In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that county prosecuting attorneys and a county violated plaintiff's constitutional right to be free from arrest without probable cause, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) the prosecutor's motion for a bench warrant essentially constituted the initiation of new judicial proceedings against plaintiff for violating the terms of his community placement, and was not an investigative act; and 2) plaintiff pointed to no county policy or custom that caused his alleged injury.

Read Waggy v. Spokane County, No. 09-35133

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted December 10, 2009

Filed February 5, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Tallman

Counsel

For Appellant:

Richard D. Wall, P.S., Spokane, WA

For Appellees:

Hugh T. Lackie and Heather C. Yakely, Evans, Craven & Lackie, P.S., Spokane, WA

In a proposed class action alleging that Dell designed, manufactured, and sold defective notebook computers, dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute is reversed where: 1) plaintiffs did not cause any unreasonable delay in the progression of their case; and 2) a choice-of-law provision is unenforceable, and a class action waiver pursuant to which Dell obtained an order compelling arbitration was unconscionable under California law because it satisfied the Discover Bank test, and California had a materially greater interest than Texas in applying its own law.

Read Omstead v. Dell, Inc., No. 08-16479

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted October 7, 2009

Filed February 5, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Strom

Counsel

For Appellants:

Jonathan D. Selbin and Kristen E. Law, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, New York, NY

Cynthia B. Chapman and Cory S. Fein, Caddell & Chapman, Houston, TX

For Appellee:

Paul Schlaud, Kim E. Brightwell, and Matt Frederick, Reeves & Brightwell, LLP, Austin, TX

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging that plaintiffs were wrongfully detained in jail for periods of time ranging from twenty-six to twenty-nine hours after the court had authorized their releases, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the district court was not foreclosed on a prior remand from reviewing defendant's proffered evidence concerning deliberate indifference and ruling on the motion for summary judgment on its merits; and 2) given the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's many affirmative efforts to remedy the problem, the evidence in the record did not support a finding of a policy of deliberate indifference.

Read Mortimer v. Baca, No. 07-55393

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted August 7, 2009

Filed February 5, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Callahan

Counsel

For Appellants:

Marion R. Yagman and Joseph Reichmann, Yagman & Yagman & Reichman, Venice Beach, CA

For Appellee:

David D. Lawrence, Michael D. Allen and Justin W. Clark, Franscell, Strickland, Roberts & Lawrence, O.C., Glendale, CA

In a petition for review of the BIA's order dismissing petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and denying his applications for relief under former Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(c) and the Convention Against Torture, the petition is granted in part where the failure of the Immigration Judge and BIA to consider evidence of country conditions constituted reversible error.  However, the petition is denied in part where the Attorney General did not have authority to waive the grounds for petitioner's removal.

Read Aguilar-Ramos v. Holder, No. 07-70240

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted November 4, 2009

Filed February 4, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Pregerson

Counsel

For Petitioner:

Jeffrey S. Renzi, Squires, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., Los Angeles, CA

For Respondent:

Timothy Bo Stanton and Regan Hildebrand, United States Department of Justice, Washington DC

In a False Claims Act action claiming that defendant-medical researcher made false statements in a grant application, plaintiffs' appeal from summary judgment for defendants is dismissed where plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal more than 30 days after the district court's summary judgment order.

Read US ex rel. Haight v. Catholic Healthcare W., No. 07-16857

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted November 3, 2009

Filed February 4, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Graber

Counsel

For Appellants:

Jeremy L. Friedman, Law Office of Jeremy L. Friedman, Oakland, CA

For Appellees:

Dale A. Danneman, Lewis and Roca LLP, Phoenix, AZ

In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner-Mexican native's application for a waiver of removal, the petition is denied where the BIA correctly held that petitioner was not eligible for multiple waivers of removability and inadmissibility.

Read Corona-Mendez v. Holder, No. 08-72492

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted October 14, 2009

Filed February 3, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Cudahy

Counsel

For Petitioner:

Antonio Salazar, Seattle, Washington, for the petitioner.

For Respondent:

Michael F. Hertz, Carol Federighi, and Mona Maria Yousif, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC

In an action to secure a maritime attachment, district court's order denying plaintiff's motion to compel defendant to post security in lieu of garnishment is affirmed where a district court lacks the legal capacity under the Admiralty Rules to order a party to post security in lieu of garnishment.  However, the district court's order equitably vacating plaintiffs' Rule B writ and exonerating security posted for that writ is reversed where the district court abused its discretion by concluding that it was bound by res judicata to vacate the writ to conform with the Southern District of New York's decision to vacate the writ involved in a related action pending there.

Read ProShipLine Inc. v. Aspen Infrastructures Ltd., No. 08-35337

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted December 7, 2009

Filed February 3, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Beezer

Counsel

For Appellants:

Steven V. Gibbons, Gibbons & Associates, P.S., Seattle, WA

For Appellees:

Robert J. Bocko, Keesal, Young & Logan, Seattle, WA

Defendant's sentence for interstate harassment is affirmed where the district court's inherently factual determination that defendant induced a co-conspirator's restraint of the victim was not illogical, implausible, or without support in the record, and thus the district court properly applied a "restraint of the victim" enhancement.

Read US v. Loew, No. 09-30032

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted December 7, 2009

Filed February 2, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Tallman

Counsel

For Appellant:

Greg S. Silvey, Silvey Law Office, Kuna, ID

For Appellee:

Richard A. Friedman, Gary G. Grindler and Lanny A. Breuer, United States Attorney's Office, Boise, ID

In the government's appeal of defendant's sentence in connection with his plot to carry out an attack against the U.S. by detonating explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport on December 31, 1999, the sentence is vacated where the district court committed procedural error in failing to address specific, nonfrivolous arguments raised by the government in imposing a sentence that was well below the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range.

Read US v. Ressam, No. 09-30000

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted December 7, 2009

Filed February 2, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Alarcon

Dissent by Judge Fernandez

Counsel

For Appellant:

Mark N. Bartlett and Helen J. Brunner, Assistant United States Attorneys, Seattle, WA

For Appellee:

Thomas W. Hillier, II and Lissa W. Shook, Federal Public Defender, Seattle, WA

Defendant's firearm possession sentence is affirmed where all of defendant's prior Arizona convictions fit into the Armed Career Criminal Act's (ACCA) residual clause in that they involved conduct that presented a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.

Read US v. Terrell, No. 08-10560

Appellate Information

Argued and Submitted December 7, 2009

Filed February 2, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Bybee

Counsel

For Appellant:

Daniel R. Drake, Drake Law, PLC, Phoenix, AZ

For Appellee:

Karla Hotis Delord, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Phoenix, AZ