Federal Amicus

Results are sorted by the date of most recent activity.

Filter Results

City of Pomona v. SQM North America Corp.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided
February 6, 2020

Divided panel of the Ninth Circuit overturns jury verdict, holding that, under California strict product liability law, courts can instruct jurors to consider risks that were not, and could not have been, known to the manufacturer at the time of manufacture.  The U.S. Chamber had urged the court to affirm instructions asking jurors to evaluate risks and alternatives based on science and technology available at the time a produced was manufactured and used. 

Rozo v. Principal Life Insurance Co.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Decided
February 3, 2020

Eighth Circuit reverses district court’s grant of summary judgment to life insurer in ERISA case, holding that district court erred in concluding that stable-value fund provider was not a fiduciary under ERISA as a matter of law.  The U.S. Chamber filed a coalition amicus brief urging the court to reach the opposite outcome and affirm the district court.   

United States v. Ameren

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Pending
January 30, 2020

U.S. Chamber, Missouri Chamber, and business groups file amicus brief urging Eighth Circuit to reject EPA’s repeatedly morphed interpretation of Missouri’s Clean Air Act Implementation Plan and apply the plan as written.  The brief further urges the court to reverse the lower court’s failure to adhere to the limits of its injunctive authority under the Act.  

Cellco Partnership v. NLRB

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided
January 30, 2020

Ninth Circuit remands case to the NLRB for further consideration in light of the Board’s decision in Caesars Entertainment, which overruled Purple Communications and returned to the standard announced in Register Guard.

Center for Biological Diversity v. Ashe; Defenders of Wildlife v. Ashe

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Decided
January 28, 2020

United States District Court for the District of Columbia remands, without vacating, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service decision to list the Northern Long-Eared Bat as “threatened” rather than endangered, ordering the agency to reevaluate aspects of the determination the court held were flawed.  The U.S. Chamber and a coalition of trade associations had intervened to defend the Service’s decision to list the species as “threatened.”

Carney, Governor of Delaware v. Adams

U.S. Supreme Court
Pending
January 28, 2020

U.S. Chamber files merits-stage amicus brief in the Supreme Court supporting Delaware’s judicial-balance requirements for state judges.  The brief argues that the Court’s “political patronage” cases do not apply when evaluating a First Amendment challenge to a State’s efforts to achieve political balance on the judiciary, and that Delaware’s judicial-balance requirements serve important government interests.  

Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Pending
January 24, 2020

U.S. Chamber and coalition of intervenors file reply brief in support of motion for summary judgment in litigation concerning DHS’s 2016 STEM OPT rule.  The U.S. Chamber’s brief defends the statutory authority of the OPT program and the legality of DHS’s 2016 rule.

Bigger v. Facebook, Inc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Decided
January 24, 2020

Seventh Circuit vacates district court order requiring notice to purported class action of employees who agreed to arbitrate disputes bilaterally.  The court remanded for further proceedings.  The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief in support of interlocutory review and again at the merits stage after the Court granted review.   

McArdle v. AT&T Mobility LLC (I - rehearing)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided
January 17, 2020

Ninth Circuit denies rehearing en banc in case concerning California’s McGill rule.  The U.S. Chamber filed two amicus briefs, first on the merits and then in support of the rehearing petition.

Tillage v. Comcast Corp.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided
January 17, 2020

Ninth Circuit denies rehearing en banc in case concerning California’s McGill rule.  The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief supporting the rehearing petition.

Sullivan v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Pending
January 17, 2020

Second Circuit denies motion for Rule 23(f) review of medical monitoring class action.  The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief urging the Second Circuit to grant Rule 23(f) review.

United States v. Microsoft Corporation

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Decided
January 17, 2020

District Court holds that Microsoft tax-advice documents are not privileged because they primarily served a business purpose.  The U.S. Chamber sought leave to file an amicus brief opposing this outcome, but the court denied leave.

Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Ltd. v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Pending
January 17, 2020

U.S. Chamber files coalition amicus brief arguing that the Second Circuit should reverse the district court’s order refusing to enforce a $2 billion arbitral award against a state-owned entity.  

Air Alliance Houston v. EPA (RMP 2019 Reconsideration Rule)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Pending
January 17, 2020

U.S. Chamber and other business groups move to intervene in support of the Trump administration’s 2019 amendments to the Risk Management Program Rule governing the prevention and detection of, and response to, accidental releases of hazardous substances from certain covered facilities.  The U.S. Chamber previously challenged the Obama administration’s 2017 Risk Management Program rule, which is still pending in the D.C. Circuit.   

In re E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company C-8 Personal Injury Litigation

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Decided
January 17, 2020

Sixth Circuit denies mandamus petition challenging an issue-preclusion order barring the MDL defendant from presenting individualized defenses based upon the outcomes in bellwether trials.  The Sixth Circuit stated that Du Pont “has made a vigorous and perhaps compelling argument that the district court erred as a matter of law,” but that was not enough to satisfy the clear and indisputable standard for mandamus relief.  The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief supporting the mandamus petition.

Wheeler v. Arkema Inc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Pending
January 16, 2020

U.S. Chamber files coalition amicus brief urging Fifth Circuit to decertify class in environmental mass-tort litigation and affirm that full Daubert review applies to expert testimony used at the class-certification stage.  The U.S. Chamber previously filed an amicus brief supporting the Rule 23(f) petition, which was granted.

Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander

U.S. Supreme Court
Decided
January 14, 2020

Supreme Court issues favorable decision in ERISA stock-drop case vacating Second Circuit’s decision and remanding for further proceedings.  The U.S. Chamber filed a coalition amicus brief in support of IBM’s cert. petition and again at the merits stage.

Portland Pipe Line Corp. v. City of South Portland

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Decided
January 10, 2020

First Circuit certifies state law issues to Maine Supreme Court.  The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief in support of constitutional challenges to municipal ordinance banning use of pipelines to transport fossil fuels from Canada to the United States.

Parish of Cameron v. BP America Production Co.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Pending
January 13, 2020

U.S. Chamber files amicus brief arguing that the Fifth Circuit should correct the district court’s improper application of the federal officer removal statute, which permits removal of a case from state court to federal court for those “acting under” an officer or agent of the United States.  

Putnam Investments, LLC v. Brotherston

U.S. Supreme Court
Decided
January 13, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court denies cert. petition regarding burden of proof on loss causation for breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA.  The U.S. Chamber filed a coalition brief supporting the cert. petition and an additional brief on the merits when this case was before the First Circuit.

Pages