In my breaking news post the other day, I reported on how the government filed its cert petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Eleventh Circuit’s high profile ruling striking down the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148. Hours … Continue Reading
As the first Monday in October is right around the corner, it is appropriate to take another look at how the Sixth Circuit has fared recently at the U.S. Supreme Court. A recent article in BNA provides an interesting starting point for that discussion. The article takes a novel view to considering how much the … Continue Reading
In Moeller v. Garlock Sealing Technologies, No. 09-5670, the Sixth Circuit clarified the standard for expert testimony on causation under its “substantial factor” test. As a pipefitter, the plaintiff regularly tore out asbestos insulation and worked with the defendant’s asbestos gaskets. The gaskets were dangerous when removed, but did not release asbestos when installed. The … Continue Reading
Yesterday we reported that the federal government decided not to seek en banc review of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision striking down the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148. Today, the battle has moved to the U.S. Supreme Court in full gear. … Continue Reading
The challenge to the constitutionality of the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, is making front page news today. That’s because the government has decided not to seek en banc review of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision striking down the individual mandate. … Continue Reading
We are frequently asked how long does an appeal take. While the answer is variable – appeals in some complex cases are literally held for years, and some emergency appeals are decided in hours – there are general answers. Overall, the average time from appeal to final disposition was just under a year (11.7 months) … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148. See Seven-Sky v. Holder (D.C. Circuit, Case No. 11-5047). This is the fourth challenge to the individual mandate … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit in State ex rel. Boggs v. City of Cleveland provides some interesting guidance on the application of res judicata in the public takings context. Plaintiffs, owners of property near the Cleveland airport, originally brought suit in 2002 to compel the City to initiate appropriation proceedings because the level and frequency of flights … Continue Reading
Recently, the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog briefly examined the number of briefs filed in the Sixth Circuit by amicus curiae in calendar year 2001 and in 2010-11. Our findings suggest that amicus practice before the Court is relatively rare, occurring in only approximately 30 to 40 cases per year. Today, we look into some of … Continue Reading
A recent article in the National Law Journal considered the impact of amicus briefs on the U.S. Supreme Court, attempting to discern how much influence amici have on the high court’s decisions. As one might expect, amici weigh in on cases before the Supreme Court in significant numbers — the NLJ article found that, in … Continue Reading
Judge Christopher C. Conner of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled this week that the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, is unconstitutional. See Opinion, Goudy-Bachman v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (M.D. … Continue Reading
As we recently reported here and here, the Sixth Circuit has just granted discretionary interlocutory review in two separate cases under 28 U.S.C. §1292(b). To say that this is unusual would be an understatement. The Sixth Circuit very rarely grants discretionary review under §1292(b) which permits an appellate court to accept jurisdiction only if a … Continue Reading
Over the last several months, we’ve covered a number of topics dealing with en banc practice in the Sixth Circuit, including Pierre Bergeron’s posts on the dwindling number of Sixth Circuit en banc cases (only two en banc decisions last year) and the lack of an en banc sitting this past June (a month when … Continue Reading
In a case of first impression, last week the Sixth Circuit addressed the scope of the term “employee,” in the volunteer context under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). Marcia Bryson v. Middlefield Volunteer Fire Dep’t, (6th Cir. 2011). Expressly rejecting the Second Circuit’s two-step test, which requires a putative … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit has accepted an interlocutory appeal in American Beverage Assoc. v. Snyder, Case No. 11-2097, from a Michigan decision (pdf) holding that state-specific marking requirements for bottles and cans subject to deposit refunds does not per se violate the Commerce Clause. As reported by John Agar of the Grand Rapids Press the trial court concluded there was not … Continue Reading
On September 9, 2011, the Sixth Circuit voted to rehear en banc the panel decision in Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary v. Regents of the Univ. of Michigan (6th Cir. Nos. 08-1387, 08-1389, 08-1534, 09-1111) (PDF). With Judges Kethledge and McKeague having recused … Continue Reading
In Hirsch v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (6th Cir., No.09-4548) (PDF), a case that could have significance in other medical monitoring cases throughout the circuit and perhaps even more broadly, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling on summary judgment that rejected class claims for medical monitoring following a major 2007 train derailment in Ohio. The … Continue Reading
Interlocutory appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) are granted “sparingly and only in exceptional cases.” See e.g. In re City of Memphis, 293 F.3d 345, 350 (6th Cir. 2002). But this month the Sixth Circuit accepted just such an appeal. In Community Trust Bancorp., Inc., v. Community Trust Financial Corporation, et al., No. 10-cv-00062.pdf, which … Continue Reading
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected two challenges to the constitutionality of the mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148. Like the Third Circuit, and unlike the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, the Fourth Circuit held that the challengers lacked standing. … Continue Reading
On September 6, 2011, the United States Senate voted to confirm Bernice Bouie Donald as judge for the Sixth Circuit. As this blog previously reported, Judge Donald, a district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, was nominated by the President on December 1, 2010. Judge Donald’s confirmation process met … Continue Reading
Continuing our exploration of case management practices in the Sixth Circuit, this post compares the Sixth Circuit’s use of visiting judges with that of other circuits and weighs the potential for impact of the visits on the circuit’s procedures. We have previously explained how visiting judges handle a large portion of the Sixth Circuit’s caseload … Continue Reading
I was recently interviewed on the Voice of Russia international radio network to discuss the free speech challenge to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, Public Law 111-31, that is currently before the Sixth Circuit. As I reported last month, the Sixth Circuit recently heard oral argument on the constitutionality of the Act, which gives … Continue Reading
In PT Pukuafu Indah, et al. v. Newmont Mining Corp. (6th Cir. Nos. 09-02117/2570, 10-1477/1837) (PDF), the Sixth Circuit reversed a hefty Rule 11 sanction determination, including an award of over $107,000 in attorneys fees and an injunction permanently enjoining the plaintiffs from filing lawsuits against the defendants in any federal or state court. In … Continue Reading
If this blog is beginning to sound a bit like a broken record regarding the recurrence of important health care decisions, that may not be a surprise. On Friday, the Sixth Circuit handed down a significant decision regarding the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, Bio-Medical Applications of Tennessee, Inc. v. Central State’s Southeast and Southwest Areas … Continue Reading
