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In EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refin., L.L.C., the Supreme Court ruled that all challenges to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denials of small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions under the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program must be brought exclusively in the D.C. Circuit. Writing for the Court, Justice Thomas—joined by seven other Justices—held that while the denials may affect individual refineries, they rest on determinations with “nationwide scope or effect,” triggering D.C. Circuit jurisdiction under the Act.Continue Reading Decision Alert: The D.C. Circuit Has Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Small Refinery Exemption Challenges Under the Clean Air Act

In an 8-1 decision authored by Justice Sotomayor, the Supreme Court in Parrish v. United States held that a litigant who files a notice of appeal after the original appeal deadline—but before a district court formally reopens the appeal period—is not required to file a second notice once the appeal period is reopened.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Eases Appeal Rules for Litigants Finding Missed Notice Unnecessary After Reopened Period

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court heldthat the Hobbs Act, which grants federal courts of appeals exclusive jurisdiction to review agency orders, does not prevent district courts from independently evaluating an agency’s interpretation of the law in civil enforcement proceedings. Justice Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion. Justice Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Holds That Agencies’ Interpretations of the Hobbs Act Do Not Bind District Courts in Civil Enforcement Proceedings

If you get what you paid for, can you still cry fraud? The Supreme Court answered that question in Kousisis v. United States, unanimously holding that the federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, does not require a scheme to cause financial loss. Writing for the Court, Justice Barrett affirmed that intent to harm is not a necessary element of wire fraud, thereby significantly expanding the statute’s reach.  Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Unanimously Expands Scope of Wire Fraud

The Supreme Court issued a unanimous employment law decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act applies equally to all individuals, regardless of their membership in a majority or minority group. The decisive Court rejected the Sixth Circuit’s imposition of a heightened evidentiary burden on majority-group plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Heightened Burden for Reverse Discrimination Plaintiffs

In Stanley v. City of Sanford, the Court held 7-2 that a retiree is not a “qualified individual” under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as the statute applies only to current employees or those actively seeking employment.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Retirees Cannot Bring a Claim Under the ADA as a “Qualified Individual”

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that the State of Texas and Fasken Land and Minerals Ltd., a private Texas-based company involved in oil and gas extraction and production, lack standing to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) decision to license a private nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas. Writing for the majority in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Justice Kavanaugh concluded that neither Texas nor Fasken qualified as “aggrieved parties” under the Hobbs Act. Justice Gorsuch dissented, joined by Justices Alito and Thomas.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Rules Texas Lacks Standing to Challenge Nuclear Regulatory Commission Licensing Decision

On June 5, 2025, in an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court dismissed Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis as improvidently granted—despite having already granted certiorari and heard oral argument in the case on April 29, 2025. The Court did not explain its reasoning or disclose the vote breakdown. However, Justice Kavanaugh’s lone, solo dissent sheds light on the possible rationale behind the dismissal and defends the importance of the question presented.Continue Reading Decision Alert: Supreme Court Dismisses Labcorp v. Davis as Improvidently Granted

On May 15, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on three related emergency applications—Trump v. CASA, Inc.(No. 24A884); Trump v. Washington (No. 24A885); and Trump v. New Jersey (No. 24A886)—arising from President Trump’s January 20, 2025, executive order restricting birthright citizenship. As Dykema previously reported, the case raises a critical legal question: whether a federal district court may issue nationwide, or “universal,” injunctions and, if so, under what legal framework such relief is justified.Continue Reading Supreme Court Hears Argument on Nationwide Scope of Injunction

The Supreme Court is currently considering a procedural question that could significantly affect how appeals are handled when litigants miss filing deadlines due to delayed notice of judgment. In Parrish v. United States (No. 24-275), the Justices will decide whether a litigant who timely files a notice of appeal after the ordinary deadline—but before a district court formally reopens the appeal period—must later file a second, duplicative notice once the period is officially reopened.Continue Reading Supreme Court Weighs Procedure for Reopened Federal Appeals