The Sixth Circuit is one of only five federal appellate courts to institute a bankruptcy appellate panel under 28 U.S.C. § 158(b). (The others are the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth circuits.) As the bankruptcy appellate panel is unfamiliar to many non-bankruptcy attorneys, this post will review the Sixth Circuit’s bankruptcy appellate panel. Section 158(b)… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee Clarifies Obligations of Judges Holding Memberships in Organizations that Practice Invidious Discrimination
Posted in UncategorizedA complaint for judicial misconduct was filed against Judge George C. Paine, II, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleging that Judge Paine’s membership in Belle Meade Country Club violated Canons 2A and 2C of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges and constituted misconduct under… Continue Reading
Third Circuit Follows Sixth Circuit And Adopts The “Later-Served” Rule Under The Federal Removal Statute
Posted in News and AnalysisThere has been a long-standing split among the Circuits over when the time for removal runs in a multiple defendant case. The Third Circuit recently followed the Sixth Circuit in adopting the “later-served” rule for removing a case to federal court. See Opinion, Delalla v. Hanover Insurance (3d Cir. Case Nos. 10-3933, 11-1532). A defendant… Continue Reading
Does the Sixth Circuit have the inherent equitable power to supplement the record on appeal?
Posted in News and AnalysisSixth Circuit Rule 10 defines the “record on appeal” as the original papers and exhibits filed in the district court; (2) the transcript of proceedings, if any; and (3) a certified copy of the docket entries prepared by the district clerk. If the district court record does not accurately reflect the proceedings before the district court, Federal… Continue Reading
Amicus Practice: A Comparison Between the U.S. Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit
Posted in News and AnalysisEarlier this fall, the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog analyzed the frequency of amicus filings before the Sixth Circuit, as well as the types of amici who have filed briefs in the Court. In short, this blog found that the filing of amicus briefs is relatively rare in proportion to the Court’s docket, that the amici who… Continue Reading
Justice Stevens Commends Judge Sutton
Posted in News and AnalysisSixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton received high praise on Wednesday from former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens for his decision upholding President Obama’s health care overhaul. Justice Stevens observed: “I admire Jeff’s work. He’s a very fine judge, and is very conservative,” and commended Judge Sutton’s ability to “separate the policy issue from the… Continue Reading
When do e-mails between counsel constitute an enforceable settlement agreement?
Posted in UncategorizedThe Sixth Circuit will soon have an opportunity to answer that question in Remark v Adell Broadcasting. In this copyright dispute that was recently appealed to the Sixth Circuit, counsel between the parties exchanged a number of e-mails regarding a potential settlement. After new counsel for one of the parties was retained, that party rejected… Continue Reading
Preemption of State Law “Fraud-on-the-FDA” Exception Finds Its Way Back to the Sixth Circuit
Posted in Recent CasesThe issue of whether a state law “fraud-on-the-FDA” claim is preempted by federal law will find its way back to the Sixth Circuit in the matter of Tiefenthal v. Genentech, Inc. et seq., in which the plaintiff seeks review of a decision from the District Court for the Western District of Michigan holding that the… Continue Reading
Visiting Judges At The Sixth Circuit: Who Are They?
Posted in News and AnalysisLast week, we explored the potential impact of visiting judges on Sixth Circuit precedent. In this post, we will take a quick look at who the visiting judges are. The answer is that visiting judges are overwhelmingly from the nine federal districts courts encompassed by the Sixth Circuit. Over the past two years, fifty-four visiting judges… Continue Reading
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Health Care Challenge From Eleventh Circuit
Posted in News and AnalysisAn hour ago, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in three separate cases on appeal from the Eleventh Circuit on 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 November 14, 2011 Order List (PDF), Department of Health and Human Services,… Continue Reading
Sixth Circuit Affirms Decision Striking Class-Action Allegations Where Adjudication Would Require Analyzing Each Class Member’s Claim Under the Law Of Their Home State
Posted in News and AnalysisThe Sixth Circuit closed the class-action doors on classes based on violations of various state consumer protection laws yesterday. In Pilgrim v. Universal Health Card, LLC, Case No. 10-3211/3475, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Ohio’s decision to strike the class allegations in the plaintiffs’ complaint. Plaintiffs alleged that Universal Health Card, LLC… Continue Reading
Visiting Judges on the Sixth Circuit May Impact Circuit Precedent Less Than Commonly Believed
Posted in News and AnalysisThis post continues our look at the Sixth Circuit’s practice of using visiting judges. We looked at the past two years (ending in July 2011) and found that 54 visiting judges took part in over nine hundred decisions available on Lexis. Consistent with what we reported earlier (here and here), visiting judges participate in just… Continue Reading
BREAKING NEWS: D.C. Circuit Follows Sixth Circuit In Upholding The Individual Mandate Under The Health Care Statute
Posted in News and AnalysisA few hours ago, the D.C. Circuit upheld 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 Opinion, Seven-Sky, et al. v. Holder, et al., Case No. 11-5047 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 8, 2011) (PDF). In doing so, the D.C…. Continue Reading
Supreme Court Reverses Splintered Sixth Circuit Decision
Posted in UncategorizedToday the Supreme Court issued a per curiam reversal of the Sixth Circuit in a capital habeas case. In Bobby v. Dixon the Court reversed the Sixth Circuit’s decision to grant habeas relief based upon confessions allegedly procured in violation of Miranda. The underlying decision by the Sixth Circuit yielded three separate opinions: Judge Merritt authored the majority opinion, Judge… Continue Reading
HALF-BILLION DOLLAR APPEAL HEADED TO SIXTH CIRCUIT RELATED TO RATINGS AGENCIES’ CONDUCT IN MORTGAGE CRISIS
Posted in Recent CasesThe Southern District of Ohio recently dismissed a case brought by five Ohio state investment funds against certain credit rating agencies, with the losses allegedly arising from the funds’ purchase of residential and commercial-backed securities. [See Court's Opinion and Order here] Claiming losses of nearly half a billion dollars, the funds claim that they relied on the… Continue Reading
District Courts following Sixth Circuit’s Lead in Dismissing Complaints
Posted in Recent CasesAs reported previously here, the Sixth Circuit in June reluctantly dismissed a complaint that probably would have been allowed to proceed in the pre-Twombly and pre-Iqbal era, recognizing that no discovery is permitted even though Plaintiff had no way of finding out the facts solely in the hands of Defendants. Since that ruling, numerous District Courts… Continue Reading
After Decade-Long Battle, The Sixth Circuit Orders the Promotion of Twenty-Eight Police Officers
Posted in Recent CasesOn Friday, a panel for the Sixth Circuit required the City of Memphis to immediately promote twenty-eight African American police officers to the rank of lieutenant. The backdrop of the case began in 2000, when minority plaintiffs successfully challenged the validity of the Memphis Police Department’s promotional process. After a new promotional process was implemented… Continue Reading