In Holbein v. TAW Enterprises, Inc., --- F.3d ---, No. 18-2892, 2020 WL 7755451 (8th Cir. Dec. 30, 2020) (en banc), the Eighth Circuit, sitting en banc, overruled its prior cases dealing with a specific application of the...more
On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, No. 19-715, holding that in assessing whether a congressional subpoena directed at personal information of the president is “related to, and in...more
7/13/2020
/ Appeals ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Donald Trump ,
Executive Branch ,
Foreign Interference in US Elections ,
Income Taxes ,
Money Laundering ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Separation of Powers ,
Tax Returns ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Trump v Deutsche Bank AG ,
Trump v Mazars USA LLP ,
Trump v Vance ,
Vacated ,
Valid Legislative Purpose
On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Opati v. Republic of Sudan, holding that plaintiffs who sue a foreign government under the state-sponsored-terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act can seek...more
5/24/2020
/ Al-Qaeda ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Bodily Injury ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exceptions ,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) ,
Opati v Republic of Sudan ,
Preenactment Conduct ,
Punitive Damages ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Sudan ,
Terrorist Acts ,
Vacated ,
Wrongful Death
On June 27, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Mitchell v. Wisconsin, No. 18-6210, holding that the exigent-circumstances exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement almost always permits a blood test without a...more
6/28/2019
/ Criminal Convictions ,
Drunk Driving ,
Exigent Circumstances ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Mitchell v Wisconsin ,
Motion To Suppress ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Search & Seizure ,
Vacated ,
Warrantless Searches ,
WI Supreme Court
On June 21, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided Flowers v. Mississippi, No. 17-9572, holding that the state court committed clear error in concluding that the state’s peremptory strike of a black prospective juror...more
6/24/2019
/ Batson claim ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Discriminatory Intent ,
Flowers v Mississippi ,
Murder ,
Peremptory Challenges ,
Race Discrimination ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court decided Taggart v. Lorenzen, No. 18-489, holding that a court may hold a creditor in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy court’s discharge order as long as there is “no fair ground of...more
6/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code § 524(a) ,
Bankruptcy Discharge Order ,
Chapter 7 ,
Civil Contempt Orders ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
Creditors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Money Judgment ,
Reasonable Belief Test ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Statutory Violations ,
Taggart v Lorenzen ,
Vacated
On May 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, No. 17-290, holding that the judge, not the jury, must decide whether state-law failure-to-warn claims are preempted by...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 April 29, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority, No. 17-1201, holding that the “sue-and-be-sued” clause that waives the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) sovereign...more
4/30/2019
/ Appeals ,
Discretionary Functions ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) ,
Government-Owned Corporation ,
Negligence ,
Public Utility ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Sue-and-Be-Sued Clause ,
Thacker v Tennessee Valley Authority ,
Waivers
On March 20, 2019, the Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in Frank v. Gaos, No. 17-961, declining to address whether the class-action settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e), and...more
On March 4, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., No. 17-1625, holding that a court’s discretion under section 505 of the Copyright Act to award “full costs” to the...more
3/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Remedies ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc
On March 4, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided BNSF Railway Co. v. Loos, No. 17-1042, holding that a railroad’s payment to an employee for lost wages due to an on-the-job injury is taxable “compensation”...more
3/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Back Pay ,
BNSF Railway ,
BNSF Railway Company v Loos ,
Compensation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) ,
Lost Wages ,
Non-Taxable Income ,
Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Severance Pay ,
Taxable Income ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, No. 14-723, holding that where an ERISA-plan participant has dissipated a third-party...more
On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, (No. 13-935), holding that Article III does not prevent bankruptcy judges from entering final judgment on claims that seek only...more
5/28/2015
/ Alter Ego ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Judicial Authority ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stern v Marshall ,
Trust Assets ,
Wellness International Network v Sharif
On March 25, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., No. 12-1226, holding that a pregnant worker who seeks to show disparate treatment under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act may do so under...more