Appeals Tag

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Posted 21 Oct 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. Second Circuit Dorsett v. County of Nassau, No. 13-641 (Oct. 18, 2013) (affirming dismissal of First Amendment retaliation claim against County because plaintiff lacked standing to challenge County's delay in acting on settlement agreement) Fifth Circuit Bradberry v. Jefferson County, No. 12-41040 (Oct. 17, 2013) (in challenge under Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, finding that collateral estoppel did not bar the County from re-litigating facts determined in...

Posted 18 Oct 2013 in Case Notes
The first significant case affecting local governments in this new Supreme Court term  -- Madigan v. Levin -- ended poorly. The Court resolved the case with a DIG -- the Court dismissed it as improvidently granted. Supreme Court3 What went wrong? And what can we learn from it about appellate jurisdiction? An Important Question The case had all the hallmarks of a classic Supreme Court case. The question presented was important. It asked whether when a state or local government employee alleges that his employer has discriminated against him because of his age, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") provides his exclusive remedy, or whether he may also bring a claim under 42 U.S.C. 1983 because the discrimination violates the Constitution's Equal-Protection Clause. The question had divided the lower courts. The Seventh Circuit acknowledged that its holding -- that the ADEA does not prevent the employee from bringing a Section 1983 claim -- created a deep circuit split. And it had far-reaching implications. It could literally impact every state and local government. What Went Wrong? So why would the Court, after granting cert. and hearing oral argument, suddenly change its mind and toss the case?

Posted 14 Oct 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. First Circuit McCardle v. Town of Dracut, No. 13-1044 (Oct. 9, 2013) (affirming summary judgment against teacher who had brought claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act). Seventh Circuit Jiminez v. City of Chicago, No. 12-2779 (Oct. 7, 2013) (affirming district court's denial of City's motion for a new trial and for judgment as matter of law based on alleged july-selection and evidentiary errors, in case where jury...

Posted 08 Oct 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. First Circuit National Association of Tobacco Outlets v. City of Providence, No. 13-1053 (Sept. 30, 2013) (finding that City's tobacco-sales ordinance, designed to reduce youth tobacco use, does not violate First Amendment and is not preempted) Fifth Circuit Marceaux v. Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, No. 13-30332 (Sept. 30, 2013) (finding that district court improperly granted protective order requiring officers suing police department to remove website) Eleventh Circuit Dawkins v. Fulton County Government, No. 12-11951 (Sept. 30,...

Posted 30 Sep 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. Fifth Circuit United States v. City of New Orleans, No. 13-30161 (Sept. 27, 2013) (upholding denial of City's motion to vacate consent decree regarding police practices). Sixth Circuit Bessie Jones v. City of Cincinnati, No. 11-4174 (Sept. 27, 2013) (reversing district court's denial of qualified immunity to police officers regarding excessive-force and failure-to-provide-medical-care claims). Tenth Circuit Olson v. City of Golden, No. 11-1454 (Sept. 25, 2013) (dismissing as moot a challenge to City's campaign-finance regulations...

Posted 23 Sep 2013 in Case Notes

The Ninth Circuit issued its decision Friday in Pacific Shores Properties, LLC v. City of Newport Beach, No. 11-55460. In the case, plaintiffs alleged that a City ordinance violated the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and the Equal Protection Clause because the ordinance had the practical effect of prohibiting new group homes for recovering alcoholics and drug users from opening in most residential districts. Although the district court had granted summary judgment for the City, the Ninth...

Posted 23 Sep 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. Second Circuit Velez v. City of New York, No. 12-1965-cv (Sept. 18, 2013) (in a case where a police informant was killed and his representative brought suit against City, finding that district court properly required jury to find a "special relationship" between informant and police, and that no new trial was required). Carver v. Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, No. 13-0801 (Sept. 20, 2013) (in suit challenging wage freeze for County...

Posted 16 Sep 2013 in Monday Morning Review

Here's how local governments fared in the federal courts of appeals during the past week. Eighth Circuit Brian Johnson v. Minneapolis Park, No. 12-2419 (Sept. 11, 2013). Finding that individual seeking to distribute Bibles during festival in public park is likely to prevail in his First Amendment challenge. See our coverage here. Ninth Circuit C.B. v. City of Sonora, No. 11-17454 (Sept. 12, 2013). Remanding for new trial and addressing qualified immunity issue under Fourth Amendment arising out of handcuffing and driving juvenile from school. Sylvia Landfill Trust v. City...

Posted 16 Sep 2013 in Case Notes
[caption id="attachment_107" align="alignright" width="199"]8th Circuit: Park did not adequately justify the need to limit literature distribution 8th Circuit: Park did not adequately justify the need to limit literature distribution[/caption] An evangelical Christian, Brian Johnson, sought to distribute Bibles at a gay-pride festival in a public park. The park board would not allow it. It had adopted a policy limiting literature distribution to confined areas, due to security concerns and the festival’s size. Johnson claimed the policy violated the First Amendment, and sought an injunction barring its enforcement. In a 2-1 decision released Wednesday, Johnson v. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Bd., the Eighth Circuit ruled that Johnson would likely prevail on his claim.

Posted 11 Sep 2013 in Case Notes
[caption id="attachment_89" align="alignright" width="300"]9th Circuit: Landlords do not have a viable constitutional claim against City housing program 9th Circuit: Landlords do not have a viable constitutional claim against City housing program[/caption] Your community’s housing conditions are in crisis. Too many landlords ignore codes. They disregard tenants’ concerns. And their properties are hardly habitable. But they continue to collect rent—from tenants with little capacity to protect themselves. So your local government fashions an innovative program, one that empowers tenants. It allows tenants living in troubled properties to withhold a portion of their rent and to use it for needed repairs. Landlords sue. They claim that your program violates their federal substantive due process rights. Do they have a winning constitutional argument? Not according to the Ninth Circuit, which ruled Monday in Sylvia Landfield Trust v. City of Los Angeles, No. 11-55904, slip op. (Sept. 9, 2013), that the City of Los Angeles’s Rent Escrow Account Program is constitutional.