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Litigation Update

Recent Activity

Litigation UpdateNov 27, 2018 - 10:00am

U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of landowners seeking to limit the federal government’s power to designate private land as “critical” habitat for endangered species

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Weyerhaeuser in a case concerning whether the government could designate private land in Louisiana as “critical habitat” for an endangered species—the “dusky gopher frog”—even though the land is not currently habitat (we understand no frogs have lived there since 1965) and apparently could not be habitat without significant alteration.

Litigation UpdateJul 26, 2018 - 1:30pm

Government dismisses own appeal from Chamber victory against IRS rule used to block certain corporate mergers

The Fifth Circuit granted the Government’s motion to dismiss its own appeal from the Chamber’s historic 2017 victory against the IRS’s rule under Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code that was used to block certain corporate mergers.

Litigation UpdateJun 25, 2018 - 4:15pm

U.S. Chamber and industry groups move to intervene in support of New Source Review guidance

The U.S. Chamber, with a coalition of business groups, filed a motion to intervene in support of the EPA in a D.C. Circuit case seeking to vacate a final rule issued by the EPA titled, “Project Emissions Accounting Under the New Source Review [NSR] Preconstruction Permitting Program.”

Litigation UpdateJun 21, 2018 - 1:30pm

Supreme Court holds SEC violated Constitution in appointing administrative law judges

The Supreme Court issued a favorable 6-3 decision in Lucia v. SEC, holding that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution in naming administrative law judges (ALJs) to decide enforcement proceedings before the SEC.

Litigation UpdateJun 14, 2018 - 2:30pm

Supreme Court issues favorable decision in antitrust case concerning Chinese price fixing

The Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Animal Science Products, Inc. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co., holding that the lower court erred when it deferred to the assertion by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of the People’s Republic of China that Chinese law required Chinese companies to engage in price fixing of products exported to the United States.

Litigation UpdateJun 11, 2018 - 11:45am

Supreme Court issues favorable decision on statute of limitations and class actions

The Supreme Court issued a favorable decision for the business community in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, ruling unanimously that a plaintiff may not bring a new class action beyond the applicable statute of limitations period where a previous class action had been dismissed.

Litigation UpdateMay 21, 2018 - 11:00am

Supreme Court affirms validity of employment arbitration agreements that include class waivers

The Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in a trilogy of cases addressing whether the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) bars arbitration provisions in employment contracts that include class action waivers.

Litigation UpdateMay 11, 2018 - 11:00am

Ninth Circuit sides with Chamber in challenge to Seattle’s ordinance authorizing unionization of independent contractors

In a unanimous opinion, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Seattle could not claim immunity from federal antitrust law because the State of Washington had not clearly anticipated Seattle’s unprecedented ordinance and would not have actively supervised the unionization scheme.

Litigation UpdateApr 24, 2018 - 11:00am

Supreme Court issues decision narrowing the Alien Tort Statute

In Jesner v. Arab Bank, the Court held by a vote of 5-4 that the ATS does not allow plaintiffs to sue foreign corporations, as opposed to individuals, in U.S. Courts for violations of international law.

Litigation UpdateApr 17, 2018 - 11:15am

U.S. Supreme Court dismisses Microsoft Irish warrant case as moot in light of the CLOUD Act

The Supreme Court issued an opinion granting the joint request of the United States and Microsoft to end their case regarding whether the Stored Communications Act of 1986 applies to emails located on a server outside the United States (in this particular instance, on a server located in Ireland). The Court agreed with the United States and Microsoft that their dispute about the Stored Communications Act had become moot in light of the enactment of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (“CLOUD”) Act as part of the omnibus budget legislation.