2023 D.C. Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Whiteru v. WMATA  
Date: December 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7154

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is faced with deciding if a passenger on a train station platform, who involuntarily falls into a non-public area (a trough housing…

USA v. Mohammed  
Date: December 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3072

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit considered an appeal by Khan Mohammed, who had been convicted of international drug trafficking and narcoterrorism and sentenced to…

USA v. Donald Trump (ORDER)
Date: December 20, 2023
Docket Number: 23-3190
DC v. Exxon Mobil Corporation  
Date: December 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7163

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the District of Columbia sued Exxon Mobil Corporation and several other energy companies, alleging that these companies violated District law by making material misstatements about their products' effects…

Saline Parents v. Garland  
Date: December 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5258

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, an unincorporated association, Saline Parents, and six individuals sued the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, alleging that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was unlawfully attempting to…

Langeman v. Merrick Garland  
Date: December 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5264

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Michael W. Langeman, a former Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), appealed against the dismissal of his complaint for failure to state a claim. Langeman was terminated from his…

USA v. Donald Trump  
Date: December 8, 2023
Docket Number: 23-3190

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case involving former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has partially upheld and partially vacated a lower court's order restricting Trump's public…

Valores Mundiales, S.L. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Date: December 8, 2023
Docket Number: 23-7077
Blassingame v. Trump  
Date: December 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5069

Justia Opinion Summary: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on an appeal by former President Donald J. Trump regarding his claim of presidential immunity from civil damages liability related to the January 6,…

American Municipal Power, Inc. v. FERC
Date: November 17, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1449
Thrifty Payless, Inc. v. NLRB  
Date: November 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1204

Justia Opinion Summary: Thrifty Payless, Inc., doing business as Rite Aid, seeks judicial review of the National Labor Relations Board’s decision that Rite Aid committed unfair labor practices. The Board has cross-applied for enforcement of its…

USA v. Thomas Robertson  
Date: October 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3062

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant participated in the riot that took place on January 6, 2021, at the United States Capitol. The riot interrupted and delayed Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote that determined the outcome of…

Advanced Energy United, Inc. v. FERC (ORDER)
Date: September 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1018
In re: Sealed Case (PUBLIC REISSUED OPINION)  
Date: September 13, 2023
Docket Number: 23-3001

Justia Opinion Summary: Representative Scott Perry’s cell phone, which was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to a warrant. In a district court motion, Representative Perry argued the Clause bars the government from…

Window Covering Manufacturers Association v. CPSC  
Date: September 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1300

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2022, the Commission promulgated a rule that set stringent safety standards for the operating cords on custom-made window coverings based on a finding that such cords pose a strangulation risk to young children. The…

American Society for Testing and Materials v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.  
Date: September 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7063

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs in this case are three standard-developing organizations: the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the…

In re: Sealed Case
Date: September 5, 2023
Docket Number: 23-3001
Pomona Valley Hospital Med v. Xavier Becerra  
Date: September 1, 2023
Docket Number: 20-5350

Justia Opinion Summary: Hospitals receive greater payment if their Medicare patients are disproportionately low-income individuals entitled to federal supplemental security income benefits. Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center contends that…

Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Xavier Becerra  
Date: September 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5214

Justia Opinion Summary: Hospitals treating Medicare beneficiaries receive greater reimbursements to the extent that the beneficiaries are also entitled to supplemental security income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. The…

Valancourt Books, LLC v. Merrick Garland  
Date: August 29, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5203

Justia Opinion Summary: The Copyright Office sent a letter to Valancourt Books, LLC, an independent press based in Richmond, Virginia, demanding physical copies of Valancourt’s published books on the pain of fines. Valancourt protested that it…

Fontem US, LLC v. FDA  
Date: August 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1076

Justia Opinion Summary: After the FDA promulgated regulations applying the Act to vaping products, Fontem US, LLC, submitted numerous applications to market its flavored and unflavored vaping products. The FDA denied all of them, concluding…

Grayscale Investments, LLC v. SEC  
Date: August 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1142

Justia Opinion Summary: The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved the trading of two bitcoin futures funds on national exchanges but denied approval of Grayscale’s bitcoin fund. Petitioning for review of the Commission’s denial…

Ascendium Education Solutions, Inc. v. Miguel Cardona  
Date: August 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5104

Justia Opinion Summary: Ascendium Education Solutions (“Ascendium”) is a Program guarantor that previously charged debt-collection costs to defaulting Program borrowers who entered loan rehabilitation agreements. Ascendium challenged the…

