Justia U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Coach and Junius were involved in a drug distribution operation in North Philadelphia from 1992-2001. Coach was head of the operation and engaged in multiple acts of violence, including several homicides. Junius engaged in long-term drug distribution and acts of violence, including homicides. In 2003, Coach pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) and intentional killing in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE), section 848(e)(1)(A), plus other counts. Junius pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base section 846, and intentional killing in furtherance of a CCE. The court sentenced Coach to 60 years and Junius to 40 years and denied all motions to correct the sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255, for compassionate release, and for sentence reduction under the First Step Act, 132 Stat. 5194.The Third Circuit affirmed the denial of their First Step Act motions. A conviction under 21 U.S.C. 848(e)(1)(A) for murder in furtherance of a CCE is not a “covered offense” under the First Step Act. The sentences on the defendants’ separate offenses are to run concurrently; each defendant’s drug-related murder sentence could be treated discretely, so the sentencing package doctrine does not apply. View "United States v. Junius" on Justia Law

In 2022, Stewart, serving a life sentence for drug trafficking, racketeering, and attempted money laundering, moved for compassionate release, 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). He cited his record of rehabilitation, the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and his status as a survivor of attempted prison rape as extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting a sentence reduction.The district court found that there were no “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances and declined to analyze whether Stewart’s release would be consistent with the section 3553(a) sentencing factors. The Third Circuit affirmed the denial of relief. Section 3582 does not define “extraordinary and compelling,” so courts may consult the Sentencing Commission’s policy statements—which are non-binding in the context of prisoner-initiated motions—“to form a working definition” of the phrase. The Third Circuit has held that neither the length of a lawfully imposed sentence nor any nonretroactive change to mandatory minimum sentences establishes “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances warranting release but may be relevant “at the next step of the analysis,” when the court weighs the section 3553(a) factors. View "United States v. Stewart" on Justia Law

In 2011, Lutter began working for Essex County, in a bargaining unit represented by JNESO. Under Supreme Court precedent (Abood), a public-sector union could charge fees from non-union members whom the union represented. New Jersey law permitted public-sector unions to deduct an "agency fee." Lutter joined JNESO and authorized payroll deductions of her union dues.In 2018, New Jersey enacted the Workplace Democracy Enhancement Act (WDEA): a union member could revoke authorization for payroll deductions only during the 10 days following the anniversary of his employment start date. Previously, union members could give notice of revocation at any time. A month later, the Supreme Court (Janus) held that the First Amendment prohibits public-sector unions from collecting agency fees from nonmembers without their clear and affirmative consent. Under WDEA Janus would have to wait nearly a year to revoke her payroll deduction authorization. In July 2018, she nonetheless requested that deductions of her union dues cease and resigned from JNESO. Essex County deducted Lutter's union dues for 10 months.Lutter filed suit, 42 U.S.C. 1983. JNESO sent her a check in the amount of the contested union dues plus interest. She did not cash or deposit that check. The district court dismissed the case. The Third Circuit affirmed in part. The check did not moot her damages claims against JNESO but Lutter, as a non-union member no longer subject to payroll deductions, lacks standing for her claims against the other parties and for her additional requests for relief against JNESO. View "Lutter v. Jneso" on Justia Law

Hackers infiltrated Wawa’s payment systems and obtained the credit and bank card data of about 22,000,000 customers. Wawa announced the breach on December 19, 2019; by the next day, attorneys had identified plaintiffs and filed the first of many class action suits seeking damages for the disclosures. Nine months later, Wawa and class counsel for the consumer-plaintiffs agreed on a settlement making $9 million in gift cards and some other compensation available to customers (of which $2.9 million was claimed) and giving $3.2 million to class counsel for fees and expenses. Objections arrived.The Third Circuit vacated the fee award. The district court must consider whether the funds made available to class members rather than the amount actually claimed during the claims process is the best measure of reasonableness and whether the fee award is reasonable in light of a “clear sailing provision,” in which Wawa promised as part of the settlement not to challenge class counsel’s request for an agreed-upon attorney’s fee award. Though not an automatic bar to settlement approval, such terms deserve careful scrutiny when calculating a reasonable fee award. The court also noted a “puzzling” fee reversion, providing that any court-ordered reduction in the attorney’s fee award would be returned to Wawa—not the class. View "In re: Wawa, Inc. Data Security Litigation" on Justia Law

