Case Summaries

Elections

[03/02] Unity08 v. FEC
In an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenge to the Federal Elections Commission's advisory opinion on the question of whether plaintiff would be required to register as a political committee before selecting candidates, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where, absent any compelling ground for distinguishing FEC v. Machinists Non-Partisan Political League, 655 F.2d 380 (D.C. Cir. 1981), plaintiff was not subject to regulation as a political committee unless and until it selected a "clearly identified" candidate.

[02/25] Young v. Hosemann
In an action claiming that section 241 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi granted plaintiff-felons the right to vote in presidential elections, dismissal of the action is affirmed where the plain language of the provision did not support plaintiffs' argument.

[02/23] In re: Stewart
In proceedings under article 16 of the Election Law following the general election challenging certain ballots, the appellate division's order modifying the trial court's order is affirmed where: 1) one voter was not a resident of the voting district and therefore the voter's affidavit ballot must be invalidated; 2) the Board of Elections properly hand-counted the two unscanned optical scan ballots; and 3) the Board of Election's failure to adhere to the provisions of the Election Law did not require the invalidation of two of the absentee ballots at issue.

[02/23] In re: Maron
In multiple article 78 actions by current and former State Supreme Court Justices claiming that they were owed a salary increase, judgment for defendants is modified where 1) the Legislature's failure to address the effects of inflation in this case did not equate to a per se violation of the Compensation Clause; 2) the situation did not involve any legislative enactment that directly or indirectly diminished judicial compensation; but 3) the state defendants' failure to consider judicial compensation on the merits violated the separation of powers doctrine.

[02/18] Browning v. Florida Hometown Democracy, Inc., PAC
Decision of the First District of Court of Appeal that the signature-revocation provisions of Florida Statutes section 100.371 and associated implementing regulations are unconstitutional is affirmed as the district court correctly concluded that signature revocation is neither contemplated by the self-executing plain text of article XI, nor is it necessary to ensure ballot integrity and a valid election process. Therefore, the signature-revocation provisions provided in section 100.371 and Florida Administrative Code Rules 1S-2.0091 and 1S-2.0095 violate the Florida Constitution and are void and without effect.

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Education

[03/09] Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch.
In an employment discrimination and retaliation action brought by a teacher at a religious school claiming violations of the ADA, the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant based on the "ministerial exception" is vacated and remanded as, given the factual findings relating to plaintiff's primary duties as a teacher, the district court erred in its legal conclusion classifying her as a ministerial employee.

[03/02] Doe v. Kamehamema Schs./Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate
In a racial discrimination action against a school district in which plaintiffs, four minor children, sought to proceed anonymously in their suit, dismissal of the action is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow anonymity because the district court did not clearly err in its conclusion that plaintiffs did not reasonably fear severe harm.

[03/01] San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist. v. Laidlaw Transit, Inc.
In qui tam plaintiffs' suit seeking to recover funds on behalf of the San Francisco Unified School District under the California False Claims Act (CFCA), trial court's dismissal of the action is reversed as, under the CFCA, a vendor impliedly certifies that it complies with its express contractual requirements when it bills a public agency for providing goods and services, and allegations that the implied certification was false and had a natural tendency to influence the public agency's decision to pay for the goods or services are sufficient to survive a demurrer.

[02/23] Fairchild v. Liberty Indep. Sch. Dist.
In an action claiming that defendants violated plaintiff's First Amendment rights after firing her from a public school teacher position because they did not allow her at a school board meeting to present her side of her troubles with a teacher for whom she had been an aide, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where the board's policies were both viewpoint-neutral and reasonable in light of the forum's purpose.

[02/23] D.L. v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 497
In an action challenging a local school district's conclusion that plaintiff-students were ineligible for special education services, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs abandoned their Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act claims by failing to provide supplemental briefing to clarify and update the claims; and 2) plaintiffs lacked standing because they could not establish any causation between defendants' allegedly discriminatory conduct and any injury suffered by plaintiffs.

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