On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Cunningham v. Cornell University, No. 23-1007, holding that a plaintiff may state a prohibited-transaction claim in violation of ERISA § 406(a) without referencing the exemptions...more
Loper Bright Review: The Death of Chevron Deference?
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine of agency deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision. The doctrine takes...more
On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court decided Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, No. 22-1008, holding that a facial claim against enforcement of a regulation accrues under the Administrative...more
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States decided City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, No. 23-175, holding that the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment of the United States...more
On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ohio, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., Nos. 23A349, 23A350, 23A351 and 23A384. The Court stayed the enforcement of EPA’s rule against certain States pending...more
On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Murthy v. Missouri, No. 23-411, holding that neither the individual plaintiffs nor the state plaintiffs established standing to seek an injunction prohibiting governmental...more
On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Coinbase, Inc., v. Suski, No. 23-3, holding that when parties have agreed to two contracts — the first sending arbitrability disputes to arbitration, and the second sending...more
On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Spizzirri, No. 22-1218, holding that federal courts have no discretion under Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to dismiss a case once the court has ruled...more
On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138, holding that a criminal prosecution based on a true threat of violence requires proof that the defendant subjectively understood the...more
On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tanzin v. Tanvir, holding that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) permits litigants, when appropriate, to obtain money damages against federal officials in their...more
On November 25, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a preliminary injunction in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, No. 20A87, holding that New York may not enforce 10- or 25-person congregation-size limits on...more
On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, No. 19-267, holding that the First Amendment’s “ministerial exception,” under the religion clauses, bars courts from...more
7/9/2020
/ Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Religious Schools ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Teachers
On April 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Babb v. Wilkie, holding that the federal-sector provision of the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §633a(a), does not require proof that age...more
4/9/2020
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Babb v Wilkie ,
Burden of Proof ,
But For Causation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
McDonnell Douglas Formula ,
Remedies ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Care ,
Summary Judgment
On April 6, 2020, the Supreme Court filed a per curiam order in a case related to Wisconsin’s spring elections scheduled for the following day, April 7, 2020. In that order, the Court granted a stay requested by the...more
4/9/2020
/ Absentee Voting ,
Appeals ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Motion To Stay ,
Order to Stay ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Primary Elections ,
Relief Measures ,
Republican National Committee v Democratic National Committee ,
SCOTUS
On March 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided CITGO Asphalt Refining Co. v. Frescati Shipping Co., No. 18-565, construing a safe-berth clause in a widely used charter contract as a warranty of safety, and not simply a due...more
On February 26, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, holding that, for purposes of ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations, a plan beneficiary does not have “actual...more
2/28/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Material Disclosures ,
Question of Fact ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Beneficiaries ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment
On February 25, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Monasky v. Taglieri, holding that the determination of a child’s “habitual residence” for purposes of the Hague Convention depends on a totality-of-the-circumstances...more
2/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Child Abduction ,
Child Custody ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Custody Agreements ,
Domestic Violence ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Habitual Residence ,
Hague Convention ,
Italy ,
Monasky v Taglieri ,
Petition for Return of Child ,
Question of Fact ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Standard of Review ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
United States ,
Wrongful Removal
On February 25, 2020, the Supreme Court decided Hernandez et al. v. Mesa, No. 17-1678, declining to extend a judicially created damages remedy for a constitutional violation by a federal employee, a U.S. Border Patrol agent...more
2/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bivens Claims ,
Border Agents ,
Border Security ,
Cross-Border Shootings ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Hernandez v Mesa ,
Judicial Remedies ,
National Security ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS ,
Separation of Powers ,
Wrongful Death
On February 25, 2020, the Supreme Court decided Rodriguez v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, No. 18-1269, overruling a federal common law rule that was used in some circumstances to determine how to distribute the tax...more
2/27/2020
/ Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Appeals ,
Bob Richards Rule ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consolidated Tax Returns ,
Federal Common Law ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
IRS ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Authority ,
Parent Corporation ,
Remand ,
Rodriguez v Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Claims ,
Tax Allocation Agreements ,
Tax Refunds ,
Vacated
On November 25, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Thompson v. Hebdon holding that, in considering whether caps on individual campaign contributions violate the First Amendment, courts must compare the cap to others upheld...more
On May 28, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Berryhill, holding a dismissal by the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council on timeliness grounds after a claimant has had an administrative law judge...more
5/30/2019
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Congressional Intent ,
Disability Benefits ,
Dismissals ,
Eligibility Determination ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Reversal ,
Reviewability Determinations ,
Right To Appeal ,
SCOTUS ,
Smith v Berryhill ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Social Security Administration Appeals Council ,
Time-Barred Claims
On May 28, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Box v. Planned Parenthood, No. 18-483, holding that government has a legitimate interest in the proper disposal of fetal remains, and this interest is rationally served by...more
5/30/2019
/ Abortion ,
Box v Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc ,
Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Cremation ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Fetal Remains ,
Legitimate State Interest ,
Partial Reversal ,
Rational Basis Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Surgical Waste ,
Undue Burden ,
Waste Disposal
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its potentially most significant preemption decision in several years, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albright, 587 U.S. ____ (2019), reversing what some had dubbed the worst drug and device...more
5/22/2019
/ Agency Disapproval ,
Clear Evidence Standard ,
Failure To Warn ,
FDA Approval ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Judicial Authority ,
Jury Trial ,
Manufacturers ,
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Question of Fact ,
Question of Law ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Claims ,
Vacated ,
Warning Labels
On February 27, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Jam v. International Finance Corp., No. 17-1011, holding that the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 grants international organizations the...more
2/28/2019
/ Absolute Immunity ,
Appeals ,
Foreign Governments ,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) ,
Foreign Sovereigns ,
Immunity ,
International Litigation ,
International Organizations ,
International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 ,
Jam v International Finance Corporation ,
Qualified Immunity ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
On February 26, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert, holding that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f)’s requirement that a party petition a federal appeals court for...more
2/28/2019
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Decertification ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Filing Deadlines ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Leave to Appeal ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Nutraceutical Corp v Lambert ,
SCOTUS