| Opinion | Short Title/District |
|---|---|
| 08a0004p.06 | Staunch v. Continental Airlines Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland KENNEDY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Holly Staunch appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant Continental Airlines, Inc. on her claims for interference and retaliation under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”), pregnancy discrimination in violation of Section 4112.02(A) of the Ohio Revised Code, and wrongful termination in violation of Ohio’s public policy against pregnancy discrimination. Because we find that Staunch was not an “eligible employee” under the FMLA and her state law claims are without merit, we AFFIRM the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Continental. |
| 08a0005p.06 | Auletta v. Ortino Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge. In this shareholder derivative action, plaintiffs Thomas Auletta, Barbara Bencosme, and Phillip Miller Trust (collectively “Plaintiffs”) appeal the district court’s dismissal of their complaint for failing to allege, with adequate particularity, that a demand would be futile, and the district court’s denial of their Rule 60(b) Motion for Relief from the Judgment. Because the district court neither erred in dismissing Plaintiffs’ complaint nor abused its discretion in denying Plaintiffs’ motion for relief, we affirm the district court’s decisions in their entirety. |
| 08a0006p.06 | Pontiac School Dist v. Sec US Dept Ed Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit R. GUY COLE, Jr., Circuit Judge. This case requires us to decide a fundamental question of federal versus state funding under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (“NCLB” or “the Act”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 6301–7941. Plaintiffs-Appellants are school districts and education associations that receive federal funding under NCLB in exchange for complying with the Act’s various educational requirements and accountability measures. Based on the so-called “Unfunded Mandates Provision,” which provides that “[n]othing in this Act shall be construed to . . . mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act,” 20 U.S.C. § 7907(a), Plaintiffs filed suit in district court against the Secretary of Education seeking, among other relief, a judgment declaring that they need not comply with the Act’s requirements where federal funds do not cover the increased costs of compliance. The district court concluded, however, that Plaintiffs must comply with the Act’s requirements regardless of any federal-funding shortfall and accordingly granted the Secretary’s motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Because statutes enacted under the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution must provide clear notice to the States of their liabilities should they decide to accept federal funding under those statutes, and because we conclude that NCLB fails to provide clear notice as to who bears the additional costs of compliance, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
| 08a0007p.06 | Blackburn v. Oaktree Cap Mgmt Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs sued Oaktree Capital Management, LLC (“Oaktree”) in state court, seeking damages and declaratory relief in relation to plaintiffs’ purchase of membership rights in a golf club. Oaktree removed the action to federal court. After the district court allowed plaintiffs to amend their complaint to include non-diverse defendants that destroyed diversity jurisdiction, the district court remanded the case to state court. Oaktree appeals, contending that the district court erred in granting the motion to amend the complaint and that the district court’s remand order is reviewable because the case was properly removed in the first instance. Upon review of the applicable law and record, we DISMISS the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, irrespective of whether the motion to amend was properly granted. |
| 08a0008p.06 | Commodity Futures v. Erskine Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Ross Erskine and his company, Goros, LLC, (collectively “Goros”) in federal court, alleging that Goros had misrepresented facts and omitted pertinent information when soliciting customers to trade in foreign currency, which violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. §§ 1-27. As a jurisdictional predicate, the CFTC alleged that the trades at issue were “futures contracts” governed by the CEA and that the CFTC is authorized to “enjoin or restrain violations” of that Act. Id. at § 13a-1. Goros denied the accusations, denied that the trades were “futures contracts,” and challenged the CFTC’s jurisdiction. The district court agreed with Goros as to the nature of the trades and the jurisdiction of the CFTC and granted summary judgment to Goros. The CFTC appealed and we must now decide whether the trades at issue were “futures contracts” subject to the CFTC’s jurisdiction. Because we conclude that they were not, we AFFIRM. |
| 08a0009p.06 | O'Neill v. Coughlan Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge. Defendant Jonathan E. Coughlan, Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of Ohio, appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to plaintiff William O’Neill in this action seeking to enjoin enforcement of three canons of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. O’Neill, a judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals at the time, was accused of violating these canons while campaigning for election to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2004. The district court concluded that enforcement of these canons would impermissibly restrict O’Neill’s free speech rights as guaranteed by the First Amendment. We vacate the judgment entered in favor of O’Neill because the district court should have abstained from deciding the merits of the case under the authority of Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). |
| 08a0010p.06 | Uhl v. Komatsu Forklift Co. Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. In this case, the appellants challenge the validity of an arbitration award where one of the party-selected arbitrators had previously and occasionally served as co-counsel with the attorney representing the intervening plaintiff in the instant case. Because we conclude that this relationship did not violate the arbitration agreement or rise to the level of evident partiality, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment. |
| 08a0011p.06 | USA v. Gonzalez Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. During a routine traffic stop, defendant David Gonzalez consented to a search of his vehicle which uncovered some seven kilograms of cocaine. Defendant was found guilty in a jury trial of possessing with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and was sentenced to life in prison. In challenging his conviction and sentence, defendant asserts five claims of error: (1) that the government did not timely file notice of possible sentencing enhancement based on prior convictions; (2) that the sentencing court improperly considered his two prior drug felony convictions to be separate offenses even though they arose from a single criminal episode; (3) that evidence seized in a consensual search which exceeded the scope of the consent should have been suppressed; (4) that the government engaged in prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments; and (5) that the conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence that he knowingly possessed the cocaine. Finding that none of defendant’s claims have merit, we affirm the the district court’s judgment. |
