The Sixth Circuit recently accepted Dixon v. Houk for en banc review. In that case, the police obtained a confession after five hours of interrogations without Miranda warnings, and then gave the Miranda warnings before obtaining a taped confession. The panel opinion, written by Judge Merritt, held that Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600 (2004),… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Will the Supreme Court Side with the Sixth Circuit and Against the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits on Telecommunications Monopoly Question?
Posted in Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court will hear oral argument today in the case of Talk America, Inc. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. to address, in plain terms, ”Whether state utility commissions may require major telephone companies (like AT&T and Verizon) to provide smaller competitors access to certain parts of their network facilities at cost instead of at market rates.” (See Definition… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Sides With Sixth Circuit In Resolving Circuit Split Under The Fair Labor Standards Act
Posted in Recent Cases, Supreme CourtEarlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Sixth Circuit and resolved one of two Circuit splits involving interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., which sets forth rules governing minimum wages, maximum hours, and overtime pay. The FLSA contains an anti-retaliation provision… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit case featured on Supreme Court of the United States blog as Petition of the Day
Posted in Supreme CourtYesterday, the Sixth Circuit held the fleeting honor of having its decision featured on SCOTUSblog’s Petition of the Day. In United States of America v. City of Loveland, Ohio (PDF), Case No. 10-3116 (6th Cir. Sept. 15, 2010), the Sixth Circuit upheld the district court’s federal question jurisdiction based on a complaint for declaratory judgment which… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Rejects Cleveland’s Attempt to Recover from Subprime Lenders for Public Nuisance
Posted in Supreme CourtOn Monday, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in City of Cleveland v. Ameriquest Mortgages Securities (discussed in our previous post), in which the Sixth Circuit had held that indirect injuries asserted by the City of Cleveland were not enough to allow the City to assert public nuisance claims against banks that provided financing to subprime mortgage lenders and… Continue Reading
Confirmation Hearing Held for Sixth Circuit Judicial Candidate Bernice Bouie Donald
Posted in Judicial Appointments and Vacancies, News and AnalysisOn Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the nomination of Judge Bernice Bouie Donald to fill the vacancy created on the Sixth Circuit when Judge Ronald Lee Gilman took senior status. Judge Donald currently sits as a district court judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to which she was appointed in 1995… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Declines to Adopt Rule Followed in at least 10 other circuits under the ADA
Posted in En Banc Watch, Recent CasesThe Sixth Circuit yesterday declined to adopt the rule followed in a supermajority of Circuits for bringing a discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. See Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp, No. 09-6381 (6th Cir. Mar. 17, 2011) (PDF). In at least ten other Circuits, a plaintiff… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Rebuffs Adult Business Operators in Tennessee
Posted in Recent CasesThe Sixth Circuit recently rebuffed a request by adult business operators in Memphis, Tennessee to apply an unconstitutional city statute in order to escape a newly enacted, more onerous county ordinance. In 1996, adult business operators had brought suit against the City of Memphis facially challenging the constitutionality of an ordinance requiring registration of adult businesses. See East Brooks Books, Inc. v…. Continue Reading
Senate Judiciary Committee Scheduled on Wednesday to Consider Nomination of Judge Bernice Bouie Donald to Replace Retiring Judge Gilman
Posted in Judicial Appointments and Vacancies, News and AnalysisOn Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Judge Bernice Bouie Donald to replace retiring Judge Ronald Lee Gilman on the Sixth Circuit. President Obama originally nominated Judge Donald on December 1, 2010, but the Senate Judiciary Committee was unable to conduct a hearing on Judge… Continue Reading
Privacy Considerations Do Not Trump FTA Disclosure Requirement
Posted in Recent CasesIn CMC Telecom v Mich. Bell Telephone Co., No. 09-2239 (pdf), the Sixth Circuit ruled that AT&T could not rely on privacy protections as grounds to withhold the terms of its individualized telecommunications service contracts. The Court held AT&T could redact the contracts before disclosure, as long as the disclosed portions of the contract allowed competitors to… Continue Reading
Challenges To The Health Care Statute Are On The Fast Track In The Sixth Circuit And Elsewhere
Posted in News and AnalysisWe are continuing to follow the case making its way through the Sixth Circuit involving a constitutional challenge to the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148. See Thomas More Law Center, et al. v. Obama, et al. (Sixth Circuit, Case No…. Continue Reading
Narrow Arbitration Clause Leaves High-Profile Claims in Court
Posted in Recent CasesThe parties in Turi v. Main Street Adoption Servs. (pdf), Case No. 09-2229, will be battling it out in arbitration and federal court, due to a very narrow arbitration clause. The Court’s detailed analysis of whether (and which) of the numerous claims were subject to arbitration means that many of the more high-profile claims will be litigated in open court. … Continue Reading
Will Supreme Court Review Recent Sixth Circuit FCA Decision?
Posted in Supreme CourtBack in October, this blog considered the Sixth Circuit’s strict application of the False Claim Act’s requirement that qui tam complaints be filed under seal. In doing so, we questioned whether the Court’s decision in US ex rel Summers v. LHC Group, Inc., No. 09-5883 (6th Cir. Oct. 4, 2010), upholding the dismissal of an… Continue Reading
Creating A Split With the Second Circuit, The Sixth Circuit Approves Sick Leave Policies That May Reveal A Disability To A Supervisor
Posted in Recent CasesIn Lee v. City of Columbus, the Sixth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment to a class of employees at the Columbus police department. The police employees had challenged the city’s policy requiring employees returning from more than three days of sick leave, injury leave, or light duty to give their immediate supervisor a… Continue Reading