United States Ninth Circuit - December 2008 Opinion Summaries

In the Matter of: Owens

Attorney's Fees, Bankruptcy Law
Bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing debtor's bad-faith Chapter 11 case rather than converting it to Chapter 7. When deciding...

Gen. Store, Inc. v. Van Loan

Administrative Law, Commercial Law
Revocation of a federal firearms dealer license for willful violations of federal and state firearms laws is affirmed. A violation of the Gun Control...

Gonzalez v. Duncan

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus, Sentencing
A sentence of 28 years to life imprisonment under California's "Three Strikes" law violates the Eighth Amendment where: 1) the offense was...

US v. Armstead

Banking Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing, White Collar Crime
A sentence for bank fraud is vacated and case remanded for resentencing where the district court: 1) miscalculated the number of victims under United...

Davis v. Pac. Capital Bank, N. A.

Banking Law, Commercial Law, Consumer Protection Law, Contracts, Tax Law
A creditor who imposes a flat finance charge that does not vary with the term of a Refund Anticipation Loan does not have to refund a portion of the...

McCown v. City of Fontana

Attorney's Fees, Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Remedies
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit including claims of wrongful detention, false arrest, and use of excessive force in connection with plaintiff's...

JG v. Douglas County Sch. Dist.

Administrative Law, Civil Rights, Education Law, Government Law, Health Law
In an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Rehabilitation Act action brought by parents and their autistic twin children arising...

McGuire v. US

Agriculture, Bankruptcy Law, Civil Procedure, Government Law, Indian Law, Property Law & Real Estate
The Tucker Act's sovereign immunity waiver is limited to suits filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Consequently, the district court in...

Salazar-Luviano v. Mukasey

Criminal Law & Procedure, Immigration Law
Aiding and abetting an attempted escape from custody does not categorically qualify as an "obstruction of justice" crime, for purposes of constituting...

Preminger v. Peake

Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Elections, Government Law, Military Law
In a First Amendment challenge to the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) denial of entry to one of their facilities for the purpose of registering...