| 08a0012p.06 | USA v. Klups Western District of Michigan at Marquette KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant James Edward Klups (“Klups”) contests on appeal his sentence to a sixty-month prison term for travel with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a). We AFFIRM the district court’s sentence as reasonable. |
| 08a0013p.06 | Inre Dewitt McDonald v. Northern District of Ohio at Toledo JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Dewitt McDonald Jr. moves this court to grant him permission to file a second or successive habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3). For the following reasons, we authorize McDonald to file a second habeas corpus petition with the district court. |
| 08a0014p.06 | Pennington v. Metro Govt Nash Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Joe A. Pennington, a Metropolitan police officer, was off duty when he became involved in an altercation at a Nashville bar. Deputy Chief Joseph Bishop and Captain Michael Hagar later requested Pennington to submit to a breathalyzer test. Pennington agreed to take the test because he was afraid that he would be terminated or suspended if he failed to comply. He subsequently sued Bishop, Hagar, and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County on the basis that he was unlawfully required to take the breathalyzer test in violation of his constitutional rights. The district court granted judgment in favor of the defendants. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. |
| 08a0015p.06 | Midwest Media v. Symmes Township Southern District of Ohio at Cincinnati The court having received a petition for rehearing en banc, and the petition having been circulated not only to the original panel members but also to all other active judges of this court, and less than a majority of the judges having favored the suggestion, the petition for rehearing has been referred to the original panel. The panel has further reviewed the petition for rehearing and concludes that the issues raised in the petition were fully considered upon the original submission and decision of the case. Accordingly, the petition is denied. |
| 08a0016p.06 | Lulaj v. Wackenhut Corp Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR., Circuit Judge. Wackenhut appeals the district court’s denial of its motion for renewed judgment as a matter of law, or in the alternative a new trial, following a jury verdict in favor of Lisa Lulaj on a claim of sex discrimination. Lulaj cross-appeals the district court’s decision to reduce the jury’s determination of damages. Both parties appeal the amount of attorney’s fees awarded. We AFFIRM. |
| 08a0017p.06 | Spisak v. Mitchell Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland On October 20, 2006, this Court issued an opinion partially granting habeas relief to Petitioner, Frank G. Spisak, and ordering a new mitigation phase trial. Spisak v. Mitchell, 465 F.3d 684 (6th Cir. 2006). Respondent warden thereafter filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. On October 9, 2007, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment of this Court, and remanded the case to this Court for further consideration in light of Carey v. Musladin, 127 S.Ct. 649 (2006), and Schriro v. Landrigan, 127 S.Ct. 1933 (2007). After careful review and consideration of Musladin and Landrigan, we find that neither of the cases require reversal of our prior disposition of this case. Accordingly, we reinstate our opinion of October 20, 2006, partially granting habeas relief and ordering a new mitigation phase trial. |
| 08a0018p.06 | USA v. Bailey Eastern District of Kentucky at Covington GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge. Defendant Terrell R. Bailey appeals his convictions and sentences for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i); and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Because of his prior convictions for drug trafficking and second-degree escape, KY. REV. STAT. § 520.030, the district court sentenced defendant as a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines. On appeal, Bailey argues that his prior Kentucky state court conviction for second-degree escape does not qualify for a career offender enhancement; there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions; and the district court erred in enhancing his Guidelines offense level after finding that he had perjured himself at trial. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant’s convictions and sentences. |
| 08a0019p.06 | Schultz v. General RV Ctr Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Walter and Julie Schultz (“Plaintiffs”) filed suit against General R.V. Center and Damon Corp. (“Defendants”) in federal district court, alleging that their new R.V. is defective in violation of federal and state consumer laws. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants on all counts, and Plaintiffs appealed. Following the conclusion of briefing, Defendants filed before this court a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the basis that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s amount in controversy requirement has not been satisfied. For the reasons stated below, we find that federal subject matter jurisdiction exists and DENY Defendants’ motion to dismiss. With regard to the merits, we AFFIRM the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants. |
| 08a0020p.06 | USA v. Sexton, Romans, and Legg Eastern District of Tennessee of Chattanooga ROGERS, Circuit Judge. Defendants Norman T. Sexton, Richard Romans, and James A. Legg challenge the sentences imposed by the district court on remand from this court for resentencing in light of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005). Defendants were sentenced in 2002 after being convicted of offenses stemming from the distribution of cocaine. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Booker, this court entered an order vacating the sentences of all three defendants and remanding their cases for resentencing. On remand, the district court reimposed identical sentences. Defendants make five primary arguments on appeal: (1) the district court violated their Sixth Amendment and due process rights by using its own factual findings to calculate their sentencing ranges under the United States Sentencing Guidelines; (2) their sentences exceeded the “maximum statutory sentence” allowable for their offenses; (3) the imposition of their sentences in accordance with the remedial portion of Booker created an unconstitutional ex post facto effect; (4) Sexton’s sentence was unreasonable; and (5) the district court’s refusal to order the preparation of new presentencing reports on remand was improper under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32. Because all of these arguments are without merit, we affirm the sentences imposed by the district court. |
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