Topic Archives: This Week at the Ninth

July 29, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Beef Speech and Presumptive Plaintiffs

By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes

This week, the Court addresses the constitutionality of government assessments that fund third-party beef advertisements, and clarifies the burden-shifting framework for appointing lead plaintiffs under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. RANCHERS CATTLEMEN ACTION LEGAL FUND UNITED STOCKGROWERS OF AMERICA v. VILSACK The Court holds that …›

July 22, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Offshore Occupation

By: Adam L. Sorensen

This week, the Ninth Circuit resolves a split among trial courts about the application of California labor laws on drilling platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf. IAFETA MAUIA v. PETROCHEM INSULATION, INC. The Court holds that California labor laws requiring meal and rest breaks do …›

July 16, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Manuka Honey and Waterslides

By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen

This week, we take a look at a decision addressing what a “reasonable” consumer will know in purchasing a product (and distinguishing the Seventh Circuit in the process), and at another assessing the legality of Washington’s pandemic-related shutdown of a waterpark. MOORE v. TRADER JOE’S …›

July 8, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Drug Tests and Foreign Arbitration

By: James R. Sigel and Zachary Fuchs

This week, the Ninth Circuit considers a challenge to the constitutionality of the FAA’s regulations governing drug and alcohol testing for air-carrier employees, and it wrestles with difficult choice-of-law questions concerning foreign arbitration agreements. REGENCY AIR, LLC v. DICKSON The Court holds that FAA regulations requiring …›

July 2, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Presumed Reliance and Evident Partiality

By: James R. Sigel and Zachary Fuchs

This week, a divided Ninth Circuit panel addressed when a plaintiff’s reliance on an omission may be presumed in a securities-fraud case, and another panel considered when an arbitration award must be set aside due to an arbitrator’s failure to disclose a relationship with …›

June 24, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Injured Discriminators and Rails-to-Trails

By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen

This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses whether a corporate shareholder has standing to challenge a statute allegedly requiring the corporation to discriminate, and considers the interaction between the 1922 Abandoned Railroad Right of Way Act and the 1988 Rails-to-Trails Act. MELAND v. WEBER The Court holds …›

June 17, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Formation Trials and Tribal Corporations

By: James R. Sigel and Michael F. Qian

This week, we take a look at a Ninth Circuit decision navigating the intricacies of appellate review of interlocutory arbitration orders, and another exploring the difference between a federally chartered tribal corporation and the tribe itself. HANSEN v. LMB MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. The Court holds …›

June 11, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Poultry Preemption and ERISA Estoppel

By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen

This week, we take a look at a decision examining the preemptive effect of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and another considering the interaction between the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and principles of equitable estoppel. WEBB v. TRADER JOE'S COMPANY The Court holds that state-law …›

June 4, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: The IGRA “Two-Step” and Class Action Collusion

By: James R. Sigel

This week: the Ninth Circuit elaborates on the Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s “two-step determination” regarding the effects of a new casino on tribal land and clarifies when a post-certification class action settlement agreement is unfair and collusive. KALISPEL TRIBE OF INDIANS V. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF …›

May 28, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth

This Week at the Ninth: Independent or Intertwined?

By: James R. Sigel

This week, the Ninth Circuit simultaneously issued two decisions addressing the circumstances in which equitable estoppel can require a plaintiff to arbitrate a claim absent an arbitration agreement with the defendant. In the first, the Court held that a plaintiff could not be held …›