Justia U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Omissions need not go to the heart of a claim to be considered in adverse credibility determinations, but they must still be weighed in light of the totality of the circumstances and in the context of the record as a whole. The Second Circuit granted petitions for review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's denial of asylum and related relief based on adverse credibility grounds. In this case, petitioners testified during removal proceedings regarding the medical attention they received for injuries they sustained from police beatings, but omitted that information from their initial applications and supporting documents. The court held that, in light of the totality of the circumstances and in the context of the record as a whole, the IJ and BIA erred in substantially relying on certain omissions in the record in each case. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Gao v. Sessions" on Justia Law

The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of plaintiff's motion for a new trial in a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action alleging that a police officer used excessive force by slamming plaintiff's head into the bars and wall of his holding cell. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied plaintiff's Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(a) motion for a new trial when it determined that the jury's verdict could be harmonized and thus plaintiff was not entitled to compensatory damages as a matter of law. The court also held that, when attempting to harmonize a seemingly inconsistent verdict, the court was not limited to the specific theories of the case presented by the parties, but may adopt any reasonable view of the case that was consistent with the facts and the testimony adduced at trial. In this case, the jury's causation finding was ambiguous and might have referred only to the de minimus injuries that plaintiff suffered while being forced into the holding cell. View "Ali v. Kipp" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, a police officer and former police union official, filed suit alleging that defendants violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech by retaliating against him for criticizing management decisions by police officials. The district court ruled in favor of defendants. The Second Circuit held that plaintiff's union remarks were not made under his official duties as a police officer and thus he spoke as a private citizen for purposes of the First Amendment. However, Defendants Moran and Mueller were entitled to qualified immunity, and plaintiff failed to allege a plausible claim for municipal liability against the city. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Montero v. City of Yonkers" on Justia Law

When a stay has been issued, an immigrant is not held pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1231(a) because he is not in the "removal period" contemplated by statute until his appeal is resolved by this court. The Second Circuit reversed the district court's determination that petitioner was detained under 8 U.S.C. 1231, holding that petitioner was detained under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c). In light of the uncertainty surrounding this area of detention after the Supreme Court's decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez, 138 S. Ct. 830 (2018), the court remanded to the district court for reconsideration of the habeas petition under the correct statutory provision. View "Hechavarria v. Sessions" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against police officers, alleging that they used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In this interlocutory appeal, the officers challenged the district court's order of a new trial. Insofar as the officers argued that the district court erred in finding the jury's verdict to be against the weight of the evidence, the Second Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the issues before the court turned on disputed facts. The court noted that, given the district court's conclusion that the jury's verdict was against the weight of the evidence, that verdict did not resolve the factual disputes. View "Bryant v. Meriden Police Department" on Justia Law

Because existing New York law does not clearly settle whether claims for interest on principal continue to accrue after a claim for the principal itself is time‐barred, the Second Circuit certified questions pertaining to that issue to the New York Court of Appeals: 1. If a bond issuer remains obligated to make biannual interest payments until the principal is paid, including after the date of maturity, see NML Capital v. Republic of Argentina, 17 N.Y.3d 250, 928 N.Y.S.2d 666 (2011), do enforceable claims for such biannual interest continue to accrue after a claim for the principal of the bonds is time‐barred? 2. If the answer to the first question is "yes," can interest claims arise ad infinitum as long as the principal remains unpaid, or are there limiting principles that apply? View "Ajdler v. Province of Mendoza" on Justia Law

At issue in this case was whether the record contained sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict that a continuing course of conduct tolled the statute of limitations, Connecticut General Statutes 52‐577. The Second Circuit certified the following question to the Connecticut Supreme Court: Is the trial evidence legally sufficient to support the jury's finding that the statute of limitations was tolled at least through October 21, 2010, rendering the Insurer's claim timely? View "Evanston Insurance Co. v. William Kramer & Associates, LLC" on Justia Law

The First Amendment protects a prisoner's right not to serve as a prison informant or provide false information to prison officials. The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants in a First Amendment retaliation claim. Plaintiff alleged that his constitutional rights were violated when he was put on a restricted status known as Involuntary Protective Custody for over six months because he refused the demands of prison guards to act as a snitch, or to falsify his account of a minor incident in the commissary. The court held that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because the court had not previously recognized the speech and speech‐related activity as protected by the First Amendment. View "Burns v. Martuscello" on Justia Law

A summary order was issued on August 3, 2016 addressing and rejecting most of defendant's claims on appeal. This opinion considered one of defendant's challenges to his conviction regarding Hobbs Act robbery. The Second Circuit found that Hobbs Act robbery was categorically a crime of violence under the force clause of 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(3) and therefore affirmed defendant's conviction of violating 18 U.S.C. 924(j)(1), for a firearm‐related murder committed in the course of a crime of violence pursuant to section 924(c). View "United States v. Hill" on Justia Law

The Second Circuit held that the district court erred in its interpretation of the contracts under the court's prior precedent and therefore, the court vacated the original judgment and remanded to the district court for reconsideration of the contracts employing standard principles of contract interpretation. The appeal stemmed from a dispute between Century and Global over the extent to which Global was obligated to reinsure Century pursuant to certain reinsurance certificates. The court held that the district court's determination that the contract was unambiguous was premised on an erroneous interpretation of New York state law. The court explained that the district court should construe each reinsurance policy solely in light of its language and, to the extent helpful, specific context. View "Global Reinsurance Corporation of America v. Century Indemnity Co." on Justia Law