The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday issued four published opinions and one unpublished opinion.

Published

In Bahrani v. ConAgra, Inc., the Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s decision granting treble damages and attorney fees to Petitioner. Petitioner alleged the Respondents altered thousands of beef and hide export certificates issued by the USDA to avoid fees for replacement certificates. However, the Court found that such minor alterations to certificates are not in violation of the FCA’s reverse false claims provision.

In Doe v. Shurtleff, the Court affirmed the district court’s decision to uphold a Utah statute requiring all sex offenders living in the state to register their “internet identifiers” and their corresponding websites with the state. Petitioner, a registered sex offender, claimed that the law violated his rights under the First or Fourth Amendments or the Ex-Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution. Petitioner’s First Amendment challenge fails as his ability to speak anonymously is not infringed because he is not forced to reveal his identity as a precondition to expression. Additionally, there is no proof that the legislature’s intent was so punitive as to transform the civil remedy into a criminal penalty to violate the Ex Post Facto Clause.

In Klaas v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, the Court affirmed the tax court’s assessment of income tax deficiencies by Petitioners in taxable year 2001. Petitioners claimed that the tax court inappropriately determined the tax deficiency based on a legal theory raised solely in the Commissioner’s post-trial brief and thus abused its discretion. However, the Court found that Petitioners failed to show that they were prejudiced by the late introduction of the date-of-merger theory, or offer proof to rebut it, and therefore the tax court did not err in its decision.

In Gee v. Wyoming Dep’t of Corrs., the Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of Petitioner’s claims with prejudice. Petitioner, a prisoner in the Wyoming State Penitentiary, alleged his rights were violated under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution; the district court dismissed the claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and for being frivolous. The Court, however, found potential merit in a portion of Petitioner’s claims free speech claims, and determined that his retaliation claims were improbable, but not implausible, and should have been allowed to proceed. Additionally, the district court should have allowed Petitioner to amend his claims before outright dismissing them in their entirety.

Unpublished

United States v. Wilson