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

Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of robbing two banks and attempting to rob a third. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the conviction, holding that one of the robberies was a qualifying violent felony where one of the robbers involved used a firearm, and defendant failed to meet his burden by clear and convincing evidence under 18 U.S.C. 3559(c)(3)(A) to show that the robbery was a nonqualifying felony. The court rejected defendant's Sixth Amendment argument that a right to trial by jury means that the question whether he satisfied the affirmative defense must be decided by a jury rather than a judge. The court explained that section 3559(c)(3)(A) is an affirmative defense that cannot increase the defendant's penalty. View "United States v. Blake" on Justia Law

After defendant was convicted of two drug trafficking offenses, he appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence and the sufficiency of the evidence. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of the motion to suppress, holding that the trooper had probable cause to seize defendant and another individual after he saw that the vehicle that they were in was speeding. Even assuming the trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the stop under the rule announced in Rodriguez v. United States, the trooper's extension of the seizure comported with precedent where the trooper's dog was alerted to the presence of drugs in the car approximately eight-and-a-half minutes after the trooper issued a warning notice. The court also held that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for possession with intent to distribute heroin where intentional transfer of heroin was not an element of the charged offense that the government needed to prove. View "United States v. Ahumada" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs filed suit under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. 1601-1667f, seeking to rescind their 2006 mortgage. Plaintiffs alleged that they did not receive sufficient copies of disclosures required by TILA at the December 2006 closing. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the bank, holding that plaintiffs have not demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether they received only one notice. The court explained that a borrower's own conclusory denial of receipt of TILA disclosures, unaccompanied by details or other evidence supporting the denial, was insufficient to rebut the presumption of delivery created by section 1635(c). Therefore, plaintiffs' three-day rescission window of section 1635(a) barred their request for rescission. The court also held that plaintiffs did not raise any specific objections to the accuracy of the disclosure statement during the first summary judgment proceedings. Therefore, the district court's finding was the law of the case and plaintiffs' allegations were waived. Even if the argument were not waived, plaintiffs cannot prevail because the alleged error was not a violation of TILA. View "Keiran v. Home Capital" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of distributing methamphetamine, holding that the district court properly excluded evidence related to an entrapment defense. Evidence of a second threat was properly excluded because the threat was unrelated to drug trafficking and was not relevant to defendant's claim that he was coerced into drug trafficking. Furthermore, evidence of the threat was not necessary to show the bias of a confidential informant and his friend. View "United States v. Canales" on Justia Law

3M filed an insurance claim to recover losses incurred on a number of investments due to fraud perpetrated by its own investment advisors. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Insurers, holding that the ownership requirement of Endorsement 8 applies to the Employee Dishonesty provision. Therefore, 3M does not own the stolen earnings and cannot seek coverage for the earnings under the Policy. Until the earnings were distributed to the partners, the stolen earnings were property of WG Trading, not 3M. The court explained that it is fundamental that property acquired with partnership funds is partnership property, and individual partners do not own partnership assets until the winding up of the partnership. Finally, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq., does not alter general commercial property rights, but merely defines the nature and scope of the fiduciary duties owed to plan participants. View "3M v. National Union Fire Insurance" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of attempted enticement of a minor, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict. Even if some of defendant's text messages indicated that he did not intend to have sex with the minor immediately after their meeting, the evidence would still be sufficient to demonstrate his intent despite such a willingness to delay the sexual activity. The court also concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence under FRE 404(b) of defendant's contacts with two other minors. In this case, the evidence related to defendant's plan, knowledge, and preparation; the district court gave a limiting instruction; and the introduction of the evidence ultimately did not have a substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict. View "United States v. Riepe" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against an Arkansas state police officer, alleging that the officer used excessive force by pepper spraying and choking him in the course of arresting him for taking eight pairs of shorts from a department store. The district court denied the officer qualified immunity. The Eighth Circuit held that a jury could find that the officer used an unreasonable amount of force when he pepper sprayed plaintiff. In this case, the officer used force on a non-resisting, non-fleeing individual suspected of a completed, non-violent misdemeanor. The court explained that, while some use of force was reasonable here, it was not reasonable to immediately use significant force. The district court erred in concluding that plaintiff's right not to be pepper sprayed was clearly established. The court also held that defendant unreasonably used excessive force by choking plaintiff, and plaintiff's right to be free from such force was clearly established at the time. Therefore, the district court correctly denied qualified immunity on the chocking claim. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. View "Tatum v. Robinson" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the Forest Service's determination that an 85-fold increase in predicted drilling in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forests did not require a "correction, supplement, or revision" to the original environmental analysis. The Eighth Circuit dismissed the suit based on lack of jurisdiction, holding that plaintiffs failed to identify any particular member who stands to be harmed by the government action it challenges, and that plaintiffs lack a concrete interest in this dispute. View "Ozark Society v. United States Forest Service" on Justia Law

Although IEM changed registered agents, hiring CT and terminating UCS, a change of registered agent form was not filed with the Secretary of State. A default judgment was subsequently entered against IEM after a process server delivered a summons and petition against IEM to UCS as a registered agent. IEM then filed suit against UCS and CT. The district court granted UCS's motion to dismiss and denied CT's motion to dismiss. The Eighth Circuit held that the complaint stated a plausible claim for breach of a fiduciary duty. Because UCS's status as IEM's statutory registered agent had not been revoked when UCS accepted the summons and petitions, UCS was still subject to this limited fiduciary duty. Therefore, the court reversed as to the breach of fiduciary duty claim, but affirmed in all other respects. View "International Environmental Management v. United Corporate Services" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a products liability action against defendants after his wife died of ovarian cancer. Plaintiff claimed that his wife's death was caused by her regular and prolonged use of talcum-based products. The Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed the complaint without prejudice; the district court did not abuse its discretion by reasoning that it would be more efficient to add this case to another multi-plaintiff case with the same issues because the case would likely be tried at an earlier date in state court, and the dismissal would not prejudice defendants because plaintiff's case would be consolidated with a previously scheduled trial; the district court specifically addressed plaintiff's proposed reason for dismissing the action and implicitly rejected defendants' argument that plaintiff was forum shopping; defendants did not cite any support for their contention that a motion to dismiss should be denied only because defendants would be deprived of a federal forum; and the district court did not abuse its discretion by considering the information presented in plaintiff's reply brief. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the district court to analyze whether costs and fees should be assessed and the amount, if any. . View "Blaes v. Johnson & Johnson" on Justia Law