The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the city of Troy, Michigan, violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it denied the Adam Community Center’s application for a zoning variance to operate as a place of worship. The complaint, filed in the US District [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held Tuesday that the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) violated the First Amendment rights of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society (Freethought), an atheist group, by not allowing the group to advertise on COLTS’ buses. In 2012 and 2013, Freethought attempted to place an advertisement that [...]

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued letters Wednesday ordering two New York companies, MeToo Kits and Preserve Group, to cease and desist production of at-home sexual assault kits. Both MeToo Kits and Preserve Group produce and sell at-home kits for the gathering of evidence in sexual assault cases. In her letters, James argued that the [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday against North Dakota House Bill No. 1336 (HB 1336), which requires that a physician inform a woman seeking an abortion that the woman could reverse the abortion in instances where the procedure is performed via pharmaceuticals. This [...]

Scotland’s Inner House of the Court of Session held Wednesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s decision to prorogue, or suspend, Parliament was unlawful. Prorogation involves the suspension of Parliament without dissolving the body, and it must be approved by Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson defended the move as a method to develop a [...]

A judge for the US District Court Eastern District of Virginia held Thursday that the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) does not provide adequate due process procedures to Americans who wish to contest their inclusion on the list. Twenty-three US citizens filed suit alleging an array of injuries arising from their inclusion on the list and [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held Tuesday that a life insurance benefit administrator may choose to define “spouse” in a way that encompasses “domestic partner.” The decedent, Terry Engle, had life insurance and accidental death insurance from Unum Life Insurance Company of America, via his employer, Land O’Lakes, Inc. Engle did [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Delaware on Wednesday set aside a jury verdict in a pharmaceutical patent case, Amgen v. Sanofi and Regeneron. Amgen and Sanofi/Regeneron produced and sold similar drugs that lowered LDL cholesterol: Repatha and Praluent, respectively. Amgen brought suit alleging that Sanofi/Regeneron’s production of Praluent violated [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a district court’s preliminary injunction of an Indiana law requiring parental notification when an unemancipated minor seeks an abortion. Indiana Code § 16-34-2-4(a) prevents a physician from performing an abortion for an unemancipated minor without the written consent of the minor’s parent. Section [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held Tuesday that under the Federal Reserve’s Regulation E, which implemented the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, a financial institution must clearly define the procedures used for overdraft fees. The case, Tims v. LGE Community Credit Union (LGE), centered on two $30 overdraft fees that LGE charged [...]