The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an insurer, holding that unambiguous lending exclusions in a professional liability policy barred coverage for a California bank’s defense and settlement costs arising from Ponzi scheme litigation.
The Ninth Circuit revived willful FCRA and CCRAA claims against Wells Fargo for pulling credit reports after opening unauthorized bank accounts, but upheld dismissal of negligence claims for insufficiently pleaded actual damages.
The Ninth Circuit applies the Supreme Court’s Urias-Orellana decision, holding that the highly deferential substantial evidence standard governs the entirety of the BIA’s asylum conclusions, including whether undisputed facts constitute persecution.
The Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a California consumer fraud class action, holding that a licorice product’s “Free of Artificial Colors & Flavors” label can mislead reasonable consumers when the product allegedly contains petroleum-derived DL malic acid as a flavoring.
The Ninth Circuit affirms that Bank of America’s right to compel arbitration under its standard Deposit Agreement is not subject to an exception for judicial reference under California CCP § 638, holding that judicial reference applies only when neither party has invoked arbitration.
The Ninth Circuit holds that Younger abstention does not apply to a class action by LA County foster youth challenging systemic failures in housing, mental health, and services, because ongoing dependency proceedings are designed to protect children—not prosecute parents.
The Ninth Circuit held that a public university violated a professor’s First Amendment rights by investigating and reprimanding him for inserting a counter-statement to a recommended land acknowledgment in his syllabus.
The Ninth Circuit held that Loper Bright’s elimination of Chevron deference does not undermine AEDPA’s deferential standard in habeas cases, reversing a district court’s grant of relief to a California death-row inmate.
Ninth Circuit orders EPA to strengthen regulation of decaBDE, a toxic flame retardant, holding the agency failed to justify exemptions for recycling, waste disposal, wastewater, and sewage sludge under TSCA’s expedited rulemaking mandate.
The Ninth Circuit holds that when a racially biased juror is discovered and removed before a verdict is accepted, courts must apply the Remmer framework’s heavy presumption of prejudice—and reverses a tax-fraud conviction because the government could not rebut that presumption.