This morning, the Federal Circuit released two precedential opinions and one nonprecedential opinion. One of the precedential opinions addresses an appeal from a denial of a preliminary injunction in a patent dispute. The other precedential opinion addresses a dispute over whether a certain fuel mixture may qualify as “alternative fuel” for tax credit purposes. The nonprecedential opinion affirms a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions.
Dexcom, Inc. v. Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. (Precedential)
This is an interlocutory appeal from a consolidated case between Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. and Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corp. (collectively, “Abbott”) and DexCom, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. After DexCom sued Abbott for infringing its patents, Abbott petitioned for inter partes review of the asserted patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. DexCom moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin Abbott from proceeding with the inter partes review proceedings based on a forum selection clause in a settlement and license agreement between the parties. DexCom appeals the district court’s denial of the preliminary injunction. Because the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the preliminary injunction, we affirm.
Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining v. United States (Precedential)
Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing, LLC (“Philadelphia Energy”) appeals from the decision of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“the Claims Court”) granting summary judgment that Philadelphia Energy is not entitled to tax refunds for excise taxes it paid on fuel mixtures of butane and gasoline. Phila. Energy Sols. Refin. & Mktg., LLC v. United States, 159 Fed. Cl. 230 (2022) (“Decision”). Specifically, the Claims Court held that those fuel mixtures did not qualify as “alternative fuel mixtures” to which the tax credit in 26 U.S.C. § 6426(e) applied.
Because the Claims Court correctly concluded that butane is not an “alternative fuel” for purposes of § 6426, Philadelphia Energy’s mixture of butane with gasoline does not qualify for the alternative fuel mixture credit. We therefore affirm.
Kolenc v. Department of Health and Human Services (Nonprecedential)
Andrew Kolenc appeals from a final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board affirming the Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to remove Mr. Kolenc from his position as Consumer Safety Officer. Kolenc v. Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., No. DE-0752-14-0488-I1, 2023 WL 2213176 (M.S.P.B. Feb. 24, 2023) (“Board Decision”). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm.