Justia U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Norfolk employees who run trains include train service workers and engine service workers. Engineers are engine service workers who operate locomotives. Train service workers perform switching and groundwork; they include conductors and trainmen. BLET is the authorized representative under the Railway Labor Act for Norfolk’s locomotive engineers, while UTU represents conductors and trainmen. Despite this division, an employee may pay dues to UTU or BLET and have either union handle grievances, 45 U.S.C. 152. Train service employees advance to engine service positions through Norfolk’s Engineer Training program. UTU’s CBA governs the employee’s work until he completes the program. After that, the employee is covered by BLET’s CBA. UTU filed a grievance on behalf of members in Norfolk’s Virginia Division. The men challenged the engineer seniority roster, arguing they should be ranked in the order they became trainmen, not in the order they became engineers. The national agreement between BLET and Norfolk, the national agreements between UTU and Norfolk, and regional arrangements among BLET, UTU, and Norfolk were presented to the Public Law Board arbitration panel, which decided in the employees’ favor. BLET sought to vacate; the district court granted summary judgment to UTU and Norfolk. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. View "Bhd of Locomotive Eng'rs v. United Transp. Union" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs are five pension funds operated by the State of Ohio for public employees that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in 308 mortgage-backed securities (MBS) between 2005 and 2008, all of which received a “AAA” or equivalent credit rating from one of the three major credit-rating agencies. The value of MBS collapsed during this period, leaving the Funds with estimated losses of $457 million. The Funds sued under Ohio’s “blue sky” laws and a common-law theory of negligent misrepresentation, alleging that the Agencies’ ratings were false and misleading and that the Funds’ reasonable reliance on those ratings caused their losses. The district court dismissed. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Even if a credit rating can serve as an actionable misrepresentation, the Agencies owed no duty to the Funds and the Funds’ allegations of bad business practices did not establish a reasonable inference of wrongdoing View "OH Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Standard & Poor's Fin. Servs., LLC" on Justia Law

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Hickman County, received a referral regarding allegations of abuse concerning the Andrews. A social worker was attempting to make contact when DCS received a second referral concerning the Andrews. Due to references to guns in the home and because the site visit was to be carried out at night, DCSs requested law enforcement to assist. The Sheriff’s Department dispatched two officers. Andrews was outside working when the group arrived and asked the officers to wait outside while he called the sheriff’s office. The Andrews claim that when Mr. Andrews opened the door, he was immediately followed into the house by a “whoosh of presence.” The Andrews claim that they granted permission for interviews of the children because they feared arrest or losing their children. The officers left the house and the Andrews acquiesced to the walk-through. No charges were filed and the assessment was closed as “no services indicated.” The Andrews filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging violations of Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The district court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment of qualified immunity. The Sixth Circuit reversed as to the social workers, but affirmed with respect to an officer. View "Andrews v. Hickman County" on Justia Law

Minor political parties sought ballot access (Green Party of Tennessee and Constitution Party of Tennessee) and sued, alleging that requirements to qualify for the Tennessee ballot as a “recognized minor party” were overly restrictive and impermissibly burdened First Amendment rights and were unconstitutionally vague and constituted improper delegation of legislative authority; that provisions governing the order in which political parties are listed on the general-election ballot violate the Equal Protection Clause; and that prohibition on the use of the words “independent” and “nonpartisan” in minor-party names contravenes the First Amendment. The district court granted plaintiffs summary judgment on all claims, enjoined enforcement, ordered that the plaintiffs be placed on the November 2012 ballot, and directed the state to conduct random drawing to determine the order in which each party would appear on the ballot. The Sixth Circuit granted a stay with respect to the random-public-drawing. In the meantime, the Tennessee General Assembly amended some, but not all, of the invalidated provisions, relaxing the requirements. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded, holding that the district court erred on some claims, that some claims were moot, and that the trial court should initially determine the validity of the amendments. View "Green Party of TN v. Hargett" on Justia Law

Moore voluntarily surrendered to Detroit police in connection with a shooting homicide. He asked an officer to call a number on an attorney’s business card. The officer called and reached an answering service and so informed Moore. Moore indicated he wanted to make a statement and signed a waiver of rights. The officer questioned Moore, who made an incriminating statement. There was no clear subsequent request for an attorney. The statement was admitted at trial, over Moore’s objections. Moore was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, being a felon in possession, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life, three to five years, and two years imprisonment, respectively. His conviction was affirmed; Michigan courts denied his post-conviction motion. Moore sought federal habeas corpus. The district court denied his petition. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded. The Michigan court unreasonably found a waiver absent a factual finding, and despite evidence to the contrary, that Moore, not the officer, had reinitiated communications. The trial court effectively required that Moore assert his right to counsel a second time in order to secure it. The error was not harmless. View "Moore v. Bell" on Justia Law

