REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FOR DISPOSITION OF MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE AND STATEMENTS MARK A. MORENO , Magistrate Judge . In this domestic assault case, Thomas Espinoza seeks to suppress, on Fourth Amendment grounds and under Miranda, 1 the statements he made to tribal officers before and after he was arrested and the folding knife that was seized from his person incident to the arrest. Because some of this evidence (the pre-arrest statements and the knife) is excludable as fruits...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER AFFIRMING THE DECISION OF THE COMMISSIONER KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Amy Taormina, seeks review of the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration denying her claim for disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. 423. The Commissioner opposes the motion and urges the court to affirm the denial of benefits. For the following reasons, the court affirms the decision of the Commissioner. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Taormina...
ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO CHALLENGE CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATION DOCKET NO. 67 VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . INTRODUCTION This diversity matter is pending before the court on plaintiff Stephen M. Gowan's amended complaint alleging defendant Mid Century Insurance Company denied his worker's compensation claim in bad faith. See Docket No. 49. The parties previously requested the district court to enter a protective order, which the district court granted. See Docket Nos....
ORDER REMANDING CASE KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Sabrina Spiger, filed this pro se lawsuit in the Small Claims Court of Hughes County, South Dakota. Docket 1-1. Defendant removed the case to this court and now moves to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Docket 1; Docket 4. For the reasons stated below, this case is remanded, and defendant's motion to dismiss is denied. FACTUAL BACKGROUND UPS employed Spiger from January 20, 2014 to April 6, 2015. Docket 7...
ORDER ON MOTIONS: PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO TURN OVER DISCOVERY MATERIALS TO STAFF ATTORNEY [DOCKET NO. 98] PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO INVOKE RULE 56(D) [DOCKET NO. 99 & 105] PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO APPOINT A MEDICAL EXPERT AND FOR A MEDICAL EXAMINATION [DOCKET NO. 100 & 106] PLAINTIFF'S FOURTH AND FIFTH MOTIONS FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL [DOCKET NOS. 101 & 121] PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT [DOCKET NO. 108] PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS [DOCKET 114] PLAINTIFF'S...
ORDER LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff James Irving Dale, an inmate at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, has filed a civil rights lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. In that action Mr. Dale has now filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Doc. 43, in which he states that several documents were taken by the Defendants, and he is asking the Court to order Defendants to return those items. The Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation, Doc. 46, recommending Mr....
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . The United States of America ("United States"), by its counsel, Randolph J. Seiler, Acting United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, and Cheryl Schrempp DuPris, Assistant United States Attorney, has brought this action against John Dewayne Ford ("Ford") to recover damages and civil penalties pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 641 for the false and fraudulent claims Ford knowingly...
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S APPEAL OF DETENTION ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , CHIEF JUDGE . INTRODUCTION Pending before the court is the defendant's appeal of the decision of Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann requiring detention of the defendant pending sentencing. (Docket 85). Mr. Tobacco argues exceptional circumstances pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3145 exist to allow Mr. Tobacco to remain free on bond pending sentencing. (Dockets 85 & 91). The government resists the defendant's appeal motion. (...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , Chief District Judge . INTRODUCTION Defendant Clayton High Wolf, Sr., filed an appeal from a denial of a motion for pretrial release entered by Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann. (Docket 41). Following briefing by the parties, the court held a hearing on Friday, October 2, 2015, on defendant's motion. For the reasons stated below, defendant's appeal is denied. DISCUSSION Mr. High Wolf seeks review of the magistrate judge's detention order "pursuant to the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS Lawrence L. Piersol , United States District Judge . Secretary of the State of South Dakota Department of Revenue, Andy Gerlach, and Governor of South Dakota, Dennis Daugaard (collectively, Defendants or the State) move the Court to dismiss the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe's (Plaintiff or the Tribe) complaint. Defendants assert three principal arguments why the action should be dismissed. First, Defendants...
OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . Thomas Espinoza ("Espinoza") moved to suppress evidence seized and statements made by him to tribal law enforcement on June 7 and 8, 2015. Doc. 19. After an evidentiary hearing was held, Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno issued a Report and Recommendation, recommending that Espinoza's motion be granted in part and denied in part. Doc. 30. Judge Moreno concluded that the post-arrest statements should be...
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA AND MOTION FOR PROTECTION FROM SUBPOENA IN CIVIL ACTION KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, served attorney Pamela Bollweg with a subpoena on November 18, 2015, seeking documents relevant to litigation in New Jersey. On November 25, 2015, Bollweg filed a motion to quash the subpoena and a motion for protection from subpoena in a civil action. Sun Life urges the court to deny the motions. For the...
ORDER REGARDING USE OF TRANSCRIPTS KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Defendant, Jaime Aroldo Duarte-Lopez, moves the court in limine to preclude the admission of transcripts that have been prepared by the government of recorded conversations that have been translated from Spanish to English. Docket 69. The government resists the motion. For the following reasons, the court denies the motion. DISCUSSION The Eighth Circuit has long recognized that the government may present at trial a...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO INTERVENE ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . Thomas Brown, Monica Johnson, Melinda Long, Debera Grant, Renee Holmes, Kevin Hayes, James Hayes, Leslie Jan Lydon, Elizabeth Jackson, Abraham Inetianbor, James Binkowski, Jeffrey Moore, Lisa Walker, and Herbert White (Intervenors) have moved to intervene in this class action case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a) or, alternatively, Rule 24(b). Doc. 91. The Intervenors seek to object to preliminary approval of...
AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS INDICTMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . I. Factual Background A grand jury issued an amended indictment charging Elton Lone Eagle Sr. and Zachary Brown Thunder (collectively "Defendants") with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Counts I and III of the amended indictment alleged that Defendants assaulted A.H., while Counts II and IV alleged that Defendants...
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DOCKET No. 51 VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . This matter is before the court on plaintiff Charles E. Sisney's pro se complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. On October 19, 2015, Mr. Sisney served defendants with discovery requests. Defendants then filed a motion asking the court to enter a protection order so that defendants need not respond to Mr. Sisney's discovery requests. See Docket No. 41. The court...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS INDICTMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . I. Factual Background A grand jury issued an amended indictment charging Elton Lone Eagle Sr. and Zachary Brown Thunder (collectively "Defendants") with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Counts I and III of the amended indictment alleged that Defendants assaulted A.H., while Counts II and IV alleged that Defendants assaulted...
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DETERMINE GOVERNING LAW AND PLAINTIFF'S KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Black Hills Truck & Trailer, Inc., brings this action against defendant, MAC Trailer Manufacturing, Inc., seeking damages for alleged violations of the parties' franchise agreement, state law, and federal law. MAC moves this court for an order stating Ohio law will govern the dispute, and Black Hills moves for an order granting it leave to...
ORDER LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff objected to the Court's Memorandum Opinion and moved the Court to reconsider or, in the alternative, to amend the Complaint. The Court then said it would consider Plaintiff's Motion to Reconsider. The parties have now made additional filings for the consideration of the Court. Motions for Reconsideration are usually considered to be made under FED. R. Civ. P. 59(e) or FED. R. Civ. P. 60(b). In any event, Motions for Reconsideration...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Clayton K. Melton, filed this pro se lawsuit in Small Claims Court, naming Jan Zimmerman as defendant. Docket 1. Zimmerman removed the case to this court and filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Id .; Docket 3. For the reasons below, the motion is granted, and Melton's complaint is dismissed. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Melton filed a lawsuit in Small Claims Court of the...
