3d Circuit Case Commentaries

Third Circuit Clarifies Pickering: Speculation and Routine Complaints Are Insufficient “Disruption” to Punish Off‑Campus Faculty Speech

Date: Sep 9, 2025

Third Circuit Clarifies Pickering: Speculation and Routine Complaints Are Insufficient “Disruption” to Punish Off‑Campus Faculty Speech Introduction This precedential decision from the U.S. Court of...

Charge-Specific Probable Cause Not Clearly Established Pre‑Chiaverini: Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal, Applying Any‑Crime Rule to False Arrest and Qualified Immunity to Malicious Prosecution and False Imprisonment

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Charge-Specific Probable Cause Not Clearly Established Pre‑Chiaverini: Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal, Applying Any‑Crime Rule to False Arrest and Qualified Immunity to Malicious Prosecution and...

Disclosed Destination Charges Are Not Deceptive Per Se: Third Circuit Affirms Futility of Consumer‑Protection and Unjust‑Enrichment Claims Without Plausible Causation or Direct Benefit

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Disclosed Destination Charges Are Not Deceptive Per Se: Third Circuit Affirms Futility of Consumer‑Protection and Unjust‑Enrichment Claims Without Plausible Causation or Direct Benefit Introduction...

No State “Need” Veto of FERC–Approved RTO Projects: Third Circuit Clarifies Supremacy Clause Limits on Siting Decisions

Date: Sep 8, 2025

No State “Need” Veto of FERC–Approved RTO Projects: Third Circuit Clarifies Supremacy Clause Limits on Siting Decisions Introduction This precedential decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

Voluntariness as a Constitutional Safe Harbor: Third Circuit Upholds IRA Drug Price Negotiation Against Takings and Compelled‑Speech Challenges

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Voluntariness as a Constitutional Safe Harbor: Third Circuit Upholds IRA Drug Price Negotiation Against Takings and Compelled‑Speech Challenges Introduction In Bristol Myers Squibb Co. v. Secretary...

Economic Pressure Is Not Legal Compulsion: Third Circuit Upholds IRA Drug Price Negotiations Against Takings and Compelled‑Speech Challenges

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Economic Pressure Is Not Legal Compulsion: Third Circuit Upholds IRA Drug Price Negotiations Against Takings and Compelled‑Speech Challenges Introduction In a precedential opinion with national...

Defendant’s Autonomy to Contest or Concede Individual Substantive Elements: Third Circuit Bars Counsel from Stipulating Over Client’s Objection; Old Chief/Rehaif Interface Clarified; § 922(g)(1) Not Plainly Unconstitutional

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Defendant’s Autonomy to Contest or Concede Individual Substantive Elements: Third Circuit Bars Counsel from Stipulating Over Client’s Objection; Old Chief/Rehaif Interface Clarified; § 922(g)(1) Not...

No “Naked” Remands in Social Security Appeals: Third Circuit Reaffirms that § 405(g) Remands Must Be Either a Merits Judgment under Sentence Four or a Good‑Cause Remand under Sentence Six

Date: Sep 8, 2025

No “Naked” Remands in Social Security Appeals: Third Circuit Reaffirms that § 405(g) Remands Must Be Either a Merits Judgment under Sentence Four or a Good‑Cause Remand under Sentence Six...

Preclusion, Not Rooker‑Feldman, Governs Post‑Foreclosure Bankruptcy Litigation: Third Circuit’s Two‑Part Clarification for When Rooker‑Feldman Applies in Bankruptcy

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Preclusion, Not Rooker‑Feldman, Governs Post‑Foreclosure Bankruptcy Litigation: Third Circuit’s Two‑Part Clarification for When Rooker‑Feldman Applies in Bankruptcy Introduction In a precedential...

Strict PLRA Exhaustion Through SOIGA and Rule 21 Dismissal of Unidentified Defendants: Commentary on Johnson v. Bienkowski (3d Cir. 2025)

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Strict PLRA Exhaustion Through SOIGA and Rule 21 Dismissal of Unidentified Defendants: Commentary on Johnson v. Bienkowski (3d Cir. 2025) Introduction This commentary examines the Third Circuit’s...

