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While We Are Waiting On Chevron

The Supreme Court issued three opinions today, including an important decision on whether omissions in SEC filings are actionable, and a decision that the Takings Clause does not distinguish between legislative and administrative land-use permit conditions (and that relies on Judge Murphy’s recent Takings Clause decision). But no decision yet on the highly-anticipated blockbuster cases … Continue Reading

Pump Your Brakes: Sixth Circuit Warns District Courts to Make “Rigorous” Rule 23 Analysis

The Sixth Circuit yesterday in a per curiam opinion (paneled by Judges Boggs, Thapar, and Readler) accepted interlocutory appeal of and vacated a class certification order from the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case is In re: Ford Motor Company, Case No. 22-0109 (6th Cir.). The Court’s opinion served to remind district courts that they … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Invalidates Application of Nashville’s Sidewalk Ordinance Under The Takings Clause

In Knight v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville and Davidson County (No. 21-6179), the Sixth Circuit decided a longstanding question about the standard that applies to conditions imposed by a legislature on those applying for building permits.  The issue is common enough:  a city wants more sidewalks to improve safety, health, and traffic.  So the city … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Opinion Reversed in Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an opinion in Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc., which reversed the Sixth Circuit’s October 2020 decision finding that DaVita Inc. plausibly asserted a claim against an Ohio hospital’s health plan for unlawfully discriminating against patients with end-stage renal disease by offering low reimbursement rates … Continue Reading

Rachel Bloomekatz Nominated to the Sixth Circuit

Today, President Biden nominated Columbus, Ohio appellate litigator Rachel Bloomekatz to the Sixth Circuit as part of his eighteenth round of judicial nominees, which would fill the seat vacated by Judge R. Guy Cole Jr.  Judge Cole announced in December his intention to take senior status.  Rachel Bloomekatz is currently a solo practitioner at Bloomekatz … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Dissolves Nationwide Injunction of Immigration Guidance

The Sixth Circuit issued a very interesting decision three days ago in Arizona v. Biden (22-3272).  The origins of the dispute go back to last fall when the Secretary of Homeland Security issued “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.”  The Guidance notes the Department lacks the resources to apprehend and remove the roughly … Continue Reading

OSHA Announces Intent to Withdraw ETS

The saga of the OSHA ETS litigation has (nearly) come to an end.  Yesterday, the DOJ filed a motion in the Sixth Circuit to dismiss as moot all of the consolidated petitions challenging OSHA’s vaccine-or-test mandate.  The DOJ informed the Sixth Circuit that, “[a]fter evaluating the [Supreme] Court’s decision, OSHA decided to withdraw the Vaccination … Continue Reading

The Court of Appeals doesn’t know all the information about a case unless the parties teach it (even if everyone else in the case does).

When a panel of the Sixth Circuit denied rehearing in a criminal case last month, Judge Moore issued a separate opinion, joined by Judge White, that highlights an important point for appellate advocacy. That is, regardless of how common some knowledge may be to the litigants at the trial level, the judges on appeal know … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit re-affirms substantive due process claims may go forward in Flint water cases. Then they settle.

In another of the many strands of the Flint water cases, a Sixth Circuit panel (Moore, White, JJ., Sutton, J. concurring) on August 5 reaffirmed its May 2020 decision in Waid vs. Snynder that plaintiffs plausibly alleged the City of Flint and City and State officials (including former Governor Rick Snyder) violated plaintiffs’ substantive due … Continue Reading

Former US Attorney & 6th Circuit Vet Ben Glassman Joins Squire Patton Boggs Appellate Practice

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

Movant Beware: No right of action under HIPAA, and no class-cert absent notice      

The Sixth Circuit has joined other circuits in unanimously holding that HIPAA creates no private right of action. That was the easy part. The panel divided 2-1 in ruling that a Tennessee statute likewise provides no remedy for patients allegedly overcharged by Ciox, a medical-records company. But Faber v. Ciox Health wasn’t a complete blowout: … Continue Reading

Opioid Update: Ohio Cities Now on Both Sides of Negotiation-Class Fight

Six Ohio cities represented by Tom Goldstein filed a petition at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals opposing Judge Polster’s certification of the negotiation class in the opioid MDL. The cities’ petition urges the Sixth Circuit to immediately review the certification of the negotiation class now rather than on appeal—lest they risk wasting the time and … Continue Reading

Trail-Blazing Sixth Circuit Judge Damon Keith Dies at 96

Sixth Circuit Judge Damon J. Keith died this weekend at the age of 96.  He served on the Sixth Circuit for over 40 years.  A civil rights icon, he issued notable opinions addressing racial desegregation in public education, warrantless Nixon-era wiretaps, and blanket secrecy for deportation hearings of terrorism suspects after 9/11.  In remembrance, the … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Rules on Turbulent Air-Line Merger

In an opinion colored by aviation-themed puns, Judge Thapar, writing for the Sixth Circuit in Flight Options, LLC v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, Local 1108, ordered airlines and pilot unions to arbitrate their long-running dispute. A few years ago, two luxury airlines merged, leading to a spate of litigation. Most recently, the airlines attempted to … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunction Against the University of Cincinnati

University policies on responding to sexual assault claims have been hotly debated around the country.  The Sixth Circuit recently weighed in on the constitutional dimension of this issue.  Last month, in John Doe v. University of Cincinnati, et al., the Sixth Circuit found a strong likelihood that an accused student’s constitutional due process rights were … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit: City Waived Exhaustion Requirement By Removing Takings Claim to Federal Court

Normally, a regulatory-takings plaintiff must seek compensation through “procedures the State has provided,” before suing in federal court.  Last week, in a unanimous unpublished opinion, Lilly Investments v. City of Rochester, the Sixth Circuit joined the Second and Fourth Circuits by holding that, by removing the case, a defendant-city waives this exhaustion requirement.  The Court reasoned … Continue Reading

Shipwreck Case Leads to Sanctions

The saga of a shipwreck treasure trove continues in Williamson, et al. v. Recovery Limited Partnership, et al., “yet another skirmish in the legal battle over the treasure from the S.S. Central America,” a shipwreck discovered over 130 years after it sank in September 1857. (Earlier litigation has previously been a topic of this blog, … Continue Reading
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