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

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP) proposed constructing a 32-mile natural gas pipeline across several Tennessee counties, which would involve crossing numerous waterbodies. TGP applied for a § 404 permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), a § 401 water quality certification from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), and a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Corps issued the § 404 permit, allowing TGP to discharge materials into waterbodies during construction.The Corps issued public notices and received comments on TGP’s application. TGP responded to these comments, explaining its assessment of alternative routes and crossing methods. FERC issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement, concluding that the Pipeline would not result in significant environmental impacts. TDEC issued a § 401 water quality certification, and FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The Corps then issued the § 404 permit with special conditions, including requirements for TGP to use the least impactful trenching techniques and obtain approval before using blasting methods.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the Corps' decision. The court held that the Corps did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in issuing the § 404 permit. The Corps properly assessed practicable alternatives to open-cut trenching, determined that TGP’s proposed rock-removal methods were the least environmentally damaging practicable alternatives, and correctly relied on TDEC’s § 401 water quality certification. The court also found that the Corps provided sufficient support for its conclusions regarding suspended particulates and turbidity and adequately assessed the cumulative effects of the Pipeline’s construction. The court denied the petition for review. View "Appalachian Voices v. Army Corps of Engineers" on Justia Law

The case involves a dispute over the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) issuance of a water quality certification to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP) for the construction and operation of a 32-mile natural gas pipeline in Tennessee. The pipeline would cross over one hundred bodies of water and require drilling across rocky terrain. Environmental groups Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices argue that TDEC failed to properly assess TGP’s application and ensure that the pipeline would not cause significant environmental damage.The lower court, TDEC, issued the water quality certification to TGP, authorizing temporary and permanent impacts to various water bodies and wetlands. TDEC imposed several conditions on TGP to minimize environmental disruption, including selecting the least impactful trenching techniques and obtaining written authorization before using controlled blasting. Petitioners filed a timely Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, arguing that TDEC’s issuance of the certification violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case and found that TDEC did not violate the APA. The court held that TDEC adequately evaluated the water quality certification application and reasonably explained its decision-making process regarding waterbody crossings, rock removal methodology, downstream sedimentation, trench excavation, and baseline conditions of waterbodies. The court concluded that TDEC’s actions were not arbitrary, capricious, or inconsistent with its regulations. Consequently, the court denied the Petition for Review. View "Sierra Club v. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation" on Justia Law

Tyler Venema, an inmate with a history of mental illness and suicide attempts, committed suicide by asphyxiation with a plastic bag while in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) at Woodland Center Correctional Facility (WCC). Venema's estate filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Jodi DeAngelo, the warden of WCC, alleging that her failure to train and supervise corrections officers led to Venema's death, violating his Eighth Amendment rights. The estate claimed that DeAngelo knew about the risk posed by plastic bags and the officers' failure to remove them from at-risk inmates' cells.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied DeAngelo's motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity, finding that the estate's allegations were sufficient to establish that DeAngelo implicitly authorized or knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of her subordinates. DeAngelo appealed the decision.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case de novo and affirmed the district court's decision. The appellate court held that the estate plausibly alleged that DeAngelo knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of her subordinates by failing to train and supervise them properly. The court also found a causal connection between DeAngelo's actions and Venema's death, as her failure to enforce policies against providing plastic bags to at-risk inmates could reasonably be expected to result in harm. The court concluded that Venema's Eighth Amendment rights were clearly established at the time of the violation, and thus, DeAngelo was not entitled to qualified immunity. View "Venema v. West" on Justia Law

