Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Second Circuit dismissed an appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the appellant failed to file a motion for reconsideration within the strict deadlines set by federal rules. The court clarified that merely serving a motion on opposing parties does not toll the appeal clock, and that the relevant rule is a mandatory claim-processing rule immune from equitable tolling.
The Second Circuit clarified that an employer violates the Family and Medical Leave Act by interfering with an employee's use of leave benefits, even if those benefits are ultimately granted. Despite this legal clarification, the court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's claims because they were time-barred or failed on the merits.
The D.C. Circuit reversed the dismissal of a legal malpractice claim, holding that plaintiffs adequately pleaded proximate cause by showing the loss of a settlement opportunity was a foreseeable result of attorney negligence. The court clarified that foreseeability requires only that the general type of harm be predictable, not the precise sequence of events leading to it.
The Second Circuit affirmed summary judgment for four major book publishers, ruling that Internet Archive's practice of scanning and lending entire copyrighted books violates the Copyright Act. The court held that this digital lending program fails the fair use test because it is not transformative and usurps the publishers' market for licensed eBooks.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights complaint because the plaintiff failed to provide a short, plain statement of the claim required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). The court further held that the district court correctly denied leave to amend the complaint, as the proposed changes would not have cured the original pleading deficiencies.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction against California AB 587, holding that its Content Category Report provisions likely violate the First Amendment. The court ruled that the mandates compel non-commercial speech subject to strict scrutiny and are not narrowly tailored to serve the state's transparency goals.
The D.C. Circuit held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires school districts to provide door-to-door assistance for a wheelchair-bound student to access school. The court reversed summary judgment, ruling that transporting a child from their apartment door to a school bus constitutes a mandatory transportation service under federal law.
The Second Circuit dismissed the Republic of Sudan's interlocutory appeal, holding that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's state-sponsored terrorism exception bars immediate appeals under the collateral-order doctrine. Sudan must now await a final judgment in the district court before challenging its immunity status.
The Second Circuit dismissed the Republic of Sudan's interlocutory appeal, ruling that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's appellate bar precludes immediate review of immunity denials under the collateral-order doctrine. Sudan must now await a final judgment on the merits before challenging the district court's denial of sovereign immunity.
The Second Circuit dismissed the Republic of Sudan's interlocutory appeal, holding that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's state-sponsored terrorism exception bars foreign states from using the collateral-order doctrine to bypass final judgment requirements. Consequently, Sudan must wait for a final district court judgment before challenging immunity rulings under non-§ 1605A exceptions.