FTC v. Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.  
Date: August 25, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5137

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Federal Trade Commission appeals the district court’s dismissal of claims against pharmaceutical manufacturers for violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The district court dismissed the…

Watkins Law & Advocacy, PLLC v. DOJ  
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5108

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Watkins Law & Advocacy, PLLC, submitted requests under the Freedom of Information Act to various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the Department of…

Eagle County, Colorado v. STB  
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-1019, 22-1020

Justia Opinion Summary: The consolidated petitions in this case concern an order of the Surface Transportation Board (“the Board”) authorizing the construction and operation of a new rail line in the Uinta Basin in Utah (“Railway”). The Board…

USA v. James Little  
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3018

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant committed a petty offense. The district court sentenced him to prison, followed by probation. The only question on appeal is whether that sentence is authorized by statute.   The DC Circuit vacated Defendant’s…

Adrian Da Costa v. Immigration Investor Program Office  
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5313

Justia Opinion Summary: Noncitizens can qualify for employment-based U.S. visas by investing in designated commercial enterprises that create jobs in the United States. After making a qualifying investment, a noncitizen must petition the United…

Matson Navigation Company, Inc. v. DOT  
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1137

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) approved a shipping company’s request to replace two vessels operating in the Pacific trade within the Maritime Security Program. Matson Navigation Co., a competitor in…

Vistra Corp. v. FERC  
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1214

Justia Opinion Summary: Vistra Corporation, joined by several other electricity suppliers, petitioned the DC Circuit to review three underlying orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These orders involve the sale of electricity in…

Frederick Douglass Foundation, Inc. v. DC  
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7108

Justia Opinion Summary: Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of the District to proclaim “Black Lives Matter.” Over several weeks, the protesters covered streets, sidewalks, and storefronts with paint and chalk. The markings were…

Anne Davis v. DC  
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7134

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff acting on behalf of her son, a student who qualifies for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), appealed an order of the district court denying her motions for…

Pacific Networks Corp. v. FCC  
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1054

Justia Opinion Summary: Pacific Networks Corp. and ComNet (USA) LLC, which are companies owned by the People’s Republic of China, held authorizations to operate communication lines in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission…

State of Arizona v. EPA  
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1159

Justia Opinion Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency extended the deadline for compliance with a revised national drinking water regulation, which in turn extended the deadline for states to enforce conforming revisions to their own…

Fairless Energy, LLC v. FERC  
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1195

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Fairless Energy, LLC (Fairless Energy) contends that it pays too much for the transportation of natural gas to fuel its electric power generating plant located in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania (the Fairless…

National Association of Immigration Judges v. FLRA  
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1028

Justia Opinion Summary: For over four decades, immigration judges employed by the Executive Office for Immigration Review have collectively bargained through a certified union. Four years ago, that office asked the Federal Labor Relations…

Laura Ramos v. Merrick Garland (PUBLIC OPINION)  
Date: August 10, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5097

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a Title VII action against her employer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI” or the “Bureau”) for allegedly taking retaliatory actions against her after she reported discrimination to the Bureau’s…

In re: Sealed Case (AMENDED REDACTED OPINION)  
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 23-5044

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court issued a search warrant in a criminal case, directing appellant Twitter, Inc. ("Twitter") to produce information to the government related to the Twitter account "@realDonaldTrump." The search warrant…

Optimal Wireless LLC v. IRS  
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5121

Justia Opinion Summary: The Affordable Care Act obligates large employers to provide their full-time employees with health insurance coverage meeting certain requirements. If an employer fails to provide coverage or provides noncomplying…

Rosalie Simon v. Republic of Hungary  
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7010

Justia Opinion Summary: Two consolidated cases arise out of the Hungarian government’s confiscation of property owned by Jews during the Holocaust. The questions raised by these appeals bear on whether survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust may…

Xcel Energy Services Inc. v. FERC  
Date: August 4, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1429

Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated appeal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) orders, two utility companies argue that Attachment Z2 plainly requires utilizing the N-1 Contingency Analysis (N-1) methodology. And they…

USA v. Eleanor Milligan  
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3075

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of wire fraud and other offenses for embezzling over one million dollars from her former employer, Global Management Systems, Inc. On appeal, Appellant sought to set aside both her convictions and…

Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc.  
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1071

