HARTZ, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs Kathleen and Terry Kirch appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants United Telephone Company of Eastern Kansas and Embarq Management Company (collectively "Embarq") on the Kirches' claim that Embarq intercepted their Internet communications in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), Pub. L. No. 99-508, 100 Stat. 1848. Embarq is an Internet service provider (ISP). The alleged interceptions occurred...
MURPHY, Circuit Judge. I. Introduction Defendant-Appellee Elizabeth E., at all times relevant to this appeal, was a student in the Jefferson County, Colorado school system with substantial behavioral and emotional issues for which she required special education under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act ("IDEA" or the "Act"), 20 U.S.C. 1400. In November 2008, Elizabeth's parents, Roxanne B. and David E. ("Parents"), enrolled her at Innercept, LLC ("Innercept"), a residential...
LUCERO, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs seek to appeal an order remanding this suit to New Mexico state court. They originally filed an action against Vanderbilt Capital Advisors, LLC, two of its operatives, and several New Mexico state officials in New Mexico state court. Plaintiffs allege that state investment decisions were made under a corrupt "pay to play" system benefitting politically connected individuals at the expense of public pensioners. The suit was removed to federal court. However,...
MATHESON, Circuit Judge. Appellant Gary Blehm brought this copyright infringement action against brothers Albert and John Jacobs and the Life is Good Company (collectively "Life is Good"). 1 Mr. Blehm is the creator of copyrighted posters featuring cartoon characters called "Penmen." He contends that numerous Life is Good depictions of a cartoon character called "Jake" infringe on his copyrighted works. The district court granted Life is Good's motion for summary judgment, holding that no...
O'BRIEN, Circuit Judge. In 2002, Frontier State Bank began using a "leverage strategy" under which it funded long-term investments with short-term borrowing to generate profits from the difference ("spread") between long-term and short-term interest rates. This strategy, while lucrative for the bank — at least in the short run — caused significant concern for bank examiners at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) who raised the issue with Frontier during routine examinations. After...
BRISCOE, Chief Judge. Plaintiff Willie Barlow, Jr., appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment for his former employer, C.R. England, Inc., on his claims for race discrimination, 1 wrongful discharge in violation of Colorado public policy, and failure to pay overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). England employed Barlow as a security guard and also paid him to perform janitorial work through a company Barlow formed. Barlow began receiving workers'...
MATHESON, Circuit Judge. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. (collectively "Plaintiffs"), as subrogees of Boart Longyear, Inc., sued Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd. ("Thyssen") and Mudjatik Thyssen Mining Joint Venture ("MTM") (collectively "Defendants") in New Mexico for negligence relating to the collapse of a mine that MTM was excavating in Canada. The district court dismissed MTM for lack of personal jurisdiction and dismissed the entire case under...
PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge. This case stems from the death of a minor child, 23-month-old Brooklyn Coons ("BIC"), on January 20, 2008, at the hands of her father's girlfriend. Plaintiffs-Appellants, Larry and Mary Crosetto and the Estate of BIC, filed an action alleging that a social worker, Defendant-Appellee, Linda Gillen, created the danger that resulted in the death of their granddaughter and denied them their rights to familial association. The district court granted summary judgment...
BRISCOE, Chief Judge. This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss asserting qualified immunity. At issue is the scope of the special relationship doctrine and whether it would apply to the facts alleged to expose two human services employees to potential individual liability for the death of a seven-year-old child in foster care. 1 After their son, Chandler Grafner, died while in the foster care of Jon Phillips and Sarah Berry, Chandler's biological parents,...
KELLY, Circuit Judge. Sturgeon Stewart appeals from the district court's judgment in favor of defendants on his claims under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. 2000cc to 2000cc-5 (RLUIPA). Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND Stewart was an inmate in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) and confined at the El Dorado Correctional Facility (El...
HOLMES, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Bruce M. Jones, II appeals from a district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. He sought to suppress all evidence that Kansas law enforcement obtained from searches of his residence and vehicle pursuant to search warrants issued by a Kansas state court, including an estimated 355 marijuana plants. Mr. Jones alleges that officers of the Missouri State Highway Patrol — who in these circumstances had no authority under Kansas law to...
BRISCOE, Chief Judge. Defendant Skoshi Farr was convicted by a jury of violating 26 U.S.C. 7201 for willfully failing to pay a trust fund recovery penalty that the Internal Revenue Service assessed against her after she, as the manager of an alternative medical clinic, failed to pay quarterly employment taxes owed by the clinic. Farr now appeals her conviction, contending she was denied her Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial by the district court's rulings which permitted the admission of...
KELLY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs-Appellants, eight operators and a supervisor at the City of Albuquerque's 311 Citizen Contact Center, appeal from the grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants-Appellees City of Albuquerque, Ed Adams, and Esther Tenenbaum, on claims arising from their termination. Gonzales v. City of Albuquerque, 849 F.Supp.2d 1123 (D.N.M.2011). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291, and we affirm. Background The City of Albuquerque (the City) has a 311...
MATHESON, Circuit Judge. Gayen Hancock, David Cross, Montez Mutzig, and James Bollinger (collectively "Plaintiffs") seek to represent a class of customers dissatisfied with "U-verse," a digital telecommunications service. The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma dismissed their claims based on forum selection and arbitration clauses in the U-verse terms of service. Plaintiffs appeal the dismissal of their claims. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C....
TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge. Regina Daniels, a former United Parcel Service dispatcher who worked in UPS's Kansas City, Kansas facility, brought suit against UPS alleging discrimination based on her sex and age. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of UPS, and Daniels appeals. We conclude the district court did not err in finding (1) most of Daniels's discrimination claims were untimely; and (2) the claims of discrimination and retaliation that were timely failed as a matter of...
MATHESON, Circuit Judge. In 2007, employees of Richard Energy, an Oklahoma company, traveled to China and arranged with RG Petro, a Chinese manufacturer, to purchase rigs that are used to repair oil wells. Richard Energy took possession of the rigs in China and exported them to the United States. The rigs were consigned to Eagle Well Service, Inc. ("EWS"), a Kansas corporation, and delivered in Kansas. EWS later moved one of the rigs to Oklahoma, where Joel Monge, an EWS employee covered by...
BALDOCK, Circuit Judge. In August 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) commenced "regular" removal proceedings against Petitioner Antonio Aguilar-Aguilar, a citizen of Mexico, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1229a. In response to the Notice to Appear (NTA), Petitioner conceded his removability under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as "[a]n alien present in the United States without being admitted." Petitioner informed the immigration judge (IJ), however, that he was in the process of seeking...
LUCERO, Circuit Judge. William Satterfield brought suit against Patrick J. Malloy III, the court-appointed trustee of Satterfield's Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate. The district court concluded that the suit was barred by Barton v. Barbour, 104 U.S. 126 , 26 L.Ed. 672 (1881), because Satterfield's claims are based on actions Malloy took as trustee and Satterfield did not first obtain permission from the bankruptcy court. Satterfield contends that Barton does not apply because Malloy's actions...
TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge. This case concerns the construction of a new Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail/truck terminal outside Kansas City, Kansas. Because the preferred site contained streams and wetlands protected under federal law, several groups (collectively, Hillsdale) brought challenges to a dredge and fill permit issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387, and the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C....
KELLY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellant Frank Brown filed this action against his former employer Defendant-Appellee ScriptPro, LLC, alleging violations of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 based on his termination in November 2008. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of ScriptPro, and Mr. Brown appeals. See Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC, No. 10-2296-JAR, 2011 WL 3880855 (D.Kan. Sept. 1, 2011)....
