Puerto Rico Case Commentaries

FAA Preempts Iowa’s Arbitration-Specific “Prejudice” Waiver Test: Waiver of Arbitration Governed by Ordinary Contract Principles

Date: May 11, 2026

FAA Preempts Iowa’s Arbitration-Specific “Prejudice” Waiver Test: Waiver of Arbitration Governed by Ordinary Contract Principles Introduction Leroy Eldon Cole v. Southeast Iowa Orthopaedics and...

COVID-Era Telework Does Not Redefine “Essential Functions”: Contractor Telework Denials and ADA Prima Facie Failures

Date: May 11, 2026

COVID-Era Telework Does Not Redefine “Essential Functions”: Contractor Telework Denials and ADA Prima Facie Failures Case: Hayes v. GStek, Incorporated (5th Cir. May 8, 2026) | Court: United States...

FOIA Exemption 4 Limits and FOIA Fee Eligibility When an Agency Releases Records After a Third Party Relents

Date: May 11, 2026

FOIA Exemption 4 Limits and FOIA Fee Eligibility When an Agency Releases Records After a Third Party Relents I. Introduction In Energy & Policy Inst. v. Tenn. Valley Auth. (6th Cir. May 8, 2026), the...

FOIA Fee Eligibility After Mid‑Litigation Releases: A Release Can Be “Voluntary” Even When Prompted by a Submitter, and Exemptions 4 & 6 Require Harm- and Segregability‑Sensitive Withholding

Date: May 11, 2026

FOIA Fee Eligibility After Mid‑Litigation Releases: A Release Can Be “Voluntary” Even When Prompted by a Submitter, and Exemptions 4 & 6 Require Harm- and Segregability‑Sensitive Withholding...

Specificity Required to Challenge Bulk Text Evidence; Victim/Anonymous Messages May Qualify as Coconspirator Statements

Date: May 11, 2026

Specificity Required to Challenge Bulk Text Evidence; Victim/Anonymous Messages May Qualify as Coconspirator Statements Introduction In United States v. Darrick Denard Bell (6th Cir. May 7, 2026),...

Munsell v. Munsell Commentary

Date: May 11, 2026

Sole Legal Custody Does Not Permit a Custodial Parent to Veto the Other Parent’s Religious Activities During Parenting Time Absent an Immediate and Substantial Threat of Harm I. Introduction Munsell...

Mandatory Supplementation of County-Court Appellate Transcripts to Expose Jurisdictional Voidness; Lease-Based Equitable Interests Divest Forcible Entry and Detainer Jurisdiction

Date: May 11, 2026

Mandatory Supplementation of County-Court Appellate Transcripts to Expose Jurisdictional Voidness; Lease-Based Equitable Interests Divest Forcible Entry and Detainer Jurisdiction Case: Martens v....

Iowa Rejects a Judicially Created Prison-Mailbox Rule for Postconviction Relief: “Filed” Means Received by the Clerk (or EDMS)

Date: May 11, 2026

Iowa Rejects a Judicially Created Prison-Mailbox Rule for Postconviction Relief: “Filed” Means Received by the Clerk (or EDMS) Case: Norman Wayne Davis IV v. State of Iowa (Iowa Supreme Court, May 8,...

Mandatory Post-Termination Guardianship Transfer to HHS Under Iowa Code § 232.117(3)(a) Absent Waiver; Foster Parents Not “Fictive Kin” Without a Pre-Removal Relationship

Date: May 11, 2026

Mandatory Post-Termination Guardianship Transfer to HHS Under Iowa Code § 232.117(3)(a) Absent Waiver; Foster Parents Not “Fictive Kin” Without a Pre-Removal Relationship Case: In the Interest of...

FTCA Customs-Duty Exception Bars Border-Checkpoint Intentional Torts Despite Law-Enforcement Proviso; Sua Sponte Bivens Dismissal Without Prejudice Permitted

Date: May 11, 2026

FTCA Customs-Duty Exception Bars Border-Checkpoint Intentional Torts Despite Law-Enforcement Proviso; Sua Sponte Bivens Dismissal Without Prejudice Permitted I. Introduction Allyn-Feuer v. Doe (5th...

