Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order regarding the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. The court rejected challenges to the Quality Bank formula used to value crude oil and upheld a finding that the pipeline administrator violated tariff terms.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a decades-long lawsuit by the de Csepel family seeking the return of Holocaust-era artwork seized by Hungary. The court held that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because the family failed to prove the takings violated the specific international law of expropriation.
The First Circuit held that Massachusetts General Laws chapter 272, section 16, prohibiting open and gross lewdness, is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law. The court reversed the Board of Immigration Appeals' removal order, ruling that the state statute does not require proof of lewd intent.
The D.C. Circuit reversed the dismissal of a civil suit alleging pharmaceutical companies aided terrorism in Iraq by knowingly providing substantial assistance to a terrorist-controlled ministry. The court held that the plaintiffs adequately pleaded a nexus between the defendants' corrupt payments and specific terrorist attacks, satisfying the secondary liability standard set forth in Twitter v. Taamneh.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal employee's retaliation claim under the False Claims Act against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The court held that Congress did not expressly waive federal sovereign immunity for such claims, barring the suit against the United States.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of residents' constitutional and statutory challenges to a new zoning district because they failed to allege specific, concrete injuries required for Article III standing. The court held that vague assertions about potential property value changes and generalized grievances were insufficient to establish a personal stake in the outcome.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a protective order in a discovery dispute involving attorney-client privilege. The court held that the law firms failed to meet their burden of proving privilege through a deficient privilege log.
The First Circuit affirmed a district court order enforcing a global settlement resolving Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage claims against a luxury hotel. The court held that a single attorney could simultaneously represent individual plaintiffs and a certified class in negotiating the deal without creating a disqualifying conflict of interest.
The Supreme Court held that Delaware's affidavit-of-merit requirement cannot be enforced in federal court because it conflicts with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. The Court reversed the Third Circuit's dismissal, ruling that federal pleading standards govern the sufficiency of a complaint in diversity cases.
The Supreme Court held that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(c)(1) imposes a reasonable-time limit on motions seeking relief from judgments alleged to be void. The Court rejected the argument that void judgments are legal nullities exempt from temporal filing deadlines.