Riley Brennan

April 18, 2023 | Law.com

Reversing a lower court's ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined a former fire chief and his wife could proceed to trial in their First Amendment lawsuit accusing a county judge executive of interfering with their towing business in retaliation for criticisms lodged on Facebook.

By Riley Brennan

8 minute read

April 17, 2023 | Law.com

The Oregon legislature has criminalized spitting on a police officer, regardless of whether the saliva comes in direct contact with the officer's skin,…

By Riley Brennan

4 minute read

April 17, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

"The judge acknowledged that he was not present to view the misconduct, and learned of it only when the victim returned to the courtroom immediately after the proceeding had ended. Nonetheless, the court convicted appellant of direct criminal contempt," Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow wrote.

By Riley Brennan

4 minute read

April 17, 2023 | Law.com

Joining several other state and federal decisions from around the country, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent state restrictions and shutdown orders were not excuses for tenant Fitness International to miss their rent payments to its landlord Vereit Real Estate under its commercial lease.

By Riley Brennan

6 minute read

April 17, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a lower court's decision ordering an inmate to pay nearly $90,000 in restitution to the jail, after determining the jail didn't qualify as a victim.

By Riley Brennan

6 minute read

April 17, 2023 | Law.com

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals dismissed the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles' claims that the Office of Administrative Hearings erred in refusing to give weight to diagnostic blood test results for the purposes of an aggravated DUI enhancement.

By Riley Brennan

4 minute read

April 14, 2023 | Law.com

West Virginia's highest court dismissed correctional officers' petition for qualified immunity, agreeing with a plaintiff-prisoner that his claims of excessive force against the officers should be heard by a jury.

By Riley Brennan

4 minute read

April 14, 2023 | Law.com

"No Oregon appellate court, state statute, or treatise has yet interpreted the phrase 'direct physical loss or damage' in the context of a commercial property insurance policy dispute involving COVID-19 allegations," the Ninth Circuit panel wrote. "Therefore, we find it prudent to allow the Oregon Supreme Court to do so in this instance."

By Riley Brennan

5 minute read

April 13, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Superior Court affirmed a trial court ruling, denying the state's motions to refile criminal charges against a SEPTA officer under each criminal docket, after determining prosecutors had failed to present prima facie evidence that the officer had attempted to cause or caused serious bodily injury to victims with a deadly weapon.

By Riley Brennan

4 minute read

April 12, 2023 | Law.com

Following an $8 million civil rights judgment his favor, a former Massachusetts prisoner and his Chicago-based counsel at Loevy & Loevy were awarded an additional $743,395.87 in attorney fees and costs.

By Riley Brennan

8 minute read