Justia Opinion Summary: MSHA’s jurisdiction, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (“Commission”) held that for the list of items in Section 802(h)(1)(C) to be considered a “mine,” the items had to be located at an extraction…

Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. v. FERC  
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1221

Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must ensure that the rules for funding new transmission facilities are just and reasonable. A funding regime is not just and reasonable if it makes one party foot the bill for a…

USA v. Johnnie Gamble  
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3017

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person who has been convicted of a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1). He moved to suppress the firearm, contending that it was the fruit…

Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC v. SEC  
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1038

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) announced plans to list futures contracts based on the Cboe Volatility Index, more commonly known as the “VIX Index.” The following year, the SEC and the CFTC issued a joint order…

National Religious Broadcasters Noncommercial Music License Committee v. CRB  
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1243

Justia Opinion Summary: Every five years, the Copyright Royalty Board (the “Board”) issues a statutory license that establishes the terms and rates under which certain entities that stream copyrighted songs over the internet make royalty…

Green Development, LLC v. FERC  
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1108

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Green Development, LLC (Green Development) sought interconnection with the distribution system of Narragansett Electric Company (Narragansett), a public utility. Accommodation of the increased flows of…

Jason Sissel v. Christine Wormuth  
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5045

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant brought an action against the Army in district court, challenging the Secretary’s assignment of a 20% disability rating. According to Appellant the Secretary should have given him a 30% rating, consistent with…

Angela Cox v. Kilolo Kijakazi  
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5050

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant applied for Supplemental Security Income based on disability. While her application was pending, the Social Security Administration promulgated rules with new criteria for demonstrating disability and made them…

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. EPA  
Date: July 25, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1187

Justia Opinion Summary: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (“RCRA”) governs the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. In implementing the RCRA, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) promulgated a rule under…

Laura Ramos v. Merrick Garland
Date: July 25, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5097
Ali Hamza Ahmad al Bahlul v. USA  
Date: July 25, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1097

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner served as the personal assistant and public-relations secretary to Usama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attack against the United States. Members of a military…

American Soybean Association v. Michael Regan  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1441

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, review of orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency after a “public hearing” lies exclusively in the courts of appeals. 7 U.S.C. Section 136n(b).…

Jill Stein v. FEC  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1213

Justia Opinion Summary: The federal government funds certain expenses incurred by presidential candidates at specific times during their primary campaigns. Jill Stein, who ran for President in 2016, contends that a temporal limit on this…

USA v. Louis Wilson  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3074

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the denial of his motion for compassionate release made pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 3582(c)(1)(A). First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, Section 602(b)(1), 132 Stat. 5194, 5239 (2018)…

Chava Mark v. Republic of the Sudan  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5250

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant and her d her family sued Sudan, seeking compensation for a terrorist attack on their family. The question on appeal is whether we have jurisdiction. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a state sponsor…

Citadel FNGE Ltd. v. FERC  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1090

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerns how PJM, the manager of a large, multi-state electrical grid, prices the flow of electricity to utilities in times of congestion. Such congestion arises when energy is scarce in a particular location…

Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station v. FERC  
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1146

Justia Opinion Summary: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Algonquin a certificate of public convenience and necessity that allowed it and the owner of the neighboring Maritimes & Northeast pipeline to undertake a series of…

American Forest Resource Council v. USA  
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 20-5008

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, the issue is whether overlapping statutes that affect more than two million acres of federally owned forest land in southwestern Oregon are reconcilable and, therefore, operative. The…

Wynnewood Refining Company, LLC v. EPA  
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1015

Justia Opinion Summary: The Renewable Fuel Standard Program codified in the Clean Air Act requires all transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain an annually determined volume of renewable fuel. As part of its role in implementing…

Jenny Schieber v. USA  
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5068

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States and the French Republic agreed to establish a fund for compensating non-French nationals who were deported from France to concentration camps during the Holocaust. The Department of State, which…

Isaac Harris v. Medical Transportation Management, Inc.  
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7033

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees worked as non-emergency medical transportation drivers. In July 2017, they brought a putative class action and Fair Labor Standards Act collective action against Medical Transportation Management, Inc. (“MTM”).…

In re: Sealed Case (SEALED UNREDACTED)
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 23-5044
Advanced Energy United, Inc. v. FERC  
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1018

Justia Opinion Summary: This petition challenges several interrelated orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) that permitted the creation of a new energy transmission service across several states in the…

XO Energy MA, LP v. FERC  
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1096

