Where the plaintiffs were bound by a prior settlement with the defendants related to royalty claims for a defined period of time, and the plaintiffs are now pursuing trespass claims for a different time period, the district court did not ...
Read More »Contract – Prior settlement over royalties doesn’t bar trespass suit
Civil Rights – Setting aside of jury verdict was error 
Where the district court lacked insight into why the jury deadlocked on an excessive force claim brought by a detainee against a prison official, but awarded the detainee damages for his retaliation claim, it erred by assuming the two decisions ...
Read More »Attorneys – Constitutional – Advertising – Disciplinary Proceeding – Abstention 
Even though there are no pending state court proceedings in which the plaintiff-law firm is a party—the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct apply only to attorneys licensed in the state—the firm’s claims that the Rules regulating lawyer advertising are ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Drunk Driver’s Employer – Voluntary Undertaking – No Duty to Third Parties 
Even if (1) a drunk driver had consumed alcohol at work, (2) the defendant-employer knew she had done so, (3) the employer sent the intoxicated employee home, and (4) the employer refused a co-worker’s offer to drive the intoxicated employee ...
Read More »Insurance – Duty to Defend – Complaint & Deposition – Notice 
The complaint in the underlying action—alleging Philip Riley was exposed to chromated copper arsenate (CCA)—indicated that Riley had been exposed in an occupational context. Riley was born on December 27, 1978, and the defendant-insurer’s policy was in effect from January ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Murder – Late Discovery – Lack of Prejudice – Closing Argument – ‘Evil’ 
The state waited months – until shortly defendant’s murder trial – to reveal potentially exculpatory statements that had been made by “Munchkin” Washington. However, just before defendant’s trial, Washington changed his story, said he had hired defendant to murder the ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – DUI – Blood Samples – Chain of Custody – Jury & Jurors 
The state presented evidence as to who drew defendant’s first blood sample (Sample A) and who handled it at each step. The state was not required to have every person who handled Sample A testify. Although most of the witnesses ...
Read More »Attorneys – Reciprocal Discipline – North Carolina Disbarment – Misappropriation of Funds – Tax Crimes 
Even though respondent sought a “substantially different discipline in this state,” given his consent to disbarment in North Carolina and his admitted misappropriation of client funds and criminal tax-related misconduct, we find disbarment is the appropriate sanction to impose as ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Premises Liability – Equitable Indemnity – Trip & Fall – Fault 
For five years, neither a landowner nor its shopkeeper-tenant warned of or attempted to remedy a trip hazard that their own safety expert identified at trial. As such, the landowner and shopkeeper were not without fault, so they were not ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – No punitive damages for tardy contributions to fund 
Where unions sued a construction company for liquidated damages after it made a series of tardy payments to an employee health and welfare fund, the court joined three other circuits in holding that punitive damages are not recoverable in cases ...
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