dismissal with prejudice of plaintiff's personal injury complaint, entered upon the trial court's own motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution, is reversed where an automatic bankruptcy stay had been entered, and, although the bankruptcy stay had allegedly been lifted, defendant took no action to file the order lifting the stay.
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Contracts
[03/08] Lepi Enters., Inc. v. Nat'l Envtl. Serv. Corp.
A judgment and award of damages against defendants in a contract action is affirmed and remanded where the evidence was sufficient to support a jury's findings that a defendant breached the parties' contract, a damage award was supported by the record, but the district court erred in awarding prejudgment interest on lost profits.
[03/08] Robinette v. Comm'r of the Internal Revenue Serv.
A determination that the IRS had abused its discretion in imposing a levy on a taxpayer after finding him in default of an offer-in-compromise is reversed where it was inappropriate for the tax court to set aside an IRS appeals officer's decision.
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Insurance Law
[03/08] Saunders v. Farmers Ins. Exch.
Dismissal of complaints against insurers brought under the Fair Housing Act and federal civil rights laws alleging discriminatory policies with regards to homeowners insurance for residents of minority neighborhoods is reversed in part as to certain price discrimination claims where the district court erred in invoking the judicially created filed rate doctrine.
[03/08] Lepi Enters., Inc. v. Nat'l Envtl. Serv. Corp.
A judgment and award of damages against defendants in a contract action is affirmed and remanded where the evidence was sufficient to support a jury's findings that a defendant breached the parties' contract, a damage award was supported by the record, but the district court erred in awarding prejudgment interest on lost profits.
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Remedies
[03/08] Grinnell Corp. v. The Palms 2100 Ocean Beach Boulevard, Ltd.
Petition for certiorari review of a discovery order in a breach of express and implied warranty case involving allegedly defective fire sprinkler pipes is granted in part where the order required defendant to organize and categorize documents and depositions already produced contrary to the dictates of the Florida Supreme Court.
[03/08] Lopez v. Lopez
A final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence is affirmed in part over a former husband's claims that he was denied due process and that the court abused its discretion in entering the injunction, and reversed in part where the trial court erred in awarding temporary child support in a post-dissolution injunction.
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Judges & Judiciary
[06/30] ORANGE COUNTY EMPLOYEES ASS'N, INC. v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ORANGE COUNTY
The Court denied plaintiff's petition for writ of mandate to disclose records relating to reimbursement of travel expenses for judges and management employees of the Court pursuant to the California Public Records Act, because the Act did not apply to the requested disclosure.
[06/28] US v. PARKER
Evidence seized under a warrant issued by a trial commissioner who was also an administrative assistant at the county jail was properly excluded, because the commissioner was not a neutral and detached party.
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Elder Law
[07/06] COUNTRY VILLA CLAREMONT HEALTHCARE CENTER, INC. v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act section 425.13(a) is inapplicable to punitive damage claims in actions where the gravamen of the claims is elder abuse subject to heightened civil remedies under the Act.
[06/28] CRESTVIEW PARKE CARE CTR. v. THOMPSON
An administrative law judge erred by refusing to hold an in person evidentiary hearing regarding whether respondent care centers complied with Medicare regulations, because there were genuine issues of material fact in dispute.
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Admiralty
[03/03] Norfolk Dredging Co. v. Wiley
An order dissolving an injunction which had been entered pursuant to the Limitation of Liability Act in an admiralty case involving a seaman's injury aboard a tug is affirmed where there was no abuse of discretion in the order since the tug owner's limitation of liability right was being preserved while allowing claimant's Jones Act claim to proceed.
[03/01] Carnival Corp. v. Iscoa
Certiorari review of an order granting plaintiff's motion to amend his personal injury complaint against a cruise line to add a claim for punitive damages is denied where the reviewing court lacks jurisdiction because the lower court followed the correct procedural requirements under statute in granting the motion.
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Commercial Law
[03/02] Waterproofing Sys., Inc. v. Hydro-Stop, Inc.
Preliminary injunction for plaintiff in a suit regarding the untimely termination of a distribution agreement is affirmed where the magistrate judge's opinion, that the defendant did not have just cause to terminate the agreement, was without clear error.
[02/27] N. Ins. Co. of New York v. Derma Clinic Inc.
Questions of law are certified to Connecticut's supreme court involving insurance coverage for claims arising from an alleged physical and sexual assault that occurred during the course of a massage performed by an employee of a business offering massage therapy.
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Evidence
[03/08] US v. Ochoa-Cruz
Defendant's enhanced sentence for illegal reentry is affirmed where, although the district court erred by solely relying on a presentencing report in determining that certain previous convictions of defendant were crimes of violence, defendant failed to prove that the error affected his substantial rights.
[03/08] State of Florida v. Conde
An order suppressing cocaine which the defendant dropped while running from the police is reversed where an illegal stop of defendant did not occur until the police caught up with defendant and after he dropped the cocaine, rendering the seizure lawful.
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Health Law
[03/08] M.P. v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 721
Dismissal of plaintiff's claims under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act brought against his school district arising from a school nurse's disclosure that plaintiff is schizophrenic is reversed where the district court erred in dismissing the matter for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
[03/08] Pertofsky v. Arbor Living Ctrs. of Florida, Inc.
Dismissal with prejudice of plaintiff's personal injury complaint, entered upon the trial court's own motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution, is reversed where an automatic bankruptcy stay had been entered, and, although the bankruptcy stay had allegedly been lifted, defendant took no action to file the order lifting the stay.
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Corporation & Enterprise Law
[02/22] N & P Partners, LLC v. Council of Unit Owners of Bayberry Woods Condo.
Compensation is ordered for defendant, a council of condominium owners, in a dispute between it and a developer as to whether, based on the original condominium documents, plaintiff needed permission from defendant to expand a condominium development, and how to value the consent plaintiff was required to obtain.
[02/22] Madison Real Estate v. GENO One Fin. Place L.P.
A motion for expedited proceedings is denied in a dispute involving competing unregulated tender offers for a portion of limited partnership interests held in defendant where the court's equitable powers were unavailable to satisfy plaintiff's self-imposed precondition to its right to buy partnership interests, and plaintiff did not show a sufficiently colorable claim to justify the public burden of an expedited preliminary injunction hearing.
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Class Actions
[03/06] In re Natural Gas Anti-trust Cases I, II, III, & IV
Objecting nonrepresentative class members who engage in the conduct specified in the vexatious litigant statutes are not exempt from being designated as vexatious litigants.
[03/03] County of Santa Clara v. Atl. Richfield Co.
Judgment for defendants, lead manufacturers, in a class action brought by governmental entities alleging claims for damages caused by lead paint is reversed where the superior court's rulings were erroneous as to plaintiffs' public nuisance, strict liability, negligence, and fraud causes of action.
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