Justia Opinion Summary: XO Energy petitioned for a review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of filings implementing a regional transmission organization’s (“RTO”) revised Forfeiture Rule for Financial Transmission Rights…

Alan Philipp v. Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz  
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7126

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, two citizens of the United States and one citizen of the United Kingdom brought an action in the federal district court seeking either return of the artifacts or monetary compensation. The plaintiffs trace their…

Hecate Energy Greene County 3 LLC v. FERC  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1192

Justia Opinion Summary: Congress requires transmission operators to charge reasonable rates, which must be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission through a tariff before the rates can be levied on generators. Here, a generator,…

USA v. Theodore Douglas  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3032

Justia Opinion Summary: The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's order denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence, finding that officer had reasonable suspicion to stop the Defendant. In dissent, Judge Wilkins would have granted…

American Public Gas Association v. DOE  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1107

Justia Opinion Summary: Last year, the court ordered the Department of Energy to address three different categories of comments raised during its informal rulemaking establishing more stringent energy efficiency standards for commercial…

GMS Mine Repair v. MSHR  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1143

Justia Opinion Summary: GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance, Inc. (GMS) is a mining contractor that provides “specialized services” to mines in North America. GMS provided contract services at the Mountaineer II Mine in West Virginia on April 20…

Intellistop Inc. v. DOT  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1260

Justia Opinion Summary: Intellistop, Inc. (Intellistop) invented and sells a module that fits into a commercial motor vehicle’s existing brake light system and pulses the brake lights with each application of the brakes. Because the module…

Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Intl. Dev. Finance Corp  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5095

Justia Opinion Summary: The Sunshine Act’s “agency” definition only encompasses those with a majority of Board members whom the President appoints and the Senate confirms to such position. Government in the Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act). For…

Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. USA  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5105

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Congress enacted the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (commonly referred to as “FOSTA”). FOSTA adds a new definitional provision to the Trafficking Act, 18 U.S.C. Section…

Jones Lang Lasalle Brokerage, Inc. v. 1441 L Associates, LLC  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7046

Justia Opinion Summary: Jones Lang LaSalle Brokerage, Inc. (JLL) represented both parties to an agreement to lease property in northwest Washington, D.C. Because dual representations of that kind pose inherent conflicts of interest, the…

Devon Tinius v. Luke Choi  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7047

Justia Opinion Summary: D.T. and six other Plaintiffs were arrested for violating a citywide temporary curfew in Washington, D.C., in June 2020. At the time of their arrests, Plaintiffs were standing on a public street peacefully protesting…

Mary Ofisi v. BNP Paribas, S.A.  
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7083

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants are survivors and family members of victims of the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. They bring suit against Appellee BNP Paribas, S.A. (“BNPP”), an international bank, alleging the bank acted…

State of California v. EPA  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1018

Justia Opinion Summary: After finding that certain greenhouse gases endanger public health, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) regulated the emission of these pollutants from aircraft engines. The Aircraft Rule aligns domestic aircraft…

Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, CO v. EPA  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1263

Justia Opinion Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency designated northern Weld County, Colorado and El Paso County, Texas, as areas that had already attained a 2015 ozone pollution standard. But EPA reversed course after Clean Wisconsin…

Flyers Rights Education Fund, Inc. v. FAA  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5257

Justia Opinion Summary: On October 29, 2018, 189 people boarded a Boeing 737 MAX airplane in Jakarta, Indonesia. A few minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed. No one survived. Five months later, 157 people aboard a 737 MAX in Ethiopia…

West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Debra Haaland  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5265

Justia Opinion Summary: The Seminole Tribe of Florida (“Tribe”) and the State of Florida entered into a compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). That gaming compact (“Compact”) purported to permit the Tribe to offer online…

Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. STB  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1209

Justia Opinion Summary: Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk Southern) petitioned for review of a decision of the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board), the successor agency to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) charged with…

Thomas Massie v. Nancy Pelosi  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5058

Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2021, the United States House of Representatives adopted Resolution 38, which required wearing a mask when in the Hall of the House and provided fines for the failure to do so. When three representatives…

Martin Doherty v. Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc.  
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7072

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff injured himself on the job while working as a photojournalist for media corporation Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. In the following years, while he was unable to work, Turner paid him for his leave.…

Roger Severino v. Joseph Biden, Jr.  
Date: June 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5047

Justia Opinion Summary: A Council of ten members, appointed by the President, supervises the work of the Conference. The question, in this case, is whether an appointee to the Council is removable at will by the President. The district court…

