Ewing Thomas Kerr

In United States v. Lukens, the defendant was detained after a consensual police encounter at a parking lot when an officer discovered an outstanding warrant, leading to a vehicle search that uncovered methamphetamine and subsequent statements made to officers. Lukens moved to suppress the physical evidence and his statements, arguing the search lacked valid consent or probable cause, the statements violated Miranda rights after requests for counsel, and he was not promptly brought before a magistrate. The court denied the motions in full, finding the initial interaction consensual under Fourth Amendment standards, the consent to search voluntary, the Miranda waivers knowing and intelligent, and all statements either spontaneous, made after valid waivers, or obtained without improper interrogation following counsel requests.

criminal lawprocedure

The case concerned Exxon Corporation's challenge to the Bureau of Land Management's decision to issue a right-of-way for its carbon dioxide pipeline across federal lands under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act rather than Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The Interior Board of Land Appeals had affirmed the BLM's choice, which imposed a common carrier requirement on Exxon allowing others to use the pipeline. The court reviewed the agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act and upheld the decision, ruling that the term 'natural gas' in the MLA encompasses all naturally occurring gases produced at the wellhead, including carbon dioxide, and is not limited to hydrocarbons such as methane.

business & regulatoryfederal power

The case involved defendant William Vincent Tropp, who was indicted on fourteen counts of mail and wire fraud for an alleged scheme to sell parcels of Wyoming desert land he did not own, using false advertisements and representations sent via mail and phone across multiple states. Tropp moved to suppress evidence obtained through grand jury subpoenas for documents and a subsequent search warrant executed at his offices, arguing that the subpoenas lacked proper supervisory authority and that the warrant failed Fourth Amendment particularity requirements. The court denied both motions for suppression of evidence and return of property. It reasoned that the subpoenas were validly issued in connection with an ongoing grand jury investigation into the fraud allegations, and the search warrant sufficiently specified items related to Wyoming land sales, with agents conducting the search in a reasonable manner by returning any inadvertently seized irrelevant documents. The court found no constitutional violations in the issuance or execution of the subpoenas or warrant.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved a wrongful death action brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the United States, alleging that the Federal Aviation Administration negligently conducted flight testing for a pilot's instrument rating, removed a visual flight rules limitation, and failed to investigate or enforce against the pilot's alleged incompetence, leading to a fatal plane crash in 1985. The court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The core reasoning was that the FAA's decisions regarding pilot certification and any enforcement actions fell within the discretionary function exception to the FTCA, which barred the claims regardless of any alleged negligence.

torts & liabilityprocedure

In Crozier v. Shillinger, inmates held in protective custody at the Wyoming State Penitentiary brought a civil rights suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that restrictions on their access to canteen services, visitation, recreation, work, education, and medical care violated their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when compared to the general prison population. The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. It held that the differences stemmed from legitimate security concerns, did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment or an equal protection violation, and fell within the limited oversight role of federal courts in prison administration matters.

criminal lawcivil rightsfederal power

In Baker v. Bowen, the plaintiff moved for attorney's fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act after a prior ruling that reversed in part the Secretary of Health and Human Services' determination of his disability insurance benefits onset date, securing an earlier eligibility date and additional retroactive benefits. The court found the plaintiff to be a prevailing party on a significant issue and concluded that the government's position was not substantially justified because the record lacked medical evidence supporting the later onset date chosen by the Secretary. After adjusting the claimed hours downward for clerical work, excessive research time, and unrelated matters, and increasing the hourly rate to $95 to account for cost-of-living changes, the court awarded a total of $2,232.60 in fees and costs.

healthcarefederal power

The case involved American Colloid Company seeking a declaration that defendant Burnham's mining claims were void and an order vacating an Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) decision that had remanded a protest over patent applications for federal mining claims in Wyoming back to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for further factual findings. The court granted Burnham's motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice. The core reasoning was that the APA requires final agency action for judicial review, the matter was not ripe due to the ongoing administrative proceedings, primary jurisdiction over mining patent validity rests with the Department of the Interior, and a prior district court judgment did not render the issues res judicata so as to bypass the agency process.

propertyprocedurefederal power

This case involves plaintiff Bruce Baker's appeal under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) from a decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services that awarded him Social Security disability insurance benefits starting May 27, 1986, rather than from his alleged onset date of February 20, 1982, based on back and neck injuries. The court reviewed the administrative record and applied the substantial evidence standard to the ALJ's findings that Baker's pre-1986 complaints were exaggerated and that he became disabled only when sedentary work became significantly compromised. It affirmed the agency's decision as to the May 27, 1986 onset date but reversed as to the earlier period, holding that the record did not support denying benefits before that date and that the statutory one-year retroactivity limit under 42 U.S.C. § 423(b) entitled Baker to benefits from May 29, 1985. The court remanded solely for the prompt award of those retroactive benefits without further hearing.

healthcarefederal powerprocedure

This case involved a motion by defendants Pitchford and Walraven to suppress approximately two kilos of cocaine and other items seized from their vehicle following a traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Wyoming. The court denied the motion, holding that the initial stop was lawful because the officer reasonably believed there was a registration discrepancy based on a license plate check that initially mismatched due to a communication error. The subsequent search was conducted pursuant to the defendants' voluntary and specific consent, which was not coerced, as evidenced by their responses and actions during the encounter. The court found no violation of the Fourth Amendment or other constitutional rights, including claims related to interstate travel scrutiny for out-of-state vehicles.

criminal lawprocedurecivil rights

In Jacobs v. Dista Products Co., the plaintiff sued a drug manufacturer and distributor for personal injuries allegedly caused by the prescription antibiotic Keflex, claiming inadequate warnings, breach of warranties, and strict liability. The court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, holding that under the learned intermediary doctrine adopted in Wyoming, the manufacturer’s duty to warn extended only to the prescribing physician, not directly to the patient. The core reasoning was that the warnings provided to the physician adequately disclosed the risk of pseudomembranous colitis, the plaintiff failed to present expert evidence that the warnings were inadequate, and drugs like Keflex are considered unavoidably unsafe products under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A comment k, for which proper warnings to physicians shield the manufacturer from liability.

torts & liabilityhealthcare

This case is an appeal from a bankruptcy court decision finding that a creditor received an avoidable preferential transfer under 11 U.S.C. § 547 from debtors who filed a Chapter 7 petition. Jirdon Agri Chemicals obtained a state court judgment against the debtors for unpaid agricultural supplies, executed on their hay via sheriff's levy and sale five weeks before the bankruptcy filing, and received the sale proceeds of $10,760.12. The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court's ruling that the transfer was preferential and could be avoided by the trustee, as it occurred within the 90-day period, benefited the creditor, and involved the sheriff acting as the creditor's agent; arguments based on state law lien attachment or bona fide purchaser status were rejected. The court applied a clearly erroneous standard of review to uphold the lower decision.

procedurepropertybusiness & regulatory

This case involved parents of two handicapped children who prevailed in an administrative proceeding under the Education of the Handicapped Act against a Wyoming agency for failing to provide appropriate educational services. The parents then filed a federal lawsuit seeking attorney's fees under the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act of 1986 after the administrative body denied their fee petition for lack of authority. The court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss, ruling that prevailing parties may bring an independent federal action solely to recover reasonable attorney's fees from administrative proceedings under the EHA. The decision was based on the statute's language allowing fees in "any action or proceeding," supported by legislative history and Supreme Court precedent interpreting similar fee-shifting provisions.

civil rightsprocedure

This case involved a challenge by the National Wildlife Federation and Wyoming Wildlife Federation to the National Park Service's decision to continue operating the Fishing Bridge Campground in Yellowstone National Park at a reduced level while completing an Environmental Impact Statement on its effects on grizzly bears, a threatened species. The plaintiffs claimed violations of the Endangered Species Act, National Park Service Organic Act, Administrative Procedure Act, and Concessions Policy Act. The court granted summary judgment to the defendants, finding no genuine issues of material fact and that the agency's action complied with the ESA by consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service and implementing a plan to conserve the species. It further held that the decision was not arbitrary or capricious under the APA, as the administrative record showed the agency considered relevant factors and had a rational basis for its interim management approach. The court did not reach the Concessions Policy Act claims.

environmentfederal powerprocedure

The case concerned whether State Farm's automobile insurance policy provided coverage for injuries sustained by defendant Barnes when he fell from a pickup truck owned by defendant Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth had leased the truck to his employer for $400 per month for job-related use, and the accident occurred while the vehicle was being operated for company business with multiple employees aboard. The court granted summary judgment to State Farm and denied coverage. The decision rested on the policy's rented vehicle exclusion, which applied because the truck was leased and not all passengers rode in designated areas; the fellow-employee exclusion for job-related injuries; and the worker's compensation exclusion, given that the incident arose from employment activities.

