Correspondent
White House correspondent, covers patent, trade and regulatory news
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a pro se plaintiff who mislabeled his objections to a magistrate judge's report as a notice of appeal. The court remanded the case to the district court with instructions to treat the filing as objections to the report and recommendation.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a district court order denying a motion to compel arbitration. The appellate court held that the plaintiff failed to specifically challenge the delegation clause within the arbitration agreement.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a breach of contract claim brought by an insurance company. The court held that the insurer's settlement response was a counteroffer rather than a mirror-image acceptance, preventing a meeting of the minds under Missouri law.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's second amended complaint as a shotgun pleading. The court held that the complaint failed to provide fair notice of claims and violated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure eight and ten.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a district court order that remanded two state court actions to state court sua sponte, holding that the district court lacked statutory authority to remand on non-jurisdictional grounds without a timely motion from a party.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court's dismissal of a bankruptcy adversary complaint. The court upheld the denial of motions for reconsideration and to alter or amend the judgment.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed a petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The dismissal occurred because the petitioner failed to pay the required docketing fee and file the necessary statement concerning discrimination.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by Dmt MacTruong as frivolous. The court also imposed a monetary sanction and barred the appellant from filing future pro se civil appeals without judicial permission.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion for relief from judgment, holding that a judge was not required to recuse himself despite a personal conflict with attorneys in a different division of the United States Attorney's Office.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that patent claims were invalid for indefiniteness. The court found that the term about used to define a pH range failed to inform a skilled artisan of the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty.
