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Supreme Court

Christian school renews effort to expand religious freedom over employment

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.

Nearly three years ago, the Supreme Court extended a First Amendment protection known as the “ministerial exception,” a court-created doctrine that bars courts from reviewing employment decisions by religious employers about their ministers. Last year, four justices issued a statement regarding the denial of a petition that sought to further … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In the South Carolina countryside, a dispute over “citizen suits” under the Clean Water Act

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.

The Clean Water Act allows private actors to sue someone for polluting a water system. But the act prevents these so-called citizen suits if the government is already enforcing the law. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, what level of state … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Former Ukrainian prime minister files appeal in two-decade saga over laundered funds

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.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has been much in the news for his visit to Washington, D.C., urging greater cooperation with the United States in response to the Russian invasion. But Zelenskyy is not the only Ukrainian leader making an appeal in the U.S. capital. This week, we highlight … Read the rest

Supreme Court

FedEx employees seek to preserve collective-action lawsuits over wages

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.

Five years ago, the justices in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California limited certain personal-injury lawsuits against businesses to residents of a single state. Since that 2017 decision, businesses have convinced state courts to cabin a host of lawsuits brought by out-of-state plaintiffs over out-of-state conduct. This week, we … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In Puerto Rico horse-racing dispute, a looming question over independent contractors

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.

In our modern gig economy, independent contractors constitute an increasingly large share of the American workforce. Companies like Uber, Lyft, and Amazon rely heavily on these workers, because the lack of any formal employment relationship means they do not have to provide them with benefits like health care and retirement … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Litigation continues over public charge immigration rule

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.

Last term, the court dismissed as improvidently granted, or “DIG”ed, a case brought by Republican-controlled states challenging the government’s repeal of a Trump-era immigration policy known as the “public charge” rule. In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the court’s DIG did not reflect “the appropriate resolution … Read the rest

Supreme Court

EPA’s authority over wetlands is at stake as justices wade back into regulatory morass

When the Supreme Court returns to the bench on Oct. 3 for the start of its new term, it will begin with a case that is not new to it. In Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the justices will once again weigh in on an Idaho couple’s efforts to build on land that they own – specifically, what test courts should use to determine whether the Clean Water Act applies to the land, which the EPA has deemed … 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