Daily Case Update Archive

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Feb. 28, 2006

Ohio Supreme Court | Ohio First District | U.S. 6th Circuit - Ohio | U.S. 6th Circuit - Other States
 

TOPICS:
- Diversity-of-citizenship
- Taxes - negligence penalty
- Jurisdiction - interlocutory decisions
- Collective bargaining agreement
 

Ohio Supreme Court

 

No Opinion.
 

First District Court of Appeals

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No Opinion.
 

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals:  Ohio Cases

 

Brunner v. Hampson (February 28, 2006) (Appeal for S.D. Ohio)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/06a0074p-06.pdf
-  This diversity-of-citizenship case was filed as a result of an explosion and fire in a hunting cabin in northern Canada. Paul Brunner and Douglas Otte are United States citizens who were injured in the fire. Karen Brunner is the wife of Paul Brunner. All three sued the Estate of Jerry Jay Hampson, an Ohio resident who died in the fire, as well as the Canadian corporation Canada North Outfitting, Inc. and its Canadian owner, Jerome Knap. The Hampson Estate then filed a cross-claim against the two Canadian defendants. In response to a motion for summary judgment filed by Canada North and Knap, the district court dismissed the claims against them for lack of personal jurisdiction. The district court then certified its order as a final appealable judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. All of the non-Canadians appealed. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
 
Kimble v. Hoso  (February 28, 2006) (Appeal for N.D. Ohio)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/06a0076p-06.pdf
-  Lyndal and Melanise Kimble filed suit against the defendants under 28 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting that Lyndal Kimble was the victim of excessive force by the police. The defendants allege that the district court erred by failing to promptly award summary judgment in their favor on the grounds of qualified immunity. For the reasons set forth below, we dismiss the defendants's interlocutory appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
 
Spero Electric v. Intl Brotherhood (February 28, 2006) (Appeal for N.D. Ohio)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/06a0077p-06.pdf
-  This case involves the enforceability of an arbitrator's award in a labor dispute. The specific issue is whether the basis for the award in favor of the discharged employee conflicts with the express terms of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Spero Electric Corporation and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, Local Union No. 1377 (IBEW). Spero particularly challenges the arbitrator's determination that the company had given up its right under the CBA to unilaterally change its work rule regarding the no-smoking policy at the plant. For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court that enforced the award and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
 

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals: Other States Cases

 

Mortensen v. CIR  (February 28, 2006) (U.S. Tax Court)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/06a0075p-06.pdf
-  This is an appeal from the United States Tax Court's decision upholding the Commissioner's determination that Mr. Mortensen is liable for a section 6662(a) negligence penalty of $784 for the taxable year 1991. The penalty stems from Mortensen's deductions on his tax return based on his investment in cattle breeding partnerships established by Walter J. Hoyt III. The Hoyt Partnerships have generated litigation across the country, see e.g., River City Ranches #1, 85 T.C.M. (CCH) 1365, 1371, 2003 WL 21205284, and culminated in Mr. Hoyt's fraud conviction and prison sentence of twenty years. Specifically regarding the taxable year 1991, the Commissioner issued a Notice of Final Partnership Administrative Adjustment regarding the deductions and made a computational adjustment on Mortensen's return. This changed Mortensen's claimed loss of $16,720 on the partnership to income of $4,421 and consequently increased Mortensen's tax liability from $724 to $4,642, an increase of $3,918. Section 6662(a) permits a negligence penalty of 20% of the underpayment. The Tax Court found that Mortensen did not carry his burden in proving that the Commissioner's assessment was erroneous or that Mortensen did what a reasonably prudent person would have done under the circumstances. Thus, the Tax Court affirmed the Commissioner's imposition of the negligence penalty under section 6662(a). Mortensen appeals. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the Tax Court's decision upholding the negligence penalty.
 

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