A disabled Navy veteran who owns a small business is suing the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in federal court over a contracting program that excludes nonminorities from participating. Marty Hierholzer filed suit (pdf) recently in the U.S. District Court … Continue reading Disabled Navy veteran sues Small Business Administration over racially discriminatory contracting program
The Supreme Court turned away an appeal on Jan. 23 over a $2.1 million penalty the IRS assessed against a grandmother whose family fled Nazi persecution, for failing to report a foreign bank account. The decision came as the U.S. … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t stop $2 Million IRS penalty against grandmother whose family fled Nazis
After a town in central Massachusetts dramatically seized more than what a farmer owed in property taxes, the farmer is suing the town in federal court for alleged “home equity theft.” Alpaca farmer Alan DiPietro, an engineer by training who lives outside … Continue reading New England farmer sues town for ‘home equity theft’ in federal court
The Supreme Court released a report stating that, after a months-long internal investigation, the leaker of a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade last year couldn’t be identified. The leak shattered the image of the Supreme Court, which has long … Continue reading New Supreme Court report fails to identify leaker of Roe v. Wade draft opinion
A public school system in Michigan wronged a deaf student by failing to properly educate him, and the student was justified in suing the system under two federal laws, the Supreme Court heard on Jan. 18. The hearing came as parents nationwide have become … Continue reading Deaf student neglected by Michigan schools should be able to sue under anti-discrimination law, SCOTUS hears
The Supreme Court on Jan. 18 turned away an emergency request from firearms dealers to halt a months-old New York law that imposed new restrictions on gun purchases and dealers that the dealers say adversely affected sales and violated their rights. The ruling … Continue reading Supreme Court again refuses to halt New York gun restrictions
A bank controlled by Turkey told the Supreme Court Jan. 17 that it should not be criminally prosecuted in U.S. courts for allegedly helping Iran defy U.S. economic sanctions because it enjoys legal immunity as an arm of the Turkish government. The petitioner in the case of Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, court file 21-1450, also known as Halkbank, is 75 percent owned by the Turkish Wealth Fund, which in turn is owned by the Republic of Turkey. Istanbul-based Halkbank is accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy involving money laundering, bank fraud, and assisting terrorism-sponsoring Iran in evading U.S. … Continue reading Turkish bank urges Supreme Court to halt prosecution over dodging Iran sanctions
The Supreme Court seemed resistant to the Biden administration arguments Jan. 17 that could lead to the deportation of a transgender illegal alien from Guatemala seeking asylum. The issue is whether noncitizens have to petition the Board of Immigration Appeals … Continue reading Supreme Court hears transgender migrant’s claim of procedural unfairness
The Supreme Court refused on Jan. 17 to take up an appeal by Missouri challenging a ban on states using federal pandemic-relief funds to offset state revenue reductions, such as those attributed to tax cuts or other policy changes. The decision is … Continue reading Supreme Court turns away appeal about states using COVID-19 relief funds for tax cuts
Two longtime midwives are suing Iowa over a state law that they say unconstitutionally discriminates against their profession, preventing them from opening a freestanding birth center that would compete against local hospitals. The midwives claim that the state’s certificate of need (CON) … Continue reading Midwives sue Iowa over law allowing hospitals to veto new childbirth facilities
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a whistleblower-initiated case that pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway submitted false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs. The case is considered to be important because it could have an impact on the government’s ability to crack down on health care fraud. Lawsuits brought by whistleblowers allege the two supermarket chains billed the two government programs at artificially high rates while charging most paying customers significantly lower prices under discount schemes. Federal law mandates that pharmacies bill the programs the typical prices they actually make customers pay. The whistleblowers claim the chains knew they were overcharging … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear pharma fraud cases against SuperValu and Safeway
The Supreme Court decided late on Jan. 13 to hear the appeal of a 94-year-old homeowner who is challenging the constitutionality of laws that allow local governments to take the full value of a home as payment for much smaller … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to hear claim of 94-year-old Minnesota homeowner that county unconstitutionally seized her home equity
The Supreme Court agreed late on Jan. 13 to take up the civil rights lawsuit of an evangelical Christian postal worker in Pennsylvania who quit the U.S. Postal Service after it refused to accommodate his wish not to work on the Sunday … Continue reading SCOTUS to hear case of Evangelical Christian who asked Post Office not to force him to work Sundays
Whether Puerto Rico enjoys the same immunity from lawsuits that U.S. states have was considered by the Supreme Court on Jan. 11 in a battle over media access to internal documents of a governmental body. The hearing came after a recent push by congressional Democrats for a statehood referendum in Puerto Rico failed in the last Congress. In December 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the proposed Puerto Rico Status Act but it died because the Senate had not yet considered it when the old Congress wrapped up. It is unclear if the new Republican-controlled House seated last week will revive … Continue reading Supreme Court told Puerto Rico control board cannot refuse to make documents public
A labor union’s allegedly deliberate destruction of company property as a pressure tactic in a labor dispute is not protected by federal labor law, a concrete company told the Supreme Court on Jan. 10. Labor activists say that endangering and … Continue reading Labor unions should be held liable for property destruction during strikes, Supreme Court told
The state of Ohio told the Supreme Court on Jan. 9 that a federal labor relations law doesn’t apply to the labor practices of state militias. The issue before the high court was whether the federal Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which gives the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) power to govern the labor practices of federal agencies, regulates the labor practices used by state militias. The Biden administration takes the position that federal law bestows collective bargaining rights on state militia employees. The case is Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, court file 21-1454. The … Continue reading Ohio tells Supreme Court a federal labor law doesn’t regulate its National Guard employees
The Supreme Court on Jan. 9 allowed Facebook parent Meta to move forward with a lawsuit claiming that Israeli spyware maker NSO Group improperly accessed WhatsApp servers as it was installing spyware on the electronic devices of some users. NSO … Continue reading Supreme Court refuses to halt lawsuit against Israeli spyware maker
The Supreme Court ordered a Texas appeals court on Jan. 9 to reconsider the murder conviction of death row inmate Areli Escobar because the DNA evidence used to convict him was later discovered to be unreliable. Texas had admitted in court papers … Continue reading SCOTUS directs Texas appeals court to reconsider 2011 murder conviction based on faulty DNA analysis
An Arkansas man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state because state law prevents him from serving on a state board because of the color of his skin. The legal complaint (pdf) in the case, Haile v. … Continue reading Exiting Arkansas governor sued over enforcing race-based quota in state appointments
Pharmaceuticals executive Gigi Jordan, who was convicted in the death of her young autistic son, committed suicide less than a day after the Supreme Court revoked her bail and while her manslaughter appeal was still pending before the high court. … Continue reading Pharma exec who killed 8-year-old son commits suicide after Supreme Court revokes bail