Case Summaries
Criminal Law & Procedure
Probate Trusts
Tax Law
Criminal Law & Procedure
[08/21]
Wozny v. Grams
Denial of habeas relief to petitioner convicted of sexual assault of children is affirmed over claims that his pleas were not knowing and voluntary, where: 1) petitioner's pleading no contest and apologizing to his victims were admissions of guilt; 2) the record indicated that petitioner was aware of the elements of his crimes when he entered his plea; and 3) the limited time afforded petitioner prior to trial to agree to the pleas did not make them involuntary.
[08/21]
US v. Carson
Sentence for conspiring to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of unlawful sexual activity and interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct is affirmed where, for purposes of applying a sentencing enhancement, the minor victim was properly determined to be in defendant's custody, care, or supervisorial control, despite argument that the victim's mother's presence gave her sole custody and control.
[08/21]
Wheeler v. Lawson
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit alleging that defendant-sheriff's officer unlawfully arrested plaintiff without probable cause for maintaining a common nuisance, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) defendant could not demonstrate that plaintiff had knowledge that her garage was being used to manufacture methamphetamine, and so lacked probable cause to arrest plaintiff; but 2) defendant was entitled to qualified immunity on the basis that a reasonable officer could have believed that probable cause existed.
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Probate Trusts
[08/13]
Estate of Thottam
In a mediation matter relating to distribution of assets to the three children of the deceased, judgment is reversed where: 1) there is nothing in Evidence Code section 1123(c) requiring that an express agreement in writing permitting disclosure be contained in a settlement agreement; 2) the court erred in reading a timing requirement into section 1123(c); 3) the mediation and facilitation confidentiality agreement satisfied the exception to mediation confidentiality under section 1123(c); and 4) there was sufficient evidence before the court to establish the preliminary fact that a chart created at the mediation was a settlement agreement for purposes of section 1123(c).
[08/01]
Estate of Molino
In probate proceedings involving appellant's claims that he had valid assignments entitling him to a percentage of respondents' inheritance, summary judgment against appellant is affirmed where: 1) the 1997 agreements were not enforceable as they were void as against public policy; and 2) appellant could not rely on ratification or laches to enforce the agreements.
[07/16]
Perrin v. Lee
In a probate proceeding, denial of plaintiffs' section 21320 safe harbor petition for a determination that their proposed petition to invalidate two trust amendments would not be a contest within the meaning of a no contest clause in a trust is reversed where: 1) the trust did not explicitly state that a contest to an amendment would violate the no contest clause; and 2) the no contest clause was not incorporated by reference into the amendments.
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Tax Law
[08/21]
Pac. Fisheries Inc. v. US
In an action claiming that the IRS improperly withheld or redacted certain documents responsive to plaintiff-company's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, summary judgment for the IRS is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for a determination as to whether the treaty exemption applies and whether factual portions of certain documents subject to the deliberative process privilege were properly segregated and disclosed.
[08/19]
US v. Farr
A conviction for tax fraud is reversed where during trial the government constructively amended the indictment against her, trying her not just for the crime described in the indictment (failure to pay quarterly employment taxes for a medical clinic) but also for a separate and additional offense (failure to pay a trust fund recovery penalty assessed against her personally). The circuit court does, however, reject a claim that there was insufficient evidence in the record to sustain her conviction, and that consequently she could not be subjected to retrial under a lawful indictment.
[08/19]
US v. City of New York
In a qui tam False Claims Act action challenging a local law requiring non-resident city employee-plaintiffs to pay a fee equivalent to the municipal income taxes paid by resident city-employees, motion to dismiss plaintiffs' appeal is granted where: 1) since the government has declined to intervene in a False Claims action, it is not a party to the action within the meaning of Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1); and therefore, 2) a notice of appeal had to be filed within 30 days.
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