Background: Clerence H. Goncalves installed a continuously recording camera high in a corner of his dimly lit living room, near a dark pipe and a gap in the ceiling. The camera pointed toward a couch. After meeting the victim through an online application, Goncalves hosted a sexual encounter on that couch while the victim was nude.…
Held: The SJC, in an opinion by Justice Dewar, affirmed the photographing conviction. The camera's placement, its aim at the couch, Goncalves's retrieval and transmission of the image, the lack of notice or consent, and his profile assurance that he would not make videos allowed the jury to reject the security-camera accident theory. Although the device was visible, the jury could…
Background: Daniel Kedar purchased two apartments in a real-estate project promoted by Eldad Perry, paying NIS 2.265 million. After Perry’s group entered insolvency proceedings, a rehabilitation plan required Kedar to pay an additional NIS 1,366,458 to receive the apartments. The prosecution alleged that Kedar, angered by Perry’s conduct and the additional payment, conducted 13 reconnaissance trips…
Held: A unanimous Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and left the aggravated-murder conviction intact. Applying the three-stage test for circumstantial evidence, the Court held that the individual items of evidence were sufficiently reliable, that their combined force established beyond a reasonable doubt that Kedar murdered Perry, and that neither the defense nor the record supplied a reasonable innocent explanation for the…
Background: Andreas Sklavos brought representative proceedings on behalf of students who enrolled in the University of Newcastle’s Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) between 1 November 2017 and 31 July 2019. The claim alleged misleading or deceptive conduct, negligence and breach of contract arising from representations that the course was accredited by Engineers Australia and under the…
Held: Pike J approved the settlement under s 173 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), subject to modifications. The Court found it fair and reasonable both between the parties and among group members, taking into account the substantial risks concerning causation and damages, the early resolution and resulting cost savings, the non-monetary relief, and the low objection rate.
Background: Menuiserie artisanale Rucho-[T], managed by Mr. [T], underwent a tax audit covering January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013. The audit resulted in a proposed reassessment for unpaid value-added tax. The company entered judicial reorganization in March 2015 and liquidation in September 2015; the liquidation was closed for insufficient assets on June 20, 2019.
Held: The Court of Cassation vacated the appellate judgment in its entirety. It held that compliance with a legal entity’s tax obligations rests with its de jure director unless the director disputes, and proves that he did not exercise, effective management. Because Mr. [T] did not deny exercising effective management during his term, the Court of Appeal erred in treating his…
Background: Incarcerated litigant Frederick M. Hill sought access to affidavits and warrants sealed in his Stark County criminal case. On November 10, 2025, the Fifth District Court of Appeals received a stand-alone motion asking it to order Judge Frank G. Forchione to submit the records for in camera inspection. The Fifth District treated the filing as…
Held: The Supreme Court of Ohio consolidated the appeals and affirmed the dismissal of the November 10 action, docketed in the Supreme Court as case No. 2025-1686. Based on the record before it, the court held that the Fifth District permissibly construed the unattached motion as a complaint seeking extraordinary relief and properly dismissed it for failure to comply with R.C.…
Background: Michael Biggs cashed a $12,610.60 check shortly before spending time with Brandon Beckman. Casino footage showed Biggs leaving a casino on January 13, 2022, with Beckman and Robert Harvel. Later that morning, witnesses encountered two men freeing a car stuck near an access road; one wore Beckman’s distinctive mohawk-fringed cap. Biggs’s body was found near…
Held: The Montana Supreme Court affirmed. It held that independent circumstantial evidence sufficiently tended to connect Beckman to both the robbery resulting in Biggs’s death and the concealment of Biggs’s body, as required to corroborate Harvel’s testimony.
Background: The Family Court of the Second Circuit issued a one-year protective order against Vihn Du Chau in May 2022. The State later charged him with two counts of violating the order under HRS § 586-11, alleging that he approached the protected person’s workplace and contacted her in prohibited ways. At trial, the protected person testified…
Held: The Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi held that service is not an element of violating an order for protection under HRS § 586-11. The offense requires a knowing or intentional violation. HRS § 586-6’s notice provisions—including personal service, certified mail, or the respondent’s presence when the order issues—provide ways to establish notice and the defendant’s state of mind, but do not…
Background: Grant and Nicole Espinosa’s partially constructed barndominium and outbuildings collapsed under heavy snow in December 2022. The family was living in an RV on the property, whose utility connections were damaged in the collapse. State Farm paid more than $120,000, including $115,966.47 for the dwelling claim, but denied further requested payments.
Held: The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. It held that the district court properly excluded a doctor’s letter, portions of Mr. Espinosa’s timeline, and an email and attachments from the Espinosas’ public adjuster because they were inadmissible hearsay or lacked an adequate foundation.
Background: Private-hire driver Yeo Seong Bee Eric slowed as he approached a zebra crossing but failed to keep a proper lookout or stop. His car struck a cyclist who rode onto the crossing without first slowing sufficiently, stopping, or looking for approaching traffic. The cyclist suffered a spinal fracture, underwent surgery, and received 72 days of…
Held: The High Court allowed the appeal, set aside the one-week imprisonment term, and substituted the maximum fine of $5,000, with one week’s imprisonment in default. The five-year driving disqualification remained in force. Applying the sentencing framework in Chen Song v Public Prosecutor, the court classified the case as involving the middle of “lesser harm” and the lowest end of “lower…
Background: Sprague River Cattle Company sued the State of Oregon, the Oregon Water Resources Department, and its director, alleging that the agency’s Klamath Basin water-rights determinations unconstitutionally took the company’s water rights without compensation. In discovery, SRCC sought documents concerning the Klamath Tribes’ water-rights claims and OWRD’s treatment of those claims.
Held: The Oregon Supreme Court held that the trial court erred by compelling discovery of the privileged documents. Oregon’s discovery rules limit civil discovery to matters that are not privileged, and attorney-client communications that were intended to be confidential when made remain privileged for discovery purposes even if they may be subject to disclosure under the public-records law after 25 years.
Background: BM, a Bangladeshi national who had lived lawfully in Ireland for almost 23 years, was convicted of sexual assault of a young adult taxi passenger and sentenced in March 2025 to two years’ imprisonment. The Minister revoked his Stamp 4 permission and made a deportation order on 26 August 2026. BM was arrested on release…
Held: Mr Justice Bradley ordered BM’s conditional release. Section 5 detention is preventative civil detention, not punishment, and must be assessed in light of its limited purpose: securing an intended deportee’s removal while respecting the constitutional importance of personal liberty.
Background: IKB entities sued U.S. Bank as trustee for residential mortgage-backed securities trusts, alleging breaches of duties imposed by pooling and servicing agreements. The sprawling case divided into three groups: servicing claims triggered by events of default; representation-and-warranty claims tied to defective loans and repurchase rights; and mortgage-file claims based on failures to identify defects and…
Held: The panel restored claims based on disclosed noncompliance events of default. Although Regulation AB Item 1122 assessments sampled a servicer’s platform rather than one trust alone, disclosed failures could reasonably be treated as permeating trusts administered by that servicer. That created factual issues. By contrast, claims for certain trusts still failed where the agreements required written notice and U.S. Bank…