U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, April 19,
2007
Lombardi
v. Whitman, No. 06-1077
In case involving plaintiffs
who performed search, rescue, and clean-up work at the World Trade
Center site after 9/11, with allegations that federal officials'
knowingly false statements about the air quality safety violated
plaintiffs' right to substantive due process, dismissal of complaint
is affirmed as the allegations do not shock the conscience even if
the defendants acted with deliberate indifference. When agency
officials decide how to reconcile competing governmental obligations
in the face of disaster, only an intent to cause harm arbitrarily
can shock the conscience in a way that justifies constitutional
liability. Read
more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 18,
2007
Florence
v. Crescent Res., LLC, No. 06-13587, 06-13588, 06-13589,
06-14206
In case involving question of fraudulent
joinder of a resident defendant in the context of removal
jurisdiction, denial of plaintiffs' motions to remand, dismissal of
non-diverse defendant, and judgment for defendant is vacated as the
district court erred in holding that non-diverse defendant was
fraudulently joined, and the court lacked subject matter
jurisdiction since complete diversity did not exist. Read
more...
California Appellate Districts, April 17,
2007
County
of Amador v. City of Plymouth , No. C050066
In case
involving plan of Indian tribe to build a world-class gaming
facility on land it has the option to purchase, judgment granting a
peremptory writ of mandate invalidating a Municipal Services
Agreement (MSA) between intervenor-tribe and defendant-city is
affirmed as the city's decision to enter into the MSA without
complying with CEQA was void and, thus, the MSA and its support of
the trust application of the tribe was invalid. Read
more...
