ORDER CERTIFYING QUESTIONS OF LAW TO THE SUPREME COURT OF OKLAHOMA JAMES H. PAYNE, District Judge. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, pursuant to the Revised Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Act, OKLA. STAT. tit. 20, 1601 et seq., hereby submits to the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma the following certified questions which may be determinative of an issue in the above-captioned matter now pending before this Court, but which does not...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT STEVEN P. SHREDER, Magistrate Judge. Upon consideration of the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issues of Breach of the Duty of good Faith and Fair Dealing and "Other Damages" Insurance Coverage and Brief in Support [Docket No. 42], the Court finds genuine issues of material fact as to the following questions: (i) whether the Defendant breached its contract of insurance with the Plaintiffs by failing to pay for...
ORDER RONALD A. WHITE, District Judge. Before the court is Defendants' motion to dismiss [Docket No. 6]. Plaintiff filed his Petition in the District Court of Pittsburg County on April 9, 2012. In his Petition, Plaintiff brings two causes of action: (1) breach of implied contract, and (2) violation of public policy. On May 4, 2012, Defendants removed the state court action to this court. Removal to this court is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1441. Plaintiff alleges that he was employed by...
ORDER RONALD A. WHITE, District Judge. This action was filed on March 21, 2012. On May 14, 2012, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss and compel arbitration, or in the alternative, to stay proceedings pending arbitration (hereinafter "motion to compel arbitration"). On June 15, 2012, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint, adding Eddie Howard as a Plaintiff. On June 21, 2012, this court entered an Order denying Defendant's motion to compel arbitration. The court opined that the Fair Labor...
OPINION AND ORDER FRANK H. SEAY, Judge. Defendants, Pushmataha County Board of Commissioners, Jim Duncan, and John Doe (Deputy Marvin)(collectively "County Defendants"), removed this action to this federal court from the District Court of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, by filing their Notice and Petition of Removal on June 20, 2012, alleging removal was appropriate pursuant to this court's federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1331. Specifically, the County Defendants rely on the...
OPINION AND ORDER KIMBERLY E. WEST, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Earl W. Varnell (the "Claimant") requests judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (the "Commissioner") denying Claimant's application for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. Claimant appeals the decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") and asserts that the Commissioner erred because the ALJ incorrectly determined that Claimant was not disabled. For the...
OPINION AND ORDER KIMBERLY E. WEST, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Cheryl L. Johnson (the "Claimant") requests judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (the "Commissioner") denying Claimant's application for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. Claimant appeals the decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") and asserts that the Commissioner erred because the ALJ incorrectly determined that Claimant was not disabled. For the...
OPINION AND ORDER KIMBERLY E. WEST, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Rexanna L. Price (the "Claimant") requests judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (the "Commissioner") denying Claimant's application for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. Claimant appeals the decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") and asserts that the Commissioner erred because the ALJ incorrectly determined that Claimant was not disabled. For the...
OPINION AND ORDER KIMBERLY E. WEST, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Jackie L. Lawrence (the "Claimant") requests judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (the "Commissioner") denying Claimant's application for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. Claimant appeals the decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") and asserts that the Commissioner erred because the ALJ incorrectly determined that Claimant was not disabled. For the...
ORDER RONALD A. WHITE, District Judge. Before the court is Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, or in the alternative, motion for summary judgment [Docket No. 16]. Plaintiff filed this action pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. 2671, et seq. Plaintiff alleges that she suffered personal injuries as a result of medical malpractice by negligent government employees acting within the scope of their employment at the Choctaw Nation...
OPINION AND ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES UNDER 42 U.S.C. 406(b) STEVEN P. SHREDER, District Judge. The Plaintiff Peter A. Escalante appealed the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration's denial of benefits. The Court reversed the Commissioner's decision and remanded the case to the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") for further proceedings. On remand, the Commissioner found the Plaintiff disabled and awarded $73,792.00 in past-due benefits, out of which attorney's fees have been...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY FRANK H. SEAY, District Judge. On this date the court dismissed petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus as barred by the statute of limitations. After careful review of the record, the court concludes petitioner has not shown "at least, that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right and that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether [this]...
OPINION AND ORDER FRANK H. SEAY, District Judge. This action is before the court on the respondent's motion to dismiss petitioner's amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus as barred by the statute of limitations. Petitioner, an inmate in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections who is incarcerated at Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy, Oklahoma, attacks his conviction and sentence in Garfield County Case Nos. CF-2003-765 for Possession of CDS with Intent to...
ORDER JAMES H. PAYNE, District Judge. This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint (Dkt.# 104). In order to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true even if doubtful in fact. Bell Atlantic Corp. V. Twombly, 127 S.Ct....
OPINION AND ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES TO THE PLAINTIFF UNDER THE EAJA STEVEN P. SHREDER, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Bruce E. Dumond was the prevailing party in this action under the Social Security Act. Plaintiff seeks an award of attorney's fees in the amount of $4,021.65 pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. 2412(d). The Commissioner does not object to the fee award. Upon review of the record herein, the Court finds that said amount is reasonable and that the...
OPINION AND ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES UNDER 42 U.S.C. 406(b) STEVEN P. SHREDER, Magistrate Judge. The Plaintiff Tony L. Graham appealed the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration's denial of benefits. The Court reversed the Commissioner's decision and remanded the case to the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") for further proceedings. On remand, the Commissioner found the Plaintiff disabled and awarded $29,910.00 in past-due benefits, out of which attorney's fees have been...
OPINION AND ORDER FRANK H. SEAY, Judge. This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 248) filed by Covington Aircraft Engines, Inc. ("Covington"). In its motion, Covington contends it is entitled to summary judgment on the claims asserted by Plaintiff, Agape Flights, Inc. ("Agape"), for strict products liability, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of warranty arising out of a December 20, 2007, crash of Agape's aircraft. Covington asserts the...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES H. PAYNE, District Judge. This matter comes before the court on defendant's request to reduce his sentence to time served in light of the recent Supreme Court case, Dorsey v. United States, 2012 WL 2344463 (2012). For the reasons set forth herein, this court finds the defendant is not entitled to any further sentencing relief. Background On February 13, 2004, the defendant plead guilty to a three-count indictment alleging possession of cocaine base (in excess of...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES H. PAYNE, District Judge. This matter comes before the court for review following an order entered herein on May 15, 2012 (Doc. # 11) in which this court advised the plaintiff that his 1983 complaint was subject to dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. At that time, the plaintiff was given thirty (30) days, or until June 14, 2012, to cure the deficiencies identified in his complaint by filing an amended complaint. To date,...
OPINION AND ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEYS' FEES TO THE PLAINTIFF UNDER THE EAJA STEVEN P. SHREDER, Magistrate Judge. The Plaintiff was the prevailing party in this appeal of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration's decision denying benefits under the Social Security Act. The Plaintiff seeks an award of attorneys' fees in the amount of $5,548.90 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. 2412. The Commissioner indicates that he has no objection to an award of $5,548.90 to...
