Correspondent
White House correspondent, covers patent, trade and regulatory news
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's order remanding Huguette Assaf's criminal proceedings to Virginia state court. The appellate court held that Assaf failed to satisfy the strict statutory requirements for removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1443(1).
The Federal Circuit affirmed that the Surface Transportation Board's issuance of Notices of Interim Trail Use constitutes a Fifth Amendment taking requiring just compensation. Applying Indiana property law, the court held that the railroad held only easements which extinguished upon service cessation, causing fee simple title to revert to the adjacent landowners.
The Federal Circuit determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear this appeal because the underlying dispute did not involve patent laws or other statutory grounds under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a). Consequently, the court ordered the transfer of the matter to the Third Circuit rather than dismissing the appeal.
The Ninth Circuit dismissed an appeal as moot because the plaintiff initiated and extensively participated in arbitration proceedings, eliminating any live controversy. The court declined to vacate the district court's sanctions and default judgment because the party seeking relief caused the mootness.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict for a truck driver injured in a collision, rejecting defendants' challenges to the award of compensatory damages and the denial of punitive damages. The court held that the plaintiff presented sufficient medical evidence to prove causation for his vision loss and that the defendant driver's conduct did not meet Arizona's high bar for outrageous behavior required to support punitive damages.
The First Circuit held that the New England Fishery Management Council's role in developing Framework Adjustment 65 was purely advisory and did not violate the Appointments Clause. Consequently, the court affirmed the denial of injunctive relief and reversed the district court's severance of unrelated statutory provisions.
The First Circuit held that the New England Fishery Management Council functions solely as an advisory body and does not exercise final executive authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Consequently, the Council's involvement in developing Framework Adjustment 65 does not violate the Appointments Clause, and the reduced catch limits for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan remain in full effect.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Taurean Small's civil action against the FTC and NTIA for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court found no reversible error in the lower court's adoption of the magistrate judge's recommendation.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision that Wildseed's patent claims were unpatentable as obvious. The court rejected Wildseed's narrow interpretation of claim language regarding user data, ruling that derived information from text messages satisfies the patent's requirements.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a five-year suspension of attorney Van Irion for misrepresenting a client's trust status and secretly ghostwriting filings after withdrawal. The court held that the district court acted within its inherent authority to discipline attorneys and found no abuse of discretion in the sanctions imposed.
