In Williams v. Reed, 145 S. Ct. 465 (2025), the United States Supreme Court reversed an Alabama Supreme Court decision affirming the dismissal of plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claims for lack of jurisdiction, based on the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has held unanimously in Smith v. Spizzirri that when a district court finds that a lawsuit involves an arbitrable dispute and a party has requested a stay of the court proceedings pending arbitration,...more
Over the years, I have observed there is only one thing that a taxpayer fears more than being notified by the IRS that their income tax return for a particular taxable year has been selected for audit, and that is being...more
On February 29, 2024, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Lexington Insurance Co. v. Smith (Suquamish Tribe). The Court affirmed the tribal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction over Lexington pursuant to the Tribe’s...more
[co-author: Jamie Dohopolski] Last year, the continued global COVID-19 pandemic forced American courts to largely continue the procedures set in place in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was no...more
Recently, the Supreme Court received two petitions for writ of certiorari challenging the NHK-Fintiv rule. The PTAB applies the NHK-Fintiv rule when deciding whether to grant institution of an inter partes review. The two...more
A district court from the Central District of California cast its lot against the growing argument that federal courts lack jurisdiction over TCPA claims based on conduct that occurred when the government debt exception was...more