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

Plaintiff filed suit against the City, individual detectives and officers, and the City's Chief of Police, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, after plaintiff's rib was broken and his spine was broken in two places. The court concluded that the district court's summary judgment dismissal of the section 1983 claim against Detective Watson for use of excessive force was error because no officer in 2009 could reasonably have believed it permissible under the Fourth Amendment to jump on the back of a prone and compliant suspect gratuitously, with sufficient force to break his spine and rib. Accordingly, the court vacated to the extent that it dismissed plaintiff's section 1983 claim against Watson for the use of excessive force and his state-law claims related to the use of excessive force. The court affirmed in all other respects. The matter is remanded for further proceedings. View "Rogoz v. City of Hartford" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against the City, individual detectives and officers, and the City's Chief of Police, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, after plaintiff's rib was broken and his spine was broken in two places. The court concluded that the district court's summary judgment dismissal of the section 1983 claim against Detective Watson for use of excessive force was error because no officer in 2009 could reasonably have believed it permissible under the Fourth Amendment to jump on the back of a prone and compliant suspect gratuitously, with sufficient force to break his spine and rib. Accordingly, the court vacated to the extent that it dismissed plaintiff's section 1983 claim against Watson for the use of excessive force and his state-law claims related to the use of excessive force. The court affirmed in all other respects. The matter is remanded for further proceedings. View "Rogoz v. City of Hartford" on Justia Law

This appeal stems from actions filed by holders of Argentina's bonds after the Republic of Argentina defaulted on sovereign debt. After previous panels of this court twice vacated aggregate judgments entered by the district court in favor of plaintiff classes, the court remanded with specific instructions. The district court, however, certified expanded plaintiff classes. The court concluded that the district court erred in following Hickory Sec. Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina's (Seijas II) mandate where, even though it did not expressly preclude recertification, Seijas II cannot be read to have permitted the district court to disregard the court's instructions and expand the plaintiff classes as a solution to a problem for which the court had already prescribed a specific response. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's orders and remanded. View "Puricelli v. Republic of Argentina" on Justia Law

This appeal stems from actions filed by holders of Argentina's bonds after the Republic of Argentina defaulted on sovereign debt. After previous panels of this court twice vacated aggregate judgments entered by the district court in favor of plaintiff classes, the court remanded with specific instructions. The district court, however, certified expanded plaintiff classes. The court concluded that the district court erred in following Hickory Sec. Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina's (Seijas II) mandate where, even though it did not expressly preclude recertification, Seijas II cannot be read to have permitted the district court to disregard the court's instructions and expand the plaintiff classes as a solution to a problem for which the court had already prescribed a specific response. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's orders and remanded. View "Puricelli v. Republic of Argentina" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, a group of religious non-profit organizations affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, filed suit challenging regulations promulgated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119. The district court concluded that regulations promulgated under the Act that allow religious non-profit employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage themselves violate these religious employers’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq. The court concluded, however, that the challenged accommodation for religious objectors relieves, rather than imposes, any substantial burden on plaintiffs’ religious exercise, and thus does not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's judgment. View "Catholic Health Care Sys. v. Burwell" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, a group of religious non-profit organizations affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, filed suit challenging regulations promulgated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119. The district court concluded that regulations promulgated under the Act that allow religious non-profit employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage themselves violate these religious employers’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq. The court concluded, however, that the challenged accommodation for religious objectors relieves, rather than imposes, any substantial burden on plaintiffs’ religious exercise, and thus does not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's judgment. View "Catholic Health Care Sys. v. Burwell" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against defendant, a travel company with which she booked a vacation tour, alleging negligence after one of defendant's employees sexually assaulted her during the trip. At issue was whether a hyperlink to a document containing a forum selection clause may be used to reasonably communicate that clause to a consumer. The court concluded that the forum selection clause in this case was enforceable. Therefore, the court agreed with the district court's holding that the United States was an improper forum because defendant had reasonably communicated the terms and conditions applicable to the tour, which included an enforceable forum selection clause that required plaintiff to litigate her claim in Canada. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Starkey v. G Adventures, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed from the district court's refusal to enter the parties' stipulation of settlement dismissing, with prejudice, plaintiff's claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 216(c), and New York Labor Law. The court agreed with the district court's holding that parties cannot enter into private settlements of FLSA claims without either the approval of the district court or the DOL. Therefore, in the absence of such approval, parties cannot settle their FLSA claims through a private stipulated dismissal with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). Accordingly, the court affirmed and remanded for further proceedings. View "Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc." on Justia Law

Defendants Gioeli and Saracino appealed from convictions of crimes committed as members of the Colombo crime family. On appeal, Gioeli argued that: (1) his guilty verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence; (2) the government’s failure to disclose statements by a confidential source until after trial constituted a Brady violation; (3) the government’s seizure of certain materials from his home violated the Fourth Amendment, and those materials should have been suppressed; (4) two of the three racketeering acts the jury found to have been proven against him were multiplicitous; and (5) the government’s conduct throughout the investigation and prosecution of this case was so outrageous that it violated his due process rights. Saracino also challenged the district court’s Brady ruling and further argued that: (1) the court erred in denying his motion for severance; and (2) the court violated his constitutional rights at sentencing by, inter alia, taking into account uncharged crimes and crimes of which he had been acquitted, and erred by doing so without holding a hearing pursuant to United States v. Fatico. The court resolved all of defendants' arguments in the government's favor and affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Gioeli" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against defendants under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and denial of a fair trial. Defendants Velez and Lukeson, officers of the NYPD, and Defendant Calhoun, an NYPD sergeant, appealed from the district court's order that Velez and Lukeson each pay to plaintiff $180,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, and ordering Calhoun to pay $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The court rejected defendants' claims of various evidentiary errors, including the admissibility of the Norman Confession, framing plaintiff, under Federal Rules of Evidence 804(b)(3). The court also rejected defendants' claims of error regarding jury deliberations where each issue was appropriately dealt with by the district court and none of defendants' contentions warrant extended discussion. Finally, defendants were not entitled to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the claims against them for malicious prosecution where, even if the court were persuaded that the malicious prosecution claims against Lukeson and Calhoun should have been dismissed, there would be no basis on which to overturn the verdicts against them for denial of a fair trial or to find that the damages awarded were impermissible with respect to the fair trial verdicts. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Davis v. Velez" on Justia Law