On March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in City & County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency and clarified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") and state...more
3/13/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
In a potentially seismic development, a federal district court held that the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions violate the Constitution's Appointments Clause—a ruling that, if upheld, would upend the landscape of FCA...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the Ninth Circuit's decision in Moore v. United States, upholding the constitutionality of the mandatory repatriation tax enacted in 2017....more
Federal courts will no longer give controlling weight to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws....more
Plaintiffs not initially affected by a regulation may now bring an Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") challenge to the regulation up to six years after they are first affected....more
In February 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the results of its 2023 False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement efforts. Through those efforts, it obtained more than $2.6 billion in overall recoveries, and of that...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
In a 6–3 decision likely to have immediate impacts beyond the world of higher education, on June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Harvard's and the University of North Carolina's admissions programs violate the...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
The False Claims Act's ("FCA") use of qui tam relators (private individuals bringing suit on behalf of the government) has long raised both procedural and substantive challenges....more
The U.S. Supreme Court clarified the standard for a defendant's state of mind in False Claims Act ("FCA") cases, holding that a defendant acts "knowingly"—which the FCA defines also to include deliberate ignorance and...more
In Short -
The Development: On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision inSackett v. EPA, providing new insight into whether wetlands qualify as "waters of the United States" subject to regulation...more
The decision should prove helpful for those in the health care and life sciences industries whose daily operations require compliance with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS")....more
In Short -
The Situation: The Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS") prohibits a defendant from willfully paying or receiving "remuneration" in exchange for referrals—and, in addition, also specifies that any claims "resulting...more
In a momentous event for False Claims Act cases throughout the country, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide the applicable scienter standard....more
In Short -
The Situation: The federal False Claims Act ("FCA") allows the United States to dismiss the action if the qui tam relator "has been notified by the Government of the filing of the motion and the court has...more
What Happened: West Virginia v. EPA -
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jones Day client, the North American Coal Corporation, and determined that the EPA did not have clear authorization from...more
7/13/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Resource Management ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
Around the country, creative plaintiffs' lawyers have been repackaging product liability claims as public nuisance claims to avoid dismissal. Plaintiffs have used this maneuver to attempt an end-run on important product...more
5/11/2022
/ Chevron ,
Failure To Warn ,
Herbicides ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Manufacturers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Product Defects ,
Public Health ,
Public Nuisance ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On March 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court denied review of the Court of Appeal's decision in Isaak et al. v. Superior Court of Contra Costa County. In Isaak, the Court of Appeal held that the provisions governing...more
Over the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has significantly restricted when courts can assert general personal jurisdiction over defendants, i.e., jurisdiction in lawsuits that do not arise out of or relate to the...more
The Supreme Court held that a company may bring a pre-enforcement challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") to an IRS reporting requirement backed by a tax penalty.
On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
5/20/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Injunction Act ,
CIC Services LLC v IRS ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
IRS ,
Notice and Comment ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Tax Penalties
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Ford is sure to be framed by some as expanding—perhaps quite significantly—the availability of specific personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause. But the decision should not be...more