Month: October 2016

Headline: The Ninth Circuit holds the district court erred in awarding ERISA front pay and reinstatement after the jury already had awarded front pay for state employment law violations. Areas of Law: Seventh Amendment, ERISA, Remedies Issues Presented: (1) Whether an award of the equitable…

Headline: Ninth Circuit panel holds pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 2 (“FAA”) and California’s unconscionability rules that provisions in a mandatory arbitration clause in an online consumer contract of adhesion are valid and enforceable. Areas of Law: Arbitration; Unconscionability; Federal Arbitration…

Headline: Ninth Circuit holds immigration authorities may detain criminal aliens without a bond hearing only when aliens are detained promptly after their release from criminal custody. Area of Law: Immigration Law Issue Presented: Whether the phrase “when the alien is released” in the mandatory detention…

Headline: A Ninth Circuit panel references California law in holding that the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) does not impose a duty on the U.S. government to protect the general public from injuries caused by convicts released on parole. Areas of Law: Federal Tort Claims…

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Fourteenth Amendment, Due Process Clause, Pretrial Detainees Issues Presented: (1)Whether the evidence supported the jury’s finding that defendant’s jail employees knew of the substantial risk of serious harm and thus were liable for plaintiff’s injuries resulting from a…

Headline: The Ninth Circuit held that the district court erred by not bifurcating the liability and damages phases of a trial involving allegations of excessive force by police and by admitting inflammatory evidence of gang affiliation on the question of liability. Areas of Law: Civil…