No Exhaustion, No Case: Third Circuit Reaffirms Strict PLRA Compliance and Permits Dismissal of Unidentified Defendants under Rule 21

Date: Sep 8, 2025

No Exhaustion, No Case: Third Circuit Reaffirms Strict PLRA Compliance and Permits Dismissal of Unidentified Defendants under Rule 21 Introduction In Armoni Johnson v. Bienkoski, Nos. 24-1049 &...

Civil-Rights Removal Revisited: Invoking 28 U.S.C. § 1443 Permits Full Appellate Review of Remand Orders, but ADA-Based Arguments Do Not Qualify

Date: Sep 8, 2025

Civil-Rights Removal Revisited: Invoking 28 U.S.C. § 1443 Permits Full Appellate Review of Remand Orders, but ADA-Based Arguments Do Not Qualify Introduction This commentary analyzes the Third...

No Duty to Disclose Early‑Stage Government Investigations as “Reasonably Possible” Liabilities: Third Circuit Aligns §10(b) with ASC 450 and the Supreme Court’s Half‑Truth Doctrine

Date: Sep 2, 2025

No Duty to Disclose Early‑Stage Government Investigations as “Reasonably Possible” Liabilities: Third Circuit Aligns §10(b) with ASC 450 and the Supreme Court’s Half‑Truth Doctrine Introduction The...

Cross‑Study “Establishment” Claims: Third Circuit Clarifies That Side‑by‑Side Superiority Messaging Is Literally False Absent Reliable Comparability—and That Damages Still Require Proof of Actual Deception and Reliance

Date: Sep 2, 2025

Cross‑Study “Establishment” Claims: Third Circuit Clarifies That Side‑by‑Side Superiority Messaging Is Literally False Absent Reliable Comparability—and That Damages Still Require Proof of Actual...

Cross‑Study “Establishment” Claims in Scientific Advertising: Literal Falsity by Necessary Implication Absent Proven Comparability, and No Lanham Act Damages Without Proof of Actual Deception

Date: Sep 2, 2025

Cross‑Study “Establishment” Claims in Scientific Advertising: Literal Falsity by Necessary Implication Absent Proven Comparability, and No Lanham Act Damages Without Proof of Actual Deception Case:...

Post-Loper Bright, Circuit Precedent Controls: Third Circuit Reaffirms Jordon’s Sequencing Rule for Former § 1432(a)(3) and Holds BIA Self-Certification Denials Unreviewable

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Post-Loper Bright, Circuit Precedent Controls: Third Circuit Reaffirms Jordon’s Sequencing Rule for Former § 1432(a)(3) and Holds BIA Self-Certification Denials Unreviewable Introduction In...

No Double Disgorgement: Third Circuit Bars Duplicate Profit Awards Across Overlapping Trade‑Secret and Unfair‑Competition Claims; Clarifies Rule 50 Forfeiture and “Use” Proof Under the DTSA

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No Double Disgorgement: Third Circuit Bars Duplicate Profit Awards Across Overlapping Trade‑Secret and Unfair‑Competition Claims; Clarifies Rule 50 Forfeiture and “Use” Proof Under the DTSA...

State Law Controls Attorney Charging Liens in MDLs: Third Circuit Endorses Pennsylvania’s Recht Causation Test and Rejects McKenzie-Based Fee-Splitting for Former Counsel in NFL Concussion Awards

Date: Aug 31, 2025

State Law Controls Attorney Charging Liens in MDLs: Third Circuit Endorses Pennsylvania’s Recht Causation Test and Rejects McKenzie-Based Fee-Splitting for Former Counsel in NFL Concussion Awards...

No-Count Rule for Undated Mail Ballots Fails Anderson-Burdick: Third Circuit Requires Evidence-Backed Justifications for Even Minimal Voting Burdens

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No-Count Rule for Undated Mail Ballots Fails Anderson-Burdick: Third Circuit Requires Evidence-Backed Justifications for Even Minimal Voting Burdens Case: Bette Eakin v. Adams County Board of...

No Eighth Amendment or ADA Violation Where Restrictive Housing of a Mentally Ill Inmate Is Tied to Specific Security Risks, Regular Review, Step‑Down Programming, and Ongoing Mental‑Health Care

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No Eighth Amendment or ADA Violation Where Restrictive Housing of a Mentally Ill Inmate Is Tied to Specific Security Risks, Regular Review, Step‑Down Programming, and Ongoing Mental‑Health Care...