Ninth Circuit

TERENCE TEKOH V. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, 18-56414 - Order

Date filed: 06/03/2021

Panel: Wardlaw (author) Murguia Miller Concurring in the Denial of Rehearing En Banc: Judge Miller, joined by Judges Wardlaw and Murguia Dissenting from the Denial of Rehearing En Banc: Judge Bumatay, joined by Judges Callahan, Ikuta Bennett, R. Nelson, Bress and VanDyke The panel denied a petition for panel rehearing, denied a petition for rehearing en banc on behalf of the court, and ordered that no further petitions shall be entertained.

CELIA MAZZEI V. CIR, 18-72451

Date filed: 06/02/2021

Panel: Bybee Collins (author) District Judge Moskowitz The panel reversed a decision by the full Tax Court in favor of the Commissioner on a petition for redetermination of federal excise tax deficiency, in a case involving the use of a Foreign Sales Corporation to reduce the tax paid on income that was then distributed as dividends to Roth Individual Retirement Accounts.

JAIME BALERIO RUBALCABA V. MERRICK GARLAND, 17-70845

Date filed: 06/02/2021

Panel: Sixth Circuit Judge Boggs M. Smith Murguia (author) The panel granted Jaime Balerio Rubalcaba’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, vacated the BIA’s decision, and remanded, holding that the “departure bar” provision in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23(b)(1) does not apply in the context of sua sponte reopening.

ROBERT BRISENO V. CONAGRA FOODS, INC., 19-56297

Date filed: 06/01/2021

Panel: Owens Lee (author) District Judge Ezra The panel reversed the district court’s approval of a class action settlement in an appeal brought by a class member Objector in a diversity action where the class alleged that ConAgra Foods, Inc. used a misleading “100% Natural” label on Wesson Oil.

KALISPEL TRIBE OF INDIANS V. USDOI, 19-35808

Date filed: 06/01/2021

Panel: Berzon Christen (author) Bade The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, federal officials, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians, in an action brought by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, challenging the Secretary of DOI’s decision that the Spokane Tribe of Indians’ proposed gaming establishment on newly acquired off-reservation land would not be detrimental to the surrounding community.

RUDY RIVERA V. CCA, 20-15651

Date filed: 05/28/2021

Panel: Nguyen (author) Bennett District Judge Harpool The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendant CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America, in an action brought under Nevada state law for torts related to plaintiff’s year-long detention in a private prison without a court hearing.

JAMES TERRY V. ANDREW SAUL, 19-56000

Date filed: 05/28/2021

Panel: Tallman Callahan (author) Lee The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment affirming the administrative law judge’s determination that James Terry was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act.

RODERICK MAGADIA V. WAL-MART ASSOCIATES, 19-16184

Date filed: 05/28/2021

Panel: Callahan Bumatay (author) District Judge Presnell In a class action suit brought by Roderick Magadia, a former Walmart employee, alleging violations of California Labor Code’s meal-break and wage-statement requirements, the panel: (1) vacated the district court’s judgment and award of damages on a Cal. Labor Code § 226.7 claim for meal-break violations and remanded with instructions to further remand the claim to state court; and (2) reversed the judgment and award of damages on two Cal. Labor Code § 226(a) claims for wage-statement violations and remanded with instructions to enter judgment for Walmart.

ROGELIO VAZQUEZ ROMERO V. MERRICK GARLAND, 15-72947

Date filed: 05/28/2021

Panel: Berzon Ikuta (author) District Judge Lemelle Denying Rogelio Vazquez Romero’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the panel held that the government may parole a returning lawful permanent resident (LPR) into the United States for prosecution without proving at the border that the LPR was seeking an admission under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13)(C), when such a determination depends on facts that are not practically ascertainable at the border; but at subsequent removal proceedings, the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the returning LPR falls within one of the exceptions under § 1101(a)(13)(C).

USA V. JUAN HOLIDAY, 20-50157

Date filed: 05/27/2021

Panel: M. Smith, Jr. (author) Ikuta District Judge Steele The panel affirmed a defendant’s convictions and sentence for seven instances of armed robbery and three instances of attempted armed robbery.

KARLENA DAWSON V. MERRICK GARLAND, 19-73124

Date filed: 05/26/2021

Panel: M. Smith (dissenting) Ikuta District Judge Vratil (author) Denying Karlena Dawson’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision affirming the denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, the panel held that the record did not compel a finding that it is more likely than not that Dawson would suffer future torture if returned to Jamaica.

BRYON STAFFORD V. RITE AID CORPORATION, 20-55333

Date filed: 05/21/2021

Panel: M. Smith (author) Ikuta District Judge Vratil The panel affirmed the district court’s order denying Rite Aid Corporation’s motion to compel arbitration in a putative class action alleging that Rite Aid fraudulently inflated the reported prices of prescription drugs to insurance companies, which resulted in class members paying Rite Aid a higher co-payment for their drugs.

USA V. ERIC LOPEZ, 19-50305

Date filed: 05/21/2021

Panel: Sixth Circuit Judge Boggs M. Smith (concurring in part, dissenting in part, and concurring in the judgment) Murguia (author) The panel affirmed the district court’s imposition of a sentence pursuant to the safety valve set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), which allows a district court to sentence a criminal defendant below the mandatory minimum for certain drug offenses if the defendant meets the criteria in § 3553(f)(1) through (f)(5).

ISABELLE FRANKLIN V. CMTY. REGL MED. CTR., 19-17570

Date filed: 05/21/2021

Panel: Wallace Bea Bennett (author) The panel affirmed the district court’s order granting defendant’s motion to compel arbitration of wage-and-hour claims brought by a nurse under the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law.

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