SCOTUS Revives Parental-Notification Injunction Against California Schools, Vacates Ninth Circuit Stay

In a per curiam order, the Court found parents likely to prevail on free exercise and due process claims against policies that withhold student gender-transition information without child consent, drawing a sharp dissent over the emergency docket's use.

5th Cir.·Immigration·

Fifth Circuit Vacates S.B. 4 Injunction, Rejects Advocacy Groups’ Standing

The Fifth Circuit held that advocacy organizations could not establish Article III injury by voluntarily redirecting legal-services resources in response to Texas’s immigration law, leaving the preemption question unresolved.

9th Cir.·Employment·

Ninth Circuit Blocks California's Federal-Officer ID Mandate, Citing Supremacy Clause

A Ninth Circuit panel enjoined enforcement of the 'No Vigilantes Act' identification requirement against federal agencies, holding the United States is likely to prevail on its claim that the law directly regulates federal law enforcement operations.

Top Stories

  1. 10th Cir.·Environmental·

    Tenth Circuit Splits Colorado Ghost-Gun Case: Standing Advances on Possession and Purchase Bans, Manufacturing Claim Falls

    A divided panel lets part of a Second Amendment challenge to Colorado's unserialized firearm-parts law move forward, rejecting the state's view that possession restrictions are merely conditions on commercial sales while narrowing which claims plaintiffs may bring.

  2. D.C. Cir.·Securities·

    D.C. Circuit Affirms Injunction Barring ITC From Sanctioning Expert Witness Over Improperly Appointed ALJ's Protective Order

    A unanimous panel held that economist J. Gregory Sidak's suit against the International Trade Commission was neither too early nor too late, upholding a permanent injunction against an investigation built on an order from an ALJ whose appointment was never ratified.

  3. 6th Cir.·Consumer Protection·

    Sixth Circuit, Sitting En Banc, Reverses Class Certification Against State Farm Over Vehicle Valuation Adjustment

    The court joins other circuits in holding that individualized vehicle-by-vehicle valuation questions predominate over common claims about State Farm's 'typical negotiation adjustment,' offering insurers a template for defeating Rule 23(b)(3) certification in actual-cash-value disputes.

  4. 4th Cir.·Employment·

    Fourth Circuit Bars Contractual Shortening of Title VII, ADEA Deadlines, Joining Sixth Circuit

    In Thomas v. EOTech, a panel held that onboarding-paperwork limitations clauses cannot cut short the time Congress gave employees to sue under federal antidiscrimination law, though a parallel state-law claim still fell to the same clause.

  5. 3rd Cir.·Criminal·

    Third Circuit Denies Rehearing on EAJA Fees in Alien Habeas Cases, Deepening Circuit Split

    Over the dissent of five judges, the full court leaves in place a panel ruling that the Equal Access to Justice Act waives sovereign immunity for attorney fees in habeas challenges to immigration detention, with dissenting judges warning the decision conflicts with circuit precedent and invites abuse.

  6. 2nd Cir.·Tax·

    Second Circuit Says IRS May Assess Section 6038(b) Penalties Administratively

    The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a judgment in Safdieh v. Comm'r and remanded, holding that the Commissioner may assess penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 6038(b).

More Developments

  1. Supreme Court·Contracts·

    Supreme Court: NJ Transit Is Not an Arm of the State, Resolving Sovereign-Immunity Split

    A unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. narrows the federal arm-of-the-state test to corporate form and formal liability for judgments, siding with New York over Pennsylvania and exposing quasi-public authorities with hundreds of millions in annual revenue to out-of-state suits.

  2. Supreme Court·Employment·

    Supreme Court Revives Bagram Bombing Suit, Rejects Blanket Battlefield-Preemption Shield for Contractors

    The Court held that Boyle v. United Technologies does not immunize contractors from state tort claims when the military neither ordered nor authorized the challenged conduct, reversing the Fourth Circuit and reopening a wounded soldier's negligence suit against Fluor Corp.

  3. 11th Cir.·Civil Rights·

    Eleventh Circuit Erases $8.2 Million Roy Moore Defamation Verdict Over Senate Majority PAC Ad

    The court held that Roy Moore failed to offer clear and convincing evidence that Senate Majority PAC intended, or recklessly disregarded, the allegedly defamatory implication created by two frames in a campaign advertisement.

  4. 2nd Cir.·Securities·

    Second Circuit Holds REMIC Trust Certificates Are ERISA Plan Assets, Affirms in Part and Remands

    The panel ruled that notes issued under indentures are not equity interests, but regular-interest certificates representing beneficial interests trigger the look-through exception, subjecting underlying mortgages to fiduciary duties.

  5. 9th Cir.·Environmental·

    Ninth Circuit holds EPA must conduct ESA consultation before issuing nonbinding Clean Water Act recommendations

    In a 2-1 decision, the panel ruled that Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act applies to the EPA's development of nationwide water-quality criteria under CWA Section 304(a), rejecting the agency's argument that such guidance is not 'agency action' and expanding standing for environmental plaintiffs.

  6. 2nd Cir.·Intellectual Property·

    Second Circuit Revives Copyright Suit Over XXL's Republication of Viral Michael Jordan Video

    The court held that republishing an entire viral clip and using recognizable screenshots can defeat fair-use and de minimis defenses at the pleading stage, though it affirmed dismissal of claims tied to a YouTube-embedded interview.