Ismar and Efraulio Pinto-Montoya petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") denying petitioners' motion for reconsideration of a prior BIA order summarily dismissing their appeal. See In re Pinto-Montoya, Nos. A78 428 273, A78 428 277 (B.I.A. Oct. 28, 2005); In re Pinto-Montoya, Nos. A78 428 273, A78 428 277 (BIA Aug. 11, 2005), aff'g In re Pinto-Montoya, Nos. A78 428 273, A78 428 277 (Immig. Ct. N.Y. City, Feb. 24, 2004). The Immigration Judge...  

The primary question presented by this appeal is whether a biological and non-custodial parent of a disabled child has standing to sue under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") to vindicate rights granted by the IDEA. Critical to this question is whether, under New York law, a biological and non-custodial parent of a child retains the right to make decisions regarding the child's education where the divorce... ... ... decree and custody order are silent as to the...  

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Leonard D. Wexler, Judge), following a jury trial, declaring, among other things, that plaintiff-appellee Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, Inc., ("Fidelity") has no duty to defend or indemnify defendants-appellants Jasam Realty Corp. ("Jasam") and Crotona Properties Inc. ("Crotona") in connection with a personal... ... ... injury lawsuit that had been...  

A $28,000 sale of fruit and vegetables has led to an appeal that raises a host of issues concerning appellate jurisdiction, default judgments, personal jurisdiction, and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, 7 U.S.C. § 499e(c)(5) ("PACA"). These issues arise on an appeal by Defendant-Appellant Carmine DiSapio, Jr., from the February 15, 2007, Order of the District Court for the Southern District of New York (Loretta A. Preska, District Judge), denying his motion for...  

On March 31, 2006, Plaintiffs filed a civil action in the Court of Common Pleas for Franklin County, Ohio, arising out of the same set of facts and circumstances as in this case. On April 24, 2006, Defendants removed the suit to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on the ground that the dispute was over a maritime contract and thus was governed by federal law. On July 28, 2006, Plaintiffs filed this civil action in the Southern District of New York (Swain, J.),...  

Voters in New York State may vote by absentee ballot in every kind of election save one: elections for political party county committees. The plaintiffs, who are two voters, the Albany County Republican Committee ("ACRC"), and a candidate for the ACRC, claim that the State has infringed their First Amendment rights through this omission, without adequate justification. The district court rejected the plaintiffs' arguments, and it concluded that the State's explanation was...  

Defendant Nico Mundy appeals from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Siragusa, J.) convicting him, after trial by jury, of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a), and possessing a firearm in the furtherance of a drug crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Mundy contends the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that the attempted flight of co-defendant Fabian McDonald supported an inference of McDonald's...  

Anthony Alexander Miller petitions for review of an order of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") that reinstated a 1989 order of removal entered against Miller for illegal entry into the United States. He argues that the administrative reinstatement procedure (1) is not authorized by statute and (2) deprived him of due process of law. Miller's first contention is foreclosed by our recent holding in Garcia-Villeda v. Mukasey, 531 F.3d 141 (2d Cir. 2008) (Feinberg,...  

Defendants Joseph Amato and John Fasciana appeal from judgments of conviction entered December 5, 2006, and December 12, 2006, respectively (both amended May 22, 2007), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Swain, J.) following an 11-week jury trial. On this appeal we write primarily on the subject of restitution... Three individuals — a business executive, his lawyer, and an officer in the business from which the criminal activity in this case...  

John Bal appeals from Judge Baer's dismissal of his complaint. The principal issue is whether private persons proceeding pro se may bring False Claims Act qui tam actions as relators for the United States. Because False Claims Act causes of action are not personal to relators, they are statutorily barred from bringing such actions pro se. Accordingly, we affirm... BACKGROUND... We briefly summarize the relevant facts as they pertain to this appeal. On May 23, 2005, Bal, proceeding pro se, filed...  

Irwin Eisenstein appeals from the dismissal of his complaint by Judge Batts. The City of New York has moved to dismiss the appeal, asserting that the notice of appeal was untimely. The issue is whether a private party bringing a False Claims Act qui tam action must file a notice of appeal within the 30 days after judgment applicable to civil actions generally, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), or within the 60 days applicable when the United States is a party, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B). We hold...  

Appellant Milberg Weiss & Bershad LLP ("Milberg") appeals from a January 29, 2007 judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Berman, J.), awarding attorneys' fees to class counsel, following the settlement of a private securities class action, in the amount of 3% of the class's recovery rather than the requested 8.5% award. Milberg argues that the district court erred by disregarding the purportedly altered fee-award scheme under the Private...  

The day before he was to testify as a defendant in a securities class action, Bernard L. Schwartz agreed to a $20 million settlement. He later brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Castel, J.) against the four companies that covered him for directors and officers liability. He sued the primary insurer, Twin City Fire Insurance Company, for bad faith refusal to settle and breach of contract, and he sued three excess insurers, Royal Indemnity...  

These cases, argued in tandem, require us to decide whether an alien subject to a final order of removal who files a successive asylum application based only on changed personal circumstances must also file a motion to reopen based on changed country conditions pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(3)(ii), when the ninety-day deadline has passed for such a motion. Petitioners Yuen Jin, Shan Hu Zheng, Jiao Fang Chen, and Hua Zeng, all Chinese citizens, sought to advance successive asylum claims...  

Defendant Horatio Hamilton appeals from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Chin, J.) convicting him, after a jury trial, of conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Hamilton was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment, ten years' supervised release, and the forfeiture of $10,000,000 plus any interest in a house associated with the conspiracy. He...  

James Ventry appeals from the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence imposed for witness tampering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b). Ventry's habeas petition alleged that his conviction resulted from ineffective assistance of counsel arising from his trial counsel's conflict of interest. In its decision and order below, the district court (Arcara, C.J.) denied Ventry's motion without a hearing, concluding that no...  

The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) mandates a fifteen year minimum sentence for anyone convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), who "has three previous convictions... ... ... for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both." 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Section 924(e)(2)(A)(ii) defines a "serious drug offense," in relevant part, as "an offense under state law... ... ... for which a maximum term of imprisonment...  

Defendant-Appellant Nelson Guevara-Umana ("Guevara") appeals a judgment of conviction entered in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Feuerstein, J.). Guevara pled guilty to one count of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The guilty plea, however, was conditioned on the right to appeal the district court's denial of a motion to...  

The plaintiffs appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (P. Kevin Castel, Judge), which, among other things, dismissed on a motion for summary judgment their claims challenging the Public Resource Depredation Order, 50 C.F.R. § 21.48 (the "Depredation Order"), on the grounds that it violates treaty obligations of the United States and federal statutes. We consider on appeal whether the defendants issued the Depredation Order...  

Defendants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Nationwide Life Insurance Company, Nationwide Property and Casualty Company, Nationwide Variable Life Insurance Company, and Colonial Insurance Company of California (collectively, "Nationwide"), appeal from a judgment entered by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Droney, J.) upon a jury verdict in favor of...