Case Summaries
Bankruptcy Law
Commercial Law
Consumer Protection
Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
Bankruptcy Law
[07/23]
In re: Arch Wireless, Inc.
In proceedings arising after a bankruptcy discharge, in which a creditor argued that it did not receive proper notice of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, denial of corporate debtor's motion to hold creditor in contempt for pursuing its claims is affirmed where: 1) appellee was a "known creditor"; and 2) a known creditor's general awareness of a pending Chapter 11 reorganization proceeding is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of due process and render a discharge injunction applicable to the creditor's claims.
[07/22]
In Re: Repine
Judgment against attorney for attempting to collect fees from debtor in violation of a stay imposed by a bankruptcy court is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) attorney willfully violated the stay in attempting to collect her fees; 2) attorney's refusal to consent to an agreed order to allow debtor to be released from civil incarceration caused debtor actual harm; 3) damages awarded to debtor for lost wages were appropriate; 4) debtor failed to set forth specific information regarding emotional damages; and 5) awarding attorney's fees to debtor was proper.
[07/22]
Bondi v. Capital & Fin. Asset Mgmt. S.A.
Denial of motion by debtor in foreign bankruptcy proceedings to enjoin actions brought against it in the United States is affirmed where the district court acted within its sound discretion in interpreting 11 U.S.C. section 304(c)'s instruction to assure an economical and expeditious administration of a foreign estate.
[07/21]
In re Reilly
Where a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor indicates the intent to exempt her entire interest in a given property by claiming an exemption of its full value and the trustee does not object in a timely manner, the debtor is entitled to the property in its entirety, even if it is later discovered that the property has a higher value than the exempted amount.
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Commercial Law
[07/24]
MAC East, LLC, v. Shoney's, Inc.
In a diversity case involving a commercial real estate lease and a proposal by an assignee of that lease to sublease the real estate to a third party, grant of summary judgment for plaintiff-corporation as to liability on its tortious interference claim is reversed where: 1) defendant corporation was an "essential entity to the purported injured relations"; 2) both plaintiff and defendant were parties to the Assignment Agreement, and thus were "parties to a comprehensive interwoven set of contract or relations"; and 3) defendant cannot be a stranger to the sublease when consummation of the sublease would leave it obligated on the covenants on the ground lease, effectively forming a business relationship between it and proposed subleasee. A question regarding whether a commercial reasonableness standard tempers defendant's "sole discretion" to withhold consent to a proposed sublease is certified to the state supreme court.
[07/23]
KT&G Corp. v. Attorney Gen. of the State of Oklahoma
In litigation arising from states' Master Settlement Agreement with the four major tobacco companies, wherein non-participating tobacco manufacturers (NPMs) challenged two states' amendments to provisions of their escrow statutes reducing the amount of escrow funds refunded to plaintiffs each year, dismissal of the claims is affirmed where: 1) the Sherman Act did not preempt the Kansas and Oklahoma amendments at issue; and 2) plaintiffs' First Amendment, equal protection, due process, and Commerce Clause claims failed.
[07/22]
California Dep't of Water Res. v. Powerex Corp.
In a case arising out of the 2000-2001 California energy crisis, an order remanding the case to state court is reversed and remanded where: 1) review of a district court's decision to decline an exercise of supplemental jurisdiction is not barred by 28 U.S.C. section 1447(d); 2) in light of certain Supreme Court precedent, there is jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1291 to review the remand order; and 3) defendant, a Canadian corporation that markets and distributes electric power, is an organ of British Columbia, and thus falls within the definition of "foreign state" under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and is entitled to a federal bench trial.
[07/21]
Bandana Trading Co., Inc. v. Quality Infusion Care, Inc.
In an action for breach of contract, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed over claims of error that: 1) the trial court erred when it refused to remove a juror for misconduct after the juror applauded by clapping her hands during defendant's rebuttal argument; 2) defendant was entitled to a new trial because the same juror committed misconduct during deliberations when she injected technical knowledge into the deliberations, intimidating other jurors and rushing them into a verdict.
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Consumer Protection
[07/24]
Bodine v. Graco, Inc.
The private right of action under the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act is limited to allegations of fraud relating to a vehicle's mileage.
[07/17]
Owen v. Gen. Motors Corp.
In a putative class action brought against GM after plaintiffs' windshield wipers failed alleging breach of warranty, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent concealment and violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), dismissal and other rulings against plaintiffs are affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in dismissing breach of warranty and fraudulent concealment claims on statute of limitations grounds; 2) dismissal of a breach of contract claim was proper as well; 3) there was no abuse of discretion in denying leave to amend; 4) summary judgment on the state law MMPA claim was proper as plaintiffs presented no evidence from which a jury reasonably could conclude that their loss was the result of the alleged defect that GM failed to disclose.
[07/16]
Sovereign Bank v. BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
Orders dismissing claims arising from the theft of credit card information from a retailer's computer files are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) respective grants of summary judgment to defendant-acquirer on question of whether plaintiffs-card issuers were intended third-party beneficiaries under state law of the contract between defendant-acquirer and defendant-merchant required reversal, as plaintiffs had met their burden to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact; 2) dismissal of equitable indemnification claims for cardholders' losses due to unauthorized charges was proper since TILA section 1643 addresses only the liability of cardholders, not card issuers, for unauthorized charges; 3) the economic loss doctrine barred recovery for negligence where plaintiff suffered only monetary losses without any accompanying physical or property damage; 4) for purposes of an unjust enrichment claim, plaintiff could not show that defendants derived more than an incidental benefit from plaintiff's conduct.
[07/16]
Brack v. Omni Loan Co., Ltd.
In a suit alleging violations of borrower's rights under the Finance Lenders Law, and raising claims under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law, dismissal of the suit based on choice of law provisions in the loan agreements is reversed where: 1) the Finance Lenders Law represents a fundamental policy of the state and application of the provisions would undermine the policy; and 2) application of Nevada law would impair California's regulatory interests to a far greater extent than application of California law would impair Nevada's interests.
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Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
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Totes Isotoner Corp. v. Int'l Chem. Workers Union
In a labor dispute, a supplemental labor arbitration award was properly vacated where the arbitrator: 1) was not arguably construing a contract when granting the supplemental award on the basis of the original award; and 2) acted outside of his authority by reaching a question not presented to him by the parties.
[07/23]
Cox v. Ocean View Hotel Corp.
In an employment discrimination case involving an employment agreement containing a mandatory arbitration clause, denial of defendant-employer's motion to compel arbitration and partial summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed where: 1) for purposes of a breach-of-agreement theory, plaintiff did not properly initiate arbitration under the terms of his employment agreement via a letter he sent; and 2) the district court improperly granted summary judgment in plaintiff's favor on the issue of waiver.
[07/21]
Simmons v. Ghaderi
In a breach of contract action arising from a medical malpractice suit, wherein plaintiffs sought to enforce an oral settlement agreement allegedly formed during mediation, a ruling upholding a decision to admit evidence relating to the mediation proceedings is reversed where: 1) the court of appeal improperly relied on the doctrine of estoppel to create a judicial exception to the comprehensive statutory scheme of mediation confidentiality; and 2) the evidence relating to the mediation proceedings should not have been admitted at trial.
[07/18]
Salmon Run Shopping Ctr. LLC v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.
An NLRB order requiring a shopping mall operator to allow a union to distribute literature on mall premises is vacated where the mall operator did not improperly discriminate against the union under section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
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