United States Ninth Circuit - Opinion Summaries

ROBINSON v. SOLANO COUNTY

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure
Because the Fourth Amendment law governing the conduct of two officers, accused of using excessive force during an arrest, was unclear, the officers...

CIRCUIT CITY STORES, INC. v. ADAMS

Contracts, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, Labor & Employment Law
Because a mandatory Dispute Resolution Agreement (DRA) signed by plaintiff employee was unconscionable, the district court's order compelling...

CHRISTENSEN v. GEORGIA-PACIFIC CORP.

Admiralty, Injury & Tort Law
Because dock and boat owners owed a duty to longshoreman, who was injured when a boat broke free from a dock, genuine issues of material fact exist as...

SCHMIER v. US COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Civil Procedure
In a complaint alleging the violation of plaintiff's rights due to the Circuit Rules that prohibit citation to unpublished opinions, plaintiff failed...

SILVA v. WOODFORD

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus
Defense attorney's abandonment of an investigation into defendant's familial history and psychiatric background was not a tactical decision, and...

PEREZ-ARELLANO v. SMITH

Attorney's Fees, Immigration Law
In an appeal of a claim to recover attorney fees pursuant to EAJA, 28 U.S.C. section 2412(d), denial of fees was proper because plaintiff was not a...

PLAYBOY ENTER., INC. v. WELLES

Cyberspace Law, Intellectual Property, Trademark
Defendant's use of "Playboy" and "Playmate of the Year" on her personal website's headlines, banner ads and metatags was correctly determined to be...

WILKINS v. US

Constitutional Law, Military Law
Plaintiff's constitutional claims for injunctive and declatory relief against the Navy not subject to the exhaustion requirement because the Feres...

GARDNER v. NIKE, INC.

Contracts, Intellectual Property, Copyright
Under the Copyright Act of 1976, a copyright licensee may not transfer its rights under an exclusive license without the consent of the original...

TROMPETER v. COMM'R INTERNAL REVENUE

Tax Law
Because the Tax Court did not sufficiently articulate the basis for its valuation of an estate's omitted assets, its upholding of an IRS deficiency...