Case Summaries

[08/19] In Re: Holland
A dispute in a bankruptcy case over which state's law should determine whether real property owned by debtor should be exempted from the bankruptcy estate is dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction where the district court's order ruling that Florida law applied and remanding to bankruptcy court, without deciding whether Florida law granted an exemption, was not a final order subject to appeal.

[08/18] Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) bona fide error defense applies to mistakes of law, and is not limited to procedural or clerical errors. In an action claiming law firm and one of its attorneys violated the FDCPA when they used allegedly deceptive forms to notify her of a foreclosure on her home, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) although defendants violated the FDCPA by instructing plaintiff that she had to dispute the debt in writing; nevertheless, 2) defendants qualified for the FDCPA bona fide error defense.

[08/15] County of Humboldt v. McKee
In an action by county to assess property taxes on defendants for parcels transferred to third party purchasers, decision in favor of defendants is reversed where: 1) subsequent to the adoption of the 1978 Guidelines, which set forth revised regulations governing agricultural preserves, the parties voluntarily renewed their contract numerous times; 2) the new contract created with each renewal incorporated the 1978 Guidelines; and 3) thus, the 1978 Guidelines can be applied constitutionally to a Williamson Act contract executed in 1977.

[08/14] Santiago-Lugo v. US
In a claim by plaintiff for return of seized but not forfeited property as barred by the statute of limitations, government's motion for summary affirmance is granted where: 1) the six-year limitations period under 28 U.S.C. section 2401(a) applies to Rule 41(g) claims; and 2) in circumstances where there has been a related criminal proceeding but no civil forfeiture proceeding, the cause of action accrues at the end of the criminal proceeding.

[08/13] Kempton v. City of Los Angeles
In a complaint against a city by plaintiff-homeowner requesting action to remove fences on neighbor's property, grant of motion for judgment on the pleadings without leave to amend in favor of defendant city is reversed with directions to grant plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint to allege a cause of action for nuisance where: 1) blocking a public sidewalk constitutes a public nuisance per se; 2) a private individual may bring an action against a municipality to abate a public nuisance when the individual suffers harm that is specially injurious to himself; and 3) even were a claim required in order to seek equitable relief, plaintiffs have met their burden of alleging facts in this claim which placed city on notice to adequately investigate the alleged nuisance.

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