business & regulatorylabor & employmenttorts & liability

The case involved a challenge by the Mountain States Legal Foundation to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management's suspension of mineral leasing and delays in processing oil and gas lease applications in the Shoshone, Targhee, and Bridger-Teton National Forests. The plaintiff alleged violations of the Mineral Leasing Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Energy Security Act, and Administrative Procedure Act, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to end the suspension and require agency action. The court granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in part and denied the defendants', holding that the suspension constituted an unlawful withdrawal of lands and that the agencies had a mandatory duty to process lease applications under the Energy Security Act regardless of pending environmental reviews or forest plans. The core reasoning was that the agencies' actions exceeded their discretion, failed to follow statutory requirements for processing leases and reporting withdrawals to Congress, and that proposed rulemaking by the Department of Agriculture addressed one claim without needing further court order at that time.

business & regulatoryenvironmentfederal power

This case concerned a dispute over the priority of a federal tax lien on real property in Wyoming after a nonjudicial foreclosure sale conducted by the Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA), which held the first mortgage. Title Guaranty Company, which had insured the mortgage, sued seeking a declaration that the IRS tax lien was extinguished or junior due to the passage of time for refiling and the non-merger of the mortgage into title under Wyoming law, while the IRS counterclaimed that its lien survived because WCDA failed to provide the required notice of the sale under 26 U.S.C. § 7425(b). The court held that the IRS was entitled to foreclose on its lien of $6,102.95, ruling that the lack of notice made the foreclosure sale subject to the federal tax lien and that the mortgage merged into WCDA's title, elevating the IRS lien to first priority. The decision applied federal law to determine lien priority and found that any inequitable result was outweighed by the federal interest in tax collection, granting partial summary judgment to both parties.

taxespropertyfederal powerprocedure

This case concerns a dispute over the scope of a 1957 easement granted by Norman Palm to the United States Bureau of Land Management for a right-of-way across private land in Carbon County, Wyoming, in the checkerboard pattern of public and private lands. The plaintiffs, Elk Mountain Safari and Palm Livestock Company, filed a quiet title action under 28 U.S.C. § 2409a seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing the easement was limited to BLM's use for administering public lands under specific federal acts, while the BLM claimed it allowed public access. The court held that the easement language was unambiguous and did not grant public access rights, quieting title in the plaintiffs subject only to the BLM's specified uses by its officers, agents, permittees, allottees, and licensees. The reasoning relied on the easement's plain terms restricting it to purposes tied to the listed statutes, Wyoming law prohibiting material enlargement of the burden on the servient estate, and the action being timely filed within the twelve-year limitations period after the BLM's public-access claim became apparent in 1983 or 1984.

propertyfederal power

This case involved environmental and administrative challenges by the Park County Resource Council and others to the Bureau of Land Management's approval of Snyder Oil Company's application for a permit to drill an exploratory oil well on federal multiple-use land in the Shoshone National Forest. Plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, claiming that the BLM violated its own regulations by not suspending the permit pending an appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals and that the environmental assessment violated NEPA by inadequately considering alternatives. After consolidating the injunction hearing with a trial on the merits, the court denied the injunction and dismissed the action, finding that the environmental assessment and related documents adequately addressed impacts and alternatives, the BLM complied with its regulations, plaintiffs failed to show irreparable harm or likelihood of success on the merits, and the balance of harms and public interest favored allowing the approved operations to proceed.

environmentbusiness & regulatoryfederal power

The case involved Champlin Petroleum seeking declaratory and injunctive relief that its oil and gas lease on Wyoming acreage had terminated after the five-year primary term due to lack of production. Defendants, who acquired interests via a bankruptcy trustee's assignment, claimed that limited oil flow into tanks constituted production in paying quantities and that bankruptcy proceedings excused nonproduction under the lease's force majeure clause, while also asserting estoppel. The court granted Champlin's motion for summary judgment and denied the cross-motion, ruling that the lease expired automatically because no qualifying production occurred, financial difficulties from bankruptcy were not covered by force majeure, and Champlin made no representations supporting waiver or estoppel.

propertybusiness & regulatory

This case involved the United States seeking to reduce a federal tax assessment against Deanne Skirko to judgment and foreclose a tax lien on Liquor License Number Two issued by the Town of Mills, Wyoming, which the Sterners claimed as their property under a reassignment agreement. Skirko defaulted, leading to a judgment against her, while the Sterners filed cross-motions for summary judgment asserting superior title. The court granted the United States' motion for summary judgment and denied the Sterners', ruling that the federal tax lien attached to Skirko's interest in the license at the time of assessment in 1982, that the Sterners' unrecorded or untimely reassignment did not prime the lien under 26 U.S.C. § 6323, and that the license remained transferable subject to state approval without creating a new license that would extinguish the lien.

taxesfederal powerpropertybusiness & regulatory