ITServe Alliance, Inc. v. DHS  
Date: June 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5074

Justia Opinion Summary: The H-1B visa program allows foreign nationals to work in the United States in specialized positions for sponsoring employers. By regulation, any such employer must file amended paperwork with the United States…

Kristen Colindres v. DOS  
Date: June 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5009

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant applied for a visa to enter the United States. But the Government denied his application, fearing that he was part of a criminal organization. Appellant and his wife (collectively “Appellants”) — who is an…

Radiya Buchanan v. William Barr  
Date: June 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5133

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, individual protestors and Black Lives Matter D.C. brought consolidated actions against federal law enforcement officers, alleging that officers’ actions in clearing protestors from Lafayette Park in June 2020…

Heating, Air-Conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors International v. EPA  
Date: June 20, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1251

Justia Opinion Summary: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) threaten the environment because they “can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.” To reduce…

Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor  
Date: June 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1242

Justia Opinion Summary: Methane is considered the most dangerous gas in underground mining; in sufficient concentrations, methane can ignite and cause a potentially catastrophic explosion. To protect worker safety, Mine Safety and Health…

Adam Robinson v. DHS Office of Inspector General  
Date: June 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5093

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sought judicial review of the Merit Systems Protection Board’s (MSPB) final decision affirming his removal from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but filed his complaint in the district court one day…

Maine Lobstermen's Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service  
Date: June 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5238

Justia Opinion Summary: The National Marine Fisheries Service licenses fisheries in federal waters. In doing so, the Service must comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). That Act requires the Service to prepare an “opinion,” commonly…

Alexander Bastani v. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO  
Date: June 13, 2023
Docket Number: 20-7032

Justia Opinion Summary: Three former officers of a local affiliate of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (“AFGE”) filed a lawsuit alleging that AFGE unlawfully retaliated against them for speech protected under Section…

Longmont United Hospital v. NLRB  
Date: June 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1262

Justia Opinion Summary: Longmont United Hospital (Longmont) petitioned for a review of the decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), concluding that Longmont violated the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain…

Shanique Perez v. Kipp DC Supporting Corporation  
Date: June 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7021

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant complaint, filed in 2021, repeated the claims she had made against the defendants in her 2018 complaint. The district court dismissed her 2018 complaint because the D.C. statutory limitations period had run. In…

Gene Schaerr v. DOJ  
Date: June 9, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5165

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests with six intelligence agencies for any records about the unmasking of members of President Trump’s campaign and transition team. Plaintiff sought to uncover…

End Citizens United PAC v. FEC  
Date: June 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5176

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arises from the denial of a motion for a default judgment. End Citizens United (“ECU”) sued the Federal Election Commission alleging the Commission unlawfully dismissed its administrative complaint. Although…

USA v. Matthew West  
Date: June 2, 2023
Docket Number: 18-3063

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, after a jury convicted Appellant of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)), the district court, relying on the Armed Career Criminal Act, sentenced Appellant to 18 years…

USA v. Ivan Robinson  
Date: June 2, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3039

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed his criminal convictions for forty-two counts of prescribing a controlled substance without a legitimate medical purpose under 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a) and two counts of money laundering under 18…

Sierra Club v. FERC  
Date: May 26, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1512

Justia Opinion Summary: Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC has been trying to build its eponymous Mountain Valley Pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia. In 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission first issued a certificate approving the…

Michael Lissack v. Cmsnr. IRS  
Date: May 26, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1268

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant claimed the IRS owes him a whistleblower award under subsection 7623(b)(1), and he argued that the Treasury regulation on which the IRS relied to decide otherwise contravenes the text of the statute. Appellant…

Luis Villa-Arce v. Cmsnr. IRS  
Date: May 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1006

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sent information to the Whistleblower Office of the Internal Revenue Service that he believed showed a company was underpaying taxes by taking unjustified deductions and using improper pricing practices.…

Terri Wright v. Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation  
Date: May 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7004

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff is the former Vice President of Program and Community of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation. She received largely positive feedback during her tenure, but less than two years after she was hired, the CEO…

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC  
Date: May 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5140

Justia Opinion Summary: Heritage Action for America appeals the denial of its post-judgment motion to intervene as of right, in Campaign Legal Center’s challenge to the Federal Election Commission’s failure to act on its administrative…

Center for Biological Diversity v. FERC  
Date: May 16, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1379

