Justia U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Two individuals active in a right-wing political organization alleged that government officials and entities in Portland, Oregon, conspired to arrest and prosecute them without probable cause in order to suppress their political speech. The plaintiffs claimed that city and county officials, various prosecutors, and a police detective orchestrated the investigation and charges after a confrontation at a bar, focusing their efforts on the plaintiffs while allegedly ignoring violent acts by left-wing activists. The plaintiffs were indicted and arrested before a planned protest, but ultimately acquitted at trial. They then sued, asserting violations of federal civil rights statutes and state tort law, including claims of conspiracy, malicious prosecution, and selective enforcement.After the plaintiffs’ acquittal, they filed their action in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. The district court dismissed the complaint, holding that it was a “shotgun pleading” that failed to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 because it lumped together claims and factual allegations without specifying which defendants were responsible for which acts. The court also ruled, in the alternative, that several defendants were immune from suit: the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (“MCDA”) and prosecutors in their official capacities under the Eleventh Amendment; the prosecutors in their individual capacities under absolute immunity; and the police detective for his grand jury testimony.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. The court held that the complaint was properly dismissed as a shotgun pleading, but that plaintiffs must be allowed to amend. The court affirmed dismissal with prejudice of all claims against MCDA and prosecutors in their official capacities on sovereign immunity grounds, and against the prosecutors in their individual capacities to the extent their actions were prosecutorial. However, the court reversed the dismissal of claims against a deputy prosecutor for allegedly filing false affidavits, holding that such conduct is not protected by absolute immunity and is not shielded by qualified immunity if false statements were knowingly made to obtain a warrant. The court also reversed dismissal of certain state-law claims against Multnomah County and remanded for further proceedings, allowing plaintiffs to replead those claims not based on the acts of the immune parties. It affirmed immunity for the detective regarding his grand jury testimony. The disposition was affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with instructions to permit amendment of the complaint. View "Gibson v. City of Portland" on Justia Law

An association of independent private schools and several of its members sought to prevent the enforcement of an Idaho law, known as the Children’s School and Library Protection Act. This law prohibits schools and public libraries from making certain “harmful” content available to minors, newly imposing civil liability on these institutions. The statute defines “harmful to minors” using an expansive framework, and introduces a private right of action, allowing minors, parents, or guardians to sue for violations. The plaintiffs challenged the statute on First Amendment grounds, arguing the law exceeded the limits of federal obscenity law as set out in Miller v. California.After the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, the district court dismissed some plaintiffs for lack of standing but allowed the private school plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment claims to proceed. The district court ultimately denied the motion for a preliminary injunction, holding the plaintiffs had not shown a likelihood of success on their facial constitutional challenges to the statute.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the district court’s denial of the preliminary injunction. The Ninth Circuit found that the plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on their claim that the statute’s “context clause” was unconstitutionally overbroad. This clause requires evaluation of a work’s serious value for minors “in context in which it is used,” which the court found threatens to regulate a substantial amount of protected speech and is not readily susceptible to a constitutional narrowing construction. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of preliminary injunction, holding that the context clause is facially overbroad, and remanded for consideration of the appropriate scope of limited injunctive relief. View "Northwest Association of Independent Schools v. Labrador" on Justia Law

A Nevada state prisoner claimed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff at High Desert State Prison denied him outdoor exercise, even while requiring him and other inmates in his unit to work together in a prison industry warehouse. He alleged that inmates in other units were permitted outdoor yard time, and that the denial of exercise caused him physical and psychological harm. The plaintiff, housed in a protective segregation unit, asserted that these actions violated his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as similar state constitutional provisions.After filing grievances that were denied at each level by prison officials, the inmate brought a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada against the warden and other prison staff under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court screened the complaint and allowed certain claims, including those regarding denial of outdoor exercise and equal protection, to proceed against the warden. On summary judgment, the district court denied qualified immunity to the warden for both the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment claims, prompting the warden to appeal.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the appeal. The court held that the district court correctly denied qualified immunity on the Eighth Amendment claim, finding that the right to outdoor exercise was clearly established and that there were triable issues as to whether the warden’s actions constituted deliberate indifference. However, the Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of qualified immunity on the Fourteenth Amendment claim, concluding that the plaintiff did not provide evidence that ruled out all rational justifications for the difference in yard time between his unit and others. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Cardenas-Ornelas v. Johnson" on Justia Law

