New & Noteworthy - April 8, 2025

New issue: Reading the Reviews   This week’s Reading the Reviews starts with the latest issue of the Journal of Appellate Practice and Procedure, on a variety of federal appellate topics. Next, read about standing in federal court and “forumless” claims. See an article comparing sentences imposed with and without the Sentencing Guidelines. Learn about second-look sentencing and the values that should guide sentence reductions.   View issue.

9th Circ. Partially Reverses LA Port Co.'s Coverage Suit (Law360) "The Ninth Circuit on Monday held that United National Insurance Company was obligated to defend a Los Angeles Port operator against pollution claims brought by the city, but said a district judge deprived the insurer of a jury trial on the operator's claimed defense costs due to the breach of contract. In its ruling, the appellate court panel affirmed the district court's order that United owed L.A. Terminals Inc. a duty to defend beginning on May 4, 2018, the date the company notified the insurer about the city of Los Angeles' lawsuit."

9th Circ. Says Teamsters Didn't Taint UPS Election (Law360) "Teamsters representatives didn't taint the results of a UPS union representation election by chatting with workers in a warehouse parking lot while the vote went on inside, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Monday, saying the representatives' 'brief conversations with three voters … did not constitute objectionable electioneering or voter intimidation.'"

Lawsuit Dismissed in Police Killing of Activist Wanted for Portland Homicide (Seattle Times - may not be accessible to all readers; please ask your librarian for a copy) "The family alleged the officers were negligent when they killed Reinoehl, saying they rushed to arrest him without a plan, used excessive force and violated his civil rights. However, in a detailed 50-page opinion issued last month by U.S. District Judge David Estudillo [W.D. - WA], the court concluded the agents did have a plan, and while it was not ideal, it was adequate enough to defeat the family’s negligence claim."

California-based Strawberry Grower Faces Sour Ruling in Patent Dispute (Courthouse News Service) "In a decision unsealed Monday, U.S. Chief District Judge Troy Nunley [E.D. - CA] ruled in favor of California Berry Cultivars and Douglas Shaw in a patent infringement dispute. Driscoll’s Inc. sued in 2019, arguing that the defendants crossbred a patented plant in Spain and that it imported and used seeds in the U.S. that were grown on patented plants in that country."

Autotrader Website 'Tester' Can't Carry Privacy Suit (Law360) "In an order issued in-chambers Friday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner [C.D. - CA] agreed with Autotrader.com Inc. that plaintiff Rebeka Rodriguez lacked Article III standing to press her remaining claim that the online car marketplace violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act's pen register provision by disclosing search queries containing sensitive information to advertisers and other third parties."

University of Oregon Women Athletes Prevail Over Motions Seeking to Scuttle Title IX Claims (Courthouse News Service) "A putative federal class action filed by women student-athletes at the University of Oregon survived a motion to dismiss on Friday, and their Title IX claims that male counterparts receive more favorable treatment will proceed.... U.S. District Judge Michael McShane granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss. He denied both the judgment on the pleadings and partial summary judgment motions."

Realtor.com Parent Drops Trade Secrets Suit Against CoStar (Law360) "Realtor.com's parent company, Move Inc., agreed on Monday to end trade secret litigation it had lodged against rival CoStar Group Inc. and one of Realtor.com's former employees, who it alleged stole confidential trade secrets and used them after joining CoStar.... CoStar had in September moved to dismiss Move's CFAA and CDAFA claims, making among its arguments that Move didn't allege to have suffered any damage or harm connected to the claim and that any harm under the CFAA is limited to technological harms.... U.S. District Judge George H. Wu [C.D. - CA] granted CoStar's request and dismissed the claims in late October, but ruled that Move could amend them."

NCAA, Critics Clash at $2.8 Billion Antitrust Deal Hearing (Bloomberg) "Judge Claudia Wilken of the US District Court for the Northern District of California heard from several objectors who said the deal has inadequate representation for plaintiffs, unequal pay for women athletes, and unfair limits on team rosters. Wilken also heard the NCAA and athlete plaintiffs characterize the deal as fair, opening the door for revenues to be shared between schools and students for the first time, eliminating scholarship limits and presenting a far better solution for thousands of class members than pursuing litigation."

Attys Say Feds Violating Order By Deporting Migrant Kids (Law360) "U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín [N.D. - CA] entered a temporary restraining order on April 1 that prohibits the federal government from cutting the funding until at least April 16, after determining that it ‘furthers the critical public interests of ensuring children have access to legal representation and protection from human trafficking.’ But in an emergency motion on Monday, a coalition of legal service providers told the judge that the government is not obeying that order and is, instead, allowing unaccompanied children to be removed from the U.S. without an opportunity to be represented by counsel."

Bigelow Emails Spill the Tea About 'USA' Label Lies, Jury Told (Law360) "An attorney for a class of tea consumers suing R.C. Bigelow ...  spent a portion of his closing argument taking the jury through various emails and messages sent by top Bigelow executives before and after the company launched a ‘Tea Proudly’ campaign in 2017. That campaign included labeling some of its products as ‘Manufactured in the USA 100%,’ which U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson [C.D. - CA] found before the trial to be ‘literally false.’"

Judge Lets Berkeley Reconsider Ban on Rent-Setting Software Before Ruling (Daily Journal) "A federal judge delayed a ruling on a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction Monday against the city of Berkeley, after it passed an ordinance to ban algorithmic rent-setting software. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco said a hearing on the matter will be heard on April 16, pending a Berkeley City Council meeting to decide if the city wants to stay the ordinance considering the legal action against it."

No Basis to Revive Leasing Withdrawals Ruling, Trump Says (Law360) "Groups including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity moved to have the decision restored the same day they and other organizations brought a new suit challenging an order Trump issued in January to revoke Biden's withdrawal of more than half a billion acres of outer continental shelf from oil and gas leasing consideration. The DOJ said the new litigation shows that environmental groups have recourse even if the decision is not reinstated. Both cases are in the District of Alaska. ‘Defendants would readily consent to join any challenge to the 2025 order in this case, with the new suit to allow all similar issues to be briefed together,’ the DOJ told the court, arguing that there have also been ‘major developments’ in administrative law since U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason [AK] entered her decision in 2019."

Justices Enter Fray Over Criminal Restitution As Punishment (Law360) "The Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh circuits have concluded that mandatory restitution ordered under the MVRA is a criminal punishment and therefore subject to the ex post facto clause in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from increasing a defendant's punishment for crimes after they were committed. But the Seventh, Eighth and Tenth circuits have taken the opposite stance."

How Tax Bracket “Bumps” Can Cost Federal Employees (FedSmith) "The U.S. has a progressive tax system, which means that higher tax rates apply only to the portion of your income that falls within each bracket—not to your entire salary. (Numbers below are from the 2024 tax year. source: irs.gov)"