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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal government contractors following federal government instructions are immune from a class case alleging forced labor, and a denial of such immunity is immediately appealable, the attorney representing the for-profit company that operates a private immigration detention facility in Colorado argued Nov. 10 before the U.S. Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 granted the petition for a writ of certiorari of Mississippi’s secretary of State, who seeks review of a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel decision striking down a COVID-era Mississippi state law providing that mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day may be received by the registrar within five days of Election Day and still be valid.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 granted the U.S. government’s motion to participate in oral argument when the high court considers whether it should overturn a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finding that an internet service provider (ISP) is liable for contributory infringement for internet users who pirated copyrighted materials of record labels and music publishers; the high court also granted the government’s request for divided argument.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former congressman seeking review of an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a district court’s ruling that granted defendants $740,710 in attorney fees in a case that hinged on allegations of harassment and defamation.
SAN FRANCISCO — A more than decade-long class suit accusing Sutter Health of monopolizing northern California hospital markets to raise prices and decrease competition will be settled for $228.5 million, according to a federal magistrate judge in California’s orders granting final approval of the settlement, attorney fees, costs and service awards.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 7 affirmed a district court’s ruling finding three tribal officers of the Alturas Indian Rancheria not immune from claims brought against them by California for the allegedly illegal sales and distribution of cigarettes, including claims against the tribal officers for injunctive relief to comply with state cigarette taxation laws and claims against two officers for civil penalties and money damages.
ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The Eighth U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 dismissed an insurer’s appeal of a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute arising from a dog bite, finding that the lower court’s order is not final and the appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas appellate court panel on Nov. 6 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of a hydraulic fracturing operator in an oil and gas dispute, saying that it was “not persuaded” by a mineral rights company’s understanding of the contract the parties entered into. The panel said that the evidence “conclusively establishes that the parties expressly agreed to fix the drilling unit of each well” to a particular tract of land such that the joint operating agreement (JOA) had not been breached.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an order issued Nov. 6, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied Motorola Solutions Inc.’s petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that Motorola could not seek review of the now-former acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to rescind her Biden-administration predecessor’s memorandum on discretionary denials or to issue such a denial for Motorola’s requests for inter partes review in a patent dispute over law enforcement cameras.
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a lower court order denying enforcement of a settlement agreement between a company that provided its software to a company with which it entered into an equal partnership, finding that because the company providing the software failed to include the software’s historical data to which the receiving company was entitled, the lower court did not err in denying the petition to enforce the settlement agreement.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal panel on Nov. 6 issued a per curiam affirmance of a $475,000 punitive damages verdict awarded to a smoker’s estate, which a tobacco company had argued on appeal should be subject to reversal or remittitur because it is 11 times greater than the compensatory damages awarded.