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation sought authorization to build and operate a system of natural gas facilities. After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted that authorization, the Center for…

GPA Midstream Association v. DOT  
Date: May 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1148

Justia Opinion Summary: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) prescribe safety standards for pipelines on behalf of the Secretary of Transportation. Two oil and gas associations, GPA Midstream and the American…

USA v. Paul Guertin  
Date: May 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3011

Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury charged Appellee with wire fraud and obstructing an official proceeding. Appellee moved to dismiss the indictment for failure to state an offense. The district court granted the motion, and the Government…

I.M. v. United States Customs and Border Protection  
Date: May 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5071

Justia Opinion Summary: The Government removed Appellant from the United States. Back in his home country, Appellant filed a habeas petition, arguing that his removal was unlawful. The district court dismissed Appellant’s petition. It concluded…

NRDC v. Michael Regan  
Date: May 9, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1335

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued its “final determination to regulate perchlorate in drinking water” under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Drinking Water: Regulatory Determination on Perchlorate.…

Omar Khadr v. United States  
Date: May 9, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1218

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee. He asked the DC Circuit to vacate his convictions for war crimes—including providing material support to terrorism and murder of a United States soldier in violation of the…

Steven Greenbaum v. Islamic Republic of Iran  
Date: May 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5080

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States seized oil cargo it claims belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Appellants attached the oil in order to satisfy money judgments they hold against Iran. The district court upheld the United States'…

John Crim v. Cmsnr. IRS  
Date: May 2, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1260

Justia Opinion Summary: The Internal Revenue Service assessed penalties pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6700 against Appellant in connection with his promotion of a tax shelter scheme. Appellant filed a motion to recuse and disqualify all Tax…

Damien Guedes v. ATF (ORDER IN SLIP OPINION FORMAT)
Date: May 2, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5045
Keren Kayemeth Leisrael - Jewish National Fund v. Education for a Just Peace in the Middle East  
Date: May 2, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7097

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants are victims of terrorist attacks allegedly perpetrated by the Islamic Resistance Movement, colloquially known as “Hamas.” Appellants assert that Hamas and affiliated groups are responsible for launching…

State of New York v. Meta Platforms, Inc.  
Date: April 27, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7078

Justia Opinion Summary: Meta Platforms, Inc. owns and operates the social media network Facebook. Forty-six states, the District of Columbia, and the Territory of Guam joined in a civil complaint charging Facebook with violating the antitrust…

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation v. DOI  
Date: April 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5185

Justia Opinion Summary: This is an appeal from the district court’s denial of the State of North Dakota’s supplemental motion to intervene in the lawsuit against the Department of the Interior brought by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation,…

Air Excursions LLC v. Janet Yellen  
Date: April 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5125

Justia Opinion Summary: Air Excursions, LLC provides air transportation services in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. It claims that the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) erroneously disbursed pandemic relief funds to a competitor…

Anatol Zukerman v. USPS  
Date: April 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5283

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sought the services of the customized postage program to print copies of an adaptation of his drawing of Uncle Sam being strangled by a snake labeled “Citizens United” and configured as a dollar sign. However,…

Abdulsalam Ali Al-Hela v. Joseph Biden (REISSUED)  
Date: April 12, 2023
Docket Number: 19-5079

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant challenged the basis of his detention at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Detained in 2004, Mr. al-Hela filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 2005 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 2241. The district…

USA v. Lamont Johnson  
Date: April 11, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3094

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury convicted Defendant of drug trafficking and unlawful firearm possession, the district court sentenced him to 420 months imprisonment. Defendant challenged that sentence, arguing that the district court…

Secretary of Labor v. Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc.  
Date: April 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1088

Justia Opinion Summary: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) is an agency within the Department of Labor whose mission is to administer the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (“Mine Act”). The Mine Act authorizes…

USA v. Joseph Fischer  
Date: April 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3038

Justia Opinion Summary: Several defendants were charged by indictment in separate cases with various offenses arising from their alleged participation in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Among other charges, the government also charged each…

Abdulsalam Ali Al-Hela v. Joseph Biden
Date: April 4, 2023
Docket Number: 19-5079
In re: Valerie White  
Date: April 4, 2023
Docket Number: 22-8001

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sought class certification to pursue various claims against the Hilton Hotels Retirement Plan (“Hilton Plan”) for what they say are unlawfully denied vested retirement benefits. The district court ultimately…

USA v. Kelvin Otunyo  
Date: March 31, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3053

