If you have been following my blog posts for the last half year, you know I have been predicting that the Sixth Circuit was poised to become the first appellate court in the country to rule on the constitutional challenge to the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Sixth Circuit Defines EEOC ‘Charge’ in Context of Discrimination Lawsuit
Posted in Recent CasesIn Williams v. CSX Transportation Co., Inc. (6th Cir. 09-5564 June 28, 2011) (PDF), a splintered panel of the Sixth Circuit provided content to an undefined statutory term in an EEOC lawsuit, resuscitating a plaintiff’s allegations of a sexually-hostile work environment along the way. The plaintiff, Stephanie Williams (“Williams”), sued her employer, CSX Transportation Co…. Continue Reading
DWINDLING NUMBER OF SIXTH CIRCUIT EN BANC CASES IS NOT ESCAPING NOTICE
Posted in En Banc WatchAs we previously reported, the Sixth Circuit did not have an en banc sitting in June of this year, which was somewhat unusual. Based on a recent article in the Michigan Bar Journal, however, this may be part of a trend. The recent article notes that the Sixth Circuit issued only two en banc decisions in… Continue Reading
SUPREME COURT, IN FIVE-FOUR DECISION, REVERSES SIXTH CIRCUIT IN CRIMINAL CASE
Posted in Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court recently handed down its decision in Freeman v. United States, which reversed an unpublished decision by the Sixth Circuit regarding the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The case involved a retroactive guideline change that addressed the disparity in penalties between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Mr. Freeman sought to obtain a sentence reduction based… Continue Reading
Declining Rehearing, Sixth Circuit Lets $101 Million Verdict Stand
Posted in En Banc WatchAs the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog previously reported, last month a panel of the Sixth Circuit affirmed a $101 million jury award based on a finding of tortious interference with a prospective advantage under Kentucky law. A copy of the panel’s ruling can be found here (PDF). Defendant-appellant HCP, Inc. sought rehearing and rehearing en… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Examines for the Second Time This Week The Application of Twombly and Iqbal to a Complaint – This Time With a Different Result
Posted in Recent CasesFor the second time this week, the Sixth Circuit reviewed a district court’s dismissal of an antitrust complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. As reported here, Judges Merritt, Clay and Griffin earlier this week upheld the dismissal of an antitrust complaint, even though the information necessary to establish Plaintiff’s… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Reluctantly Applies Twombly and Iqbal to Uphold Dismissal of Complaint Recognizing that Plaintiff Has No Way of Finding out the Facts in the Hands of Defendants
Posted in Recent CasesIn what appears to be a reluctant decision mandated by Supreme Court precedent, Judge Merritt, joined by Judges Clay and Griffin, recognize the insurmountable obstacles that a Plaintiff may face in alleging claims to survive a motion to dismiss. In New Albany Tractor, Inc. v. Louisville Tractor, Inc., No. 10-5100 (6th Cir. June 21, 2011)… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog Captures Attention in Russia
Posted in UncategorizedAs regular followers of our blog know, we have been closely following 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…. Continue Reading
A Slow Week for Sixth Circuit Opinions? Here’s Why.
