Eastern District of California Blog

Hay Dispute Leads To EDCA Court Statement On Heavy Caseloads

William Miller purchased 500 tons of hay from S & S Hay Company in 2008, but found the delivered hay to be substandard. He sued the company in 2009, obtaining a $112,750 default judgment that S & S Hay never paid. Miller then sued in federal court for violation of California unfair competition law, or UCL.

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In a preliminary statement to the parties, [EDCA Judge] O'Neill sounded off on the heavy caseload in the Eastern District and the shortage of judges to adjudicate civil cases. He said the case could be handed over to a magistrate judge, whose schedules are "far more realistic," and urged the parties to contact California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer if they had any complaints.

"Judges in the Eastern District of California carry the heaviest caseload in the nation, and this court is unable to devote inordinate time and resources to individual cases and matters," O'Neill wrote. "This court cannot address all arguments, evidence and matters raised by parties and addresses only the arguments, evidence and matters necessary to reach the decision in this order given the shortage of district judges and staff. The parties and counsel are encouraged to contact the offices of United States Senators Feinstein and Boxer to address this court's inability to accommodate the parties and this action. The parties are required to consider consent to a Magistrate Judge to conduct all further proceedings in that the Magistrate Judges' availability is far more realistic and accommodating to parties than that of U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill who must prioritize criminal and older civil cases."

"Civil trials set before Judge O'Neill trail until he becomes available and are subject to suspension mid-trial to accommodate criminal matters," he added. "Civil trials are no longer reset to a later date if Judge O'Neill is unavailable on the original date set for trial. Moreover, this Court's Fresno Division randomly and without advance notice reassigns civil actions to U.S. District Judges throughout the nation to serve as visiting judges. In the absence of Magistrate Judge consent, this action is subject to reassignment to a U.S. District Judge from outside the Eastern District of California."

Courthouse News, 3/29/13

Ninth Circuit Orders Restitution Hearings In Two EDCA Cases

The Ninth Circuit granted writs of mandamus directing the EDCA Court to hold restitution hearings under the Crime Victims Rights Act in two separate cases.  

In In re Morning Star Packing Company, No. 13-71038 (9th Cir. 3/29/13), the Court remanded for a further restitution hearing in the high-profile Frederick Scott Salyer prosecution.  See Sacramento Bee, 3/30/13.

In In re Amy and Vicky, No. 13-70858 (9th Cir. 3/18/13), the Court remanded for a restitution determination in a child pornography case.

Man Supplying Marijuana To Sacramento Dispensary Pleads Guilty

A Nevada County man pleaded guilty today in federal court to maintaining a marijuana dispensary in Sacramento.

John Lester Gross III, 48, of Rough and Ready admitted maintaining a drug-involved premises, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Gross helped organize and maintain a marijuana dispensary on P Street in Sacramento. It was supplied with marijuana grown on Gross' property in Rough and Ready, near Grass Valley.

Sac Bee Blog, 3/28/13

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2013/03/nevada-county-man-pleads-guilty-to-role-in-sacramento-marijuana-dispensary.html#storylink=cpy

EDCA Judge Questions "Ethical Violations" By California Corrections Officials

The Brown administration's high-stakes motion to wrest control of California's prisoner mental health care away from federal court oversight ran into a buzz saw Wednesday.

An angry U.S. District Court judge said state corrections officials engaged in a "profound ethical violation" when their experts quizzed inmates without the knowledge of the prisoners' lawyers.

The merits of the state's motion to terminate Judge Lawrence K. Karlton's hold over the treatment of 33,000 inmates who suffer from serious mental health disorders were shoved into the background when Karlton took the bench. He immediately lashed out at state corrections officials and their attorneys over what he said were the unethical methods employed by their
experts.

Sacramento Bee, 3/28/13

Lawsuit Over Proposed Amador County Casino Moved To Sacramento Court

A lawsuit challenging a proposed tribal casino in Amador County has been shifted to federal court in Sacramento, and away from a Washington, D.C.-based court.

In an 11-page decision Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer sided with the Interior Department officials who wanted the lawsuit relocated to California.

Sacramento Bee, 3/29/13

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/29/5301608/casino-lawsuit-moves-to-sacramento.html#storylink=cpy

EDCA Court Awards Nearly $800,000 In Attorney Fees In Homeless Property Lawsuit

Chief Judge England ordered the City of Sacramento to pay attorney fees and expenses totaling almost $800,000 in the lawsuit over Sacramento's former policy of throwing away property of homeless persons, Lehr v. City of Sacramento, No. 2:07-CV-1565-MCE.  Sacramento Bee, 3/27/13.  Although significant, the award is  much less than the $1.8 million in fees requested by plaintiffs' attorneys.

Feds Sue Placer County Disability Group Over Deaf Worker's Treatment

A nonprofit Placer County organization dedicated to providing independent living services to people with developmental disabilities violated the law when it failed to provide reasonable accommodations to one of its own employees who is deaf, regulators charged Monday in Sacramento federal court. 

A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accuses Placer ARC of refusing to provide a certified American Sign Language interpreter for a deaf instructional aide.

Sacramento Bee, 3/26/13

Troy Nunley Confirmed As EDCA District Judge

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Troy Nunley was confirmed today by the Senate as a EDCA district judge.  SF Chronicle, 3/25/13

 

 

EDCA Court Rules Feds Must Issue Environmental Impact Statement Before Renewing Water Contracts

     The enormous Central Valley Project runs nearly 400 miles through  California's Central Valley, from the Cascade Mountains near Redding to the "semi-arid but fertile plains along the Kern River in the south," according to the bureau's website.
     The Central Valley Project is managed by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation.
     The dams, reservoirs, power plants, and canals are used for river and flood control, irrigation, municipal drinking water supplies, and protecting and restoring wildlife.
     As lead agency under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (1992), the Bureau of Reclamation must run the giant system in compliance with state and federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act.
     The Bureau must issue an environmental impact statement before it can approve the renewal of "existing long-term water service contracts for successive periods of up to 25 years," U.S. District Judge Lawrence O'Neill wrote in a 32-page order.

Courthouse News Service, 3/20/13

Two Men Sentenced To Long Prison Terms For Ponzi Scheme, Filing Fake Liens

Ronald Wesley Groves, 71, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Donald Charles Mann, 56, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison last week for their part in a fraudulent investment scheme.

[Tuesday] in federal court, they each got an additional year — to be served consecutively to the previous sentences — for putting four fraudulent state liens on the properties belonging to FBI agents who investigated the case and two liens against the federal prosecutor.

The men were originally indicted in May 2007 on 18 counts of wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent investment business called Money Growth Solutions.

Sac Bus Journal, 3/19/13