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Good morning. The U.S. Supreme Court took up a case closely watched by business groups about so-called ADA “testers” who sue over ADA compliance issues – but it seems unlikely to actually weigh in on the dispute. Plus, the USPTO will review a Novo Nordisk patent related to blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, and the U.S. Education Department directs law schools to publicize data about debt and earning outcomes for students. All that, and more in today’s Daily Docket.
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The United States Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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U.S. Supreme Court justices raised concerns about lawsuits targeting hotels brought by so-called ADA “testers,” but indicated they might opt not to decide the closely-watched case after all, report Andrew Chung and John Kruzel.
The justices heard arguments in an appeal of a lower court ruling that revived plaintiff Deborah Laufer’s lawsuit against a Maine hotel over its lack of information about ADA compliance on its website – even though she had no plans to stay there. Laufer, who is visually impaired and uses a wheelchair, is a self-described “tester” of hotel ADA compliance and has filed more than 600 similar lawsuits after searching for websites of hotels that do not provide enough information about whether their rooms are accessible under the ADA.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which filed a brief in the case, has said ADA “testers” have been fueling an explosion in lawsuits against small businesses accused of discriminating against disabled people. And while Justices Kagan and Kavanaugh did question whether Laufer could have standing to sue, Kagan also noted that circumstances surrounding her case likely made it moot.
“This is, like, dead, dead, dead – in all the ways that something can be dead,” Kagan said.
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- The Education Department has adopted a new set of rules for graduate programs– including law schools–that are meant to improve transparency around earning outcomes, costs and borrowing for potential students. The information will give aspiring lawyers more comprehensive financial data to consider when choosing a law school. The department will start collecting the data in July 2024 and will make it publicly available online. (Reuters)
- President Joe Biden nominated Seth Aframe, a federal prosecutor in New Hampshire, to a seat on the Boston-based 1st Circuit. An earlier candidate, Michael Delaney, was forced to withdraw in May following opposition by Democrats and Republicans alike. (Reuters)
- A Los Angeles attorney who posted “shoot the protesters” on social media during racial justice demonstrations and unrest after George Floyd’s 2020 killing has persuaded Judge Dennis Saab of the California State Bar Court that she should not be sanctioned. A lawyer who represented the woman said the decision is a victory for California attorneys’ free speech rights. The state bar said it will decide whether to seek review. (Reuters)
- President Joe Biden’s nominee to become Oregon’s next federal district court judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, faced a deluge of questions by Republican senators who grilled him about his promotion of diversity and inclusion in the courts and legal profession. If confirmed, Kasubhai would be the third Muslim-American federal district court judge ever. (Reuters)
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The headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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That’s how much money Alabama’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federally-backed clean water fund that provides low interest loans to finance public infrastructure improvements, has awarded for on-site sewage systems, according to advocacy groups that requested a federal investigation into whether the fund is discriminating against Black communities. After the request, the EPA opened a federal civil rights investigation. The fund has been awarded $1.5 billion since 1987.
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In a new brief in its enforcement case against crypto trading platform Coinbase, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has offered its most robust defense to date against a sweeping crypto industry theory that could conceivably shut down its crypto enforcement campaign. Alison Frankel highlights a new SEC argument that, in her view, could allow the agency to sidestep debate over the systemic importance of the trillion-dollar crypto industry.
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—Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, who is overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial. In a heated exchange on the third day of trial, Engoron pounded his fists in frustration with the former U.S. president’s lawyers for what he described as redundant and ridiculous cross-examination of a witness. Earlier this week, Engoron imposed a gag order on public statements about court staff after Trump took to social media to lash out at the judge’s top law clerk.
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- Intel will ask the Federal Circuit to throw out a $2.2 billion jury verdict in its ongoing dispute with Fortress Investment Group-affiliated patent owner VLSI Technology. VLSI won the award in Waco, Texas, federal court in 2021 after a jury found that Intel infringed two of its semiconductor patents. WilmerHale’s William Lee will argue for Intel, facing off against MoloLamken’s Jeffrey Lamken for VLSI.
- The 11th Circuit will hear a challenge by state-law compliant medical marijuana users in Florida who argue a federal law preventing marijuana users from possessing firearms violates their 2nd Amendment rights. The court will consider whether the law is unconstitutional in light of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that significantly expanded gun rights. The individuals originally sued the federal government in 2022 alongside then-Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat and cannabis advocate, who is no longer part of the lawsuit.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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- Former 9th Circuit judge Alex Kozinski, who is representing Donald Trump, urged his old court to revive Trump’s lawsuit claiming that the social media platform formerly known as Twitter violated his and other users’ free-speech rights when it suspended their accounts. Kozinski told the panel that Trump and the prospective class had made a “plausible” case that Twitter was unlawfully coerced to ban Trump and the other plaintiffs. (Reuters)
- U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco in a written order upheld a $3.2 million verdict that a jury awarded to a Black former Tesla factory worker who accused the company of race discrimination, denying his motion for a third trial in his case while also rejecting Tesla’s bid to cut the award. Diaz had been awarded $137 million by a different jury in 2021, but Orrick that year ruled that the verdict was excessive. The judge ordered the second trial to determine damages after Diaz turned down a lower payout of $15 million. (Reuters)
- Florida sued the Biden administration, accusing it of threatening to withhold more than $800 million in funding for transportation infrastructure because of a new state law that some public sector unions have viewed as anti-labor. Florida said the White House is conditioning transportation funding on the state’s agreement not to enforce provisions of a new state law that prevents unions representing transportation workers, teachers and other public sector employees from having dues deducted from paychecks. (Reuters)
- Google convinced U.S. District Judge Alan Albright in Waco, Texas, to reject patent infringement claims by Brazos Licensing and Development over tracking technology in the tech giant’s mobile apps, bringing a jury trial in the case to an abrupt end. Brazos had requested $217 million in infringement damages, according to Google’s attorneys. (Reuters)
- Meanwhile, Google lost a bid to stop Texas and a group of other states from moving their antitrust lawsuit against it from New York federal court to Texas. The 2nd Circuit rejected the petition, finding the company had not shown “exceptional circumstances” to overturn an order by the JPML letting Texas return to the Lone Star state to pursue the case it filed against Google there. (Reuters)
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- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner added Katherine Cooper as a partner in its financial services and disputes practice. She arrives in New York from Davis Wright Tremaine. (BCLP)
- Michael Best absorbed Madison, Wisconsin-based health technology law firm Trifecta General Counsel. Managing partners Andrew Briggs and Michael Evens join as partners, along with two other lawyers who will be healthcare services attorneys. (Michael Best)
- Haynes Boone hired transactional corporate finance partner Diego Sanchez. He joins in Mexico City from Baker McKenzie. (Haynes Boone)
- Gina Schaecher joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a Virginia-based partner in the firm’s business litigation group. Schaecher was previously with Rees Broome. (Womble)
- International tax attorney Babak Nikravesh jumped to Greenberg Traurig’s Silicon Valley office. Nikravesh was previously with Morrison & Foerster. (Greenberg Traurig)
- Covington hired New York-based capital markets deal partner Michael Maline. He most recently practiced at Mintz. (Covington)
- Reed Smith added Bert Wells, a longtime partner at Covington, in New York. He expands the firm’s insurance recovery group. (Reed Smith)
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