US Executive Branch Update – July 23, 2021
Court Enjoins Enforcement of West Virginia’s Ban On Transgender Girls Being On Girl’s Sports Teams
In B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, (D WV, July 21, 2021), a West Virginia federal district court granted a preliminary injunction to an 11-year old transgender girl who was kept off the girl’s cross country and track teams under a West Virginia statute that bars students whose biological sex is male from girls’ teams. The court found a likelihood of success on plaintiff’s equal protection and Title IX claims, saying in part:…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Abuse Victim’s Suit Against Diocese Barred By Limitations Statute
In Rice v. Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, (PA Sup. Ct., July 21, 2021), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision held that the statute of limitations bars a suit against the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and its bishops for their role in covering up and facilitating a series of sexual assaults by plaintiff’s childhood priest. Suit was filed 35 years after the assaults. Plaintiff sued after a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailed clergy abuse. The court…
Court Enjoins Arkansas Abortion Ban
In Little Rock Family Planning Services v. Jegley, (ED AR, July 20, 2021), an Arkansas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against enforcing Arkansas Act 309 against pre-viability abortions. The statute bans all abortions, except when necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. The court said in part:
The Act thus “prohibit[s] any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability.”… Defendants do not make any argument…
State AG Updates: July 12-16, 2021
Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week’s updates.
Monday, July 12, 2021
CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a consent order against fintech company GreenSky, LLC for allowing contractors and other sellers to take out unauthorized loans on consumers’ behalf. The CFPB’s consent order requires the company to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty, provide up to $9 million…
Court Finds Daycare May Have Prescriptive Easement Against Village
Ian and Eva James have operated a daycare in Bensenville since 1989. The daycare building sits immediately south of the Soo Railroad Line. The Railroad owns a strip of land between the Line and the daycare building. The daycare uses the strip for parking, a dumpster, and vendor deliveries, which is accessed from a Village road, over a driveway through which a public sidewalk runs. In 2015, the Village sought to establish a Quiet Zone…
US Executive Branch Update – July 22, 2021
Satanic Temple Can Move Ahead With Establishment Clause Claim As To Invocation Denial
In The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston, MA (D MA, July 21, 2021), a Massachusetts federal district court refused to dismiss an Establishment Clause challenge to Boston’s City Council invocation policy. The court said in part:
TST reached out to the Boston City Council, which opens each of its meetings with a prayer, asking to give the invocation…. Defendant denied those requests, explaining that City Councilors choose speakers from their communities for their…
10th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity Defense In Suit By Native American Inmates
In Williams v. Hansen, (10th Cir., July 21, 2021), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a suit by Native American inmates against prison officials should not have been dismissed on qualified immunity grounds. Banning Native American religious services for at least 9 days and the use of tobacco for services for 30 days could have violated a clearly established constitutional right of prisoner to freely exercise their religious beliefs.…
Biden’s Competition EO Impacts Banks and the Financial Services Industry
