U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2009

The court dismissed Wright’s interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity because trial had already occurred, eliminating the interest in avoiding trial that justified immediate review.

The en banc court affirmed the denial of Hinkson’s motion for a new trial, adopting an objective two-part test for abuse-of-discretion review and concluding the district court’s application of the new-trial standard was not illogical, implausible, or unsupported by the record.

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment to California Medical Facility prison officials on prisoner Michael Brodheim's First Amendment retaliation claim, holding that the claim was not barred by res judicata because California's primary rights theory, not the federal transactional…

The Ninth Circuit held that the defendants could not establish fraudulent joinder by relying on an implied-preemption defense that went to the merits of the plaintiff’s claims against all defendants.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of disability benefits, concluding that the ALJ adequately accounted for the medical evidence and gave legally sufficient reasons for discounting the disputed medical and testimonial evidence.

The court held that the complaint’s factual allegations did not plausibly support an inference that Secret Service agents ordered the relocation of an anti-Bush demonstration because of its viewpoint, and reversed the denial of qualified immunity while allowing amendment.

The Ninth Circuit held that the foreign supplier employees had not plausibly alleged claims against Wal-Mart as third-party beneficiaries, joint employees, negligence plaintiffs, or claimants for unjust enrichment, and affirmed dismissal of the complaint.

The Ninth Circuit vacated the judgment upholding the denial of benefits and remanded for further agency proceedings. It held that the ALJ did not give the required specific, clear, and convincing reasons for discounting Vasquez’s symptom testimony and directed that testimony be credited as true on remand; the ALJ must…

The court affirmed the preliminary injunction against further sales and affirmed the denial of Marlyn’s motion for reconsideration, concluding that the district court applied the proper injunction standard, did not clearly err in finding that Mucos had not ceased production, and acted within its discretion in…

The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Kearns's Third Amended Complaint, which alleged violations of California's CLRA and UCL based on Ford's Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle program.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed judgment for prison officials after a bench trial, holding that Palmer knowingly and voluntarily waived his jury right when he chose a bench trial to present witnesses by telephone.

The court remanded the asylum-timeliness question because the agency treated gathering supporting documents as categorically incapable of justifying delay instead of assessing reasonableness under the circumstances.

The court reversed the district court’s judgment because the ALJ did not make the specific written findings on transferable skills required by SSR 82-41, preventing meaningful review of a dispositive issue. It held that this requirement applies even when the ALJ relies on vocational-expert testimony.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District of Oregon's dismissal with prejudice of a securities-fraud complaint against Digimarc Corporation and two officers, holding that the Second Amended Complaint failed to plead a strong inference of scienter under Rule 9(b) and the PSLRA.