WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 2 unanimously reversed the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans of certain flavored e-liquids intended for use with e-cigarettes after finding the FDA’s bans were “consistent” with its guidance to manufacturers.  The high court declined to address whether the FDA improperly changed its standards while reviewing manufacturers’ applications for approval and remanded the case for a new “harmless error” review.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An Arkansas federal judge granted summary judgment to an internet trade association in its suit against Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin seeking to enjoin enforcement of a state law restricting minors’ access to social media platforms, finding that the act is unconstitutional and violates rights of Arkansas residents under both the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

NEW YORK — Former employees of a New York City Four Seasons hotel who were furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic may proceed in their class case only with federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act claims against the defendant that was their employer of record, a federal judge in New York ruled, partially granting and partially denying the defendants’ motions for summary judgment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government can’t skip over the a trial court and go right to the appellate court requesting a stay after preliminary injunction was granted in a case seeking to halt the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a union representing federal workers and other groups argue in filings on March 31 and April 1 in both a trial court in the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

SHERMAN, Texas — A final rule by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that laboratory-developed testing services can be regulated as medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) exceeds the agency’s statutory authority, a Texas federal judge held March 31 and vacated the rule.

HOUSTON — A Texas federal bankruptcy judge on March 31 dismissed the Chapter 11 case of the latest Johnson & Johnson (J&J) spinoff, Red River Talc LLC, after finding that the debtor’s plan of reorganization, which included a $9 billion asbestos trust, cannot be confirmed because voting on the plan cannot be certified due to irregularities and that the plan “contains impermissible nonconsensual third-party releases.”

DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas on March 31 dismissed a complaint brought by a group that focuses on access to public records against a Texas historical society that owns the copyrights associated with footage showing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, holding that the group failed to establish that the court has subject matter jurisdiction.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An application to vacate a temporary restraining order (TRO) and for administrative stay filed by the United States, President Donald J. Trump and other federal government officials and agencies in a class case over the removal of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) should be denied by the U.S. Supreme Court as the TRO is not an appealable order and the federal government has not shown harm, the provisionally certified immigrant class argues in its April 1 opposition.