Sanders v. TC Transcontinental Tulsa: Enforcing Local Rule 56-1 and Requiring Evidence of Pretext to Defeat Summary Judgment Under McDonnell Douglas

Date: May 11, 2026

Sanders v. TC Transcontinental Tulsa: Enforcing Local Rule 56-1 and Requiring Evidence of Pretext to Defeat Summary Judgment Under McDonnell Douglas Introduction In Sanders v. TC Transcontinental...

United States v. Middleton: Trauma-and-Memory Expert Testimony Under Rule 702 and Jail-Call “Substantial Step” Attempted Obstruction Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(d)

Date: May 11, 2026

United States v. Middleton: Trauma-and-Memory Expert Testimony Under Rule 702 and Jail-Call “Substantial Step” Attempted Obstruction Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(d) I. Introduction In United States v....

Trademark Injunctions Must Be Cabined to Markets of Likely Confusion: Trojan Battery v. Golf Carts of Cypress

Date: May 11, 2026

Trademark Injunctions Must Be Cabined to Markets of Likely Confusion (No Blanket Ban on a Common Word Mark) Introduction In Trojan Battery Company, L.L.C. v. Golf Carts of Cypress, L.L.C.; Trojan EV,...

Consensual On-Duty Sexual Misconduct Does Not Provide Monell Notice of Sexual Assault Risk; “Red Flags” Must Indicate Similar Propensity for Negligent Hiring

Date: May 11, 2026

Consensual On-Duty Sexual Misconduct Does Not Provide Monell Notice of Sexual Assault Risk; “Red Flags” Must Indicate Similar Propensity for Negligent Hiring 1. Introduction In Shannon Mullen v. Town...

Virginia Whistleblower Claims Require an Objectively Reasonable Belief of a Specific Legal Violation

Date: May 11, 2026

Virginia Whistleblower Claims Require an Objectively Reasonable Belief of a Specific Legal Violation Introduction In James Edward Workman v. LHC Group, Inc. (4th Cir. May 8, 2026) (unpublished), the...

Ambiguous Post-Termination “Trade Name” Clauses Defeat Rule-12 Contract Dispositive Dismissal of Trademark Claims (10th Cir.)

Date: May 11, 2026

Ambiguous Post-Termination “Trade Name” Clauses Defeat Rule-12 Contract Dispositive Dismissal of Trademark Claims (10th Cir.) Introduction In Ascent Classical Academies v. Ascent Classical Academy...

Calling the Police Does Not Make a Private Retailer a State Actor: VanHorn v. Salvation Army

Date: May 11, 2026

Calling the Police Does Not Make a Private Retailer a State Actor: VanHorn v. Salvation Army (10th Cir. May 7, 2026) 1. Introduction In VanHorn v. Salvation Army, Christopher A. VanHorn (pro se) sued...

Bolos v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC — Hawaiʻi Minimum Wage Is Measured Per Hour, Not Averaged Per Workweek

Date: May 11, 2026

Hawaiʻi Minimum Wage Compliance and Damages Must Be Measured “Per Hour,” Rejecting Workweek Averaging Under HRS §§ 387-2 and 387-12 1. Introduction In Bolos v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC (Supreme...

Eyewitness Identification Plus Near-Immediate Corroboration Suffices for § 922(g)(1) Actual Possession—Forensic Gaps and Credibility Attacks Do Not Defeat Sufficiency Review

Date: May 11, 2026

Eyewitness Identification Plus Near-Immediate Corroboration Suffices for § 922(g)(1) Actual Possession—Forensic Gaps and Credibility Attacks Do Not Defeat Sufficiency Review Introduction In United...

In re Trummel: Published Censure for Recurrent Neglect, Trust-Account Failures, and Noncooperation Despite Parties’ Request for Admonition

Date: May 11, 2026

In re Trummel: Published Censure for Recurrent Neglect, Trust-Account Failures, and Noncooperation Despite Parties’ Request for Admonition 1. Introduction Case: In the Matter of LUANN K. TRUMMEL,...