A group of plaintiffs, including individual Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries and an organization, challenged actions taken by the Secretary of Homeland Security. These actions included vacating and terminating Venezuela’s TPS designation and partially vacating Haiti’s TPS designation. TPS provides eligible nationals of designated countries temporary protection from deportation and work authorization due to conditions such as armed conflict or environmental disaster in their home countries. The Secretary’s actions resulted in many TPS holders losing their protection and work authorization, leading to job loss, detention, deportation, and family separation.The plaintiffs filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The district court initially postponed the effectiveness of the Venezuela TPS vacatur and later granted partial summary judgment for the plaintiffs. The district court held that the Secretary exceeded her statutory authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1254a by vacating and terminating the Venezuela TPS designation and partially vacating Haiti’s TPS designation. The court also found these actions arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and set them aside. The government appealed these rulings to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. The Ninth Circuit held that the TPS statute does not grant the Secretary authority to vacate an existing TPS designation or to partially vacate a TPS extension. The court further held that the Secretary’s attempted vacatur and terminations were in excess of statutory authority and invalid. The Ninth Circuit also concluded that setting aside these actions under the APA was appropriate and not barred by statutory limitations on judicial review or injunctive relief. The court affirmed full vacatur of the Secretary’s actions, restoring the prior TPS designations and extensions. View "National TPS Alliance v. Noem" on Justia Law

A group of former and current employees of a staffing agency alleged that the company misclassified recruiters as exempt from state overtime laws and failed to provide required meal and rest breaks. After the employees filed a putative class action in state court, which the company removed to federal court, the parties engaged in over a year of discovery and completed class certification briefing. Shortly after class certification briefing closed, the company implemented a new, mandatory arbitration agreement for internal employees, including the putative class members. This agreement required class members to either quit their jobs or affirmatively opt out of arbitration if they wished to remain in the class, effectively reversing the typical opt-out structure of class actions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted class certification and, after reviewing the company’s communications about the new arbitration agreement, found them misleading and potentially coercive. The court determined that the communications disparaged class actions, omitted key information, and confused recipients about their rights and deadlines, especially as the emails were sent during a holiday period. Consequently, when the company moved to compel arbitration against class members who had not opted out, the district court denied the motion, relying on its authority under FRCP 23(d) to ensure the fairness of class proceedings.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. The Ninth Circuit held that district courts have broad authority under FRCP 23(d) to refuse to enforce arbitration agreements when a defendant’s conduct undermines the fairness of the class action process, especially where communications are misleading and subvert the opt-out mechanism. The court also held that the arbitration agreement’s delegation provision did not prevent the district court from ruling on enforceability in this context. View "AVERY V. TEKSYSTEMS, INC." on Justia Law

A man was convicted in California of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the killing of a homeowner during a burglary in 1985. The prosecution established that the defendant entered the victim’s home, stole property, and shot the victim in the back as he was fleeing. The case against the defendant was supported by fingerprint evidence, eyewitnesses, and testimony about his actions and statements before and after the crime. At trial, the defense argued alternative theories, including that another individual was the actual killer and that the shooting lacked intent. During the penalty phase, the prosecution presented evidence of the defendant’s prior felonies, while the defense offered extensive mitigating evidence regarding his abusive childhood and mental health issues.On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of California affirmed the conviction and death sentence. The defendant subsequently filed state and federal habeas petitions, raising claims about his competency to stand trial, the effectiveness of his counsel, and alleged jury coercion. The California Supreme Court summarily denied these claims, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California denied his federal habeas petition.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the appeal. Applying the deferential standard required by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the court held that the California Supreme Court could have reasonably concluded the evidence did not sufficiently support the defendant’s claims of incompetence or ineffective assistance of counsel. The Ninth Circuit also found no basis to conclude the trial court coerced the jury’s verdict or that California’s death penalty statute was unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas relief. View "Beeler v. Broomfield" on Justia Law

A debtor filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and retained an attorney to serve as counsel in the Chapter 11 proceedings. The bankruptcy court appointed the attorney as counsel for the estate. In early 2018, a trustee was appointed due to concerns about liens on the debtor’s properties, and the trustee began liquidating assets. Following these events, the debtor sued her former bankruptcy attorney and his law firm in California state court for legal malpractice related to the bankruptcy representation.In state court, the attorney moved to dismiss the malpractice suit, arguing that the Barton doctrine, res judicata, and lack of standing barred the action. The Los Angeles County Superior Court dismissed the suit solely based on the Barton doctrine, which requires leave from the bankruptcy court before suing court-appointed officers in another forum. On appeal, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District held that the Barton doctrine applied to claims arising from the attorney’s actions while serving as debtor-in-possession counsel but not to actions taken after the trustee’s appointment. The appellate court allowed leave to amend for certain post-trustee claims if standing was established.The debtor then moved in bankruptcy court for leave to continue her malpractice suit under the Barton doctrine. The bankruptcy court granted leave for certain time periods but did not precisely tailor its order to the state appellate decision. The attorney appealed to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP), which vacated the bankruptcy court’s order, holding it violated the Rooker-Feldman doctrine by modifying state court judgments. On further appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that granting Barton leave does not violate Rooker-Feldman, and the bankruptcy court may cure a jurisdictional defect after state court proceedings have begun. However, the Ninth Circuit found the bankruptcy court abused its discretion by not aligning its order with the state appellate decision and by granting Barton approval for claims not subject to the doctrine. The Ninth Circuit reversed the BAP, vacated in part, and remanded with instructions for the bankruptcy court to issue a tailored order consistent with the California appellate decision. View "Akhlaghpour v. Orantes" on Justia Law

