CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit dismissed the appeal brought by a Catholic health care group and the American College of Pediatricians, who both challenged a Biden administration “gender identity mandate” that required doctors to perform gender-affirming care even if it defies their religious beliefs or medical judgment. Because the administration updated its guidance this year, the matter is moot and the appeal is dismissed.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of a suit brought by the sponsors of state legislation that would put an age limit on candidates for federal office. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thornton decision bars states from placing qualifications on such candidates; the sponsors acknowledge that Utah courts cannot overturn Thornton, and sought affirmation in order to challenge the Supreme Court’s precedent.
BROOKLYN — A federal court in New York upheld the default judgment rendered against an Astoria restaurant, Rice K, which is liable for a worker’s claim for unpaid wages. The restaurant must pay $210,548 in damages. Its owners were served and they failed to raise substantive arguments against the claims.
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Firefighters and local officials in a Long Island village are entitled to qualified immunity on a resident’s Fourth Amendment claim filed after the fire department entered his property without permission or a warrant after a neighbor complained. A federal court in New York ruled that exigent circumstances authorized the entry, as there was a strong gas odor originating from a decaying car battery, posing a fire hazard.
BOSTON — Massachusetts citizens will get to vote yes or no to a petition asking whether students receiving state-funded education should be allowed to satisfy competency requirements for graduation without taking the state’s Comprehensive Assessment System tests. The state’s high court ruled that the title and voting options are a suitable shorthand reference for voters.
ALBANY, N.Y. — An appeals court in New York reversed a lower court’s decision to throw out two provisions in the state education department’s regulations, which look to ensure that private schools provide “substantially equivalent” education to students compared to public schools. The appellate court says that to find that an alternative school is not substantially equivalent, is not equivalent to closing the school, it’s just a determination about the curriculum on offer, one which figures into other legal considerations.
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court ruled the state’s labor commissioner should not have penalized the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Sparks for not requiring a developer to pay prevailing wages. The agency transferred property to that developer, who promised to keep it as free public parking for 50 years. The commissioner had failed to determine whether the agency had given the developer a financial incentive worth more than $100,000, which is the only way to trigger the prevailing-wages requirement.
HARRISBURG, Penn. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a piano teacher’s sentence after he sexually assaulted one of his students while working as a music professor at Temple University while she played for him. He appealed the preclusion of an expert witness, but the court properly ruled the testimony would be irrelevant; he wanted another professor to say that, because she would not have passed the student based on her playing, the student had motive to fabricate a story of sexual assault.
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal court partially dismissed consumers’ class action against the maker of Blue Ice Vodka, which holds itself as “hand-crafted” and “fit-friendly” but is allegedly a high-calorie product of low quality. The consumers’ federal breach of warranty claim is not sufficiently alleged, and their unjust enrichment claims fail to the extend that they rely on an unsupportive Florida statute.
MANHATTAN — A federal court in New York dismissed an NYC hotel’s lawsuit against its insurers, which refused to pay for costs arising from a fire that started while the hotel was working with the city to house homeless families seeking asylum. It wasn’t licensed to be a shelter, but the policy’s $250,000 shelter deductible applies due to its use, and the fire’s damages don’t exceed that amount.
DENVER — A Colorado doctor settled her lawsuit against the Catholic hospital that fired her after she consoled a terminally ill patient seeking aid-in-dying. The terms of the settlement are not disclosed, and each party is paying their own fees and costs.
