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. With respect to granted cases, we are still waiting on the Supreme Court to issue its opinion in one case. With respect to petitions, one new waiver of the right to respond was filed in a pro se case, and the Court denied the petitions in a pro se case and in a veterans case. Here are the details.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – June 5, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion, four nonprecedential orders, and five nonprecedential Rule 36 judgments. The opinion dismisses an appeal in a pro se case for lack of jurisdiction. All of the orders are dismissals. Here is the introduction to the opinion and links to the orders and summary affirmances.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – June 4, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, two nonprecedential opinions, and three nonprecedential orders. The precedential opinion affirms a judgment of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The first nonprecedential opinion affirms a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board in a pro se case, while the second dismisses an appeal from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The first nonprecedential order remands a case vacated by the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the other two orders are both dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and first order and links to the dismissals.

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Court Week

Court Week – June 2024 – What You Need to Know

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. In total, the court will convene 11 panels to consider 55 cases. Of these cases, the court will hear oral arguments in 42. The Federal Circuit is providing access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, two cases scheduled for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these two cases.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – May 31, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion dismissing an appeal from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for lack of jurisdiction. Here is the introduction to the opinion.

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Argument Preview / Panel Activity

Argument Preview – Freund v. McDonough

Two cases that will be argued in June at the Federal Circuit attracted amicus briefs. One of those cases is Freund v. McDonough. In this case, the Federal Circuit will review a judgment of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which dismissed the case as moot and denied Freund’s request for class action and class certification. This is our argument preview.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – May 29, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion and two nonprecedential orders. The nonprecedential opinion affirms a judgment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an ex parte reexamination. The first order transmits a petition to a district court to be docketed as a notice of appeal, while the second order is a dismissal. Here is the introduction to the opinion and links to the orders.

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Panel Activity

Update on Important Panel Activity

Here is an 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 three new opinions and dispositions in a Little Tucker Act case, a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board, a takings case, and a patent case. We also highlight three new cases that attracted amicus briefs: a patent case, a trademark case, and a veterans case. We also highlight new briefing in four patent cases as well as recent oral arguments in a patent case and government contract case. Here are the details.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – May 21, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released two precedential opinions, four nonprecedential opinions, and one nonprecedential order. The first precedential opinion comes in an en banc design patent case. In it, the en banc court overruled the long-standing Rosen-Durling test used to assess the nonobviousness of design patents. Notably, Judge Lourie concurred in the judgment, suggesting it was unnecessary to overrule Rosen and Durling. In the second precedential opinion, a panel vacated and remanded a judgment of Central District Court of California in a patent infringement case over a dissent by Judge Mayer. As for the nonprecedential opinions, the first affirms two separate dismissals by the Merit Systems Protection Board in a pro se case, the second affirms a judgment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the third dismisses an appeal in a veterans case for lack of jurisdiction, and the fourth affirms another dismissal by the Merit Systems Protection Board for lack of jurisdiction. The nonprecedential order is a dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the orders.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – May 20, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released three precedential opinions, one nonprecedential opinion, and three nonprecedential orders. The first precedential opinion affirms a judgment of the District of Delaware regarding an award of attorney’s fees in a patent case. The second affirms a judgment of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the third affirms a judgment of the Court of International Trade. The nonprecedential opinion partially reverses a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims in a government contract case. All of the orders are dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the orders.

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