Yesterday’s published decision in Hale v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC established the law of the circuit on a nifty issue of subject matter jurisdiction in the context of arbitration. Where a plaintiff from one state has initiated arbitration against a defendant from another state, seeking millions, but has then received an arbitral award of … 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
In February of last year, we reported on the Sixth Circuit’s split-panel holding that it had jurisdiction to review challenges to the validity of the “Clean Water Rule” (which clarifies the term “waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act). Last week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in National Association of Manufacturers v. … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit issued an opinion this morning taking a stance on an issue of first impression involving subject matter jurisdiction. On appeal from the Eastern District of Michigan, Mokdad v. Lynch, et al. involved a challenge by Saeb Mokdad, a naturalized United States citizen, to his placement on the No Fly List, a list … Continue Reading
Earlier this week in Adkisson et al. v. Jacobs Eng’g Grp., Inc., the Sixth Circuit joined the Fifth Circuit [link] in holding that government-contractor immunity is not jurisdictional like sovereign immunity. The Sixth Circuit was interpreting Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Construction Co., 309 U.S. 18 (1940), which held that government contractors are immune from suit … Continue Reading