Federal Judiciary

More Solicitor General invitation briefs

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Solicitor General’s office filed three more invited amicus briefs yesterday, in Triple-S Management Corporation v. Municipal Revenue Collection Center, Carmichael v. Kellogg, Brown & Root Service, Inc., and Pfizer, Inc. v. Abdullahi.  All three straightforwardly recommend denials.

The amicus brief in Triple-S Management Corporation v. Municipal Revenue Collection Center (09-233) recommends a denial.

• Questions presented: (1) Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review a decision of the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico declined to review (as it did in this case) and (2) whether the Municipal Revenue Collection Center violated the Due Process Clause by retroactively revoking a property-tax exemption that it had recognized in administrative letter rulings issued to the petitioners.
• All of the cert. papers are available on the case’s SCOTUSwiki page, here.

The amicus brief in Carmichael v. Kellogg, Brown & Root Service, Inc. (09-683) recommends a denial.

• Question presented: Whether a private military contractor in Iraq should be afforded de facto immunity under the political question doctrine for severely injuring a U.S. soldier in an automobile wreck during a routine convoy.
• All of the cert. papers are available here.

The amicus brief in Pfizer, Inc. v. Abdullahi (09-34) recommends a denial.

• Question presented: Whether Alien Tort Statute (ATS) jurisdiction can extend to a private actor based on alleged state action by a foreign government when there is no allegation that the government knew of or participated in the specific acts by the private actor claimed to have violated international law. Whether, absent state action, a complaint that a private actor has conducted a clinical trial of a medication without adequately informed consent can surmount the ?high bar to new private causes of action? under the ATS.
• All of the cert. papers are available here.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on May 30, 2010 (boomark / email).