In re: Graves, No. 08-1462, involved an appeal from the bankruptcy appellate panel’s holding that the Bankruptcy Code’s turnover provision, 11 U.S.C. section 542, did not empower a trustee to demand turnover from a debtor in this case. The court of appeals affirmed with modification, on the ground that debtors’ interest in a 2006 tax [...]
In US v. Martinez, No. 09-2117, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s sentence for conspiring to defraud the State of New Mexico during the construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse in Albuquerque, on the grounds that 1) the district court did not err in applying the 2008 version of the Sentencing Guidelines; 2) the [...]
In re: Trout, No. 09-1332, concerned a bankruptcy trustee’s appeal from a decision of the bankruptcy appellate panel affirming the bankruptcy court’s determination that, having successfully avoided a preferential vehicle lien under 11 U.S.C. section 547, the trustee was not entitled to a money judgment equal to the value of the avoided liens under section [...]
Plus Criminal, Employment and Tort Cases
Golan v. Holder, No. 09-1234, involved an action challenging the constitutionality of Section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (”URAA”), which granted copyright protection to various foreign works that were previously in the public domain in the U.S. The court of appeals reversed summary judgment for plaintiffs, on the grounds [...]
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance v. Bureau of Land Mgmt., No. 09-8011, involved several environmental and citizens’ groups challenge to a 2003 Bureau of Land Management resource management plan amendment allowing natural gas development in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants on the ground that the Bureau reasonably concluded that [...]
Price v. Wolford, No. 09-6139, involved the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA)’s appeal from the district court’s order allotting part of a malpractice settlement to OHCA in full satisfaction of the lien. The court of appeals reversed, on the ground that the district court correctly construed Oklahoma law but erred in finding that the settling [...]
Hydro Resources, Inc. v. EPA, No. 07-9506, involved a petition for review of the EPA’s “final land status determination” expressing its judgment that petitioner’s land qualified as “Indian land.” The court of appeals granted the petition, holding that the EPA’s interpretation cannot be reconciled with the Supreme Court’s explanation of 18 U.S.C. section 1151(b)’s plain [...]
In US v. Corrales, No. 09-3259, the Tenth Circuit affirmed defendant’s convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, holding that 1) defendant did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury finding that he had actual knowledge of the presence of [...]
Duvall v. Georgia-Pac. Consumer Prods., L.P., No. 08-7096, concerned an action under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for failure to grant plaintiff a reasonable accommodation. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendant, on the ground that the shipping department and storeroom positions filled by temporary workers were not “vacant” within the meaning [...]
Yost v. Stout, No. 09-3099, involved a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 challenge to the “endorsement clause” of the Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct that generally prohibited a judge or judicial candidate from publicly endorsing or opposing another candidate for public office. The Tenth Circuit dismissed plaintiff’s appeal from summary judgment for defendants, holding that the [...]