ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiffs, First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard, LLC (First Premier), move the court for a preliminary injunction to postpone and enjoin the October 1, 2011, effective date of the 2011 amendment to 226.52 of Regulation Z. Defendants, The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau), and Timothy F. Geithner, oppose that motion. BACKGROUND Congress enacted the Credit Card...
ORDER DISMISSING CASE JEFFREY L. VIKEN, District Judge. INTRODUCTION On December 31, 2008, plaintiff Hong Yin, a Chinese citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, filed her petition requesting that she be granted the rights and benefits of becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States. (Docket 1). The principal basis for plaintiff's claim is that her application for naturalization remained unresolved with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in violation of...
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiff, Shirley M. Berry, asserts breach of contract and bad faith claims against defendants, Time Insurance Company (Time) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company (Hancock), and seeks punitive damages and attorney's fees. Time and Hancock jointly move to dismiss Berry's claims. Berry resists the motion. The motion is denied. BACKGROUND In the light most favorable to Berry, the nonmoving party, the pertinent...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL, District Judge. Pending before the Court are Defendant's oral motion for judgment of acquittal and his renewed motion for judgment of acquittal as to the charge of attempted commercial sex trafficking in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1591 and 1594(a). Having considered the briefs on the pending motions and all of the testimony and evidence presented at trial, the Court will grant the motions. BACKGROUND...
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiff, Wayne Smith, moves for a preliminary and permanent injunction seeking to enjoin defendants 1 from enforcing the United States citizenship requirement of SDCL 23-7-7.1(8) against him. State of South Dakota, Jason Gant in his official capacity as Secretary of State of South Dakota, and Mike Milstead in his official capacity as Minnehaha County Sheriff (hereinafter collectively referred to as...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RE: MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL, District Judge. Plaintiff General Drivers, Helpers and Truck Terminal Employees Local 120, brought an action alleging that Defendant Wilson Trailer violated the collective bargaining agreement between the parties when Wilson Trailer discharged Jeremy Cuka, a regular employee and Union member. Defendant Wilson Trailer Company has moved for summary judgment as to all claims asserted against it. DISCUSSION...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Petitioner, Oakley Bernard Engesser, petitions for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. This case is both factually and procedurally rare. Here, a South Dakota circuit court found that Engesser's trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to interview and call to testify eyewitnesses Eric Eckholm and Charlotte Fowler. But the South Dakota Supreme Court reversed, finding...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S POST-TRIAL MOTIONS ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. A jury returned a verdict on December 3, 2010, finding Defendant Thomas William Frederick ("Frederick") guilty of three of the four counts charged in the Indictment. (Doc. 262). Frederick now has filed three post-trial motions: 1) a Motion for New Trial or Acquittal, contending that one of his attorneys, Mary Wynne, provided ineffective assistance of counsel during closing argument (Doc. 271); 2) a...
ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT JEFFREY L. VIKEN, District Judge. INTRODUCTION Toni Pochat and her husband, Sebastien Pochat, 1 filed a complaint against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm") in Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Pennington County, South Dakota. (Docket 1-3). Defendant moved the matter to federal district court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1332. (Docket 1). Pochats allege they held an automobile insurance...
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiff, Carly George, filed suit against defendant, EZMoney South Dakota, Inc., and alleges sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII. EZMoney moves for summary judgment on all claims. George resists the motion. The motion is granted in part and denied in part. BACKGROUND The pertinent facts in the light most favorable to George, the nonmoving party, are as...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiffs, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Dr. Carol Ball, move for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order that would enjoin defendants, Governor Dennis Daugaard, Attorney General Marty Jackley, Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth, and Board President Robert Ferrell, in their official capacities, from enforcing South Dakota House Bill 1217 (hereinafter "the Act"), which takes effect on July...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION In this action, Plaintiff Diesel Machinery, Inc. ("DMI") sued Defendants, collectively referred to as "Manitowoc," 1 for allegedly terminating the 2005 Distributor Sales and Service Agreement ("the Agreement") between DMI and Manitowoc. DMI alleged that the claimed termination violated the South Dakota Dealer Protection Act ("SDDPA"),...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Charles Mix County ("Plaintiff) filed this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the Department of the Interior's decision to take 39 acres of land into trust for the Yankton Sioux Tribe ("Tribe"). Defendants United States Department of the Interior; Larry Echo-Hawk, Assistant Secretary of Indian...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS AND REMANDING CASE ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs State of South Dakota, County of Charles Mix, and City of Wagner (collectively "Plaintiffs") filed this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the Department of the Interior's decision to take 39.9 acres of land into trust for the Yankton Sioux Tribe ("Tribe"). Defendants United States Department of the Interior; Larry...
ORDER KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiff, Ryan Boddicker, filed suit against defendant, Esurance Inc., 1 for violations of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). The court granted Esurance's motion for summary judgment in part, including on Boddicker's COBRA claim. Boddicker now moves to reconsider and vacate the grant of summary judgment on the COBRA...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This Court held a jury trial in this case from August 31 to September 3, 2010. The jury found that the Defendant, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert A. Callahan, was not negligent in his treatment of Plaintiff Robin Bair. The treatment in question included a spinal surgery involving placement of pedicle screws and rods into Mr. Bair's back. Plaintiffs moved for a new trial under Rule 59 of...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs State of South Dakota, County of Roberts, Sisseton School District, City of Sisseton, and Wilmont School District (collectively "Plaintiffs") filed this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the Department of the Interior's decision to take four parcels of land into trust for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation ("Tribe")....
OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION TO SUPPRESS ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This case originated with a motor vehicle accident on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe reservation in which a young Native American child suffered severe injuries. At the accident scene, India Ford was intoxicated, claimed that she was the driver, and thus was arrested. Tribal police suspected that Patrick...
ORDER GRANTING APPLICANTS' MOTION TO INTERVENE KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Alpha Center and Black Hills Crisis Pregnancy Center, applicants for intervention (applicants), move to intervene as a matter of right in this case. Docket 40. Plaintiffs, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Dr. Carol E. Ball, oppose the motion. Docket 45. Defendants, Governor Dennis Daugaard, Attorney General Marty Jackley, Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth, and Board President Robert...
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT KAREN E. SCHREIER, Chief Judge. Plaintiffs, Babinski Properties and Donald Babinski, brought suit against defendant, Union Insurance Company, seeking indemnification under Union's umbrella policy held by Babinski Properties for money Donald paid to settle a wrongful death suit brought against his son's estate. Union moves for summary judgment. Plaintiffs resist and move for...