A mother and her minor daughter, citizens of Honduras, sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture in the United States. The mother credibly testified that she endured repeated and severe domestic abuse from her partner, Oscar, who was a gang member. The abuse included a stabbing incident and threats, which often occurred when she tried to attend church. She explained that Oscar threatened to kill her if she reported him to police, and that others feared reporting him due to his violent reputation. On one occasion, police briefly arrested Oscar for assaulting a man but released him the next day.An immigration judge with the Department of Justice denied all forms of relief, concluding that the petitioners had not shown the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect them, largely because the abuse was never reported to authorities. The Board of Immigration Appeals adopted and affirmed the immigration judge's reasoning, emphasizing the lack of a police report and finding no persuasive challenge to this determination on appeal. The Board also found the Convention Against Torture claim unexhausted because it was not raised before it.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the Board’s decision. The court held that the record compelled the conclusion that reporting the abuse would have been futile and dangerous, given Oscar’s threats and the government’s documented inaction. The court granted the petition for review as to asylum and withholding of removal, remanding for further proceedings on the remaining elements of those claims. The petition was denied regarding protection under the Convention Against Torture, as that claim was unexhausted. The court ordered that each party bear its own costs. View "GUEVARA-SERRANO V. BONDI" on Justia Law

Diamond Sands Apartments, LLC owns and operates a 360-unit apartment complex in Las Vegas, Nevada, where units are leased for long-term stays under agreements prohibiting unauthorized subletting. Clark County received numerous complaints regarding short-term rentals in certain units, which included disturbances such as loud parties. The County investigated and verified that some units were being rented for short-term stays through Airbnb. After notifying Diamond Sands of the violations and conducting follow-up inspections, the County issued two administrative citations assessing $2,000 fines for each violation, as permitted under its ordinance, which prohibits unauthorized short-term rentals and allows for fines between $1,000 and $10,000 per violation.Diamond Sands filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, raising facial and as-applied challenges to the County’s ordinance under the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. The company sought declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that the ordinance unconstitutionally penalized property owners for short-term rental activity conducted by tenants. The district court denied Diamond Sands’ motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that the fines were not grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the violations and that Diamond Sands had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the denial of the preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion and underlying legal issues de novo. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion, finding that Diamond Sands bore some culpability due to its knowledge and failure to prevent ongoing violations. The fines imposed were at the low end of the authorized range, and the ordinance aimed to deter harm to residents. The court also determined that Diamond Sands had not shown the ordinance was unconstitutional in every application. Therefore, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the preliminary injunction. View "DIAMOND SANDS APARTMENTS, LLC V. CLARK COUNTY NEVADA" on Justia Law

The case centers on the United States Bureau of Land Management’s decision to approve a contract with JS Livestock for a new off-range corral on private land near Winnemucca, Nevada, intended to house and care for up to 4,000 wild horses and burros removed from public lands. Friends of Animals, an advocacy group, challenged this decision, arguing that the Bureau’s actions violated both the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The group raised concerns about the adequacy of animal welfare protections and environmental impacts, including the facility’s design, animal density, disease management, and mitigation of adverse effects on soil and groundwater.Prior to this appeal, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada reviewed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court found no statutory violations, holding that the Bureau had complied with both the Wild Horses Act and NEPA. Specifically, the court determined that the Bureau’s reliance on its established animal welfare standards and contract requirements was reasonable and that the environmental assessment sufficiently considered the project’s impacts as required by law. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the Bureau and denied Friends of Animals’ motion.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the district court’s decision de novo. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s ruling, holding that Friends of Animals had representational standing to bring the case. The court found that the Bureau did not abuse its discretion or act contrary to law: it properly ensured humane treatment of the animals, took a “hard look” at environmental impacts as required by NEPA, reasonably relied on compliance with state permits, considered appropriate project alternatives, and adequately explained why the facility’s impacts would not be significant. The summary judgment for the Bureau was affirmed. View "FRIENDS OF ANIMALS V. BURGUM" on Justia Law