Every first-year law student learns the taxonomy of federal preemption principles: Although the Supreme Court’s Supremacy Clause cases frequently rely on this preemption lexicon, the Court long ago indicated that these categories are not “rigidly distinct.” English v. Gen. Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 79 n.5 (1990). The Court’s April 19, 2016 opinion in Hughes […]
Is It Express? Is It Implied? Is It Preempted? Read More »
In United States ex rel. Beauchamp v. ACADEMI Training Center, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently vacated dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam suit on the ground that the trial court improperly applied the Supreme Court’s holding in Rockwell International Corp. v. United States, 549 US 457 (2007).
Fourth Circuit Refines Rockwell Public-Disclosure Bar Analysis Read More »
Federal preemption aficionados will find today’s seemingly ho-hum Supreme Court decision in Gobielle v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. to be of considerable interest. The Court held that ERISA expressly preempts a Vermont statute requiring disclosure of ERISA-regulated health care plan payment information. According to Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion, ERISA “contains what may be the most
Can Congress Go Too Far in Preempting State Law ? Read More »
In a 6-3 decision issued on January 20, the Supreme Court affirmed in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, No. 14-857, that federal government contractors are immune from litigation and liability if their work complies with federal directions. The Court rejected, however, unqualified immunity based on the federal government’s sovereign immunity (i.e., “derivative sovereign immunity”). Campbell-Ewald is
Supreme Court Affirms Government Contractors’ Qualified Immunity Read More »
Companies that do business in the United States continue to be justifiably concerned about the exploding number of onerous federal regulations that have been issued by Obama Administration departments and agencies. The Supreme Court’s March 9, 2015 decision in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, No. 13-1041, unavoidably bolstered the Executive Branch’s seemingly free rein by
Supreme Court 411 On Federal Agency 180 Read More »
Anyone interested in constitutional law or the subject of federal preemption of state law should read the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., No. 14-15. The Court held, in an opinion authored by Justice Scalia, that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, Art. VI, cl.2, “creates a rule of decision” — courts “must not
Supreme Opinion on the Supremacy Clause Read More »
When is a “question presented” actually presented to the Supreme Court? The Justices debated that issue in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, 135 S. Ct. 547 (2014). Click here to read more.
Untangling “A Little Snag” At the Supreme Court Read More »
Most of the commentary on the Supreme Court’s June 9, 2014 decision in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, No. 13-339, has focused on the holding that CERCLA does not preempt state statutes of repose which, after a set number of years, extinguish environmental and toxic tort claims—even if the plaintiff-friendly state statute of limitations that § 9658 of CERCLA mandates has not
Supreme Court Still Divided Over How To Interpret Express Preemption Provisions Read More »
Law360 interviewed Larry Ebner about his appellate litigation practice. Read the interview here.
Q & A With Larry Ebner Read More »
An article written by Daniel Fisher at Forbes.com quotes Larry Ebner about the significance of Food and Drug Administration approval of label warnings that are alleged to be inadequate in failure-to-warn suits. “The Supreme Court seems to make it more confusing every time it issues one of these decisions,” Ebner said.
Ebner Quoted On FDA Drug Preemption Read More »
