Karimi v. Holder The 4th Circuit grants an Afghan citizen’s petition for review of a final order of removal, and says the government failed to prove that his act of “grabbing” the hand of a police officer who was processing his Maryland DUI charge was not a “crime of violence” and thus an “aggravated felony” that would trigger his removal under federal immigration law.
K.C. v. Shipman In this case involving a cutback in Medicaid services to a class of North Carolina recipients with severe developmental disabilities, the 4th Circuit dismisses an appeal of a preliminary injunction ordering the state Medicaid agency not to reduce services without a hearing; the state agency that administers the Medicaid program has not joined in this appeal filed by the contract healthcare provider that manages the services and its director.
U.S. v. Grant A district court abused its discretion in adding as a special condition to defendant’s sentencing order an obligation to turn over any tax refund as part of her restitution for illegal receipt of social security payments, and the 4th Circuit vacates the order setting the special condition.
Branigan v. TD Bank NA In a “Chapter 20” bankruptcy case – a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filed within four years of a Chapter 7 discharge – there is no per se rule barring lien-stripping, and the 4th Circuit affirms an order stripping off liens secured by collateral with no value to support them in this suit involving debtors’ residences
A chief warrant officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, who left his job as a municipal waste manager for periods of active service with the Coast Guard, waited too long to file his suit under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, and the 4th Circuit affirms the district court decision that the suit is barred by the four-year federal “catchall” statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a).
DiFederico v. Marriott Int’l Inc. The family of a former naval commander who worked as a private security contractor and who was killed in a 2008 terrorist bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, is entitled to heightened deference to their decision to sue Marriott in a Maryland federal court instead of a Pakistani court, and because the district court erred in its analysis of the forum non conveniens issue, the 4th Circuit reverses dismissal of the suit and remands the matter.
U.S. v. Davis The 4th Circuit reverses a sentencing order insofar as it required defendant to pay $685 in restitution for a homeowner’s broken window and homeowner’s deductible, on defendant’s conviction pursuant to a plea agreement to possession of a stolen firearm; the presentence report identified no “victim” of the offense of conviction, and the restitution order was not authorized by statute.
Coleman v. Drug Enforcement Administration Despite a statutory mandate requiring federal agencies to respond to FOIA requests and appeals within 20 working days, defendant Drug Enforcement Administration ultimately took two and one-half years to respond to plaintiff’s request for documents concerning the federal government’s regulation of the drug carisoprodol, and the 4th Circuit says the exhausted plaintiff has exhausted his administrative remedies, reverses the district court judgment for the agency, and remands the case for further proceedings.
Unspam Technologies Inc. v. Chernuk Defendant foreign banks cannot be sued in a Virginia federal district court for an alleged global cyber-crime conspiracy to collect funds from the sale of illegal counterfeit prescription drugs over the Internet to American consumers; the 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of this suit for injunctive relief for lack of personal jurisdiction over the foreign banks.
U.S. v. Abdulwahab : In this fraud case involving a scheme to sell life settlement investments, which resulted in nearly $100 million in losses for investors, the 4th Circuit interprets “proceeds” of the scheme as “net profits” and overturns defendant’s money laundering convictions; the court affirms defendant’s remaining fraud convictions, but vacates defendant’s sentence and remands for resentencing