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant opened bank accounts for fictitious companies, deposited stolen checks into the accounts, and then withdrew the cash from the accounts. After he was arrested, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of bank…

Shawnee Tribe v. Janet Yellen  
Date: March 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5089

Justia Opinion Summary: Two American Indian tribes – Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation – challenged as arbitrary and capricious the Secretary of the Treasury’s 2020 and 2021 Distributions of…

Jason Payne v. Joseph Biden, Jr.  
Date: March 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5154

Justia Opinion Summary: On November 22, 2021—the day federal employees were required to be vaccinated—Appellant filed suit in District Court, challenging the mandate’s constitutionality. Characterizing Appellant’s suit as a “workplace dispute…

Adil Abuzeid v. Alejandro Mayorkas  
Date: March 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5003

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia who entered the United States on a visa to receive graduate medical education. He sought to adjust his immigration status to that of a legal permanent…

Darryl Lewis v. Kalev Mutond  
Date: March 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7120

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a United States citizen and veteran, alleges Appellees (Foreign Officials) detained and tortured him in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Appellant argued that the Foreign Officials did so to extract…

Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association v. Kiran Ahuja  
Date: March 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5266

Justia Opinion Summary: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers retirement benefits for civilian employees of the U.S. government. OPM typically pays retirement benefits to retirees themselves. But when a retiree’s benefits are…

Metropolitan Washington Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. v. DC  
Date: March 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7014

Justia Opinion Summary: Metropolitan Washington Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (“Metro Washington”), a corporate trade organization representing construction companies, brought this pre-enforcement challenge to the…

Ascension Borgess Hospital v. Xavier Becerra  
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5246

Justia Opinion Summary: Ascension Borgess Hospital and forty-four other hospitals appeal the grant of summary judgment to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) dismissing challenges of certain reimbursements…

Ali Hamza Ahmad al Bahlul v. USA  
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1097

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Defense has detained Petitioner at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for over two decades. In 2008, a military commission convicted Petitioner of conspiracy to commit various war crimes. He now seeks judicial…

Elsa Maldonado v. DC  
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7060

Justia Opinion Summary: More than a decade ago, Medicaid recipients filed this suit alleging that in violation of the Due Process Clause, the District of Columbia is failing to provide them notice and an opportunity to be heard when denying…

Broidy Capital Management LLC v. Nicolas Muzin  
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7082

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerns a discovery dispute over certain documents in an ongoing case before the district court. Defendants are non-mission third parties hired by Qatar as “contractors to support its foreign policy…

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers v. NLRB  
Date: March 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1209

Justia Opinion Summary: Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company and a Hawaiian chapter of the Boilermakers union failed to renew a collective bargaining agreement. Hawaiian Dredging then discharged Boilermakers welders who were covered by the…

Julie Beberman v. Antony Blinken  
Date: March 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5140

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff asked the Foreign Service Grievance Board to review the Foreign Service’s decision to deny her tenure. While the Board was considering her grievances, Plaintiff asked the Board to grant “interim relief.” That…

Midwest Ozone Group v. EPA  
Date: March 3, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1146

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Midwest Ozone Group (MOG), an association of companies, trade organizations, and individual entities maintaining a collective interest in air quality petitioned for review of the Environmental Protection…

International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, ILA, AFL-CIO v. NLRB  
Date: March 3, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1249

Justia Opinion Summary: The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, ILA, AFL-CIO (“the Union” or “IOM”), has been the lawful bargaining agent for the Licensed Deck Officers (“LDOs”) on four container ships that carry goods…

In re: Flyers Rights Education Fund, Inc.  
Date: March 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1004

Justia Opinion Summary: Flyers Rights and its current president have taken aim at the small size of airline seats. In their view, small seats slow emergency evacuations and cause medical problems like blood clots. They have petitioned for a…

Levine/Schwab Partnership v. FCC  
Date: March 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1016

Justia Opinion Summary: Schwab Multimedia received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But Schwab never built its station. Though the FCC granted Schwab’s first three requests for more time, it denied…

State of Illinois v. David Ferriero  
Date: February 28, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5096

Justia Opinion Summary: The States of Illinois and Nevada (collectively referred to as “the States” or “Plaintiffs”) filed a mandamus action in the district court, seeking to compel the Archivist of the United States to certify and publish the…

