On Tuesday, December 10, 2019, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruled against actor Bill Cosby in his appeal to overturn three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby and his lawyers presented eight (8) grounds for appeal. The appeal was denied in a nintey-four (94) page order, written by President Judge Emeritus, John T. Bender.
Seven transgender women who are inmates in Colorado men's state prisons have filed a class action lawsuit against multiple government defendants, alleging that abuse occurring in those prisons violates state anti-discrimination law, and that state prison officials are discriminating against them on the basis of gender identity. The case was filed on behalf of an estimated 170 transgender women, and alleges that they are being held in unsafe conditions which have led to systemic violence, rape, and harassment.
Operators of websites on which users advertise firearms for sale are not legally responsible for illegal sales and resulting injuries or deaths.
On Monday, November 18, 2019, Judge Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, issued an order declining to grant a motion for partial summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal immigration agencies. The ACLU seeks information, via a FOIA request, as to the federal agencies' surveillance of social media users. Judge Chen's ruling allows the case to move forward.
Last week, Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California joined federal courts in New York and Washington state in striking down the Denial of Care Rule put forth by the US Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year. Judge Alsup declared the rule, which would permit health care workers to decline to provide services, care, or information to patients due to the worker's personal religious or moral beliefs, discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The Court's decision in a battle over basic software codes will end a decade of litigation between the two tech companies and shape the future of the software industry.
A former employee of a Michigan McDonald's franchise has filed a class action lawsuit in state court alleging a "culture of sexual harassment" at the company, and seeking $5 million in damages for the purported class members. If the case moves forward as a class action, over four dozen women who have worked at the restaurant in question could join the lawsuit.
Rather than suing hacking websites directly, Facebook is suing the companies that provide hosting services for these websites, alleging trademark infringement and cybersquatting.
On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, Judge Myron H. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama granted a preliminary injunction in Robinson et al v. Marshall, a lawsuit challenging Alabama Act No. 2019-189. The statute imposes criminal liability on abortion providers for almost all abortions, whether completed or attempted, regardless of fetal viability. The preliminary injunction prevents enforcement of the statute only as applied to pre-viability abortions. The statute is set to go into effect on November 15, 2019.
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the organizers of a 2017 white power rally in Charlottesville, Virginia are seeking to invoke a Civil War-era statute in utilizing the defendants' online statements to prove that they engaged in an illegal conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence. Defendants insist that their actions are protected by the First Amendment, though the judge in this case has declined to dismiss the plaintiffs' complaint on free speech grounds. The outcome of this case will likely be a strong indicator of whether and to what extent the statute at issue can be relied upon to curb online hate speech and its consequences.