In 2005, the Coyers entered into a mortgage agreement with Option One to purchase property in Linwood, Michigan. Subsequently, HSBC purchased the mortgage. After the Coyers allegedly stopped making payment to HSBC in 2010, HSBC began foreclosure proceedings pursuant to the mortgage contract’s “power of sale” clause. The Coyers filed a complaint asserting numerous allegations concerning alleged illegal conduct routinely practiced in the mortgage industry. They claimed: breach of fiduciary duty; negligence; common law fraud; breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; violation of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. 1601; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of HSBC. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. View "Coyer v. HSBC Mortg. Servs/, Inc." on Justia Law

Michigan promotes recycling of beverage containers by offering a cash refund of a 10-cent deposit to consumers and distributors. Retailers are required to accept empty containers of beverages that they sell. The Bottle Bill requires containers to indicate the state and the refund value as “MI 10ç” on each container. To address under-redemption, Michigan mandated that unclaimed deposits escheat to the state. A 1998 study estimated that fraudulent redemption of containers originating outside Michigan resulted in annual loss of $15.6 to $30 million. Michigan criminalized fraudulent redemption and, in 2008, required that, in addition to the MI 10ç designation, containers for certain beverages bear a “symbol, mark, or other distinguishing characteristic” to allow a reverse vending machine to determine whether a container is returnable. An industry association claimed violation of the Commerce Clause. The district court granted defendants summary judgment, finding that Mich. Comp. Laws 445.572a(10) is neither discriminatory nor extraterritorial and that a question of material fact existed on the extent of the burden on interstate commerce. The Sixth Circuit affirmed in part, finding that the unique mark requirement is not discriminatory. However, because that requirement forces distributors to adopt the unique labeling system, without consideration of less burdensome alternatives, it has impermissible extraterritorial effect. View "Am. Beverage Ass'n v. Snyder" on Justia Law

Campbell and Gemperline were attacked on different dates by a canine unit police dog (Spike). They filed suit under 42 U.S.C 1983 against the canine’s handler, the chief of police, and the city, alleging excessive force, failure to supervise, failure to properly train, and state law claims for assault and battery. The district court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Prior to both bite incidents, the handler notified supervisors that he had been unable to keep up with maintenance training and repeatedly requested that they allow him time to attend training sessions, but his requests were denied. Spike’s state certifications lapsed for several months. There was evidence that Spike was involved in biting incidents with growing frequency in the first three years of his deployment in the field. A jury could also reasonably conclude that the handler acted in bad faith or in a wanton or reckless manner, based on the plaintiffs’ allegations about his conduct and statements at the time of the attacks. View "Campbell v. City of Springboro" on Justia Law

Hensley worked in various capacities as a coal miner at various times between 1972 and 1988. He also smoked half a pack of cigarettes every day for at least 10 years. From 1990 to 2010, Hensley sought benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901. In 2010, after two rejections, an ALJ concluded that Hensley suffered from a disabling form of pneumoconiosis caused by his jobs in the coal mines and awarded him benefits. The Benefits Review Board affirmed. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded, holding that the ALJ failed to account for relevant record material, relying solely on x-ray evidence, while other evidence cut the other way, permitting a finding that Hensley does not suffer from pneumoconiosis. The biopsy of Hensley’s lungs came back negative, CT scans may have been inconclusive, and several physicians testified against an award of benefits. View "Dixie Fuel Co., LLC v. Dir. Office of Workers' Comp. Programs" on Justia Law

Officer Martin was called to a grocery store following an alleged shoplifting. Martin took possession of a cell phone allegedly dropped by the perpetrator. Based on a conversation with a person listed in the phone’s “contacts” list, he went to Summit Medical Center where Sutton worked. The confrontation between the two resulted in Sutton’s arrest for shoplifting. A jury acquitted Sutton, who subsequently sued Martin and the Nashville and Davidson County Metropolitan Government for federal constitutional violations and state common law and statutory violations. The district court dismissed Sutton’s claims based on the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments but denied the motion as to Sutton’s Fourth Amendment claim regarding an unreasonable seizure, finding that he had adequately stated a cause of action and that Martin was not entitled to qualified immunity. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, finding that Martin is protected by qualified immunity with regard to his initial contact with Sutton and in continuing to detain Sutton after the latter was positively identified by the store’s security guard. Allegations concerning Martin’s conduct between those two events were, however, sufficient to state a claim that precludes qualified immunity at this stage in the litigation View "Sutton v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville & Davidson Cnty." on Justia Law