Opinions / Panel Activity

Opinion Summary – Christensen v. United States

Late last month the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Christensen v. United States, a tax case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. Like the case we discussed yesterday, in this case the government appealed a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims based on its view that bilateral tax treaties relieve U.S. taxpayers from double taxation with respect to net investment income tax. In an opinion authored by Judge Stark and joined by Judges Chen and Hughes, the panel reversed the judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 22, 2026

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and four nonprecedential orders. The opinion comes in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. As for the orders, one concerns a petition for a writ of mandamus to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, two are summary affirmances of decisions of the Court of Federal Claims, and the other transfers a case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Here are the introductions.

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Opinions / Panel Activity

Opinion Summary – Bruyea v. United States

Late last month the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Bruyea v. United States, a tax case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the government appealed a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims based on its view that bilateral tax treaties relieve U.S. taxpayers from double taxation with respect to net investment income tax. In an opinion authored by Judge Stark and joined by Judges Chen and Hughes, the panel reversed the judgment. This is our summary of the court’s opinion.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 21, 2026

Late Friday afternoon, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion concerning a pro se appeal from the Court of Federal Claims and four nonprecedential orders dismissing three appeals and a petition. This morning, the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion and three nonprecedential orders. Today’s opinion comes in a patent case appealed from the Northern District of Illinois. As for today’s orders, one grants a motion to remand a case while the others are dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions as well as links to the orders.

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Argument Recap / Featured / Panel Activity

Argument Recap – Netlist, Inc. v. Micron Technology, Inc.

Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in Netlist, Inc. v. Micron Technology, Inc., a case formerly styled Netlist, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. This is a patent case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, Netlist appeals a judgment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an inter partes review, which resulted in the invalidation of a claim of a Netlist patent. Judges Dyk, Linn, and Chen heard the oral argument. This is our argument recap.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 18, 2026

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released one precedential opinion, one nonprecedential opinion, and three nonprecedential orders. The precedential opinion comes in an antidumping case appealed from the Court of International Trade. The nonprecedential opinion comes in a case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims concerning breach of contract and employment claims. As for the orders, one transfers a case to the Southern District of Ohio, and the other two dismiss an appeal and a petition. Here are the introductions to the opinions and the transfer order as well as links to the dismissals.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 17, 2026

This morning, the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential opinions, two nonprecedential orders, and one errata. Two of the opinions come in cases involving appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board, and two come in patent cases, one appealed from the Southern District of New York and one from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The two orders deny petitions for writs of mandamus, one to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the other to the Court of International Trade. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders as well as a link to the errata.

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Featured / Petitions / Supreme Court Activity

Recent Supreme Court Activity

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for pending petitions, since our last update, three new petitions were filed in two patent cases and a pro se case, and two briefs in opposition were filed in a government contract case and a patent case. Here are the details.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 16, 2026

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, four nonprecedential opinions, one dismissal, and four Rule 36 summary affirmances. The precedential opinion comes in a government contract case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims. As for the nonprecedential opinions, two come in veterans cases appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, one comes in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board, and one comes in a case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, which dismissed a complaint for lack of jurisdiction. Here are the introductions to the opinions along with links to the orders.

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En Banc Activity / Featured / Petitions

Recent En Banc Activity

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, one new petition for rehearing en banc was filed in a patent case raising questions related to venue and appellate procedure. That’s it. Here are the details.

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