Case Summaries

Indian Law

[08/20] Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians v. State of California
In an action by Indian tribes claiming a breach of Gaming Compacts between the tribes and California, summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed in part and reversed in part where the limit on licenses in the Compacts exceeded that recognized by California.

[08/09] Oneida Indian Nation v. Cty. of Oneida
In an action by the Oneida Indian Nation claiming that the State of New York wrongfully appropriated its lands, partial summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where Cayuga was controlling, and thus all claims dependent on the assertion of a current possessory interest in the subject lands were barred by equitable defenses. However, the judgment is reversed in part where: 1) plaintiffs' purportedly nonpossessory claim was also barred, both by New York’s sovereign immunity and by the equitable principles applied in Cayuga; and 2) on the same basis, the alternative nonpossessory claim articulated on appeal by the plaintiffs, premised on a violation of the Nonintercourse Act, was also barred.

[08/05] US v. I.L.
A district court's order transferring defendant for adult criminal prosecution on assault and murder charges is affirmed where the district court correctly construed 18 U.S.C. section 5032 to grant the authority to transfer defendant for adult criminal prosecution without the Omaha Tribe's consent.

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Government Contracts

[09/01] US ex rel. SNAPP v. Ford Motor Co.
District court's denial of plaintiff's motion to file a second amended complaint concluding that the proposed amended complaint, which included a list of contracts that the government allegedly entered into as a result of fraudulent representations on the part of Ford, did not allege with sufficient particularity the existence of a "claim" as defined by the False Claims Act (FCA), is affirmed as, because no holding of Bledsoe II affected the circuit's law on the questions at issue before the district court, the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that its original rationale for not permitting plaintiff to file its second amended complaint pursuant to Rule 59(e) still obtained and that permitting such a filing was not otherwise "required in order to prevent an injustice."

[08/31] Great W. Contractors, Inc. v. Irvine Unified Sch. Dist.
In plaintiff-contractor's suit against a school district (District), challenging the District's rejection of plaintiff's bid to remodel two elementary schools, trial court's judgment in favor of the District is reversed where: 1) trial court was incorrect in rejecting plaintiff's lowest bid as nonresponsive as, under D.H. Williams, 146 Cal.App.4th 757 (2007), a public agency cannot reject the bid of the lowest bidder on a public works project on the theory that the bid is nonresponsive to the agency's request for bids when, in substance, the real reason for the rejection is that the agency thinks the lowest bidder is "not responsible" - at least not without giving the lowest bidder the chance for a hearing on whether the lowest bidder really is "not responsible"; and 2) the trial court abused its discretion in rejecting plaintiff's admittedly belated request to amend.

[08/27] Kirby Lake Dev., Ltd. v. Clear Lake City Water Auth.
In developers' suit against a water authority for inverse condemnation, the judgment of the court of appeals in favor of the water authority is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the authority's refusal to include a reimbursement measure in every bond election constituted a breach of its contracts with the developers; 2) because the Legislature has waived the authority's immunity from suit for this breach, the court of appeals' judgment is reversed and remanded to consider authority's remaining issues; and 3) court of appeals' judgment that the authority's actions did not rise to the level of a taking is affirmed.

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Oil & Gas

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Agriculture

[09/01] Western Watersheds Project v. Kraayenbrink
In a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenge to eighteen amendments to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) grazing regulations, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed in part where: 1) the BLM failed to address concerns raised by its own experts, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the EPA, and state agencies; and 2) there was resounding evidence from agency experts that the eighteen amendments to the BLM's grazing regulations may affect listed species and their habitat. However, the order is vacated in part where the district court failed to consider plaintiffs' Federal Land Policy and Management Act claim under the framework and with the deference set forth in Chevron.

[08/23] US v. Hawley
In a civil action by the U.S. against an insurance agent, and his insurance company, alleging that defendants violated the False Claims Act by committing fraud in connection with federal crop insurance, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) the government adequately preserved its argument that the insurer's reimbursement demands were the "claims" presented to the government; and 2) the evidence created a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether defendant caused his company to present claims for reimbursement to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

[08/17] Northwest Env. Def. Ctr. v. Brown
In an action claiming that defendants violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and its implementing regulations by not obtaining permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for stormwater -- largely rainwater -- runoff that flows from logging roads into systems of ditches, culverts, and channels and is then discharged into forest streams and rivers, dismissal of the action is reversed where the discharges were not exempted from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting process by the Silvicultural Rule, 40 C.F.R. section 122.27, promulgated under the CWA to regulate discharges associated with silvicultural activity.

