Two’s Company: How About Three or More?

JOANNA L. GROSSMAN, LAWRENCE M. FRIEDMAN

SMU Dedman School of Law professor Joanna L. Grossman and Stanford law professor Lawrence M. Friedman discuss an amendment to Utah’s law against bigamy that recently went into effect. Grossman and Friedman provide a short history of bigamy and polygamy laws in the United States and explain how and why the laws are evolving.

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Ritchie Capital Management v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Docket: 18-1130

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Grasz

Areas of Law: Business Law, Civil Procedure

The Ritchie entities filed suit seeking to recover millions of dollars they loaned Tom Petters, a convicted fraudster, and two of his companies. The Ritchie entities alleged that defendants helped conceal the fraud so that they could recover millions they had tied up with Petters' companies. The district court dismissed the claims as time-barred. The Eighth Circuit first held that the district court had subject matter jurisdiction under the Edge Act, and the court need not decide whether the district court also had subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1334(b). Furthermore, the district court was correct to apply New York choice-of-law principles to determine that Illinois law applied to the question of whether the action was time-barred. The court also held that the district court erred in concluding that Illinois's statute of limitations applied to three of the plaintiffs because the pleadings do not definitively establish their claims accrued in Illinois. The district court did not err in finding that the remaining claims were untimely under Illinois law and that the doctrines of discovery rule, equitable estoppel, and equitable tolling did not apply. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to grant the Ritchie entities leave to amend their complaint yet again because the Ritchie entities failed to submit a motion to amend or indicate what a proposed amended pleading would have stated. Finally, the court reversed the dismissal of the Ritchie Cayman entities' claims against JP Morgan Europe in order for the district court to permit jurisdictional discovery if it deems necessary to determine whether it has personal jurisdiction over JP Morgan Europe.

Spann v. Lombardi

Docket: 19-1768

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Steven M. Colloton

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Plaintiff filed suit against several prison officials in their individual capacities under 42 U.S.C. 1983, challenging a disciplinary adjudication, conditions of confinement, adequacy of medical treatment, and alleged retaliatory acts. The district court denied motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. The Eighth Circuit held that officials were entitled to a ruling on their defense of qualified immunity as to the Eighth Amendment claims in Count II. Because the order granting the motion for reconsideration effectively denied the officials' motion to dismiss without ruling on qualified immunity, the court remanded the case for further proceedings to address the question of qualified immunity on Count II. As to the remaining claims, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by determining that the officials failed to properly plead or carry their burden of proof as to any defenses of privileges and immunities. Accordingly, the court rejected the challenge to the order denying summary judgment on the remaining counts.

Independent School District No. 283 v. E.M.D.H.

Dockets: 19-1269, 19-1336

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Erickson

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Education Law

A student and her parents filed suit against the Minnesota Department of Education, alleging that the school district's failure to classify the student as disabled denied her the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The ALJ concluded that the school district's treatment of the student violated the IDEA and related state special-education laws. The district court then denied the school district's motion for judgment on the administrative record and granted, in part, the student's motion for judgment on the record, modifying the award of compensatory education. The Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the school district's request for supplementation of the record; the school district's evaluation of the student was insufficiently informed and legally deficient; the student is eligible for special education and a state-funded FAPE like every other child with a disability; the ALJ and the district court did not err in concluding the school district had breached its obligation to identify the student by the spring of her eighth-grade year as a child eligible for special education; and the district court did not err in finding plaintiffs were entitled to recover the costs associated with comprehensive psychological evaluation, educational evaluation and private educational services. However, the court reinstated the ALJ's award of compensatory education costs.

Gibson v. Concrete Equipment Co., Inc.

Docket: 18-3009

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Raymond W. Gruender

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to plaintiff's former employer, Con-E-Co, on plaintiff's sex discrimination claim, her sexual harassment claim, and her retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act. The court held that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of sex discrimination because she did not demonstrate that she met Con-E-Co's legitimate job expectations or that Con-E-Co treated her differently than similarly situated male employees; the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to Con-E-Co regarding her sexual harassment claim based on vulgar behavior directed at her by her coworkers, because plaintiff failed to demonstrate that she subjectively perceived the alleged harassment as abusive; and plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case for retaliation in response to either her race discrimination or sex discrimination complaints.

United States v. Franklin

Docket: 18-3630

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Steven M. Colloton

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of drug trafficking and firearms offenses. The court held that the district court's jury instructions adequately covered the substance of defendant's proposed instruction on "mere presence" and the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendant's proposed instruction. In this case, defendant's proposed mere presence instruction would have been largely duplicative, and the instructions as a whole already conveyed that the government must prove more than proximity to the gun and drugs in order to convict.

Lucus v. Saul

Docket: 18-3285

Opinion Date: June 3, 2020

Judge: Kobes

Areas of Law: Government & Administrative Law, Public Benefits

The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's order affirming the ALJ's denial of plaintiff's application for disability benefits. The court held that the ALJ's error in failing to provide good reason for giving plaintiff's treating psychiatrist's opinion limited weight was not harmless error. In this case, the failure to comply with SSA regulations is more than a drafting issue, it is legal error. Furthermore, the court cannot determine whether the ALJ would have reached the same decision denying benefits, even if the ALJ had followed the proper procedure for considering and explaining the value of the psychiatrist's opinion. Accordingly, the court remanded for further administrative proceedings and for reconsideration of plaintiff's claims.