law blog
Origins The common-law system originated from England in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century relations between the courts and the executive developed to a constitutional struggle between the Stuart kings and the judges over the judges’ right to decide questions affecting the royal power and even to announce an independent judgment in situations where…
New England’s electricity market is structured as a “forward capacity market,” administered by ISO New England, Inc. and overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This means that rather than engaging in a traditional cost-based regulatory approach, New England sets utility rates by auction, in which electricity providers “purchase from generators options to buy…
In July 2006, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union 25, sought to represent single-route FedEx delivery drivers in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Although FedEx recognized the drivers’ popular support for union representation, the small-parcel delivery company refused to bargain with the union, disputing the preliminary finding that its drivers were “employees” within the meaning of the…
In Financial Planning Ass’n v. S.E.C, a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether a final rule promulgated by the SEC exceeded the rulemaking authority delegated to the agency by the Investment Advisors Act (IAA). The rule exempted a category of broker-dealers from the IAA “when [those broker-dealers] receive special compensation therefor.” The…
This appeal arose from a series of appeals and remands relating to the FDA’s approval of Philips Roxane, Inc.’s 1981 “new animal drug application” for a generic of bacitracin zinc. The company Alpharma, which manufactures a similar drug, filed citizen petitions asking the FDA to revoke their approval of the drug. The FDA requires applications…
Our Administrative Law section is still in the works, but we’ve included five opinions here as a preview of what’s to come. These five opinions review decisions by the NLRB, FedEx Home Delivery v. N.L.R.B., 563 F.3d 492 (2009) (Garland, J., dissenting), SEC, Financial Planning Association v. Securities Exchange Commission, 482 F.3d 481 (2007) (Garland, J., dissenting),…