Janssen spent 10 years and over half a billion dollars developing an injectable version of the cancer drug trabectedin and patented some of the manufacturing processes. The data, specifications, and manufacturing methods were kept confidential as trade secrets. In 2015, the FDA approved the drug, Yondelis, for use in certain cancer patients. Two years later, two competitors—a Chinese corporation, and its U.S. subsidiary, eVenus—sought FDA approval to sell a generic version of Yondelis. Janssen sued for patent infringement. During discovery, Janssen obtained documents that indicated the defendants misappropriated trade secrets. Janssen filed another lawsuit under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1836 (DTSA), became convinced that the defendants had spoliated evidence, and filed an ex parte application, asking that U.S. Marshals seize eVenus’s network servers and stored data, and certain laptops and cell phones.The district court denied the application, concluding that Janssen had not shown that eVenus was in actual possession of the property or that eVenus’s property was at the location of the proposed seizure. It also found an insufficient showing of immediate and irreparable harm or immediate concern for spoliation and that the seizure would encompass company information not limited to the matters at issue. The Third Circuit dismissed an appeal for lack of jurisdiction. A DTSA seizure order is directed to law enforcement—not a party against whom the order could be enforced by threat of contempt–so the order did not effectively deny an injunction. View "Janssen Products LP v. Evenus Pharmaceuticals Laboratories Inc" on Justia Law

Stouffer was terminated at age 41 after working eight years for the Railroad. He sued, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated (Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 621), claiming that the Railroad targeted senior employees with sham workplace violations, forcing them to sign last-chance agreements that waived formal disciplinary proceedings. Stouffer called a superior a “jagoff” under his breath. In a meeting with management and his union representative, Stouffer was told he could either sign a last-chance agreement or go to a hearing and be fired. Stouffer signed a three-year last-chance agreement. Stouffer alleges that he was subsequently subject to micromanagement, surreptitious surveillance, denials of meal periods and headlamp batteries, and improperly-staffed shifts, while younger employees were not similarly treated. In 2018, Stouffer was working on a train driven by a younger driver when it ran through a switch. Stouffer was immediately terminated. The younger driver was not terminated.The district court held that Stouffer had failed to allege facts supporting the existence of a scheme that could constitute a policy hiding age-based discrimination and that Stouffer had not alleged any facts showing that the policy disparately impacted workers over the age of 40. The Third Circuit affirmed, first holding that its review was not precluded by the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. 151, because it did not require interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement. Stouffer’s complaint lacks the necessary factual allegations as to statistical disparities. View "Stouffer v. Union Railroad Co." on Justia Law

Under Kaboni’s leadership, the KSO gang sold drugs. While Kaboni was incarcerated, Kidada coordinated KSO activities. Northington was a KSO drug dealer and enforcer, causing one murder and committing another. Merritt sold drugs for the gang, often with his cousin, KSO member Lewis. In 2004, Kaboni told Kidada of his concern that KSO member Coleman was cooperating with the police. Kidada told Lewis that Kaboni had ordered him to “firebomb the Colemans’ house.” Lewis enlisted Merritt; the cousins filled gas cans and headed to Merritt’s house to get a gun. At 4:08 a.m., a Philadelphia officer stopped them for speeding but allowed them to leave. The two then parked near the Coleman house, carried the cans to the house, kicked in the door, and fired shots. Merritt ran inside and threw a lit gas can, causing a “big explosion.” He then exited the house, throwing another can. Lewis left a message on Kidada’s phone: “It was done.” .Six people, ages 15 months to 53 years, were killed. Coleman entered witness protection. Court-authorized recording devices near Kaboni’s cell and in the visitation room intercepted Kaboni’s conversations with his friends and other inmates and recorded Kaboni making vulgar statements about the deaths and threatening to kill others.Kidada, Northington, and Merritt were convicted of combinations of RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering (and conspiracy), retaliating against a witness, and using fire in the commission of a felony. The Third Circuit, after affirming Kiboni’s convictions and death sentence, affirmed their convictions and life sentences. The court upheld a refusal to grant Kidada a new trial based on a conflict allegedly held by one of her attorneys, the admission of Kaboni’s statements, evidentiary rulings, the rejection of a “Batson” challenge, jury instructions, and the denial of motions to sever. View "United States v. Savage" on Justia Law

