In The News

Case Summaries

Injury & Tort Law

[02/10] Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Committee
In a defamation and false-light action brought by a Maine state senate candidate against his political opponents, the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim is affirmed, where none of the plaintiff's allegations, singly or together, plausibly suggested that the defendants either knew that their statements were false or had serious doubts about their truth and dove recklessly ahead anyway, so the allegations did not plausible support a claim of actual malice.

[02/09] Delgado v. Pawtucket Police Dep't
In a state law tort action over which the federal district court retained supplemental jurisdiction after dismissing the plaintiffs' federal claims, the district court's grant of a defense motion for judgment as a matter of law is affirmed, where: 1) the district court appropriately exercised its discretion to retain jurisdiction over the case; 2) the district court was correct to reject the plaintiffs' construction of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(4)(C) and to refuse to admit a witness's deposition where it had found that he was available for live testimony; 3) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's decision to deny the plaintiffs' mid-trial request for a continuance so they could procure the witness's live testimony through a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum; and 4) there was no error in the allowance of the defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law, absent sufficient evidence on the issue of breach of duty.

[02/09] Hecimovich v. Encinal School Parent Teacher Organization
In an action asserting defamation and other causes involving a youth athletics coach, in which the defendants filed an anti-SLAPP motion, the trial court's denial of the motion is reversed, and the action is ordered to be stricken, where: 1) defamation actions can be activity against which a defendant is protected under the anti-SLAPP law; 2) the plaintiff's lawsuit involved an issue of public interest; and 3) the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a likelihood of prevailing on the merits of his suit.

[02/09] SPCA of Upstate New York, Inc. v. American Working Collie Ass'n
In a defamation action brought by a New York SPCA against a Vermont resident, the appellate division's dismissal of the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction is affirmed, where: 1) a defendant's three phone calls and two short visits, totaling less than three hours, in addition to the donation of cash and leashes, did not constitute purposeful activities related to the asserted cause of action that would justify bringing her before the New York courts; 2) the alleged defamatory statements were not written in or directed to New York; and 3) there was no substantial relationship between the allegedly defamatory statements and the defendants' New York activities.

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Workers' Comp

[02/09] Matter of Cappellino
On a claim for death benefits under the Workers' Compensation Law, the decision of the appellate division in favor of the defendant is reversed and the case remitted to that court to remand to the Workers' Compensation Board for further proceedings, where there was an undisputed finding that the employer untimely filed the notice of controversy and there was no showing of good cause or other reason to excuse the failure, so that the employer should have been precluded from offering its physician's testimony to dispute claimant's evidence on the issue of causation.

[01/11] Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid
In an appeal from a judgment of the appeals court vacating an administrative dismissal of respondent's Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) claim for benefits as a surviving spouse, judgment is affirmed where a claimant seeking benefits under the OCSLA must establish a substantial nexus between the injury and extractive operations on the shelf.

[12/13] In the Matter of Elrac, Inc. v. Exum
In an appeal from a judgment of the appellate division permitting arbitration of a claim by plaintiff-employee for uninsured motorist benefits, judgment is affirmed because a self-insured employer whose employee is involved in an automobile accident may be liable to that employee for uninsured motorist benefits, notwithstanding the exclusivity provision of the Workers' Compensation Law.

[10/31] County of Kern v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd
In an appeal from a judgment of the trial court affirming an administrative decision in a claim for worker's compensation, judgment is affirmed where a volunteer firefighter with a local nonprofit firefighting organization was a county employee for purposes of workers' compensation coverage under Labor Code section 3361.1.

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