Maria Santos

Correspondent

Maria Santos

White House correspondent, covers patent, trade and regulatory news

Business & Regulatory patent

Decisions covered by Maria Santos

1,021 decisions
Jul 7 2026
10th Cir. 25-3131 Panel Decision

Hoffman, et al. v. United States Department of Treasury, et al.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Treasury regulations under the Inflation Reduction Act. The court held that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because they failed to demonstrate a concrete injury in fact resulting from the agency's failure to require National Environmental Policy Act compliance.

Civil Other Civil Standing
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Jul 7 2026
10th Cir. 1:25-CV-02477-REB) Panel Decision

In re Michael Burke Debtor. Jason Biondolillo

The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of an appeal due to the appellant's failure to file a compliant appendix. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the appeal after the pro se appellant failed to cure procedural deficiencies within the allotted time.

Bankruptcy Civil
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Jul 7 2026
11th Cir. 0:24-cv-61915-RAR Per Curiam

Acute, Inc. v. ECI Pharmaceuticals, LLC

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Acute, Inc.'s appeals regarding a bankruptcy sale order and a liquidation plan confirmation. The court held that Acute abandoned its challenges to the sale order and forfeited its objections to the confirmation order by failing to raise them in the bankruptcy court.

Bankruptcy Civil Forfeiture / Penalty
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Jul 7 2026
5th Cir. 24-40779 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Theiler

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions of four former Boston Heart Diagnostics executives for conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. The court held that sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that the defendants knowingly participated in a scheme to pay physicians for patient referrals through sham management service organizations.

Civil Intellectual Property
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Jul 7 2026
5th Cir. 25-30076 Per Curiam

Murray v. LeBlanc

The Fifth Circuit dismissed an interlocutory appeal by Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials claiming qualified immunity. The court held that while it could review the legal question of authority under prior precedent, it lacked jurisdiction to resolve the factual disputes regarding the conditions of confinement.

Civil Forfeiture / Penalty Qualified Immunity Summary Judgment
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Jul 7 2026
6th Cir. 25-1940 Published

Nelson, et al. v. MillerKnoll, Inc.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of MillerKnoll, Inc. in a dispute over the ownership of intellectual property rights to the Bubble Lamp design. The court held that the Nelson family authorized the company to own and use the intellectual property through a series of agreements and ratified that ownership by accepting royalty payments.

Civil Intellectual Property Summary Judgment
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Jul 7 2026
8th Cir. 25-1577 Panel Decision

Wilbur-Ellis Company v. Gompert

The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment to four former employees of Wilbur-Ellis Company. The court held that the employer failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of duty of loyalty, and tortious interference.

Civil Contract Summary Judgment
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