Free US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit case summaries from Justia.
If you are unable to see this message, click here to view it in a web browser. | | US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit August 13, 2020 |
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Click here to remove Verdict from subsequent Justia newsletter(s). | New on Verdict Legal Analysis and Commentary | #MeToo and What Men and Women Are Willing to Say and Do | SHERRY F. COLB | | Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb explores why people have such strong feelings about the #MeToo movement (whether they are advocates or opponents) and suggests that both sides rest their positions on contested empirical assumptions about the behavior of men and women. Colb argues that what we believe to be true of men and women generally contributes to our conclusions about the #MeToo movement and our perceptions about how best to handle the accusations of those who come forward. | Read More |
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US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Opinions | Tlapanco v. Elges | Docket: 19-1392 Opinion Date: August 12, 2020 Judge: Gibbons Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law | A.F., age 14, reported to police that she was being blackmailed by a user on the messaging application Kik. The perpetrator had obtained nude photographs from her phone and was threatening to release the images if she did not send additional nude photographs. Oakland County, Michigan, deputies investigated her claims but disregarded the fact that the blackmailer used the Kik username “anonymousfl” rather than “anonymous”—a separate Kik username associated with Tlapanco, a New York resident. As a result, NYPD officers working with Oakland County Deputy Elges, searched Tlapanco’s apartment, seized his electronic devices, arrested him, and detained him in New York for two weeks before extraditing him to Michigan. He was detained at the Oakland County jail for another three weeks before the charges were dismissed. Tlapanco sued the deputies and Oakland County under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that Elges unlawfully searched his apartment, caused his false arrest, and prosecuted him; Deputy McCabe unlawfully seized, searched, and copied his electronic devices before returning them; and Oakland County is liable for failure to train or because of McCabe’s decisions as a purported county policymaker. The district court granted the defendants summary judgment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed as to McCabe and Oakland County but reversed the district court’s grant of qualified immunity to Elges on Tlapanco’s Fourth Amendment unlawful search and seizure, unlawful arrest, and malicious prosecution claims. | | Vicki Linneman v. Vita-Mix Corp. | Dockets: 19-3993, 19-4249 Opinion Date: August 12, 2020 Judge: Thapar Areas of Law: Class Action, Legal Ethics | Some Vita-Mix blenders contained tiny flecks of polytetrafluoroethylene, a substance commonly used in kitchen appliances and used in the blenders' seals. Normal wear-and-tear caused tiny pieces to rub off from the seal into the blender container. Blender owners filed this class action. The parties entered into a settlement for two classes of plaintiffs: a household class and a commercial class. Household class members could request either a $70 gift card or a replacement blade assembly. Commercial class members could request only a replacement blade assembly. The court preliminarily approved this settlement. The court calculated attorneys' fees by multiplying the hours class counsel reasonably worked on the case by a reasonable hourly rate, resulting in an award of about $2.2 million. Based on the purportedly exceptional nature of the litigation, the court enhanced that figure by 75% for a final award of about $4 million, plus post-judgment interest. The Sixth Circuit vacated. The district court correctly used the lodestar method of calculation and correctly interpreted the settlement agreement but erred when it determined the billing rates based on class counsel’s affidavits. A lawyer seeking fees has the burden to show the reasonableness of his billing rate with something in addition to the attorney’s own affidavits” The district court abused its discretion when it used an upward multiplier, without addressing a crucial question: whether this case involves “rare and exceptional circumstances.” The court upheld the award of post-judgment interest. | | United States v. Kettles | Docket: 19-5698 Opinion Date: August 12, 2020 Judge: Larsen Areas of Law: Criminal Law | Kettles first prostituted an 18-year-old, planning to build a prostitution “empire,” then prostituted a 13-year-old child to at least six different men. Kettles was convicted of one count of sex trafficking a child, 18 U.S.C. 2 andv1591(a)(1), (b)(1), and (c), and one count of conspiracy to do the same, section 1594(c). The Sixth Circuit affirmed his conviction and 180-month sentence. In light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, the district court’s error in prohibiting Kettles from cross-examining the minor about inconsistent statements she had allegedly made concerning three prior sexual assaults (citing Federal Rule of Evidence 412) was harmless. The jury instructions contained all the elements required for the jury to find that section 1591(b)(1)’s enhanced penalties apply; that the indictment contained superfluous elements is of no consequence. Finally, the court rejected a vagueness challenge to the statute. | |
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