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Case Summaries

Immigration Law

[06/25] Dale v. Holder
In a petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upholding petitioner's order of removal under 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(F) for being convicted of an aggravated felony, the petition is granted where: 1) although the argument petitioner presented to the BIA was not identical to that which he raised in his petition for review, the arguments were sufficiently related to establish that he presented his ground for relief to the administrative agency in the first instance; and 2) the BIA erred as a matter of law in concluding that petitioner could not legally plead guilty to an attempted violation of N.Y. Penal Law 120.10(3) or (4).

[06/25] US v. Buzo-Zepeda
Defendant's sentence for reentry into the U.S. following deportation is affirmed where a "Johnson waiver" in California state court had no effect on the determination of whether a defendant qualifies for a point increase under United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual section 4A1.1, Criminal History Category.

[06/25] Diaz-Garcia v. Holder
A Colombian citizen's petition for review of a decision denying his applications for asylum and related relief is denied as the IJ's negative credibility assessment regarding petitioner's allegations that he was threatened by the FARC Guerrillas was amply supported by a specific and cogent explanation based on substantial evidence.

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Insurance Law

[06/25] Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins., Co. v. Bezich
A petition for permission to appeal, arising from the district court's remand of plaintiff's class action lawsuit against an insurer for breach of contract claims on the basis that CAFA's exception to federal jurisdiction for the action applied, is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as plaintiff's claim "related to the rights, duties,...and obligations relating to or created by or pursuant to...a security," as defined in the Securities Act of 1933.

[06/24] Durakovic v. Bldg. Serv. 32 BJ Pension Fund
In an ERISA challenge to a union disability-benefits denial, dismissal of the complaint is reversed where: 1) a fund organized pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 186(c)(5) is conflicted within the meaning of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Glenn, 128 S. Ct. 2343 (2008); 2) the district court should have accorded the conflict in this case more weight; and 3) no rational trier of fact could have failed to conclude that the benefits denial was arbitrary and capricious.

[06/23] Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Pub. Serv. Mut. Ins. Co.
In an appeal from the district court's order granting respondent's Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(2) motion based on newly discovered evidence that an arbitrator who had resigned was, in fact, able to rejoin the arbitration panel prior to the district court's decision on whether to convene a new panel or order a replacement arbitrator, the order is affirmed where: 1) the rule articulated in Marine Products Export Corp. v. M.T. Globe Galaxy, 977 F.2d 66 (2d Cir. 1992) – that, absent "special circumstances," if a vacancy arises on an arbitral panel due to the death of an arbitrator prior to the rendering of an award, a new panel should be convened – does not apply to a vacancy occasioned by a resignation; and 2) in the instant case, the district court's decision either to reappoint the arbitrator who had resigned, or, in the alternative, to direct petitioner to appoint a replacement was proper pursuant to 9 U.S.C. section 5.

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