Michael Salazar filed a class action lawsuit against Paramount Global, alleging a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Salazar claimed that he subscribed to a 247Sports e-newsletter and watched videos on 247Sports.com while logged into his Facebook account. He alleged that Paramount had installed Facebook’s tracking Pixel on 247Sports.com, which enabled Paramount to track and disclose his video viewing history to Facebook without his consent.The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee dismissed Salazar’s complaint. The court found that Salazar had standing because the alleged disclosure of his video viewing history to Facebook constituted a concrete injury. However, the court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim under the VPPA, concluding that Salazar was not a “consumer” under the Act. The court reasoned that Salazar’s subscription to the 247Sports e-newsletter did not qualify him as a “consumer” because the newsletter was not “audio visual materials.”The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s decision. The Sixth Circuit agreed that Salazar had standing but held that he did not plausibly allege that he was a “consumer” under the VPPA. The court interpreted the term “goods or services” in the context of the VPPA to mean audio-visual materials, and since Salazar’s newsletter subscription did not involve audio-visual materials, he was not a “consumer” under the Act. The court also found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the complaint with prejudice, as Salazar had not filed a formal motion to amend his complaint. View "Salazar v. Paramount Global" on Justia Law

Jeffrey Campbell, the owner and lead doctor at Physicians Primary Care (PPC), and Mark Dyer, a nurse practitioner at PPC, were indicted in 2020 on multiple counts related to overprescribing opioids and engaging in a scheme to seek fraudulent reimbursements from health insurance providers. The indictment included charges of unlawfully distributing controlled substances, conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, health-care fraud, conspiracy to commit health-care fraud, and money laundering.The case proceeded to trial in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The jury found Campbell guilty on several counts, including conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, health-care fraud, conspiracy to commit health-care fraud, and money laundering. Dyer was also found guilty on similar counts. The district court sentenced Campbell to 105 months of imprisonment and Dyer to 60 months, followed by three years of supervised release for both. The district court also ordered restitution payments from both defendants.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case. The defendants challenged the jury instructions, sufficiency of the evidence, and the district court’s evidentiary rulings. The appellate court found that the jury instructions, although not fully compliant with the Supreme Court's decision in Ruan v. United States, were adequate under the court's precedents. The court also found sufficient evidence to support the convictions for conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, health-care fraud, and money laundering. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the testimony of government experts and other evidence.The appellate court affirmed the convictions and sentences, concluding that any potential errors in the district court’s intended-loss calculation for sentencing were harmless, as the sentences imposed were well below the applicable Guidelines range. The court also noted that the defendants failed to properly appeal the restitution order, making it outside the scope of the current appeal. View "United States v. Campbell" on Justia Law

A certified class of Ohio landowners alleged that a Colorado-based mining company, Antero Resources Corporation, underpaid them $10 million in natural gas royalties. The landowners claimed that Antero improperly deducted costs for processing and fractionation from their royalties. Antero counterclaimed, seeking authority to deduct additional costs related to gathering, dehydrating, compressing, and transporting the unrefined natural gas. The district court certified the class, denied Antero's motion for summary judgment, granted the landowners' motion, and entered a final judgment after the parties stipulated damages.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled in favor of the landowners, finding that Antero improperly deducted processing and fractionation costs from the royalties. The court determined that these costs were necessary to transform the gas into marketable form and thus could not be deducted under the lease agreement.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The court held that Antero could not deduct the costs of processing and fractionation from the landowners' royalties. The court found that the lease agreement's Market Enhancement Clause allowed deductions only for costs that enhanced the value of already marketable products, not for costs required to make the products marketable. The court concluded that the gas products first became marketable after processing and fractionation, and thus, these costs were not deductible. The court also noted that the Fourth Circuit had reached a similar conclusion in a related case involving the same defendant and lease terms. View "The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corp." on Justia Law

Marina Debity brought claims against the Monroe County Board of Education for sex discrimination and retaliation under the Equal Pay Act (EPA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA). Debity alleged that the Board offered her a lower salary than it had paid a male predecessor, Matthew Ancel, for the same job and retaliated by withdrawing her job offer when she requested equal pay.A jury found that the Board offered Debity less money for legitimate reasons unrelated to her sex and did not retaliate against her. Despite these findings, the jury awarded Debity over $195,000 in damages, likely due to poor instructions on the verdict form. The magistrate judge noticed the inconsistency but dismissed the jury without allowing objections. The magistrate judge later denied Debity's motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial, classifying the verdicts as special verdicts and reconciling the inconsistency by entering judgment based on the jury's answers to the interrogatories.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case. The court concluded that the magistrate judge presented the jury with a general verdict on the retaliation claims and a general verdict with interrogatories on the discrimination claims. The jury's answers to the interrogatories on the discrimination claims were consistent with each other but inconsistent with the general verdict. The court affirmed the magistrate judge's decision to enter judgment based on the interrogatories.Regarding the Board's affirmative defense to the discrimination claims, the court held that budget constraints and market forces of supply and demand each provided an independent basis to uphold the jury's verdict. Both reasons were legitimate business explanations for offering Debity a lower salary than Ancel. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment in favor of the Board on all claims. View "Debity v. Monroe Cnty. Bd. of Educ." on Justia Law

