In State of California v. EPA, No. 19-17480 (9th Cir. Oct. 22, 2020), the Ninth Circuit holds that the district court abused its discretion by denying the Environmental Protection Agency’s motion for relief from a court-imposed deadline under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(5), owing to an intervening change in the regulations. In so holding, theContinue reading “An Intervening Change in Law Nearly Always Warrants Modification of Injunction, Holds Ninth Circuit”
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Split Sixth Circuit Panel Holds That State Legislature Has Standing to Challenge Injunction of State Election Law
In Priorities USA v. Nessel, No. 20-1931 (6th Cir. Oct. 21, 2020), a 2-1 panel of the Sixth Circuit holds that the Michigan Legislature had standing to seek an emergency stay of a preliminary injunction of state election law when the state’s attorney general refrained from defending it. “Three voter-advocacy organizations challenged” a law “mandatingContinue reading “Split Sixth Circuit Panel Holds That State Legislature Has Standing to Challenge Injunction of State Election Law”
Court Finding That Defendant Is Competent to Stand Trial Not Subject to Interlocutory Appeal, Holds Tenth Circuit
In United States v. Perea, No. 19-2160 (10th Cir. Oct. 20, 2020), the Tenth Circuit holds that a finding of competency to stand trial in a federal criminal trial is not a collateral order subject to interlocutory appeal. Defendant was indicted on nine counts of child pornography. The district court initially found him not competentContinue reading “Court Finding That Defendant Is Competent to Stand Trial Not Subject to Interlocutory Appeal, Holds Tenth Circuit”
On a Third Go-Around, Fifth Circuit Puts Down Its Chancellor’s Foot
In M.D. v. Abbott, No. 19-41015 (5th Cir. Oct. 16, 2020), the Fifth Circuit – while recognizing “the good faith of the district judge in this case” – wrests control over a statewide injunction of Texas’s foster-care system. “Plaintiffs are a certified class of minor children in the permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) of the TexasContinue reading “On a Third Go-Around, Fifth Circuit Puts Down Its Chancellor’s Foot”
Fifth Circuit Remands Challenge to ACA Shared-Responsibility Payments for the District Court to Reconsider Mootness
In Dierlam v. Trump, No. 18-20440 (5th Cir. Oct. 15, 2020), the Fifth Circuit holds that the district court was too hasty to judge whether changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) entirely mooted a claim to recover “shared responsibility” payments. In this pro se case, plaintiff sought “retrospective and prospective relief for myriad allegedContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Remands Challenge to ACA Shared-Responsibility Payments for the District Court to Reconsider Mootness”
Fourth Circuit Holds That Absent a “Separate Document” Setting Out an Order as a Judgment Under Fed. R. Civ. P 58(a), Deadline for Attorney’s Fee Never Triggered
In CX Reinsurance Co. Ltd. v. Johnson, No. 19-1516 (4th Cir. Oct. 14, 2020), a confused timeline made it unclear whether defendant filed his attorney’s fee petition on time under the local rules. But because the district court failed to set out the judgment in a “separate document” under Fed. R. Civ. P 58(a), theContinue reading “Fourth Circuit Holds That Absent a “Separate Document” Setting Out an Order as a Judgment Under Fed. R. Civ. P 58(a), Deadline for Attorney’s Fee Never Triggered”
Admission of “Deeply Offensive Racist and Misogynistic” Audio of Co-Defendant at Criminal Trial Was Reversible Error, Holds Split Sixth Circuit Panel
In United States v. Hazelwood, No. 18-6023 (6th Cir. Oct. 14, 2020), a Sixth Circuit panel divides over whether it was error for the trial judge to admit “audio recordings in which one of the defendants … is heard using deeply offensive racist and misogynistic language.” The panel majority holds that it was inadmissible and,Continue reading “Admission of “Deeply Offensive Racist and Misogynistic” Audio of Co-Defendant at Criminal Trial Was Reversible Error, Holds Split Sixth Circuit Panel”
D.C. Circuit Panel Splits Over Whether It Has Appellate Jurisdiction to Review Dismissal “Without Prejudice” That Gave Plaintiff Leave to Amend Within 14 Days
In North Am. Butterfly Assoc. v. Wolf, No. 19-5052 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 13, 2020), a 2-1 panel devotes 41 pages of its opinion (out of 69) to the question of whether it has power to review an ambiguous final judgment. The merits issue in the district court was whether construction of “a segment of theContinue reading “D.C. Circuit Panel Splits Over Whether It Has Appellate Jurisdiction to Review Dismissal “Without Prejudice” That Gave Plaintiff Leave to Amend Within 14 Days”
District Court Did Not Violate Mandate Rule by Taking Agency’s Resource Constraints into Account on Remand, D.C. Circuit Holds
In American Council of the Blind v. Mnuchin, No. 19-5284 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 9, 2020), the D.C. Circuit holds that the nearly two-decade-old struggle to make our paper currency readable for the visually impaired must continue while the Treasury Department struggles to meet both accessibility and security goals. The plaintiff, in a 2002 lawsuit, challengedContinue reading “District Court Did Not Violate Mandate Rule by Taking Agency’s Resource Constraints into Account on Remand, D.C. Circuit Holds”
No Vacatur of the District Court’s Costs Order on Appeal Just Because the Parties Jointly Request It, First Circuit Holds
In Villeneuve v. Avon Prod., Inc., No. 20-1121 (1st Cir. Oct. 7, 2020) (per curiam), despite that the parties settled on appeal and jointly request vacatur of an order below, the First Circuit holds that they should seek this request in the district court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(5). In a prior decision, aContinue reading “No Vacatur of the District Court’s Costs Order on Appeal Just Because the Parties Jointly Request It, First Circuit Holds”
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