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Supreme Court Rejects Prejudice Requirement For Waivers Of Arbitration
Case Name and Number: Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., No. 21-328 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision that the Federal Arbitration Act does not authorize federal courts to require the party opposing arbitration to show prejudice. Background: When a party that has agreed to arbitration instead sues in federal court, the Federal […]
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Supreme Court Holds That Federal Courts Cannot Review The Underlying Dispute To Determine If There Is Jurisdiction To Confirm Or Vacate An Arbitral Award
Case Name and Number: Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in an 8-1 decision that federal district courts may not look to the underlying substantive dispute to determine whether there is federal jurisdiction to confirm or vacate arbitral awards under Sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act. Background: […]
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Supreme Court Holds That A Mistake Of Law Invalidates A Copyright Registration Only If The Copyright Holder Knew Of Its Mistake
Case Name and Number: Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., No. 20-915 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that a copyright registration that is inaccurate because the registrant made a mistake of law is valid unless the registrant knew of its mistake at the time of registration. Background: Under […]
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Supreme Court Holds That ERISA Fiduciaries’ Duty to Monitor All Investment Options is Not Excused Because Some Investment Options are Adequate
Case Name and Number: Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held that fiduciaries to ERISA defined-contribution retirement plans have an ongoing duty to monitor the investment options in the plan, and that participants’ ability to select the options they prefer does not relieve fiduciaries of that duty. Background: Participants in […]
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Supreme Court Stays OSHA’s Vax-Or-Test COVID-19 Rule
National Federation of Independent Business v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, No. 21A244 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to stay OSHA’s rule requiring large US employers to have a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, or to give employees the option of vaccinating or undergoing weekly COVID-19 testing, holding that the challengers are likely to […]
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Supreme Court Holds That Private Companies Have A Right Under Federal Law To Seize State-Held Land To Build Natural Gas Pipelines
PennEast Pipeline Co., LLC v. New Jersey, No. 19-1039 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that the Natural Gas Act delegates the federal eminent domain power to private parties, removing a barrier for the $1 billion PennEast gas pipeline project and reversing a Third Circuit ruling that project developers could not […]
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Supreme Court Reaffirms Spokeo’s Limitations On Article III Standing, Concludes Vast Majority Of Class Members Failed To Demonstrate Concrete Harm
Case Name and Number: TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, No. 20-297 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision reversed a class-wide judgment, holding that the vast majority of class members failed to satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement for Article III standing to sue because they did not suffer a concrete harm resulting from the defendant’s […]
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Supreme Court Sides With Small Refineries On Renewable Fuel Program Waivers
HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association, No. 20-472 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that under the Renewable Fuel Program’s fuel-blending requirements for domestic refineries, a small refinery that received an exemption that lapsed nonetheless may obtain an extension of that exemption. The decision restored the exemptions of three […]
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Supreme Court Invalidates California Regulation Requiring Agricultural Employers to Allow Union Organizers Onto Their Property
Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, No. 20-107 Today, the Supreme Court held that a 1975 California regulation that grants labor organizations a “right to take access” to an agricultural employer’s property to solicit support for unionization constitutes a per se physical taking. Background: In 2015, Cedar Point Nursery, an Oregon corporation that raises strawberry plants for producers in California, […]
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Supreme Court Holds That Patent Trial and Appeal Board Judges Cannot Issue Final Inter Partes Review Decisions
United States v. Arthrex, Inc., No. 19-1434; Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., No. 19-1458; Smith & Nephew, Inc. v. Arthrex, Inc., No. 19-1452 Yesterday, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not permit administrative patent judges (APJs) to issue final administrative decisions in inter partes review proceedings. The Court remedied this violation […]
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Supreme Court clarifies that in securities-fraud class actions, courts should consider whether the alleged misrepresentation was “generic”
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, No. 20-222 Today, the Supreme Court held that in a securities-fraud class action, the district court should consider whether the alleged misrepresentation is generic in determining whether the misrepresentation affected the price of the security at issue. The Court also held that the defendant bears the […]
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Supreme Court Narrows Alien Tort Statute Liability
Case Name and Number: Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I, No. 19-416; Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I, No. 19-453 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in an 8-1 decision that allegations of general corporate activity within the United States (such as headquarters oversight and decisionmaking) are insufficient to establish a permissible domestic application of the […]
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Supreme Court Narrows Reach of Federal Computer-Fraud Law
Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that a police officer who accessed a law-enforcement database for an improper purpose did not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), because the officer was authorized to access that database in the course of his official duties. […]
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Supreme Court Says Guam Can Proceed With $160M Landfill Suit Against The United States
Case Name and Number: Guam v. United States, No. 20-382 Introduction: The Supreme Court held that Guam can proceed with a $160 million lawsuit against the United States to recover pollution costs at a landfill. The decision provides guidance to owners and polluters of Superfund sites on the types of lawsuits that can be brought […]
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Baltimore’s Global Warming Suit May Be Able To Stay In Federal Court
BP p.l.c. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, No. 19-1189 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a 7-1 decision that a court of appeals can review the entirety of a district court’s order remanding a case to state court when the defendant relied on the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442, […]
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Unanimous Supreme Court Holds Random or Sequential Number Generation Required for Equipment to Constitute an Autodialer Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Facebook v. Duguid, No. 19-511 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held 9-0 that equipment must be capable of random or sequential number generation in order to qualify as an “automatic telephone dialing system” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Background: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), among other things, restricts certain communications made […]
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Supreme Court Holds Causal Connection To Forum State Not Required To Establish Specific Personal Jurisdiction
Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, No. 19-368 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held 8-0 that Ford’s contacts with Montana and Minnesota sufficed to support specific personal jurisdiction in those States’ courts over product-liability suits brought by residents of those States stemming from car accidents in the States. Background: There are two […]
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Supreme Court Holds That FOIA Does Not Require Federal Agencies To Disclose Draft Biological Opinions
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Inc., No. 19-547 Introduction: In a 7-2 opinion issued today—the first opinion for the Court from Justice Barrett—the Supreme Court held that the Freedom of Information Act’s (FOIA) deliberative-process privilege protects from disclosure agencies’ in-house, draft biological opinions. Background: FOIA requires that federal agencies make records available to […]
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“Domestic takings” Rule Bars Suit Against Foreign Nations in U.S. Court
Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, No. 19-351; Republic of Hungary v. Simon, No. 18-1447 Introduction: Today, the Supreme Court held in a unanimous decision that the “domestic takings” rule bars suits against foreign governments for the unlawful taking of property from people who were nationals of the confiscating country at the time of the […]
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Supreme Court Holds That Retaining Impounded Vehicles Does Not Violate Automatic Stay
Case Name and Number: Chicago v. Fulton, No. 19-357 Introduction: In an 8-0 opinion issued today, the Supreme Court held that a creditor’s passive retention of property properly seized from a debtor pre-bankruptcy does not violate the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3). Background: When an entity or individual files for bankruptcy, an automatic […]
