FedCircuitBlog

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued one nonprecedential opinion in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board and one nonprecedential opinion in a veterans case. The court also issued one nonprecedential order denying a petition for a writ of mandamus to reverse a transfer order by the Western District of Texas. Here are the introductions to the opinions and text from the order.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a tax case involving a penalty levied due to alleged noncompliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case affirming a district court’s award of attorney’s fees and double costs. The Federal Circuit also issued a Rule 36 judgment. Here are the introductions of the opinions and a link to the Rule 36 judgment.

Here is this month’s update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases we highlight two dispositions, one new case with an amicus brief, one case with new briefing, one case update, three recent oral arguments, and two upcoming oral arguments. Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential order in a patent case denying a petition for a writ of mandamus to order the Western District of Texas to stay all deadlines unrelated to venue until the district court rules on a pending motion to dismiss or transfer. Here is text from the order.

Yesterday, the Federal Circuit announced that the court’s electronic filing system will be unavailable on Saturday, March 27, 2021, from 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Eastern). Here is the text from the announcement.

The Federal Circuit did not post any new opinions or orders this morning.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case affirming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to reject four patent applications as failing to meet the operability requirement. Here are the first and last paragraphs of the opinion.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity in patent cases at the Federal Circuit. It has been another quiet week. Highlights include a new petition raising a question related to the definiteness requirement and a denial of a petition raising a question related to claim construction. Here are the details.

According to the U.S. Courts website and as just announced by the Federal Circuit itself, Federal Circuit Judge Evan J. Wallach will take senior status at the end of May, ending a nine-and-a-half year stint on the court. Notably, this will represent the court’s first judicial vacancy in six years, a relatively long span dating back prior to the Trump administration. Judge Wallach’s transition to senior status potentially provides the first of several vacancies for President Biden to fill. The Senate Judiciary Committee, now chaired by Senator Durbin, will likely play an important role in the selection and confirmation of Judge Wallach’s successor. For today, however, we highlight Judge Wallach’s service to the United States both prior to and after his appointment to the Federal Circuit.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a veterans case. Additionally, the court issued three nonprecedential opinions in patent cases. Here are the introductions to the opinions.