U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2007

The court held that Frederico’s dismissal without prejudice was final and appealable because she chose to stand on her complaint, and that federal jurisdiction existed under CAFA because the complaint did not cap class damages and the alleged class size could exceed the jurisdictional threshold.

The court held that Pennsylvania could exercise specific personal jurisdiction over the Barbados hotel because the hotel deliberately solicited and contracted with the O’Connors in Pennsylvania for spa services, and their negligence claims related closely to obligations arising from that contract.

The Third Circuit affirmed dismissal of a general contractor's breach-of-contract and promissory estoppel suit against a concrete subcontractor whose written bid expressly disclaimed firmness and reliance.

The Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of Baraka’s federal claims arising from the repeal of New Jersey’s poet laureate position and the nonpayment of its honorarium. It held that the officials’ actions supporting the repeal were protected legislative acts, that Baraka had no constitutionally protected entitlement to…

Sitting en banc, the Third Circuit held that the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment does not require facts supporting Sentencing Guidelines enhancements — even facts amounting to a 'separate offense' — to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt; under the advisory Guidelines regime created by Booker, the…

The court upheld the ALJ’s findings that Poulos’s neurological impairment was not severe and that his impairments did not meet or equal a listed impairment. It reversed the District Court’s order because the ALJ could not rely on the Medical-Vocational Guidelines to find Poulos not disabled in the presence of…