Case Summaries
[03/11] Lab. Corp. of Am. Holdings v. Metabolite Labs., Inc.
In an action for a declaratory judgment that plaintiff did not breach a license agreement for failure to pay know-how royalties on homocysteine assays performed after judgment had been entered in a prior patent infringement and breach of contract action, defendant's appeal from summary judgment for plaintiff is transferred to the Tenth Circuit as: 1) the present cause of action does not arise under federal patent law nor does defendant's right to relief necessarily depend on resolution of a substantial question of federal patent law, and thus, this court does not have jurisdiction over the appeal; and 2) this action is a state law contract dispute over know-how royalties brought pursuant to the district court's diversity jurisdiction.
[03/11] Griswold v. Cty. of Hillsborough
In an action by plaintiff, a disabled veteran, claiming that defendants violated his rights under the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 by interfering with plaintiff's businesses' ability to obtain certain government contracts, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where plaintiff's claims were barred under the doctrine of res judicata due to earlier litigation brought by plaintiff's companies arising from the same facts.
[03/10] Duffie v. US
In an action seeking a tax refund, summary judgment for the government is affirmed for the reasons stated by the district court, namely, that: 1) while a taxpayer's subjective business purpose or profit motive may be relevant to the sham transaction inquiry, the lack of a subjective profit motive is not required to assess interest at the enhanced rate under 26 U.S.C. section 6621(c); and 2) a partner may not relitigate the tax court's determination that the partnership transactions resulting in the adjustments were factual or economic shams, that is, tax-motivated transactions as defined in section 6621(c).
[03/10] Abdelhamid v. Fire Ins. Exch.
In homeowner's action against her insurance company after it denied coverage to her for the fire that burned her house down, summary judgment in favor of the insurance company is affirmed as the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment on the breach of contract claim as plaintiff's failure to comply constituted material breach of her contractual duties.
[03/10] In Re: Am. Bridge Prods., Inc.
In a bankruptcy trustee's action against an appointed receiver for misfeasance, judgment of the district court finding that plaintiff's claim is barred by the statute of limitations is vacated and remanded as the receiver had not rendered a final accounting or been discharged in either state or federal court.
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[03/10] Primiano v. Cook
In an action against the manufacturer of an artificial elbow, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the exclusion of plaintiff's expert's evidence was error as plaintiff's expert, with a sufficient basis in education and experience, testified that the artificial joint "failed to perform in the manner reasonably to be expected in light of its nature and intended function," which was enough to assist a trier of fact.
[03/09] McGuan v. Endovascular Techs., Inc.
In plaintiffs' products liability action against the makers of a device for use by surgeons to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms, for injuries suffered after they were implanted with the device, grant of defendants' motion for a summary judgment is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs' fraud claims of FDA violations are preempted under Buckman; 2) the trial court did not err in denying plaintiffs' motions to amend their complaints; and 3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting defendants' motion to seal documents.
[03/08] Ajinomoto Co., Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n
In plaintiffs' suit alleging violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act in the importation and sale of certain lysine feed products made by the methods claimed in their patents relating to improved methods of producing L-lysine with genetically engineered E-Coli bacteria, the International Trade Commission's determination of no section 337 violation is affirmed where: 1) the asserted claims of plaintiffs' '698 patent and '160 patents are invalid under 35 U.S.C. section 112 for failure to comply with the best mode requirement; and 2) plaintiffs' argument that the Commissioner erred in finding '698 patent is unenforceable due to inequitable conduct is waived.
[03/04] US v. Xu
Defendant's conviction for trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs is vacated as to one count where a rational juror could not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the Zyprexa mark, allegedly misappropriated by defendant, was registered on the USPTO's principal register.
[03/03] California Pharm. Ass'n v. Maxwell-Jolly
In an action to enjoin the California Department of Health Care Services Director from implementing state legislation reducing payments to certain medical service providers, a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiffs is affirmed where the state failed to study the impact of a 5% percent rate reduction on the statutory factors of efficiency, economy, quality, and access to care prior to implementing the rate reductions.
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[03/09] Hoopa Valley Tribe v. US
In an action against the United States for breach of fiduciary duty brought by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, arising from the distribution of the remainder in a Settlement Fund established under the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act only to the Yurok Tribe, summary judgment in favor of the government is vacated and remanded where: 1) the Hoopa Valley Tribe lacks standing because it cannot show an injury in fact; but 2) the matter should have been dismissed without prejudice
[03/05] Mike v. Franchise Tax Bd.
In an action by the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to collect income tax from petitioner, an American Indian, for receiving more than $385,000 as her per capita distribution from her tribe's gaming operations on their reservation, trial court's entry of judgment in favor of FTB is affirmed as, the State of California may impose income tax on income received by an enrolled member of a tribe from his or her tribe's reservation activities when that member resides on the reservation of a different tribe.
[03/04] New York v. Golden Feather Smoke Shop, Inc.
In defendants' appeal from a preliminary injunction prohibiting the sale of untaxed cigarettes other than to members of the Unkechauge Nation for their personal use, the Second Circuit certifies the following questions to the New York Court of Appeals: 1) Does N.Y. Tax Law section 471-e, either by itself or in combination with the provisions of section 471, impose a tax on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations when some or all of those cigarettes may be sold to persons other than members of the reservation's nation or tribe?; 2) If the answer to Question 1 is "no," does N.Y. Tax Law section 471 alone impose a tax on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations when some or all of those cigarettes may be sold to persons other than members of the reservation's nation or tribe?
[02/26] US v. Other Medicine
Is a prosecution of defendant's for "felony child abuse", denial of defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment is affirmed where: 1) although federal criminal law includes a misdemeanor for assault on a minor, no federal law defined and punished felony child abuse, and thus state law was properly used to define the offense; and 2) the charge of felony child abuse was not vague as applied to defendant's admitted conduct.
[02/25] Parchester Vill. Neighborhood Council v. City of Richmond
Trial court's judgment granting plaintiffs' petition for writ of mandate and requiring the agreement (MSA) between a city and an Indian tribe to be vacated, set aside, and voided is reversed and remanded where: 1) the Tribe's casino is not a project of the city so as to trigger compliance with CEQA; 2) city's endorsement of the Tribe's fee-to-trust application is not the city's project; 3) by entering into the agreement, the city has not contracted away its power to consider the full range of alternatives and mitigation measures required by CEQA; and 4) negotiations for firehouse and transportation improvements are not subject to CEQA review.
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