A United States District Court (E.D. California) (“Court”) addressed in a July 31st Order a federal question jurisdiction issue arising out of a Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) judicial action. See...more
On July 19, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas denied a motion to dismiss Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), which claimed sovereign immunity in a suit brought by a group of providers. In so...more
Litigation challenging government economic regulation has become more common, as courts appear increasingly less deferential to legislative and executive action. Most of this type of litigation focuses on federal regulation,...more
In the recent case, Durham v. Kelley, 82 F.4th 217 (3d Cir. 2023), an inmate at the New Jersey State Prison who had been diagnosed with lumbar stenosis brought a pro se action, alleging violations of the Americans with...more
In June, four individuals and an advocacy organization for previously incarcerated individuals brought suit in the Eastern District of Virginia against several state and local officials alleging that Virginia was denying...more
We have come to the final installment of our FFF Sovereign Immunity Series, having covered the 48 other states previously (see the links to the full series here). In this article, we will look at sovereign immunity in...more
Today we release the twelfth – and penultimate – installment of our Sovereign Immunity Series. In this part, we discuss and provide a high-level overview of how sovereign immunity is viewed specifically through the lens of...more
It’s the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend here in the United States. Given the holiday weekend, this installment of our Sovereign Immunity Series will be light, as we will cover just two states: South Dakota and Tennessee....more
Today we release the ninth installment of our Sovereign Immunity Series. In this installment we cover Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina to give you a high-level overview of sovereign immunity in...more
We continue our alphabetical 50-state survey of sovereign immunity with our fourth installment in the series – this week summarizing sovereign immunity in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine and Maryland....more
We continue our alphabetical 50-state survey of sovereign immunity with our third installment in the series. Today we have something for everyone (tropical beaches, rugged mountains, big cities and wide-open spaces): Hawaii,...more
Today we release the second installment of our Sovereign Immunity Series. In this installment, continuing with our alphabetical order format, we provide a high-level overview of the sovereign immunity laws of Colorado,...more
On Thursday, August 4, 2022, the First Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed as moot an appeal that was brought by two former University of Massachusetts students claiming that the schools’ vaccine policies were unconstitutional...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses the ability of non-parties to invoke arbitration agreements, and refreshes its law on the applicability of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity in the arbitration context. KIM NGO...more
Connecticut law has required public and private schools to condition a student’s entry into school upon providing proof of immunizations against certain communicable diseases (including but not limited to diphtheria,...more
I have to give it to creative, resilient lawyers (and in fact, I have lauded them in the past). When the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Allen v. Cooper, 140 S.Ct. 994 (2020), a decision holding that the...more
A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerned a nightmare scenario for any property owner. The plaintiffs sought to rebuild their beachfront house after it was destroyed. Originally...more
Find out what challenges the natural gas industry faces to construct new pipelines and how these challenges have impacted gas supplies, particularly in the Northeast....more
The US Supreme Court granted certification on February 3 to review the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s decision in In re PennEast Pipeline Co. in order to resolve an important question: Does the Natural Gas Act...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that will have far-reaching consequences for interstate pipeline projects. The case, PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey, involves a FERC-approved natural gas pipeline...more
Companies seeking to license patents from state universities face a special risk--sovereign immunity. The 11th Amendment to the US Constitution deprives federal courts of jurisdiction to hear complaints brought by a citizen...more
Unconstitutionally Appointed Judges Cannot Decide Ex Parte Appeals - In In Re Boloro Global Limited, Appeal No. 19-2349, When administrative patent judges are unconstitutionally appointed, their decisions in ex...more
On July 24, 2020, a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued splintered precedential opinions surrounding the interplay of state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment and required joinder of...more
Addressing the interaction between state sovereign immunity under the 11th Amendment and joinder under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a “fractured majority” of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined...more
273-1 Federal Circuit Holds University of Texas is Immune from Involuntary Joiner, Holds Case against Potential Infringer may Proceed in School’s Absence - The Federal Circuit recently affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part,...more