In 2018, Kousisis and Alpha Painting were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1349, and three counts of wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1343. The charges arose from false documents filed concerning “disadvantaged business enterprise” status in transportation construction projects for which the U.S. Department of Transportation provided funds through the Federal Highway Administration to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The district court imposed a 20-point sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2B1.1(b)(1), which corresponds to a loss of $9.50 million-$25 million, noting that the actual loss to the government was not measurable at the time of sentencing and concluding that Alpha’s “ill-gotten profits” represented an appropriate measure of loss.The Third Circuit affirmed the convictions. The defendants secured PennDOT’s money using false pretenses and the value PennDOT received from the partial performance of those painting and repair services is no defense to criminal prosecution for fraud. The court vacated the calculation of the amount of loss for sentencing purposes, noting the extreme complexity of the case. The victim’s loss must have been an objective of the fraudulent scheme; it is insufficient if that loss is merely an incidental byproduct of the scheme. The court separately vacated a forfeiture order of the entire profit amount on the contracts. View "United States v. Alpha Painting & Construction Co., Inc." on Justia Law

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires any tobacco product not on the market before February 15, 2007, to receive FDA approval, 21 U.S.C. 387j(a)(1)–(2). Only if the FDA concludes that “permitting such tobacco product to be marketed would be appropriate for the protection of the public health” can the product be approved. Manufacturers seeking advance permission to market new products. In 2020, the FDA began taking aggressive action to remove fruit- and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)) from the market, leaving aside tobacco- and menthol-flavored ENDS. More recently, based on additional studies and market data, the FDA has denied the applications of importers and manufacturers to market menthol-flavored ENDS.An importer challenged that denial, arguing that it was arbitrary and capricious for the FDA to apply the same regulatory framework to menthol that it used to assess the appropriateness of sweeter flavors, to ultimately reject its applications for its menthol-flavored ENDS to remain on the market, and to do so without granting a transition period. The Third Circuit denied a petition for review. The FDA applied a regulatory framework consistent with its statutory mandate, provided a reasoned explanation for its denial, and based its decision on scientific judgments that courts may not second-guess. View "Logic Technology Development LLC v. United States Food and Drug Administration" on Justia Law

Huber visited Crozer doctors on four separate occasions, incurring debts to Crozer of $178, $78, $83.50, and $178. Crozer's debt collection agency, SAI, sent a form collection letter, with an “Account Summary” that provided two figures: the specific debt SAI sought to collect, entitled “Amount,” and a second figure, entitled “Various Other Acc[oun]ts Total Balance.” The fourth such letter to Huber informed Huber that she owed an “Amount” of $178, while her “Various Other Accounts Total Balance” was $517.50. Huber testified that she was confused as to how much she owed in total: Was it $695.50 or $517.50. She consulted a financial advisor.Huber filed this putative class action, asserting a “false, deceptive, or misleading” means of collecting a debt and failure to disclose the “amount of the debt” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692. The district court held, on summary judgment, that there was no actionable failure to disclose but found the letters “misleading and deceptive,” and certified the class.The Third Circuit affirmed. Huber has standing, but not under the “informational injury doctrine.” Huber did not identify omitted information to which she has entitlement but the financial harm she suffered in reliance on the letter bears a “close relationship” to the harm associated with the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation. The court remanded for determination of whether any of the class members suffered any consequences beyond confusion. View "Huber v. Simons Agency Inc" on Justia Law