Monday
Jun072010
Supreme Court Notes
Monday, June 7, 2010 at 11:35AM
3 decisions from the Court today:
Krupski v. Costa Crociere
Krupski broke her leg on a cruise ship and sued Costa Cruise Lines, the agent who sold her the ticket. After the limitations period had expired, Costa Cruise told Krupski that she should have sued Costa Crociere instead, since they operated the ship. Krupski amended her lawsuit to be against Costa Crociere, but they claimed it was too late for her to sue them. She said Crociere should have known she was going to sue them.
The Supreme Court unanimously agreed with Krupski, so the lawsuit will go forward.
Some color: When announcing her opinion, Sotomayor jokingly asked Justice Scalia to pronounce "Crociere," since she said she wanted to put a Spanish accent on it. Scalia obliged.
Hamilton v. Lanning
When a bankruptcy court is calculating disposable income in order to figure out how long a debtor can take to pay off creditors, can the court take into account foreseeable changes in adebtor's income or expenses?
In this case, Lanning had received a buyout from her employer a few months before declaring bankruptcy, and therefore her income for the 6 months preceding filing—the time period usually used to calculate income—was significantly greater than it would likely be in the future.
Justice Alito, writing for the Court, said that a judge is allowed to consider foreseeable changes in income and expenses. Justice Scalia dissented.
Barber v. Thomas
Federal law allows the Bureau of Prisons to allocate to prisoners up to 54 days of "good time credit" for each year of prison served. At the end of each year, the bureau figures out how many days should be given. In the last year of the prisoner's sentence, CALCULATED USING THE TERM SHORTENED BY THE CREDITS, the bureau allocates a prorated amount of credits (54 days per year = 1.77 days per month). Thus, a prisoner sentenced to 10 years can earn a maximum of 470 days of credit.
Some prisoners sued, arguing their entire sentence should be used for calculating possible good time credit, rather than the amount of sentence they serve. In other words, on a 10 year sentence they should be eligible for 540 days. The Court focused on the term "term of imprisonment" in the law. Justice Breyer, writing for 7 Justices, said the Bureau's method was proper.
Justice Kennedy, joined by Justices Stevens and Ginsburg, dissented.
Krupski v. Costa Crociere
Krupski broke her leg on a cruise ship and sued Costa Cruise Lines, the agent who sold her the ticket. After the limitations period had expired, Costa Cruise told Krupski that she should have sued Costa Crociere instead, since they operated the ship. Krupski amended her lawsuit to be against Costa Crociere, but they claimed it was too late for her to sue them. She said Crociere should have known she was going to sue them.
The Supreme Court unanimously agreed with Krupski, so the lawsuit will go forward.
Some color: When announcing her opinion, Sotomayor jokingly asked Justice Scalia to pronounce "Crociere," since she said she wanted to put a Spanish accent on it. Scalia obliged.
Hamilton v. Lanning
When a bankruptcy court is calculating disposable income in order to figure out how long a debtor can take to pay off creditors, can the court take into account foreseeable changes in adebtor's income or expenses?
In this case, Lanning had received a buyout from her employer a few months before declaring bankruptcy, and therefore her income for the 6 months preceding filing—the time period usually used to calculate income—was significantly greater than it would likely be in the future.
Justice Alito, writing for the Court, said that a judge is allowed to consider foreseeable changes in income and expenses. Justice Scalia dissented.
Barber v. Thomas
Federal law allows the Bureau of Prisons to allocate to prisoners up to 54 days of "good time credit" for each year of prison served. At the end of each year, the bureau figures out how many days should be given. In the last year of the prisoner's sentence, CALCULATED USING THE TERM SHORTENED BY THE CREDITS, the bureau allocates a prorated amount of credits (54 days per year = 1.77 days per month). Thus, a prisoner sentenced to 10 years can earn a maximum of 470 days of credit.
Some prisoners sued, arguing their entire sentence should be used for calculating possible good time credit, rather than the amount of sentence they serve. In other words, on a 10 year sentence they should be eligible for 540 days. The Court focused on the term "term of imprisonment" in the law. Justice Breyer, writing for 7 Justices, said the Bureau's method was proper.
Justice Kennedy, joined by Justices Stevens and Ginsburg, dissented.
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