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

The Ninth Circuit issued an order amending Judge N.R. Smith's separate opinion, denying a petition for rehearing en banc on behalf of the court, and ordering that no petitions for panel rehearing or further petitions for rehearing en banc shall be entertained.In his amended separate opinion, Judge Smith explained that the court had neither jurisdiction nor authority to hear this case because plaintiffs failed to file their notice of appeal within thirty days of the judgment. The majority of the panel, however, believed that there was jurisdiction and authority to hear the case, and Judge Smith agreed with the per curiam opinion's resolution of the merits. View "Demaree v. Pederson" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to enjoin the government's prosecution of Defendants Gilmore and Hemsley for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana plants and manufacture of marijuana plants. In the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (hereafter Section 538), Congress barred the Department of Justice from using appropriated funds to prevent certain States, including California, from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana. The panel held that Section 538 did not limit the government's ability to enforce federal drug laws on federal land. View "United States v. Gilmore" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's partial grant of summary judgment for the Department and held that the Department did not violate the dormant Commerce Clause in adopting Medi-Cal policies related to reimbursement to out-of-state hospitals. The panel held that when a state was acting as a market participant, rather than a market regulator, its decisions were exempted from the dormant Commerce Clause. In this case, the Department sets rates of reimbursement to hospitals for those who were essentially insured as beneficiaries under Medi-Cal in a manner much like that of a private insurer participating in the market. Therefore, the Department was acting as a market participant, rather than a regulator and was exempt from dormant Commerce Clause requirements. View "Asante v. California Department of Healthcare Services" on Justia Law

Three federal agencies and intervenor-defendants challenged injunctions issued by the district court to protect salmon and steelhead species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544. The Ninth Circuit held that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) did not bar plaintiffs' January 2017 injunction motions; the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting the spring spill injunction; the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting the PIT tag monitoring injunction; and the district court's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, disclosure was not properly before the panel. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting injunctive relief to plaintiffs. The panel dismissed intervenor-defendants' appeal of the district court's NEPA disclosure order. View "National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendant in an action alleging that defendant violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227, by calling her repeatedly through an automatic telephone dialing system. The panel held that plaintiff, by completing and submitting a health insurance enrollment form, gave prior express consent to receive quality assurance calls. View "Fober v. Management and Technology Consultants, LLC" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendant in an action alleging that defendant violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227, by calling her repeatedly through an automatic telephone dialing system. The panel held that plaintiff, by completing and submitting a health insurance enrollment form, gave prior express consent to receive quality assurance calls. View "Fober v. Management and Technology Consultants, LLC" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a purported class action against Churchill Downs alleging violations of Washington's Recovery of Money Lost (RMLGA) at Gambling Act and Consumer Protection Act, and unjust enrichment. The panel held that Big Fish Casino constituted illegal gambling under Washington law because its virtual chips were a "thing of value." The panel also held that plaintiff could recover the value of the virtual chips lost under the RMLGA. In this case, plaintiff alleged that she lost over $1,000 worth of virtual chips while playing Big Fish Casino, and she can recover the value of these lost chips from Churchill Downs, as proprietor of Big Fish Casino. Therefore, the panel remanded for further proceedings. View "Kater v. Churchill Downs Inc." on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a seaman's claims in admiralty against a vessel in rem. The panel held that the district court erred by denying the seaman's maintenance requests in full, staying the action, and dismissing the vessel; the district court obtained jurisdiction over the vessel when the seaman filed a verified complaint and defendants appeared generally and litigated without contesting in rem jurisdiction; the district court did not lose in rem jurisdiction while the vessel remained in its constructive custody; the district court's control over the vessel, once obtained, was exclusive; and the automatic bankruptcy stay did not affect the seaman's lien against the vessel and the bankruptcy court had no authority to dispose of the lien through the application of bankruptcy law. The court explained that when, as in this case, a seaman establishes his entitlement to maintenance and provides some evidence of his actual living expenses, the burden shifts to the vessel's owner to produce evidence that the seaman's actual costs were unreasonable. The panel issued a writ of mandamus to the district court to award the seaman maintenance for his undisputed actual and reasonable expenses subject to a potential increase after trial. View "Barnes v. Sea Hawaii Rafting, LLC" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for Lincoln Benefit in a declaratory judgment action over an insurance policy. Considering sua sponte whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction, the panel held that the district court properly exercised jurisdiction; the district court did not abuse its discretion in deciding to strike plaintiff's expert report and plaintiff has not shown how an expert opinion could have been helpful in this case; there was no genuine dispute about whether plaintiff needed to pay certain sums to keep his policy from lapsing or whether Lincoln Benefit mailed the required notice at least 30 days before the policy lapsed; the policy was unambiguous and the district court's reading of the policy was proper; and because there was nothing to gain by deposing the Lincoln Benefit official most knowledgeable on policy lapses, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's request to delay consideration of the motion. View "Elhouty v. Lincoln Benefit Life Co." on Justia Law

On remand from the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for bank fraud. In this case, defendant contended that the disjunctive form of the district court's jury instruction that a "scheme to defraud" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1344(1) means a defendant must intend to "deceive, cheat or deprive" the bank of something of value. The panel held that this argument the Supreme Court identified for consideration on remand was not fairly presented to the panel or to the district court. The panel held that, even if defendant had preserved the objection, any error was harmless. View "United States v. Shaw" on Justia Law