Justia U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Relator filed suit against defendants under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729, alleging that defendants imported pencils that they knew were made in China, avoided paying substantial antidumping duties imposed on Chinese-made pencils, and falsely declared to U.S. Customs officials that they were made elsewhere in Asia. On appeal, relator challenged the district court's conclusions that his FCA claim is based on publicly disclosed information and that he failed to demonstrate original-source status. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because relator's claim is jurisdictionally barred and the court had no reason to determine whether the complaint failed to state a viable FCA claim. View "United States ex rel. John Doe v. Staples, Inc." on Justia Law

The County filed suit against the Department, challenging the Secretary's approval of a gaming compact between the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and the State of California. The Tribe sought to intervene after six years of litigation for the purpose of dismissing the amended complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion as untimely where the district court set forth the proper test, analyzed the relevant factors, and concluded that the Tribe's motion did not satisfy Rule 24(a)'s timeliness requirement. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Amador County, CA v. Dept. of the Interior" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction for four counts related to his role in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics. The court concluded that the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence of drugs arising out of the October 21 car stop where an officer's belief that a seatbelt was unbuckled was reasonable, whether or not it was erroneous, and the officer had probable cause to conduct the stop; the district court did not err in refusing to suppress the drug evidence that the police recovered during the February 1 search of defendant's blue sedan outside the police station where the district court did not commit plain error by failing to rule that the manipulation of the key fob constituted an unlawful search, and where the search was permitted under the automobile exception; defendant did not suffer prejudice from the prosecutor's improper statements and there was no plain error; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant a downward variance based on 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(6). Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Williams" on Justia Law

Petitioners sought review of an order issued by FERC directing Midland, an Iowa electric utility, to reconnect to a wind generator within its territory. Because FERC never purported to adopt a general rule on disconnections by utilities whose customers refused to pay their bills, and because prior decisions addressing jurisdiction to review FERC's orders under section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act , 16 U.S.C. 824a-3, have repeatedly emphasized Congress's decision to leave section 210's enforcement to the district court, the court lacked jurisdiction to review the orders. View "Midland Power Cooperative v. FERC" on Justia Law