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

The bankruptcy trustee sued Cornerstone on the insured's behalf, alleging that Cornerstone breached its duty to defend the insured by failing to timely file an answer to a complaint filed against him. The insurance policy was in effect when the insured's car collided with another vehicle.The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Cornerstone on the trustee's claim because Cornerstone had no duty to defend when the insured did not strictly comply with a condition precedent to coverage. In this case, the insured was required to strictly comply with the policy provision mandating that he promptly forward the legal papers he received to Cornerstone, but he failed to do so. Furthermore, the actions of the claims representative did not waive the policy's requirement that the insured promptly forward any legal papers to Cornerstone, nor did they estop Cornerstone from denying coverage based on noncompliance. View "Dowden v. Cornerstone National Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Westfield Insurance in an action seeking a declaratory judgment that it owed no obligations to Advanced Auto, Advanced Auto's employee, or their insurer, Carolina Casualty. The court agreed with the district court that neither the employee nor Advanced Auto was an "insured" under the policy that Westfield Insurance issued to Westfield Insurance's insured, Worldwide. In this case, when Worldwide turned over the truck to McNeilus, Worldwide had no control over who was driving the truck until McNeilus finished its work and returned the truck to Worldwide. View "Westfield Insurance Co. v. Carolina Casualty Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's finding that Selective denied insurance coverage in bad faith and the district court's award of taxable costs and prejudgment interest. In this case, Selective sought a declaration of no coverage for the insured's hailstorm-damaged property, alleging fraud by misrepresentation and breach of contract. The insured counterclaimed and later added a claim for bad faith denial of benefits under Minn. Stat. 604.18, which would entitle him to taxable costs. A jury found in favor of the insured and a panel of appraisers assessed damages. The court concluded that the district court did not err in allowing the insured's section 604.18 claim to proceed; there was no error in awarding taxable costs under section 604.18, subdivision 2(a), based on the district court's determination that no reasonable insurer would have relied on any of Selective's proposed bases to deny defendant's hail claim for fraud; and there was no error in the district court's award of prejudgment interest. View "Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina v. Sela" on Justia Law

After determining that it had appellate jurisdiction, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's order concluding that the National Indian Gaming Commission correctly determined that the Ponca Restoration Act does not preclude gambling on a parcel of land in Iowa that is held in trust by the United States for the Tribe because the land is eligible as part of the restoration of lands for an Indian tribe that is restored to federal recognition. However, because the Commission failed to consider a relevant factor in evaluating whether the parcel is restored land for the Tribe, the court remanded to the Commission for further consideration. View "City of Council Bluffs v. U.S. Department of the Interior" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's award of damages after a bench trial that resulted in a judgment in favor of appellees and a group of state guaranty associations where the district court ruled that Allegiant Bank breached its fiduciary duties in administering seven trusts, and that PNC was liable for the breach as the successor-in-interest to National City Bank, which in turn had acquired Allegiant.The court concluded that the district court did not clearly err in calculating the compensatory damages award; even assuming for the sake of analysis that Missouri law does require damages to be readily ascertainable to award prejudgment interest, the court still found no basis for reversal of the award of prejudgment interest; assuming that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a) was not the proper source of authority for the district court's correction of a clerical mistake, any error was harmless; considered in its entirety, the evidence supports an award of punitive damages; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees and PNC's claims to the contrary are unavailing. View "Jo Ann Howard & Assoc., PC v. National City Bank" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and 120-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction and thus the district court did not err in denying his motion for acquittal or a new trial. The court also concluded that the district court properly applied a sentencing enhancement under USSG 2K2.1(a)(2) based on defendant's prior controlled substance convictions under Iowa and Illinois law. View "United States v. Henderson" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit denied a petition for review challenging the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court rejected petitioner's challenge to the non-per-se-PSC (particularly serious crime) term under 8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii)) as unconstitutionally vague, concluding that the statute's text, while ambiguous, does more than apply to a crime's imagined, ordinary case and it imposes standards that must reference underlying facts. The court also rejected petitioner's alternative, non-refoulement claim. In this case, after determining that petitioner committed a PSC (past), the IJ did not need to conduct a separate danger-to-the-community analysis (present or future). Finally, the court concluded that petitioner was not entitled to CAT relief where he concedes that his evidence does not meet the more-likely-than-not standard of proof for being tortured if he were returned to Somalia. View "Mumad v. Garland" on Justia Law

Robert McGowen served as the president, was on the board of directors, and was a shareholder of MHCS, an account firm. After McGowen obtained a personal loan from Commerce Bank, Commerce attempted to secure McGowen's personal loan by his signature on a pledge that purportedly made his shares of stock in MHCS collateral, and Commerce also required that McGowen obtain MHCS’s signature on a document acknowledging the pledge. When McGowen defaulted, the parties disputed the enforceability of the pledge and the acknowledgement against MHCS.The Eighth Circuit concluded that MHCS has standing to seek a declaratory judgment regarding the pledge where MHCS has shown an injury in fact, traceability, and redressability. Under Iowa law, a shareholder cannot make a voluntary transfer of shares in a professional corporation unless both of the following are true: (1) the transfer is to the professional corporation to which the shares belong or to an individual who is licensed to practice in Iowa in the same profession the corporation is authorized to practice, and (2) the transfer is authorized by the shareholders. The court concluded that there is no evidence that the pledge can meet these requirements. The court further concluded that even if the pledge's illegality did not infect the acknowledgement, MHCS would still not be bound by the acknowledgement because McGowen did not have the authority to enter into it on MHCS's behalf. In this case, McGowen did not have actual or apparent authority. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of MHCS. View "McGowen, Hurst, Clark & Smith, PC v. Commerce Bank" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's order reducing defendant's sentence under section 404(b) of the First Step Act. The court concluded that the district court committed no procedural error in declining to further reduce defendant's sentence where nothing in the record indicates the district court believed it was bound to keep the sentence within the current Guidelines range, and the district court did not deny its authority to reevaluate defendant's criminal history category. Finally, the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to consider relevant and significant factors supporting a discretionary sentencing reduction. Rather, the record demonstrates that the district court considered defendant's arguments and set forth a reasoned basis for exercising its sentencing discretion. View "United States v. Anderson" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm after he brandished a stolen rifle in a stranger's backyard. The court concluded that, even if justification can serve as a defense to a felon-in-possession charge, the facts in this case do not support a justification for possessing the rifle at issue. The court reversed defendant's sentence and remanded for resentencing where the government concedes that defendant's Texas conviction for aggravated-assault did not qualify as a violent felony for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act. View "United States v. Hoxworth" on Justia Law