Update in South Dakota Prisoner Litigation– No Stay on Appeal and Attorney Fees Award

Here are the new materials in Native American Council of Tribes v. Weber (D. S.D.):

DCT Order on Stay and Attorney Fees

Prior materials are here, here, here, and here.

Nooksack Petition for Review in Sovereign Immunity Appeal

Here are the materials in the petition stage of Outsource Services Management LLC v. Nooksack Business Corp.:

Nooksack Petition for Review + Appendix

Answer to Petition for Review

Lower court materials here.

Federal Court Dismisses FLSA Complaint against Potawatomi Bingo Casino (Forest County)

Here are materials from Smith v. Potawatomi Bingo Casino (E.D. Wis.):

DCT Order Dismissing Complaint

FCPC Motion to Dismiss

Fort Sill Apache Industries Loses In Its Claims of Conversion/Fraud in Government Contracting Dispute

Here is the federal court’s order in Fort Sill Apache Industries v. Mott (E.D. Va.):

DCT Order Granting Defendants Motion

An excerpt:

In this civil action, which has been fully tried to the bench, plaintiff Fort Sill Apache Industries (“FSAI”) seeks to recover compensatory and punitive damages from defendant Deborah Evans Mott (“Mott”) based on claims of Conversion (Count I), Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Count II), Deceit by False Representation (Count III), Deceit by Nondisclosure and Concealment (Count IV), Actual Fraud (Count V), and Constructive Fraud (Count VI). During the bench trial, defendant orally moved for judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c), on the ground that all of plaintiff’s tort claims against Mott in her individual capacity are actually contractual disputes with Mott’s employer, Team Systems International, Inc. (“TSI”), over the amounts billed for services performed pursuant to several contracts between the two corporate entities. Citing well-established Virginia case law, Mott argues that all of FSAI’s claims against her fail and that judgment should be entered in her favor. FSAI contends in response that Mott personally took on fiduciary duties and other responsibilities for which she is individually liable by acting as FSAI’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and by virtue of her level of access to one of FSAI’s bank accounts, including the use of a debit card linked to that account. FSAI also orally moved for inferences adverse to defendant because of alleged spoliation of evidence. The Court took both motions under advisement and in the weeks following the bench trial, the parties fully briefed these motions. This Memorandum Opinion constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting the decision to grant defendant’s motion and deny plaintiff’s motion as moot.

 

New Scholarship on Karuk Tribe of California v. U.S. Forest Service

The Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review has published “Endangered Precedent: Interpreting Agency Action and the Duty to Consult Under Section 7 of the ESA in Light of Karuk.”

Here is the abstract:

Following the designation of the West Coast coho salmon as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and the ensuing designation of the Klamath River system in the Pacific Northwest as critical habitat for the species, the indigenous Karuk Tribe challenged the U.S. Forest Service’s mining permit approval practices in Karuk Tribe of California v. U.S. Forest Service. Under Section 7 of the ESA, an agency must consult with one of two outside resources in instances where the agency’s actions “may affect” an endangered population. In reversing the district court’s denial of summary judgment on the Tribe’s ESA claim, the Ninth Circuit held that the Forest Service’s approval of mining applications without consultation constituted discretionary agency action that may affect the region’s coho salmon population. This Comment argues that this broad interpretation of agency action accurately reflects Section 7’s requirements. Furthermore, because this standard is clear, courts should apply this broad interpretation in future cases to avoid inconsistency and protect the environment in accord with congressional intent.

Supreme Court Denies Stay in Baby Veronica Case

Here.

Order here
.

Indigenous Law Journal Call for Submissions

Here (PDF):

Call_for_Submissions_Fall_2013

 

Little Traverse Opens Fish Hatchery

News coverage here.

20130802-121513.jpg

Michigan Regulators Targeting Western Sky Financial

News coverage here. And here.

ABA: “Anatomy of a Murder” Part of Top 25 Legal Novels of All Time

Full list here.

23. Anatomy of a Murder

23. Anatomy of a Murder

by Robert Traver (1958)

A former district attorney in rural Michigan opens his defense practice by taking on a foul-tempered client accused of murder. The book, which became an Otto Preminger film, sizzles with courtroom confrontations grounded in the nuances of real-life trials.

Note: Traver was the pen name of John D. Voelker, a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.