On July 27, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision to grant the Wilderness Society’s motions to stay of construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (“MVP”) pending...more
As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more
Subject-matter jurisdiction concerns a court’s power to hear a case. Without it, a court does not have authority to decide a case. Subject matter jurisdiction is distinct from the concept of personal jurisdiction, which...more
On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez that clarified the injury-in-fact plaintiffs must show to have standing to assert statutory privacy rights in federal court. This follows...more
The FTC, and antitrust enforcement in general, are having their moment. For example, in early January the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission, a case questioning the FTC’s...more
Two major climate change cases were decided in the last month—State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda (Dec. 20, 2019) and Juliana v. United States (Jan. 17, 2020). They illustrate sharply contrasting views about the role of...more
This past Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it has agreed to decide whether the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause structure is constitutional. The Court granted Seila Law’s petition for a writ of...more
The past 18 months have been a (relatively) wild time for the False Claims Act - on the books since 1863. In FY2018 the Department of Justice obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving...more
Yesterday, Judge Paul Diamond dismissed climate litigation brought by the Clean Air Council and two minor plaintiffs. Like the Juliana case in Oregon, the plaintiffs argued that the government had violated the their rights by...more
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, William Barr, is in the news for a June 2018 memo to top Justice Department officials criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s obstruction-of-justice investigation. ...more
In July 2018, in Collins v. Mnuchin, a Fifth Circuit panel found that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is unconstitutionally structured because it is excessively insulated from Executive Branch oversight. ...more
Last month we discussed President Trump’s recent executive order entitled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” and the legal challenge that followed. The Order called for executive agencies to identify two...more
In December 2016, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied a petition for re-hearing, resolving a long standing dispute and allowing medical practices to employ directly physical therapists (“PTs”) and physical therapist...more
The legal challenge by PHH Corp. (PHH) to a June 4, 2015, decision by the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) in connection with the Bureau’s enforcement proceeding against PHH has captivated the...more
In November of 2014, Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson issued new policies based upon President Obama’s Executive Order allowing certain undocumented individuals who entered the U.S. on or before January 1, 2010, to...more
On April 18, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas, the lawsuit challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The case concerns a program that President Obama announced...more
In its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court is once again poised to address a range of disputes relevant to businesses. These include significant constitutional issues, class action practice and other procedural matters, and...more
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, No. 13-1339. As our loyal blog readers know, this is a case that corporate counsel need to follow closely in light of the stakes for the...more
In the second periodic installment of the Employment Law Lookout Blog Team’s analysis of employment law (and related) case being heard by the United States Supreme Court this term, read on for our take on Spokeo Inv. v....more
In its reply brief in Spokeo v. Robins, petitioner Spokeo comes out of the gate with the consequential argument that for Robins to prevail, the Supreme Court must accept his position that every violation of a statutory right...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held today that federal District Courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to entertain challenges to ongoing SEC administrative enforcement proceedings. A...more
This week, the respondent in Spokeo v. Robins filed his merits brief. The main thrust of the brief challenges Spokeo’s assertion that Robins lacks standing without “real-world” injury. Instead Robins argues that he meets the...more
Following oral argument in June 2013 (chronicled in the Goodwin Gaming Blog here), the Third Circuit has affirmed, 2-1, the district court’s ruling in National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al. v. Governor of New...more