Roger T. Benitez

In Re Cell Tower Litigation

District Court, S.D. California · 2011-08-05

The case involved cross-motions for summary judgment in a dispute between American Tower Corporation and the City of San Diego over the City's denial of a conditional use permit to maintain an existing 90-foot telecommunications tower. ATC claimed violations of the Telecommunications Act, including lack of substantial evidence for the denial, unreasonable discrimination, and effective prohibition of wireless services. The court granted in part and denied in part both motions, determining that the City's decision was supported by substantial evidence in the record regarding the tower's noncompliance with local design and siting regulations under 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7).

business & regulatoryfederal powerproperty

Gates v. ASSET ACCEPTANCE, LLC

District Court, S.D. California · 2011-07-26 · cited 2×

Edward Gates sued Asset Acceptance, LLC, alleging violations of the FDCPA and Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on Asset's state court complaint seeking collection of a charged-off credit card debt. Gates claimed Asset falsely asserted ownership of the debt and misrepresented its right to prejudgment interest by requesting it from the wrong start date. The federal court granted Asset's motion for summary judgment. It held that collateral estoppel barred relitigation of ownership, as the state court had already ruled Asset owned the account, and that the interest date error was an immaterial typographical mistake that did not violate the statutes under the materiality standard from Donohue v. Quick Collect, Inc. The court noted Asset had sought to correct the error before trial and ultimately prevailed on the merits in state court.

business & regulatoryprocedure

MEDWAY v. Cate

District Court, S.D. California · 2010-11-17 · cited 1×

This case involves a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 filed by an inmate at Centinela State Prison serving a seven-years-to-life sentence for a 1977 first-degree murder conviction, challenging the California Board of Parole Hearings' November 2008 decision finding him unsuitable for parole at his fifteenth hearing. The magistrate judge recommended granting the petition and ordering immediate release with parole term adjustments, but the district court denied the petition after reviewing objections and the record. Applying the "some evidence" standard from Ninth Circuit precedent, the court examined the commitment offense details, the petitioner's prior misdemeanor convictions, his prison disciplinary history and rehabilitative efforts, and psychological evaluations to assess current dangerousness. It concluded that the Board's denial was supported by sufficient evidence, leading to denial of habeas relief.

criminal lawprocedure

Weakley v. Redline Recovery Services, LLC

District Court, S.D. California · 2010-07-13 · cited 1×

United States v. Saathoff

District Court, S.D. California · 2010-04-06

North County Communications Corp. v. Verizon Global Networks, Inc.

District Court, S.D. California · 2010-02-09 · cited 9×

Affiliations

Decision record

Roger T. Benitez

Affiliations

Decision record