Justia U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Defendant appealed his sentence stemming from his plea of guilty to five counts of tax evasion. The court concluded that the district court did not err in holding that defendant was bound by the tax revenue loss figure he stipulated to in the plea agreement. Therefore, the district court did not commit procedural error in its sentencing determination. Further, defendant's below-guidelines sentence was not substantively unreasonable. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Weon" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his convictions stemming from his involvement in conducting the negotiations for the ransom of a ship seized by pirates and for his participation in the torture of the ship's crew as part of the process. The court affirmed defendant's piracy convictions in Counts 1 and 7, based on his intentionally facilitating two piracies on the high seas, even though his facilitating conduct took place in Somalia and its territorial waters; affirmed the district court's ruling denying defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of personal jurisdiction based on his being brought into the United States involuntarily; universal jurisdiction was irrelevant to the prosecution of Counts 2 through 6 and each of those counts was based on a statute that Congress validly applied to extraterritorial conduct, including defendant's conduct; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting an FBI agent's testimony because they were admitted only as prior inconsistent statements. The court rejected defendant's Crawford v. Washington claim and affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Shibin" on Justia Law

This case arose when nineteen plaintiff families sought to file a single complaint, raising products liability and negligence claims against the Pharmaceutical Companies. On appeal, the Pharmaceutical Companies challenged the district court's decision to remand for lack of subject matter jurisdiction to the Circuit Court of Wayne County, West Virginia. The court concluded that it did not have the authority to review the remand order because the Pharmaceutical Companies have failed to establish that an exception should apply here, and because the plain language of 28 U.S.C. 1447(c) barred the court's review of the case. View "E.D. v. Pfizer, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs brought a nuisance action against CTS because their well water contained solvents that had carcinogenic effects. The district court dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6), concluding that North Carolina's ten-year limitation on the accrual of real property claims barred the suit. The court reversed and remanded, holding that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Liability, and Compensation Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675, preempted North Carolina's ten-year limitation. In so holding, the court furthered Congress's intent that victims of toxic waste not be hindered in their attempts to hold accountable those who have strewn such waste in their land. View "Waldburger v. CTS Corp." on Justia Law

Respondent challenged the district court's finding that the government had proven by clear and convincing evidence that he was a sexually dangerous person under the Adam Walsh Act, 18 U.S.C. 4248. The court concluded that the district court did not err when it found by clear and convincing evidence that the government met each of the three elements of sexual dangerousness. The court rejected respondent's remaining arguments challenging his civil commitment. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Bolander" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his sentence stemming from a conviction for illegally reentering the United States. The court affirmed the district court's application of the "crime-of-violence" enhancement on the basis of defendant's previous Maryland conviction, concluding that the Maryland offense of resisting arrest constituted a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. 2L1.2. View "United States v. Aparicio-Soria" on Justia Law

These consolidated cases involved claims for survivors' benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901 et seq. Petitioners, the coal mine operators responsible for payment of respondents' benefits, petitioned for review, claiming that principles of res judicata foreclosed respondents - each of whom previously and unsuccessfully sought survivors' benefits under the Act - from relying on a recent amendment to the Act to pursue benefits again through a "subsequent claim." The court affirmed the Board's awards, concluding that res judicata did not bar the subsequent claims because the amendment created a new cause of action that was unavailable to respondents when they brought their initial claims. View "Union Carbide Corp. v. Richard" on Justia Law

SCV filed suit against the City and its officials alleging that Lexington City Code section 420-205(C) (the "Ordinance), which bans any private access to City-owned flag standards, contravenes the SCV's First Amendment rights and breached a consent decree resolving an earlier lawsuit between SCV and the City. The court concluded there was no legal support for requiring the City to relinquish its control over the flag standards because they are not a traditional public forum; inasmuch as the Ordinance was lawfully enacted to close a designated public forum, the court affirmed the dismissal of the SCV's free speech claim; in regards to the civil contempt claim relating to the Consent Decree, the court agreed with the district court's conclusion that, because there was no constitutional violation posed by the Ordinance, there could be no violation of the Decree; and, because the flag standards are no longer given over to private expression, their use is not governed by the Decree. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "Sons of Confederate Veterans v. City of Lexington, VA" on Justia Law

Petitioner appealed the Secretary's determination that he had committed intentional and egregious violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. 3601-3619, by discriminating on the basis of disability against Delores and Gregory Walker and ordered petitioner to pay a civil monetary penalty as well as damages for Ms. Walker's emotional distress. The Department alleged that petitioner violated the FHA by requiring Ms. Walker to provide a note from Mr. Walker's doctor, to obtain a renter's insurance policy with $1 million in liability coverage, and to assume responsibility for any damage Mr. Walker, who suffered from autism, might have caused to the property. The court rejected petitioner's contention that his conduct was justified under the circumstances, concluding that substantial evidence supported the Secretary's determination. View "Corey v. HUD" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, by and through her adoptive parents, brought this action challenging South Carolina's reduction of monthly adoption assistance benefits, claiming that the reduction violated the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq. The court held in this case that section 673(a)(3) did set forth a privately enforceable right under 42 U.S.C. 1983, but that the parents have failed to plead any violation of that right by defendants. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "Hensley v. Koller" on Justia Law