Note — This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. The Sixth Circuit declined last Thursday to relax standing requirements for cases … Continue Reading
Note — This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. Election and pandemic—2020’s strange bedfellows—continue to keep judicial chambers busy. Another virus-adjacent … Continue Reading
Recently a Sixth Circuit panel unanimously agreed in a published opinion that the 2019 Supreme Court decision, PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc., does not impact the resolution of a circuit case reviving an unsolicited advertisement claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The Sixth Circuit Case Matthew N. Fulton, D.D.S., … Continue Reading
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to play out in unexpected ways, as this blog has covered on several occasions. Now the Sixth Circuit has ruled on loan guarantees under the Paycheck Protection Program for sexually-oriented businesses. Can the Small Business Administration, consistent with long-standing agency policy, prohibit sexually-oriented small businesses from eligibility for … Continue Reading
Just two days after a federal district court’s preliminary injunction allowed use of e-signatures to satisfy some Ohio election requirements, the Ohio Attorney General has taken the unusual step of asking the en banc Sixth Circuit to overturn or stay the injunction. And the Sixth Circuit responded with equal if not greater alacrity, calling within … Continue Reading
The full Sixth Circuit has voted to rehear the Detroit right-to-education case. This vacates the panel decision holding that access to literacy was a fundamental constitutional guarantee. The court’s order comes only 6 days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a settlement with the student plaintiffs and sought dismissal of the suit on mootness grounds. … Continue Reading
Last night the State of Michigan and students from Detroit public schools reached a settlement agreement in a case concerning whether those students had a constitutional right of “access to literacy.” News reports indicate the settlement includes a legislative request by Gov. Whitmer for $94.5 million in literacy funding for Detroit schools, $280,000 for seven … Continue Reading
It’s a question we know has been keeping you up at night, as you reach deep into your quarantine discography: who is (or are) the true author(s) of the Everly Brothers hit, Cathy’s Clown? Sadly, those looking for finality will have to wait. On Monday, a Sixth Circuit panel held that question must be resolved … Continue Reading
This morning—in connection with the Supreme Court’s inaugural teleconference arguments—the Court announced it would review the Sixth Circuit’s decision in CIC Services v. IRS. That case covers the applicability of the Anti-Injunction Act to a challenge to IRS guidance. Certiorari is not altogether surprising, given the sharply contrasting views (and vivid language) the case elicited … Continue Reading
Perhaps the most notable Sixth Circuit opinion of April—and almost certainly the most quotable—was Judge Kethledge’s opinion granting mandamus and reversing leave to amend in the opioid MDL. For a unanimous panel (Siler & Griffin, JJ.), the opinion followed the Circuit’s stay of Judge Polster’s discovery order back in February. That order would’ve required pharmacies … Continue Reading
Those seeking a return to normalcy will be heartened to hear that the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, canceled due to the pandemic, has been rescheduled. Those seeking a cautious reopening will be heartened to hear that the Conference will be held in June…June 2021. From Chief Judge Cole: The Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference has been … Continue Reading
A Sixth Circuit panel held last week, in Gary B. v. Whitmer, that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause guarantees a “right to access to literacy.” As a result, students in some of Detroit’s worst-performing public schools may pursue their claim for improved educational offerings—at least absent further appellate review. The district court dismissed the students’ due … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Brownback v. King, agreeing to review a split decision from the Sixth Circuit (then styled King v. US) involving the contours of the Federal Tort Claim Act’s judgment bar. The Court’s decision should help resolve confusion regarding whether plaintiffs should add FTCA claims to their Bivens actions. 28 … Continue Reading
At the end of last month, the Sixth Circuit decided that two cases involving complex, multiparty litigation did not belong in federal court. Boal v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. involved twelve consolidated suits brought by foreign plaintiffs and ultimately dismissed by the district court on the basis of the forum non conveniens doctrine. The plaintiffs, all … Continue Reading
A 2018 Sixth Circuit panel upheld a jury verdict convicting Dr. Richard Paulus of submitting fraudulent medical claims. That same panel, with 2020 hindsight(!), reversed that conviction. It held that the trial court’s order unconstitutionally blocked exculpatory evidence. Jury Verdict Set Aside The “twisted” history of the verdict began when a jury deadlocked twice and … Continue Reading
Last night Chief Judge Cole announced a one-year delay in the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, which had been scheduled for June 2020. Rumor had it that our own Ben Glassman was to participate, so now fans of Ben and Simone Biles alike will all have to set their sights to 2021. Full statement below. Stay … Continue Reading
As the world hunkers down and works from home during this COVID-19 crisis, a WFH accommodation decision from the Sixth Circuit feels timely. Though the decision predates social distancing and office closures, its relevance to the employer-employee relationship may outlast the coronavirus. In Tchankpa v. Ascena Retail Group, Inc., the Sixth Circuit affirmed the principle … Continue Reading
The Administrative Office of the Courts now maintains a single page with links to courthouse and filing notices for all federal courts. You can find the page and its updates here. No new news from the Sixth Circuit since the March 16 notice we published last week. Many thanks for the hard work of keeping … Continue Reading
This post reflects the latest news available to Ben Glassman, and others at Squire Patton Boggs. We expect the blog and the court’s website to continue updating litigants as the situation develops. Response to COVID-19 among the federal courts in the Sixth Circuit continues to evolve. Since yesterday’s post, the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee … Continue Reading
This post reflects the latest news available to Ben Glassman and others at Squire Patton Boggs. We expect the blog and the court’s website to continue updating litigants as the situation develops. The Sixth Circuit and several district courts within it are implementing changes to court proceedings in light of COVID-19. At the circuit level, … Continue Reading
Thanks as always to Squire Patton Boggs Sixth Circuit Fellow Kirk Mattingly, EIC of the UofL Law Review, for his help with this and other content. During a wild fortnight leading up to today’s announcements that courts would close to the public or shut down entire civil dockets, the Sixth Circuit has stayed busy. Whether … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs is excited to welcome Ben Glassman back to the firm as a partner in the Cincinnati and Columbus offices. As recently reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ben joins after serving as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio from 2016 to 2019. At least as important for readers of the … Continue Reading
This post is brought to you thanks to the help of friend-of-the-blog Kirk Mattingly, EIC of the University of Louisville Law Journal. On Monday, the Sixth Circuit joined the Seventh and Ninth Circuits by ruling that the so-called “good faith” defense bars § 1983 claims that seek to recover “fair-share” fees collected under valid state … Continue Reading
This post is brought to you thanks to the help of friend-of-the-blog Kirk Mattingly, EIC of the University of Louisville Law Journal. Yesterday a Sixth Circuit panel (Siler, Griffin, Kethledge) stayed pharmacies’ production of national opioid dispensing data. With one exception: Ohio data that the court deemed “not so onerous” in light of an upcoming … Continue Reading
