Category: U.S. Supreme Court
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Alleged Infringing Farmer Files SCOTUS Merits Brief on Patent Exhaustion
Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman claims in his U.S. Supreme Court merits brief that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that he infringed patents by planting second-generation genetically modified (GM) seeds, has “significantly curtailed the patent-exhaustion defense” by refusing to “hold Monsanto’s patent rights exhausted with respect to the seeds Bowman purchased from [a]…
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Arizona Dairy Brings Challenge to Milk-Pricing Law Before U.S. Supreme Court
The owners of a Yuma, Arizona-based dairy have filed a petition for review before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a hearing on their challenge to the Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, which apparently requires independent producer-handlers to join a dairy cooperative or pay federal marketing fees. Hettinga v. United States, No. 12-506 (U.S., petition…
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California Slaughterhouse Law Ruling Vacated on Remand from SCOTUS
On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an order which reinstates a district court ruling that a California law regulating swine slaughterhouses and nonambulatory animals was preempted by federal law. Nat’l Meat Ass’n v. Harris, Nos. 09-15483 and -15486 (9th Cir., order entered June 8, 2012). Additional…
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SCOTUS Requests Government View in Patent Dispute over GM Soybeans
The U.S. Supreme Court has invited the U.S. solicitor general to submit a brief addressing the issues raised in a dispute over patent exhaustion and second-generation genetically modified (GM) seeds. Bowman v. Monsanto Co., No. 11-796 (U.S., order entered April 2, 2012). An Indiana farmer, who was found to have infringed Monsanto’s patents by planting…
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SCOTUS Invalidates California Slaughterhouse Law on Preemption Grounds
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and its regulations preempt a California law that required swine slaughterhouses to humanely euthanize nonambulatory animals and prohibited them from processing, butchering or selling the meat or products of nonambulatory animals for human consumption. Nat’l Meat Ass’n v. Harris, No. 10-224…
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Claims Rejected: Deregulation of GE Alfalfa, Lead in Fruit Juice, MDL Transfer of “All Natural” Skinnygirl Margarita® Actions, U.S. Supreme Court Review of $97.4-Million Nicaraguan Judgment in Banana Worker Exposure to Pesticides
According to news sources, the Center for Food Safety, which lost its challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to deregulate without restriction genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, plans to appeal the matter to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal court in California determined on January 5, 2012, that the law does…
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Skeptical High Court Could Doom California Downer Livestock Law
Following oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on the validity of a California law that prohibits slaughterhouses from receiving, processing or selling nonambulatory animals, court watchers are predicting that the law will not survive the National Meat Association’s preemption challenge. Nat’l Meat Ass’n v. Harris, No. 10-224 (U.S., argued November 9, 2011). The Ninth…
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U.S. Supreme Court Rules FOIA Personal-Privacy Exemption Applies to Individuals Not Corporations
The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption barring the release of law enforcement records whose release “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” is inapplicable to documents provided to a federal agency by a corporation. FCC v. AT&T, Inc., No. 09-1279 (U.S., decided…