Karl Tobien, a door-to-door salesman, was attacked by a dog while working in Ohio. He filed two federal lawsuits: one against the homeowners in the Southern District of Ohio, which was dismissed by agreement, and another against Nationwide General Insurance Company in the Eastern District of Kentucky. Tobien claimed Nationwide violated Kentucky’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, acted in bad faith, and sought punitive damages after the company denied his insurance claim.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky dismissed Tobien’s lawsuit for improper venue, concluding that most relevant events occurred in Ohio. Tobien appealed, arguing that the Eastern District of Kentucky was a proper venue and that the district court should have transferred the case to the Southern District of Ohio instead of dismissing it.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case de novo and upheld the district court’s decision. The court determined that Tobien failed to show that a substantial part of the events giving rise to his claims occurred in the Eastern District of Kentucky. The court also found that transferring the case to the Southern District of Ohio would not be in the interest of justice, as Ohio law would apply and Tobien’s claims would fail under Ohio law. Consequently, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Tobien’s lawsuit. View "Tobien v. Nationwide Gen. Ins. Co." on Justia Law

Lynwood Pickens worked for Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions from 2018 to 2019, inspecting pipes at a natural-gas export terminal in Texas. He was paid $100 per hour but was guaranteed a weekly salary of $800, equivalent to eight hours of work. For any hours worked beyond the initial eight, he received additional hourly compensation. Pickens regularly worked over 50 hours per week but did not receive overtime pay, as Hamilton-Ryker classified him as a salaried employee exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).Pickens sued Hamilton-Ryker in 2020, claiming he was a non-exempt hourly worker entitled to overtime pay. Fourteen coworkers joined the lawsuit. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted summary judgment to Hamilton-Ryker, classifying Pickens as a salaried employee under the FLSA and dismissing the claims of his coworkers for not being "similarly situated."The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that Pickens was not paid on a salary basis as defined by the FLSA regulations. The court emphasized that a true salary must cover a regular workweek, not just a portion of it. Since Pickens' guaranteed pay only covered eight hours, not his usual 52-hour workweek, he did not meet the salary basis test. The court reversed the district court's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings, leaving the determination of the collective action status and the claims of Pickens' coworkers to the district court. View "Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions" on Justia Law

In the summer of 2020, Adam Fox and Barry Croft, Jr. planned to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. They were convicted by a federal jury on all charges, with Fox receiving a 192-month sentence and Croft a 235-month sentence. On appeal, they argued insufficient evidence for their convictions, errors by the district court in not conducting a "Remmer" hearing for a biased juror, limiting cross-examination time, and restricting the admissibility of certain informant statements.The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan initially tried the case, resulting in a hung jury for Fox and Croft, while co-defendants Harris and Caserta were acquitted. Upon retrial, Fox and Croft were found guilty. They appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.The Sixth Circuit reviewed the sufficiency of the evidence de novo and found ample evidence supporting the convictions. The court noted that Fox and Croft's actions, including reconnaissance missions and detailed planning, demonstrated a clear agreement to kidnap Governor Whitmer. The court also found sufficient evidence for Croft's possession of an unregistered destructive device and rejected the entrapment defense, citing substantial predisposition to commit the crimes.Regarding the "Remmer" hearing, the Sixth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion, as the allegations of juror bias were not credible. The court also found no abuse of discretion in limiting cross-examination time, as defense counsel had ample warning and opportunity to question witnesses effectively. Lastly, the court ruled that the exclusion of certain informant statements was harmless error, as the evidence of guilt was overwhelming.The Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Fox and Croft on all counts. View "United States v. Croft" on Justia Law