9th Circuit Court

After the ‘Fight of the Century,’ new parties seek to duke it out with Mayweather, Pacquiao in court

Three days after Floyd Mayweather cruised to victory over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Saturday in what was billed as the Fight of the Century, new opponents are seeking a share of the all-time-record prize money. Two fans filed a federal class action lawsuit in Nevada on Tuesday contending…

May 6, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

Federal suit says Marriott denied new mom lactation breaks because she’s a surrogate

A California woman filed a federal lawsuit against Marriott International Inc. last week. It says she was denied lactation breaks after giving birth last year because she is a surrogate mother. In addition to damages, Mary Gonzales seeks a declaratory judgment that supervisors at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott where…

May 5, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

9th Circuit OKs city’s ban on holiday displays, says ‘heckler’s veto’ doctrine doesn’t apply

A blanket ban on unattended displays at public parks imposed by a California city did not unconstitutionally suppress the free speech rights of a community group known for its tradition of December nativity scenes, a federal appeals court has ruled. By repealing an exception that had allowed the Santa Monica…

May 1, 2015 10:40 AM CDT

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lawyers protest federal judge’s questions during contempt hearing

An Arizona sheriff expected to be questioned about a civil rights case during a civil contempt hearing in federal court in Phoenix last week. But Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio had no idea the federal judge in charge of the hearing would hand him a copy of a Phoenix New…

Apr 29, 2015 12:05 PM CDT

Contempt hearing bombshell: Sheriff Joe Arpaio admits he had federal judge’s wife investigated

Courtroom observers gasped and murmured on Thursday when a contempt hearing in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona, took an unexpected turn. Maricopa County’s well-known Sheriff Joe Arpaio was on the stand, testifying about his department’s claimed violation of court orders in a racial-profiling case, according to the Arizona Republic. But…

Apr 24, 2015 8:55 AM CDT

9th Circuit judge opens courthouse doors to public for free movie night

Shocked years ago to learn that many of the clerks for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had never seen 12 Angry Men, Judge Alex Kozinski arranged a screening of the classic film, starring Henry Fonda as a holdout juror. That was the beginning of a free public movie…

Apr 23, 2015 12:30 PM CDT

En banc 9th Circuit nixes Barry Bonds obstruction conviction

After years of litigation, former baseball slugger Barry Bonds has prevailed in a criminal case related to his claimed use of performance-enhancing drugs. Saying in a two-page opinion that his conviction by a federal jury in San Francisco on a single obstruction count was not supported by the evidence, an…

Apr 22, 2015 4:40 PM CDT

Masked gunman in surprise ‘active shooter’ school drill traumatized teacher, federal lawsuit says

A surprise “active shooter” drill at a charter school in a rural Oregon community in 2013 was intended to help staff make better preparations to deflect real bullets, if such a situation ever occurs. No students were present on the in-service day when two masked, hooded, armed men appeared in…

Apr 21, 2015 11:35 AM CDT

Federal judge jails ex-billionaire for contempt until he explains where $13.8M from resort sale went

A federal judge says an ex-billionaire hasn’t fully disclosed what happened to the $13.8 million he got from selling a Mexican resort. So he held Tim Blixseth in contempt and had him taken into custody Monday at a Helena, Montana, court hearing, reports the Associated Press. The 64-year-old is to…

Apr 21, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

Gay couple got Colorado marriage license in 1975 but lost deportation case; Kennedy wrote opinion

A documentary set to air on PBS tracks the legal troubles of a gay couple who obtained a marriage license in Boulder, Colorado, long before Massachusetts became the first state to recognize same-sex marriage as a result of a 2003 court decision. Anthony Corbett Sullivan and Richard Frank Adams received…

Apr 20, 2015 10:43 AM CDT

Playboy suit says law firm tried $6M case instead of seeking settlement within insurance limits

Playboy has filed a malpractice suit against its former counsel in an employee whistleblower suit. The lawsuit contends that Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton exposed the magazine company to additional liability by taking the case to trial. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, the suit says the California-based…

Apr 20, 2015 9:35 AM CDT

Federal judge nixes evidence from FBI agents who shut off hotel Web service, then posed as repairmen

The Federal Bureau of Investigation overstepped its bounds when it cut off Internet service to the Las Vegas hotel suite in which a Malaysian businessman was staying and then posed as repairmen sent to fix the service, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon suppressed the…

Apr 17, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Clothier settles with Eagles singer over ‘Don a Henley and Take It Easy’ ad

An outdoor clothing retailer known for its irreverent approach has apologized to Eagles singer Don Henley and made a charitable donation to resolve a California lawsuit over its use of his name for an upscale T-shirt. An advertisement featuring the slogan “Don a Henley and Take It Easy,” riffing on…

Apr 17, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Bank didn’t tell widow she had mortgage insurance, even as home foreclosed

A California widow nearly lost her longtime home through foreclosure and had to declare bankruptcy to buy enough time to save it, ruining her credit. Meanwhile, the mortgage servicer, Bank of America, Select Portfolio Servicing, didn’t tell Laura Coleman Biggs that her husband had purchased a $100,000 insurance policy to…

Apr 16, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Lawyer who forged client signatures on secret litigation-funding contracts takes wire-fraud plea

Seven years ago, Todd Macaluso won a $55 million verdict for the survivors of four U.S. Marines who died in a Camp Pendleton helicopter crash. But by mid-2012 the California personal injury attorney was forging client signatures on secret litigation-funding contracts to get millions of dollars to keep his law…

Apr 15, 2015 9:15 AM CDT