On Thursday, Judge Ho largely denied the motions for summary judgment of three fertility-services-related defendants against negligence claims stemming from the failed freezing of unfertilized eggs (oocytes). In 2014, Plaintiff Larisa Lev-Ary underwent a medical procedure to extract and store her oocytes. Sixteen of these oocytes were deemed viable and subsequently frozen until 2021, when
Judge Ho
Judge Ho Exercises Discretion to Deny Government’s Bond for Seized Luxury Superyacht Upkeep Costs
By Julie Lascano on
On Wednesday, Judge Ho denied the government’s motion for a cost bond pending appeal in a civil asset forfeiture case against defendant-in-rem the M/Y Amadea, a 348-foot luxury superyacht purportedly owned by a Russian national subject to economic sanctions. Since seizing the superyacht, the government has spent approximately $32 million on transportation, maintenance and storage, and now seeks bond for approximately $25 million in incurred taxable costs. In related proceedings, the claimants have appealed the forfeiture of the Amadea, and the government estimates that the appeal will take approximately one year and incur another $10 million in taxable costs.Continue Reading Judge Ho Exercises Discretion to Deny Government’s Bond for Seized Luxury Superyacht Upkeep Costs
Judge Ho: Malicious Prosecution Claims Do Not “Arise” Under FTCA Until Exoneration
By Julie Lascano on
On Wednesday, in a case brought by the individuals who were falsely convicted of the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Judge Ho denied the government’s motion to dismiss with regard to plaintiffs’ malicious prosecution claims because sovereign immunity is waived under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
Under a 1974 amendment to the FTCA, sovereign immunity is waived for malicious prosecution claims arising after the amendment, i.e., for claims arising after March 16, 1974. In his decision, Judge Ho considered for the first time in this court whether a malicious prosecution claim “arises” for the purposes of the FTCA when the prosecution takes place or when the claimant is exonerated. This case offered the unique situation where the wrongful conviction occurred before 1974, but the exoneration occurred after.Continue Reading Judge Ho: Malicious Prosecution Claims Do Not “Arise” Under FTCA Until Exoneration