Left Coast Appeals

July 08, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Drug Tests and Foreign Arbitration
By: James R. Sigel
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
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July 02, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Presumed Reliance and Evident Partiality
By: James R. Sigel
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
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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
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June 17, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Formation Trials and Tribal Corporations
By: James R. Sigel
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
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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
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June 04, 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
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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
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May 21, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Arbitration and Declarations
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at an opinion examining whether the Department of Labor can be held to workers’ arbitration agreements, and a decision considering whether courts have jurisdiction to issue declaratory judgments relating to tax withholding in real estate transactions with foreign
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May 18, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Bellwether
By: Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a close look at an appeal from the first jury trial in a flood of litigation alleging that a popular pesticide causes cancer. EDWIN HARDEMAN V. MONSANTO COMPANY The Court affirms a jury verdict and damages award in the first
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May 07, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Preemption, New and Old
By: Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit resolves a novel preemption challenge to California’s CalSavers retirement scheme, and revisits a well-tread preemption question on Nevada homeowner’s association liens. HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASS'N V. CA SECURE CHOICE RETIRE. SVG. The Court holds ERISA does not preempt a
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