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Supreme Court

Smith urges “immediate review” of Trump’s immunity claims

Special Counsel Jack Smith rejected as “misguided” the suggestion by lawyers for former President Donald Trump that the Supreme Court should wait to decide whether Trump can be tried on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Emphasizing that the charges against Trump “are of the utmost gravity,” Smith contended that the “public interest in a prompt resolution of this case favors an immediate, definitive decision by this Court.”

In a 10-page reply brief … Read the rest

Civil Law

Plaintiffs’ “Misleading Marketing and Labeling” Claims Thrown Out in N.D. Ill. Popcorn Case

Today’s case is not about drugs or medical devices. It is about popcorn, a perfect prompt (or as good as ours ever get) for a rant about movies. We are working our way through the Oscar nominees, in anticipation of the upcoming Academy Awards. (Pre-apocalypse, we hosted an annual Oscar party, featuring good food, good wine, and just enough wagering – and cheating – for a bit of hostility.) As we watch this year’s slate, we long for the days … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Relist-palooza: Religious exercise, the False Claims Act, takings clause, RICO, bank secrecy, and more

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

This Friday’s conference represents a significant date in the Supreme Court’s schedule: Based on the schedule prescribed by the court’s rules, it is the last conference at which a cert petition can be granted and the case heard during the court’s April sitting. Because it appears that sitting is mostly empty at … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices probe government’s authority to dismiss False Claims Act lawsuits

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in the case of Dr. Jesse Polansky, a whistleblower who had filed a claim on behalf of the government under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision. The Department of Justice had initially allowed Polansky to proceed with the lawsuit against a company he accused of causing millions of dollars in false Medicare bills to the government, but after several years of litigation sought to force dismissal of the case. At … Read the rest

Civil Law

New Allegations in World-first Lawsuit Over Clean Energy and Zero Emissions Claims

On 25 August, 2022, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (“ACCR”) expanded its case against the Australian gas company, Santos Ltd. (“Santos”), with new and more detailed allegations around greenwashing.

Last year, ACCR filed a consumer protection lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia regarding certain misleading or deceptive statements Santos made relating to its clean energy claims and net-zero representations in the 2020 Annual Report (which we reported here). This was the first lawsuit in … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices, signaling interest in False Claims Act, are asked to clarify a “knowing” violation

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

On Monday, the court asked the government to weigh in on a petition filed earlier this year, about whether it matters that someone accused of “knowingly” defrauding the government under the False Claims Act believes or understands their own conduct was unlawful. Known as a “call for the views of … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices grant review in cases on Bank Secrecy Act and False Claims Act

The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning added two cases — one involving the Bank Secrecy Act, the other involving the government’s power to dismiss fraud claims — to its 2022-23 docket. In a list of orders from the justices’ private conference last week, the justices also turned down – over a dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas that was joined by Justice Samuel Alito – a request from Ohio to reinstate the conviction and death sentence of an inmate who … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The Penobscot River and claims against military subcontractors

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether the Penobscot Nation has regulatory authority over the Penobscot River or only over certain islands in the river, and how broadly to construe the combatant-services exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Control over the Penobscot River in Maine

In Penobscot Nation v. Frey and United States v. Frey, two cases ask the Supreme Court to review an en banc decision … Read the rest