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 21 2025
3rd Cir. 24-2704 Panel Decision

STEPHEN MCCARTHY, P.A v. UNITED STATES DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION

The Third Circuit denied a physician assistant's petition to overturn the DEA's revocation of his registration for issuing controlled substances without proper supervision. The court held that the petitioner failed to prove that any alleged constitutional flaws in the Administrative Law Judge's removal protections caused his injury and found the revocation decision was neither arbitrary nor capricious.

Civil Social Security
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May 5 2025
Fed. Cir. 25-1218 Panel Decision

TJTM Technologies, LLC v. Google LLC

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that a patent for suppressing mobile notifications while driving is ineligible under Section one zero one of the Patent Act. The court held that the claimed invention merely recites an abstract idea of screening notifications applied to a conventional mobile device without a technological improvement.

Civil Intellectual Property
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Apr 11 2025
7th Cir. 24-1217 Panel Decision

Griffith Foods International Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh PA

The Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a motion to certify a question of Illinois law to the state's highest court. The appellate court held that conflicting Illinois precedents regarding permitted industrial emissions create genuine uncertainty about whether such discharges constitute traditional environmental pollution under the Koloms standard.

Civil Insurance
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Mar 4 2025
9th Cir. 6:16-cv-00035- Published

STATE OF MONTANA v. TALEN MONTANA, LLC; NORTHWESTERN CORPORATION; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE; UNITED STATES BUREAU OF RECLAMATION; UNITED STATES BURE...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment quieting title to riverbeds, holding that only the Sun River to Black Eagle Falls Segment was navigable in fact at the time of Montana's statehood. The court rejected the State's argument that actual river use alone establishes navigability and confirmed that the segment-by-segment analysis required by PPL Montana was correctly applied to all disputed reaches.

Administrative / Agency Review Civil
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Feb 25 2025
9th Cir. 3:17-md-02773- Published

Sarah Key; Andrew Westley; Terese Russell; Carra Abernathy v. Qualcomm Incorporated

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of state antitrust claims against Qualcomm, holding that California law does not depart from federal precedent regarding the company's licensing policies. However, the court vacated summary judgment on Unfair Competition Law claims because the federal court lacked equitable jurisdiction to award restitution for past conduct.

Civil Intellectual Property Summary Judgment
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Feb 19 2025
9th Cir. 3:21-cr-00024- Published

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. GREGORY W. PHEASANT

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of a criminal charge, holding that the Federal Land Policy and Management Act provides a sufficient intelligible principle to validate the Secretary of the Interior's regulatory authority. The court clarified that statutory mandates for sustainable land management constrain executive discretion enough to satisfy Article I's non-delegation doctrine.

Civil Securities
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Feb 19 2025
2nd Cir. 22-1506 Panel Decision

DR. AHMED DIAA ELDIN ALI HUSSEIN v. DR. MOHAMED AHMED MAAIT

The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit against Egypt's Finance Minister, holding that Egypt is the real party in interest and entitled to sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The court further ruled that the district court properly exercised its discretion to enlarge the time for removal and that the plaintiff waived arguments regarding FSIA exceptions.

Civil Securities
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Jan 23 2025
2nd Cir. 22-1854 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA EX REL. RALPH BILLINGTON, MICHAEL ACEVES, AND SHARON DORMAN v. HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTD. AND HCL AMERICA, INC

The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a qui tam action alleging that HCL Technologies violated the False Claims Act by using cheaper visas and underpaying foreign workers. The court held that the relators failed to plausibly allege a reverse FCA violation because no established legal obligation existed to pay higher taxes or visa fees that the defendant never actually incurred.

Civil Labor
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Jan 21 2025
9th Cir. 1:15-cv-00321- Published

G.P.P., INC., doing business as Guardian Innovative Solutions v. GUARDIAN PROTECTION PRODUCTS, INC.; RPM WOOD FINISHES GROUP, INC

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's award of over $4 million in attorney's fees to G.P.P., Inc. but reversed the denial of fees to RPM Wood Finishes Group regarding abandoned claims. The panel held that a plaintiff's failure to litigate claims does not constitute a voluntary dismissal under California law without clear, express notice to the court.

Civil Contract
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Jan 14 2025
9th Cir. 4:23-cv-01196- Published

TANGLE, INC v. ARITZIA, INC.; ARITZIA LP; UNITED STATES OF ARITZIA, INC

The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a copyright claim involving kinetic sculptures, holding that their ability to assume multiple poses does not prevent them from being fixed in a tangible medium. However, the court affirmed the dismissal of a trade dress claim because the plaintiff failed to provide adequate notice of the specific elements of the alleged trade dress.

Civil Intellectual Property
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