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Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, the Court held its first conference of the 2026 Term, which resulted in the Court denying twenty-one petitions, as discussed below. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for petitions, since our last update, one new petition was filed in a government contract case; one waiver of the right to respond to a petition was filed in a patent case; amicus briefs were filed in a veterans case, an employment case, and a patent case; and, as mentioned, the Court denied twenty-one petitions. Here are the details.

New Petitions

Since our last update, a new petition was filed in Fox Logistics & Construction Co. v. United States, a government contract case that presents the following three questions:

  1. “Whether, when the United States responds to a prime contractor’s acknowledged inability to pay an identified subcontractor by replacing the ordinary payment mechanism with a restricted arrangement that dedicates contract proceeds to that debt, the scope of the Government’s undertaking is determined from the integrated payment arrangement and the circumstances of its creation and performance, or from a single implementing communication read in isolation.”
  2. “Whether federal common law governing third- party beneficiaries of contracts with the United States recognizes the creditor-beneficiary rule embodied in Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 302(1)(a)—where performance of the Government’s promise satisfies the promisee’s monetary obligation to an identified beneficiary—as an independent basis for intended-beneficiary status, or instead requires the beneficiary also to establish the distinct manifested-intent showing described in § 302(1)(b).”
  3. “Whether, on cross-motions confined by court order to liability, a court may grant summary judgment against a beneficiary for failing to prove unpaid invoices beyond those the Government paid—where the Government, as movant, offered no evidence that later invoices were not submitted and the government records reference the same invoices claimed missing, and the government’s own cure notice identified them.”

Waiver of the Right to Respond

Since our last update, a waiver of the right to respond to a petition was filed in Genuine Enabling Technology LLC v. Sony Group Corp., a patent case.

Amicus Briefs

Since our last update, amicus briefs were filed in three different cases.

Kernz v. Collins

As a reminder, the question presented in this veterans case is:

  • “May an agency defeat the existence of a case or controversy in a reviewing court by taking unilateral, ultra vires action after the agency has lost jurisdiction following an appeal to the court?”

The three amicus briefs all support the petitioner and were filed by the following parties:

Lesko v. United States

In this employment case, the question presented is:

  • “Under this Court’s decision in Loper Bright, does the general rulemaking provision in 5 U.S.C. § 5548(a) delegate authority to [the Office of Personnel Management] to authoritatively interpret [the Federal Employees Pay Act], such that courts must adopt OPM’s definitions?”

One amicus brief in support of the petitioner was filed by Cato Institute.

Federal Express Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc.

As a reminder, this patent case presents the following question:

  • “Does 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) bar judicial review of the Patent Office’s refusal to determine whether a petition identifies all real parties in interest when § 312(a)(2) authorizes the Office to consider petitions ‘only if’ they identify ‘all’ such parties?”

One amicus brief in support of the petitioner was filed by VLSI Technology LLC.

Denials

Since our last update, the Supreme Court denied petitions in the following cases: