January 2026 Month in Review
HIGHLIGHTS:
4 amicus filings – 2 victories – 1 regulatory comment – 6 publications
NEW FILINGS – AMICUS BRIEFS
Janssen Pharms. v. Kennedy
WLF urges the Supreme Court to review the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
[rule of law]
Montgomery v. Caribe
WLF asks the Supreme Court to indicate a federal law that preempts states and localities from regulating interstate brokers and motor carriers.
[Supremacy Clause]
National Retail Federation v. James
WLF urges the Second Circuit to overturn a New York law imposing a large and ominous disclaimer on targeted ads promoting products at a price set by a computer program.
[commercial speech]
City of Cleveland v. Pickett
WLF asks the Supreme Court to review an egregious disparate-impact no-injury class action.
[class action]
NEW FILING – REGULATORY COMMENT
In re Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States”
WLF urges the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to adhere to the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision when updating the agencies’ construction of the Clean Water Act.
[environmental]
CASE UPDATES (DECISIONS ISSUED)
Audi AG v. L.W.
The Supreme Court declines to clarify its personal-jurisdiction precedent in the “stream-of-commerce” context.
[personal jurisdiction]
Monsanto Co. v. Durnell
The Supreme Court agrees to review a decision that allows state product-liability law to override federal regulatory law. *victory*
[preemption]
Eli Lilly v. Richards
The Supreme Court declines to resolve a circuit split over the FLSA’s collective action provision.
[employment law]
Trendsettah v. Swisher
The Supreme Court declines to review a Ninth Circuit decision permitting plaintiffs to manufacture interlocutory appellate jurisdiction by voluntarily dismissing all claims with prejudice.
[rule of law]
Citigroup, Inc. v. Ottos Candies
The Supreme Court declines to review an Eleventh Circuit decision allowing civil-RICO claims premised on conduct actionable as securities fraud.
[securities]
Cisco Systems v. Doe I
The Supreme Court agrees to review whether U.S. firms may be held liable for allegedly aiding and abetting a third-party’s human rights violations overseas. *victory*
[civil justice]
PUBLICATIONS
Flipping the Script on Privilege Logging: What You Need to Know (and Do) About New Privilege Log Rules
Jonathan M. Redgrave, Erica B. Zolner, and Martha A. Leibell, Redgrave LLP
[civil justice]
Missouri Supreme Court Could Clarify State Expert Evidence Rules Are Consistent with Amended Federal Rule 702
Mary Massaron and Courtney Lavender, Plunkett Cooney
[expert evidence]
A Threat to M&A Market Vitality: “Break-Up Fee” Taxation in the Pending Appeal of AbbVie v. Comm. of Internal Revenue
Professor Donald Kochan, Law & Economics Center at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
[overregulation]
In FS Credit Opportunities Corp., SCOTUS Wades Back into Private Rights of Action
Cassidy L. Atchison, Marquette Law School
[rule of law]
A Forceful Railroad Regulation Policy Statement on Preemption Serves the Public Interest
Glenn G. Lammi, Washington Legal Foundation
[Supremacy Clause & preemption]
Supreme Court Ruling Signals Trouble Ahead for Anti-SLAPP Statutes in Federal Court
Travis F. Chance and Sean S. Cuff, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP
[civil justice]
PROGRAMMING
Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, LA: A Supreme Court Oral Argument Preview
Professor Richard A. Epstein, NYU Law; Mike Fragoso, Torridon Law PLLC; Lauren Sheets Jarrell, American Tort Reform Association
[rule of law]