Posted in UncategorizedThis week has been a slow week for opinions from the Sixth Circuit, and the likely reason is that the judges are all gathered at the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference in Traverse City. The Sixth Circuit conference is held annually. In odd numbered years, it is a judges-only conference of the Sixth Circuit judges, district… Continue Reading
Upcoming Food Fight at the Sixth Circuit
Posted in Recent CasesIn our continuing coverage of cases that are making their way up to the Sixth Circuit, we noticed this recent appeal from the Western District of Michigan, Martha Elizabeth, Inc. v. Scripps Networks Interactive, LLC. The case pits an owner of a retail business specializing in products for the home chef that uses the trademark… Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit’s Recent Treatment of Large Jury Awards
Posted in Recent CasesAs we previously reported here and here, the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed two jury verdicts totaling over $1 million. These decisions stoked our curiosity about the Court’s treatment of significant jury verdicts. So, without conducting a scientific study, I reviewed the Court’s decisions over the past two years, wherein a verdict exceeding $1 million… Continue Reading
No En Banc Sitting for Sixth Circuit in June
Posted in En Banc WatchTraditionally, the Sixth Circuit hears en banc cases twice a year, in early June and in December. Last week was the week when the Sixth Circuit generally holds its June en banc session. However, the court did not have a single en banc case on its docket for the June sitting. Apparently, the court had… Continue Reading
Just Like in the Sixth Circuit, the Government Faces Sharp Questions from the Eleventh Circuit on the Constitutionality of the Health Care Statute
Posted in News and Analysis, Recent CasesAs we previously reported and analyzed, Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal was in Cincinnati, Ohio last week before the Sixth Circuit to argue the government’s position in the appeal 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. … Continue Reading
Overturning the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court Rules that Telephone Companies Must Provide Access to Their Competitors At Cost
Posted in Recent Cases, Supreme CourtIn Talk America, Inc. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co., the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split, holding that state utility commissions can require established telephone companies to provide smaller competitors access to their network at cost. It overturns a Sixth Circuit decision (which disagreed with decisions from the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits) that allowed… Continue Reading
Dissenting and Concurring in the Sixth Circuit: Judge Moore Leads The Pack
Posted in News and AnalysisThe Sixth Circuit consistently has a high percentage of dissenting opinions – about twice the average of the other circuits. I briefly noted this when comparing the circuits in my response to a recent New York Times article. This post takes a look at some patterns in the dissenting rates of the twelve Sixth Circuit… Continue Reading
Beer and Wine Cases Brewing in Sixth Circuit
Posted in News and AnalysisThree significant cases involving the rights of Ohio distributors of beer and wine are currently pending before the Sixth Circuit. At issue is Ohio’s Alcoholic Beverage Franchise Act, R.C. 1333.82 et seq., and when a manufacturer of beer or wine may or may not terminate its existing wholesale distributors. Given the increasing efforts by many manufacturers to… Continue Reading
Rooker-Feldman 101: Sixth Circuit Attempts to Clarify the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine as It Reverses A District Court’s Ruling Regarding the Constitutionality of Ohio’s “Vexatious Litigator” Statute
Posted in News and AnalysisIn my appellate practice, I have witnessed befuddlement over the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, which is based on two Supreme Court cases decided sixty years apart: Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923), and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983). The Rooker-Feldman doctrine expresses the unremarkable principle that Congress… Continue Reading
Just As We Predicted Back in March, the Sixth Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in the Lewis Case Involving Discrimination Claims Under the ADA
Posted in En Banc Watch, News and AnalysisBack in March, when we reported on the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp, No. 09-6381 (6th Cir. Mar. 17, 2011) (PDF), we noted that Lewis was “one of those rare candidates for rehearing en banc.” Our predictive powers proved accurate yesterday when the Sixth Circuit voted for a rehearing en banc in the Lewis… Continue Reading
Highlights and Analysis of Yesterday’s Sixth Circuit Oral Argument on Obama’s Health Care Statute
Posted in News and AnalysisOutside on the downtown streets of Cincinnati yesterday, the city was alive with political and legal debates, including a spirited protest by members of the Cincinnati tea party. That’s because inside Cincinnati’s federal courthouse, in a standing room only courtroom, the Sixth Circuit heard oral argument in the high-profile appeal involving a constitutional challenge to the… Continue Reading
Rehearing Sought on Ruling Affirming $101M Jury Verdict
Posted in En Banc WatchFollowing the Sixth Circuit’s ruling upholding a $101 million jury verdict last month in Ventas Inc. v. HCP, Inc. (6th Cir. Case Nos. 09-6385/6413) (PDF), a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc has been filed. In its petition for rehearing (PDF), defendant-appellant HCP, Inc. (“HCP”) raises three issues — one for panel rehearing and… Continue Reading