Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, concluding that application of the federal firearms statute did not violate his rights under the Second Amendment. The court rejected defendant's contention that the location of his firearm in the home for the alleged purpose of self-defense, by itself, makes 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) unconstitutional as applied to him.In regard to sentencing, the district court classified defendant as an armed career criminal based on three prior convictions, including one for terroristic threats under Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 28-311.01. Because that offense does not qualify as a violent felony, the court concluded that defendant had not sustained the requisite three prior convictions, and he must be resentenced without the armed career criminal classification. View "United States v. Williams" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to a felon in possession of a firearm offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Defendant was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) based on his multiple prior felony convictions, including three predicate serious drug offenses. The court rejected defendant's contention that his ACCA enhancement based on a prior juvenile offense violated the Eighth Amendment. Rather, under this court's established precedents, using the juvenile conviction as an ACCA predicate does not violate the Eighth Amendment, U.S. v. Jones, 574 F.3d 546,553 (8th Cir. 2009) and U.S. v. Emmert, 825 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S.Ct. 1349 (2017). View "United States v. Winfrey" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment on a jury verdict in favor of S&H in an action brought by S&H against Bad Boy, alleging that Bad Boy's termination of its farm equipment dealership agreement was an unlawful breach of contract and a violation of Missouri's outdoor power equipment statute, Missouri Revised Statutes Section 407.898.In regard to the breach of contract claim, the court concluded that the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that there was mutual assent as to the size and measurement of the protected territory, and there was sufficient evidence that a reasonable jury could have chosen S&H's theory about the cause of the lost profits. The court also concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support S&H's outdoor power equipment statute claim. The court rejected claims of evidentiary errors and jury instruction errors, affirming the award of attorneys' fees, expenses, and costs. View "S&H Farm Supply, Inc. v. Bad Boy, Inc." on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's below-guidelines sentence of 198 months in prison for his drug-related conviction under 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) and 846. The court concluded that the district court did not err in imposing a two-level enhancement for maintaining a drug premises under USSG 2D1.1(b)(12). The court also concluded that the district court did not err in refusing to apply defendant's request for a minor role reduction under USSG 3B1.2 where defendant cannot show clear error and the evidence supports the district court's factual findings of defendant's essential participation in the drug trafficking operation. View "United States v. Hernandez Lopez" on Justia Law

After Xurex filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the trustee filed suit against defendant and others for breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy. The jury returned a verdict for the trustee against defendant for conspiracy to breach fiduciary duties.The Eighth Circuit affirmed the jury's verdict and the district court's denial of defendant's motions for judgment as a matter of law, a new jury trial, the entries of judgment, and all adverse rulings. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict finding that defendant breached a fiduciary duty and there was no error in denying defendant's Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(d) motion; defendant waived several arguments he now raises about the language of the verdict director and the inconsistency of the verdict; because plaintiff's damage theories for civil conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty were the same, the district court properly entered judgment on the larger of the two amounts; and the district court did not plainly err as to the jury instructions. View "Olsen v. Kraus" on Justia Law

PSI filed suit seeking to enjoin an arbitration proceeding filed with FINRA. The district court found that the claimants in the underlying arbitration action were involved in joint business ventures with PSI's former registered representative, not securities transactions governed by FINRA, and thus there was no basis to compel PSI to participate in a FINRA arbitration proceeding.The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of injunctive relief enjoining claimants from proceeding with arbitration. The court stated that FINRA's purpose is not to make a brokerage firm the insurer of failed business ventures. In this case, claimants, relying on their own knowledge and expertise, engaged in arms-length business transactions outside of a financial advisor's association with PSI that led purportedly to the loss of millions of dollars. The court concluded that claimants cannot compel arbitration under FINRA Rule 12200 because they have failed to demonstrate that they were the financial advisor's customers—that is, in a relationship with the financial advisor that was related directly to investment or brokerage services. View "Principal Securities, Inc. v. Agarwal" on Justia Law

The Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit to build student housing on the Russellville property, next to Arkansas Tech University. The land is bordered by two waterways. Downstream from the tract, the Corps maintains the Russellville Dike and Prairie Creek Pumping Station to protect Russellville from flooding by pumping water into the backwaters of the Arkansas River, away from the city. Upstream from the station is a sump, 730 acres of low-lying land that holds water that then flows toward the pumping station, The Corps purchased flowage easements giving it the right to flood the land subject to those easements to a certain elevation. Part of the tract at issue lies within the sump and is subject to an easement, "that no structures for human habitation shall be constructed." The owner proposed four apartment buildings on land subject to the easement.The Eighth Circuit upheld the denial of a permit. It is unlawful for anyone "in any manner whatever [to] impair the usefulness of any . . . work built by the United States . . . to prevent floods" unless the Corps permits it, 33 U.S.C. 408(a). The proposed construction would impair the usefulness of the Corps's pumping station. The Corps found that the structures would result in water velocities and depths that would be "a significant hazard that can deny escape," and "may threaten the lives and security of the people and property in Russellville.” View "Russellville Legends LLC v. United States Army Corps of Engineers" on Justia Law

In 2015, Elite sued Legacy for breach of contract. Attorney Bredahl received a $5,000 check from Legacy. On December 30, 2015, and February 26, 2016, he appeared on behalf of Legacy in the Elite suit. Bredahl did not respond to discovery, resulting in an order banning Legacy from putting on evidence at trial. Legacy later retained Hankey Law but neither Legacy nor any defense counsel attended the March 2017 trial. Elite won a $1 million judgment. Elite and Legacy settled the suit for $575,000 in 2018.In October 2017, ALPS issued an insurance policy to Bredahl with loss inclusion starting October 1, 2016. In January 2018, Legacy notified ALPS of a potential claim. Legacy sued Bredahl in April 2019. Bredahl notified ALPS, which indicated that it would defend that suit subject to a complete reservation of rights, then sought a declaratory judgment that the Policy did not apply to the Legacy suit.The district court held that ALPS had no duty to indemnify or defend Bredahl. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The Policy does not apply to the Legacy suit if the “Insured” knew or reasonably should have known, as of the October 1, 2017 effective date, that his conduct during the Elite suit might be the basis for a “demand for money” against him. Before that date, Bredahl knew of acts or omissions in the Elite suit and reasonably should have known Legacy might bring a claim against him, View "ALPS Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Legacy Steel Building, Inc." on Justia Law

Cartwright, charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1); 924(a)(2), was transferred from state to federal custody for arraignment, then transferred back to state custody in violation of the anti-shuttling provisions of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (IADA). As required by the IADA, the district court dismissed the indictment. Cartwright argued that the dismissal should be with prejudice.The Eighth Circuit affirmed. When the United States is the “receiving state” under the IADA, the court may dismiss an indictment with or without prejudice and must weigh three non-exclusive factors: the seriousness of the offense; the facts and circumstances of the case; and the impact of a re-prosecution on the administration of the IADA and on the administration of justice. The crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm is a serious offense. The court properly considered Cartwright’s criminal history because it related to his possible sentence. Cartwright was transferred due to an administrative error. There was no evidence of bad faith or negligent pattern. Because the violation was inadvertent, dismissing this case without prejudice does not undermine the IADA. If further violations occur, Cartwright will have recourse; a court will take into account the repeat nature of the violation. The administration of justice is better aided by not allowing defendants to escape prosecution on serious charges because of a technical IADA violation. View "United States v. Cartwright" on Justia Law

The Stewarts purchased an RV in 2013 from Spitler, who financed their purchase through a bank loan. The RV was equipped with a refrigerator manufactured by Norcold. In 2016, the RV was destroyed in a fire that the Stewarts alleged was caused by the Norcold refrigerator. The Stewarts brought product liability claims against Norcold seeking damages including the market value of the RV, emergency expenses, the value of the lost personal property, and the payoff of the loan balance on the RV.During a summary judgment motion hearing, the Stewarts affirmed that the amount of the loan constituted “the alleged damages that are the subject of this lawsuit,” stating, “we are not seeking recovery of the damage to the RV.” The district court’s order granting Norcold summary judgment stated that “the only claim that remains … is for the loan payoff amount of $43,201.85.”On appeal, the Stewarts asserted that they “retained a damage claim against [Norcold]” for $106,885, which includes damages for the market value of the RV, emergency expenses, and the value of their personal property. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The Stewarts waived any challenge to the district court’s determination that the loan payoff amount was the only damage claim at issue. View "Stewart v. Norcold, Inc." on Justia Law