WASHINGTON, D.C. — Removed Merit Systems Protection Board Member Cathy Harris filed one of nearly two dozen amicus curiae briefs in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court over the U.S. president’s control of executive officers.

NEW ORLEANS — For the second time in less than a month, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 21 denied panel rehearing and rehearing en banc after a split panel dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction an appeal challenging the “constructive denial” of Amazon’s injunctive relief motion concerning two National Labor Relations Board proceedings to which it alleged it was being subjected in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 21 affirmed a Georgia federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Coca-Cola Co. on claims its Freestyle soft drink dispenser infringed the patent of a technology company; the panel upheld the judge’s claim construction, which the parties agreed was dispositive if affirmed.

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado has granted plaintiffs class certification in their lawsuit over abandoned hydraulic fracturing wells that the plaintiffs contend pose a threat to human health and have the potential to contaminate groundwater, ruling that class certification is proper under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rules 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3) because the plaintiffs met all of the requirements for certification.

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 20 reversed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a well operator’s claims that a commercial general liability insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify its oilfield services company insured against an underlying dispute arising from well damage, finding that the insurer waived the policy’s consent-to-suit requirement and that the fact that the assignee could not recover from the insured or its bankruptcy assets does not preclude its duty to indemnify claim against the insurer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that a federal judge in Texas in a dispute over patents describing rackable fencing devices correctly found no infringement and no invalidity, rejecting arguments from both parties who filed cross-appeals; the panel held that a rejected disclaimer in the prosecution history of a related patent with a shared specification can still be an effective disclaimer for the purpose of claim construction.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California modified a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the federal government’s reduction in force (RIF) of thousands of federal workers during the federal government shutdown to extend the granted relief to three additional unions, clarify provisions about which the federal government expressed confusion or disagreement and order the government to make additional disclosures.

TRENTON, N.J. — Allowing Johnson & Johnson entities to inspect expert William Longo’s laboratory at this stage would be too burdensome, but they may depose one of his employees on past testing methods, the judge overseeing the federal multidistrict talc litigation in New Jersey said Oct. 20 in partially sustaining objections to a special master’s ruling.