CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
IN RE: JOHN W. FRANKLIN,
Movant. |
No. 19-6093 |
On Motion for Leave to File a Second or Successive Motion to Vacate.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington.
Nos. 5:06-cr-00082-1; 5:10-cv-07112—Joseph M. Hood, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: March 3, 2020
Before: NORRIS, SUTTON, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
ORDER
_________________________
PER CURIAM. John W. Franklin, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, moves for an
order authorizing the district court to consider a second or successive motion to vacate, set aside,
or correct his sentence. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 2244(b), 2255(h). The government supports Franklin’s
motion.
. . .
Accordingly, we GRANT Franklin’s motion for authorization to file a second or
successive § 2255 motion and TRANSFER the case to the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Kentucky for further proceedings. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
JOSEPH SIEFERT; MELISSA SIEFERT,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
HAMILTON COUNTY; BOARD OF HAMILTON COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS; HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES; MOIRA WEIR; ERIC
YOUNG; RACHEL BUTLER; CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER; JENNIFER BOWDEN,
M.D.; KIMBERLEY STEPHENS, LISW; ANKITA ZUTSHI,
M.D.; DANIEL ALMEIDA, M.D.; SUZANNE SAMPANG,
M.D.; LAUREN HEENEY,
Defendants-Appellees. |
No. 18-4179 |
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Ohio at Cincinnati.
No. 1:17-cv-00511—Timothy S. Black, District Judge.
Argued: June 27, 2019
Decided and Filed: March 3, 2020
Before: SILER, BATCHELDER, and DONALD, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
SILER, Circuit Judge. When Joseph and Melissa Siefert’s child started experiencing
suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression, they sought help. After first trying medication, they
took their teenage child—known here as “Minor Siefert”—to Children’s Hospital just outside of
Cincinnati. Eventually, Minor Siefert ended up at a Children’s psychiatry facility, and after
about a week, the Sieferts’ insurance company determined that Minor Siefert had no medical
problems, so it denied further coverage.
Coverage terminated, the Sieferts decided to bring their child home. But they ran into a
problem: doctors and social workers had none of it. Over the next four weeks, the Sieferts
wrangled with the hospital and county about getting their child back. Only after the Sieferts
signed a voluntary safety plan did the child leave the facility. The Sieferts sued the county and
its employees, as well as the hospital and its doctors, alleging a violation of the Fourteenth
Amendment Due Process Clause’s procedural and substantive components. The district court
dismissed the hospital defendants because they were not state actors, and it dismissed the county
defendants because it said the Sieferts failed to overcome qualified immunity.
But “[e]ven a temporary deprivation of physical custody requires a hearing within a
reasonable time.” Eidson v. Tenn. Dept. of Children’s Servs., 510 F.3d 631, 635 (6th Cir. 2007).
And at litigation’s starting line, the Sieferts only had to plausibly allege a due process violation
and that the hospital may be considered a state actor for purposes of this litigation. Today we
decide only these narrow questions, and we side with the Sieferts on some and the defendants on
others. Whether Defendants ultimately prevail on all claims—at summary judgment or at trial—
is best left for another day. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
WELLFOUNT, CORPORATION,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
HENNIS CARE CENTRE OF BOLIVAR, INC.; MEGCO
MANAGEMENT, INC.; HENNIS CARE CENTRE OF DOVER,
INC.,
Defendants-Appellants. |
No. 19-3777 |
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Akron.
No. 5:19-cv-01473—Sara E. Lioi, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: March 3, 2020
Before: GIBBONS, McKEAGUE, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Hennis Care Centre of Bolivar, Inc., MEGCO
Management, Inc., and Hennis Care Centre of Dover, Inc. (collectively, “Hennis”) appeal the
district court’s dismissal of Wellfount Corporation’s action. Wellfount filed its complaint in
district court after first withdrawing an earlier suit involving the same claims in Indiana state
court. Upon hearing from Hennis that the new complaint was likely filed in the wrong forum,
Wellfount moved the district court for an order dismissing its action pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 41(a)(2). Hennis, which had yet to file an answer, responded with its own
motion asking the court to convert Wellfount’s motion into a notice of dismissal under Rule
41(a)(1). The district court denied Hennis’s motion and granted Wellfount’s motion. On appeal,
Hennis argues that, because Wellfount was eligible to file a self-effectuating notice of dismissal
under Rule 41(a)(1) and had previously withdrawn an action based on the same claims, the court
was without discretion to dismiss Wellfount’s action under Rule 41(a)(2). We disagree and
affirm. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
TOMMY RAY MAYS, II and QUINTON NELSON SR.,
individually and on behalf of all others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
FRANK LAROSE, in his official capacity as Secretary of
State of Ohio,
Defendant-Appellant. |
No. 19-4112 |
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus.
No. 2:18-cv-01376—Michael H. Watson, District Judge.
Argued: February 13, 2020
Decided and Filed: March 3, 2020
Before: MERRITT, THAPAR, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. There is no dispute that Ohio is generous when it comes
to absentee voting—especially when compared to other states. Any registered voter may cast
their vote by absentee ballot, for any reason or no reason at all, starting about a month before
election day. But there are limits. The State requires almost all registered voters to request an
absentee ballot by noon, three days before Election Day. The lone exception is for unexpectedly
hospitalized electors. Those electors may request an absentee ballot until 3 p.m. on Election
Day.
Here, police arrested Plaintiffs Tommy Ray Mays, II and Quinton Nelson Sr. the
weekend before Election Day 2018. Foreseeing their confinement lasting through the upcoming
election, and with no other way to vote, they sued Ohio’s Secretary of State for access to
absentee ballots. They brought this suit on behalf of themselves and a class of similar
individuals. The suit alleges an Equal Protection claim, challenging the State’s disparate
treatment of hospital-confined and jail-confined electors, and a First Amendment claim,
challenging Ohio’s absentee ballot request deadline, both as applied to unexpectedly jailconfined electors. The trial court granted both plaintiffs a temporary restraining order that
permitted them to vote in November 2018. But the court declined to extend that relief to the
class.
Following the November 2018 election, Plaintiffs requested class certification and both
sides moved for summary judgment. The district court certified the class and granted summary
judgment for Plaintiffs and those similarly situated, holding that the burden Ohio’s disparate
treatment of hospital-confined and jail-confined electors places on Plaintiffs’ right to vote is not
justified by a strong enough State interest. We disagree and now REVERSE the district court’s
grant of summary judgment to Plaintiffs, REVERSE the district court’s denial of summary
judgment to LaRose, and REVERSE the district court’s certification of a class. |
|