Warren Harris v. Muriel Bowser  
Date: February 24, 2023
Docket Number: 21-7122

Justia Opinion Summary: The District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health had a policy of restraining civilly committed hospital patients during transport to court hearings. It applied that policy to Plaintiff. He says the policy…

Bradley Waterman v. IRS  
Date: February 21, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5258

Justia Opinion Summary: The Office of Professional Responsibility (“OPR”) investigates allegations of practitioner misconduct before the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Appellant sued the IRS under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”),…

PF Sunset Plaza, LLC v. HUD
Date: February 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1212
PF Holdings, LLC v. HUD  
Date: February 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1228

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners PF Sunset Plaza, LLC (“Sunset Plaza”) and PF Holdings, LLC (“Holdings”) were each assessed monetary penalties by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) for violations of their duty to provide…

Jahinnslerth Orozco v. Merrick Garland  
Date: February 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5238

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an intelligence analyst at the FBI, wants his employer to use available software that is accessible to blind employees like himself. Both parties agree that Section 794d of the Rehabilitation Act generally…

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewand v. Sirius XM Radio Inc.  
Date: February 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7001

Justia Opinion Summary: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung E.V. (“Fraunhofer”) initiated a patent infringements lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio Inc. (“Sirius XM”) in district court. After filing suit, Fraunhofer…

Ian Scott-Anderman, et al. v. Robert Martinez, et al.  
Date: February 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-7092

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants– the former secretary-treasurer and president, respectively, of a District Lodge of the International Association of Machinists – appealed the district court’s denial of their motion for a preliminary…

Solar Energy Industries Association v. FERC  
Date: February 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1126

Justia Opinion Summary: The Edison Electric Institute and NorthWestern Corporation, d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (collectively, “Utilities”) petition for review of an order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) in which the…

District 4, Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO v. NLRB  
Date: February 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1188

Justia Opinion Summary: Before the parties arrived at the 2016 labor agreement at issue, the Company’s benefit plan offered bargaining-unit employees a tax-advantaged defined contribution plan under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k)—a…

PayPal, Inc. v. CFPB  
Date: February 3, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5057

Justia Opinion Summary: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“the CFPB”) promulgated the Prepaid Rule, which regulates digital wallets and other prepaid accounts. As relevant here, the Rule requires financial institutions to make…

WA Alliance of Tech. Workers v. DHS [ORDER IN SLIP OPINION FORMAT]
Date: February 1, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5028
USA v. Hirani Engineering & Land  
Date: January 31, 2023
Docket Number: 19-7010

Justia Opinion Summary: The surety (“Colonial”) for the prime contractor (“Hirani”) challenged the district court’s award of quantum meruit damages on the Miller Act claim of the subcontractor (“ACC”), and the district court’s award as double…

CREW v. DOJ  
Date: January 31, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5276

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2019, the Department of Justice announced that it would resume federal executions using a new lethal agent: the drug pentobarbital. Shortly thereafter, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a…

Ameren Illinois Company v. FERC  
Date: January 24, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1277

Justia Opinion Summary: The petitions for review sought reversal of a refund order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) upon finding a discrepancy in petitioner Ameren Illinois’s self-reported operational costs.…

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations v. NLRB  
Date: January 17, 2023
Docket Number: 20-5223

Justia Opinion Summary: The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) challenges a rule governing the elections in which employees vote on whether to be represented by a union. The National Labor Relations…

Perioperative Services And Logistics, LLC v. DVA  
Date: January 17, 2023
Docket Number: 21-5223

Justia Opinion Summary: Perioperative Services and Logistics, LLC, sells medical devices to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). After someone emailed the VA accusing Perioperative of selling counterfeit implants, the VA’s National Center…

Lisa Guffey v. Roslynn Mauskopf
Date: January 13, 2023
Docket Number: 20-5183
Navajo Nation v. DOI  
Date: January 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5100

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of the Interior (DOI) provides annual funding for the judicial system of Navajo Nation, an Indian tribe, through a series of self-determination contracts authorized by the Indian Self-Determination and…

China Telecom (Americas) Corporation v. FCC (PUBLIC)  
Date: January 12, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1233

Justia Opinion Summary: Confronted with reliable claims of escalating Chinese cyber threats targeting the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) revoked the authority of China Telecom (Americas) Corp.…

Sandoz Inc. v. Xavier Becerra  
Date: January 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-5202

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, a drug may receive “new chemical entity exclusivity” if no active ingredient in the drug was previously “approved.” The drug Aubagio was awarded this exclusivity because the Food & Drug…

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