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Government Benefits

[08/31] Jones v. Astrue
In plaintiff's appeal from the district court's judgment upholding the Commissioner of Social Security's denial of her application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income, the order is affirmed where: 1) the ALJ had no need to contact plaintiff's treating physician because there was no ambiguity to resolve in her report, and the report contained all the necessary information, including the results of diagnostic testing; 2) the ALJ appropriately considered plaintiff's subjective complaints of pain under Polaski; and 3) substantial evidence on the record as a whole supported the ALJ's decision.

[08/30] Uhm v. Humana, Inc.
In an action against an insurer for nonpayment of Medicare benefits, the dismissal of the action is affirmed where 1) the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs' breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims because they were not properly exhausted under the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act; and 2) plaintiffs' fraud and consumer protection act claims, while not subject to the Act’s exhaustion provisions, were expressly preempted.

[08/30] California State Foster Parents' Ass'n v. Wagner
In an action against officials of the State of California under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claiming a violation of plaintiffs' federal right to payments under the Child Welfare Act (CWA), and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where the CWA, at 42 U.S.C. sections 672(a) and 675(4)(A), created an enforceable federal right.

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Environmental Law

[09/03] Sheffield v. City of Fort Thomas
In plaintiff's suit against a city and various city officials in their official and individual capacities, claiming that several of the city's ordinances related to controlling deer population, violate the United States and Kentucky Constitutions and that the ordinances are preempted by Kentucky state statutes and administrative regulations, district court's judgment in affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) the Bow-and-Arrow Ordinance is not preempted; 2) the Field-Dressing Ordinance is not preempted by Chapter 150; 3) although 301 Ky. Admin. Regs. 2:-015 has preemptive force and the Deer-Feeding Ordinance is preempted insofar as it purports to ban deer-feeding within the curtilage of Fort Thomas homes, the ordinance is not preempted in its entirety, as it is a legitimate exercise of municipal authority as applied to deer-feeding outside the curtilage of the home; 4) plaintiff's substantive due process challenge to the Bow-and-Arrow Ordinance is rejected; and 5) the Deer-Feeding Ordinance is not unconstitutionally vague.

[09/01] Western Watersheds Project v. Kraayenbrink
In a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenge to eighteen amendments to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) grazing regulations, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed in part where: 1) the BLM failed to address concerns raised by its own experts, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the EPA, and state agencies; and 2) there was resounding evidence from agency experts that the eighteen amendments to the BLM's grazing regulations may affect listed species and their habitat. However, the order is vacated in part where the district court failed to consider plaintiffs' Federal Land Policy and Management Act claim under the framework and with the deference set forth in Chevron.

[08/31] Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy v. Universal Paragon Corp.
In defendant's suit against a law firm, claiming that an arbitrator's award of $7,554,149.13 in attorney fees and expenses for the law firm, related to its representation of defendant in an underlying complex environmental litigation, is unconscionable and violates public policy, superior court's affirmance of the award is affirmed as, assuming that defendant's claim of unconscionability is subject to judicial review as a predicate for determining whether the arbitration award violates public policy, the claim is rejected on the merits as neither the fee agreement nor the award actually issued by the arbitrator is unconscionable under rule 4-200 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

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Corporation & Enterprise Law

[09/03] Superior Seafoods, Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc.
District court's denial of plaintiff's Rule 60(d)(3) motion to vacate an underlying consent judgment involving a series of trademark-related actions stemming from plaintiff's sale of a seafood-products business to defendant is affirmed as, given the facts, and given the equitable requirement that the party seeking relief be free from negligence and fault, the district court clearly did not abuse its discretion in finding equitable relief inappropriate in this case.

[08/30] Metavante Corp. v. Emigrant Savings Bank
In plaintiff's suit for breach of contract against defendant-bank for nonpayment of fees under the parties' Technology Outsourcing Agreement, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) an expert's testimony was both relevant and reliable; 2) district court correctly determined that plaintiff did not breach the Agreement's performance warranty and its duty of good faith; 3) district court did not err in concluding that any reliance by defendant on the alleged misrepresentations of plaintiff was not reasonable; 3) district court committed no reversible error in determining that defendant's fraud claims were without merit; 4) district court determined correctly that defendant's success on the in-house issue does not render it a "prevailing party" within the meaning of the contract; and 5) the district court acted within the bounds of its discretion in determining that no additional guarantee of reasonableness was required.

[08/30] Flood v. ClearOne Communications, Inc.
In defendant's appeal from a preliminary injunction requiring defendant-corporation to advance attorney fees and costs to its former CEO, who was then facing a criminal trial, the order is vacated where the district court misread the parties' contract as a matter of law, disregarding express conditions to advancement specified in their agreement.

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