Civil Procedure

Gender-segregated pool schedule for seniors condo discriminates against women, 3rd Circuit says

A New Jersey condominium association’s sex-segregated pool schedule discriminates against women in its “allotment of favorable swimming times,” a federal appeals court ruled Monday. A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia held that while A Country Place—a seniors condominium that has enforced the schedule…

Apr 24, 2019 9:20 AM CDT

Criminal defense attorney and judge settle suit over alleged retaliation involving recording

A Houston criminal defense attorney who recorded a Galveston County judge saying he “overworks” cases and lacks experience has settled his lawsuit against the judge. In March 2018, Andrew Willey sued Judge Jack Ewing of the Galveston County Court at Law No. 3 for allegedly retaliating against him by refusing…

Apr 23, 2019 4:09 PM CDT

Chalking tires constitutes unreasonable search, 6th Circuit rules

Parking enforcement officers in Saginaw, Michigan, who use chalk to mark the tires of cars to track how long they have been parked are violating the constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati held that the practice…

Apr 23, 2019 12:17 PM CDT

Catholic foster care agency loses fight over refusing to place kids with same-sex couples

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the city of Philadelphia can sever its contract with a Catholic foster care agency that refuses to place children with same-sex couples. In its opinion, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia held that Catholic Social Services’…

Apr 23, 2019 11:02 AM CDT

Former NFL players fail to move painkillers lawsuit forward

In the latest ruling regarding the NFL’s alleged “return-to-play” scheme, a federal judge held that retired players failed to prove that the league was responsible for handing out painkillers and pushing the players back onto the field. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California said in…

Apr 22, 2019 4:09 PM CDT

Lawsuit claiming EPA negligence in Flint water crisis can move forward, judge says

A federal judge ruled last week that Flint, Michigan, residents can move forward with a lawsuit filed against the government over the city’s water crisis. The residents sued the Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly mishandling the crisis in 2017, and District Judge Linda Parker of the Eastern District of Michigan…

Apr 22, 2019 12:50 PM CDT

5th Circuit judge raises eyebrows with ‘majority-minority panel’ reference in gerrymandering case

A dissent by Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement in a Mississippi gerrymandering case is raising some questions and eyebrows. What, exactly, did the federal appeals judge mean when she wrote that the state defendants “have simply had the poor luck of drawing a majority-minority panel”? Mother Jones initially surmised that…

Mar 27, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

USS Cole lawsuit was served at wrong place, SCOTUS rules; $315M judgment reversed

Sailors and family members who sued Sudan in the USS Cole bombing served the lawsuit in the wrong place, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. The faulty service requires reversal of a $315 million default judgment against Sudan for allegedly supporting al Qaida before it bombed the USS Cole, the…

Mar 26, 2019 1:45 PM CDT

SCOTUS requires standing review of case challenging cy pres awards to groups rather than plaintiffs

Only Justice Clarence Thomas offered an opinion on the merits Wednesday in a case that challenges cy pres awards that give class-action awards to nonparty nonprofit groups rather than the plaintiffs.

Mar 20, 2019 10:55 AM CDT

Boeing’s legal troubles over airplane grounding could just be taking off

Nearly three dozen lawsuits have been filed against Boeing since its 737 Max 8 aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia on Oct. 29, killing all 189 people aboard. Now that an Ethiopian Air flight in a 737 Max 8 crashed in Ethiopia on March 10 and killed 157…

Mar 14, 2019 2:53 PM CDT

There’s no due process right to perform abortions, says en banc 6th Circuit in funding case

An en banc federal appeals court has upheld an Ohio law that bans the state from providing health funds to abortion providers.

Mar 13, 2019 12:15 PM CDT

More than 260 people targeted in elder fraud sweeps, including alleged $30M attorney scammer

More than 260 people have been targeted across the globe in the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. The scammers victimized more than 2 million Americans, many of them elderly, causing millions of dollars in losses, according to a press…

Mar 7, 2019 2:33 PM CST

Legal director of Lambda Legal has spent her life pursuing LGBT rights

Sharon McGowan is the chief strategy officer and legal director of Lambda Legal, which is committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV.

Mar 1, 2019 1:50 AM CST

Federal prosecutor moves to block nonprofit from opening nation’s first safe injection facility

Plans for the nation’s first safe injection facility hit a snag earlier this week, when Philadelphia’s top prosecutor filed a federal complaint to keep it from opening its doors. U.S. Attorney William McSwain, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in the complaint filed Feb. 5 that in providing spaces…

Feb 8, 2019 5:10 PM CST

NYPD threatens Google with legal action to stop pinpointing police activity through app

In a letter sent to Google last weekend, the New York Police Department threatened legal action if the technology company ignored demands to remove a feature on its Waze app that allows users to post locations of police checkpoints. Ann Prunty, the acting deputy commissioner for legal matters, wrote in…

Feb 8, 2019 3:23 PM CST