Category Archives: U.S. Supreme Court

After Mount Holly: What’s Next?

by Deepak Gupta Jeff and Brian have already posted on the news of a final settlement in Mount Holly. Although we've known all along that a settlement was likely, this is still big news. Let's put this in perspective: For the second time in just two years, an eleventh-hour settlement before oral argument has denied the […]

Town Council to Meet on Settlement in Mount Holly Tonight

by Deepak Gupta We've blogged before about Mount Holly–the Supreme Court case about the future of disparate impact in housing and lending discrimination. (My firm represents current and former Members of Congress in the case). All along, it's seemed possible that Mount Holly would settle before the December oral arguments.  This morning, that's looking even […]

Mount Holly and the future of disparate impact: history, deference, and constitutional avoidance

by Deepak Gupta  On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. His killing sparked a fresh round of riots in cities nationwide. Nearly two dozen representatives immediately changed positions and urged passage of the Fair Housing Act. Within a week, with […]

Another Perspective on the Recess Appointments Cases

Is Noel Canning v. NLRB a classic separation-of-powers conflict between the Senate and the President, or a false controversy created by the House of Representatives, which has no business interfering with appointments? I argue the latter in a short essay forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review's online companion, the Forum. I have a few more […]

California Supreme Court addresses impact of Concepcion and Italian Colors

by Deepak Gupta In a 70-page opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu, the California Supreme Court on Thursday issued its eagerly anticipated decision in Sonic-Calabasas v. Moreno. Addressing the impact of both AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion and American Express v. Italian Colors for the first time, the court makes clear that unconscionability — focused on whether […]

Another day, another decision wiping away consumer claims on alter of forced arbitration

by Paul Bland, Senior Attorney, Public Justice, Of Counsel, Chavez & Gertler  On Twitter @PblandBland In Kennedy v. Wells Fargo, Judge King of the Southern District of Florida enforced another arbitration clause that tosses out consumer claims in the multi district litigation involving checking overdraft claims.  The plaintiffs had several arguments that the particular arbitration clause at […]

Appellate victory in Eighth Circuit on constitutional standing in consumer statutory-damages cases

by Deepak Gupta This morning, the Eighth Circuit issued its decision in Charvat v. Mutual First, reversing the dismissal of two consumer class actions on constitutional standing grounds. The district court held that the plaintiff's claims — for violations of a federal law requiring on-machine notice of ATM fees — didn't allege an "injury in […]

Talking Arbitration, the Supreme Court, and Civil Rights

I'm presenting at a few CLE programs over the next few days and I thought readers of the blog might be interested. The first can be accessed via phone; the other two will be at the American Association of Justice's Annual Convention in San Francisco: A one-hour phone briefing on American Express v. Italian Colors: Practical Implications […]