Culbertson v. Berryhill

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Culbertson v. Berryhill

Opinion analysis: Court gives broad meaning to “confidential” in FOIA exemption for commercial and financial information – Mark Fenster

Opinion analysis: Punitive damages not available under general maritime law in personal-injury unseaworthiness action – Joel Goldstein

Opinion analysis: Long-time prohibition on registration of scandalous and immoral trademarks is struck down – Megan Carpenter

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Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
17-773	11th Cir.	Nov 7, 2018 Tr.Aud.	Jan 8, 2019	9-0	Thomas	OT 2018

Disclosure: Vinson & Elkins LLP, whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel to the petitioner in this case.

Holding: The Social Security Act’s fee cap of 25 percent of past-due benefits imposed on attorneys who successfully represent Title II benefit claimants in court proceedings applies only to fees for court representation and not to aggregate fees for both court and agency representation.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on January 8, 2019.

OT2018 #14: "Decent Take" (First Mondays)
Opinion analysis: Social Security cap on attorney’s fees applies separately to successful representation before a court (Kathryn Moore)
Argument analysis: Justices struggle with cap on attorney’s fees for successful representation of Social Security disability claimants (Kathryn Moore)
Argument preview: Justices consider cap on attorney’s fees for successful representation of Social Security disability claimants (Corrected) (Kathryn Moore)
Justices grant four new cases (Amy Howe)
Petition of the day (Aurora Barnes)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Sep 05 2017	Application (17A279) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 24, 2017 to November 23, 2017, submitted to Justice Thomas.
Sep 15 2017	Application (17A279) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until November 23, 2017.
Nov 21 2017	Pursuant to Rule 34.6 and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for the Submission of Documents to the Supreme Court’s Electronic Filing System, filings in this case should be submitted in paper form only, and should not be submitted through the Court’s electronic filing system.
Nov 21 2017	Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 27, 2017)
Dec 20 2017	Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 27, 2017 to January 26, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Dec 21 2017	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 26, 2018
Jan 25 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 8, 2018.
Jan 25 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 26, 2018 to March 8, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Mar 05 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 8, 2018 to March 22, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Mar 06 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 22, 2018.
Mar 20 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 22, 2018 to April 5, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Mar 21 2018	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 5, 2018.
Apr 03 2018	Letter of March 30, 2018, received from counsel for the petitioner.
Apr 05 2018	Brief of respondent Nancy A. Berryhill, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social Security Administration filed.
Apr 13 2018	Letter waiving the 14-day waiting period for the filing of a reply pursuant to Rule 15.5 received.
Apr 18 2018	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/10/2018.
May 14 2018	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/17/2018.
May 21 2018	Petition GRANTED.
May 21 2018	As Rule 34.6 provides, “If the Court schedules briefing and oral argument in a case that was governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c) or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1(c), the parties shall submit electronic versions of all prior and subsequent filings with this Court in the case, subject to [applicable] redaction rules.” Subsequent party and amicus filings in the case should now be submitted through the Court’s electronic filing system, with any necessary redactions.
May 24 2018	Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Richard Culbertson.
May 25 2018	Amy Weil, Esquire, of Atlanta, Georgia, is invited to brief and argue this case, as amicus curiae, in support of the judgment below.
Jul 03 2018	Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix, petitioner's brief on the merits, and respondent's brief in support is extended to and including July 16, 2018. The time to file the brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below is extended to and including September 7, 2018.
Jul 03 2018	Any amicus briefs in support of the judgment below are due within 7 days after the filing of the brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below.
Jul 03 2018	Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
Jul 16 2018	Joint appendix filed.
Jul 16 2018	Brief of petitioner Richard Culbertson filed.
Jul 16 2018	Brief of respondent Nancy A. Berryhill, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social Security Administration in support of reversal and remand filed.
Jul 23 2018	Amicus brief of National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives not accepted for filing. (July 25, 2018) - To be resubmitted with required documents.)
Jul 23 2018	Brief amicus curiae of National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives in support of neither party filed.
Aug 13 2018	Motion for divided argument filed by respondent Nancy A. Berryhill, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social Security Administration.
Aug 20 2018	SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Sep 06 2018	Brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below filed.
Sep 06 2018	Lodging proposal of Court-appointed amicus curiae filed. (Distributed)
Sep 10 2018	Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit.
Sep 12 2018	CIRCULATED
Oct 01 2018	Motion for divided argument filed by respondent GRANTED.
Oct 09 2018	Reply of petitioner Richard Culbertson filed. (Distributed)
Oct 09 2018	Reply of respondent Nancy A. Berryhill, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social Security Administration filed. (Distributed)
Oct 24 2018	Lodging proposal of respondent filed. (Distributed)
Nov 07 2018	Argued. For petitioner: Daniel R. Ortiz, Charlottesville, Va. For respondent in support of reversal and remand: Anthony Yang, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For amicus curiae in support of judgment below: Amy L. Weil, Atlanta, Ga. (Appointed by this Court.)
Nov 15 2018	Record received from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit and the U.S.D.C. Middle district of Florida, is complete and electronic.
Jan 08 2019	Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
Feb 11 2019	JUDGMENT ISSUED.

Featured Posts

Opinion analysis: Court gives broad meaning to “confidential” in FOIA exemption for commercial and financial information – Mark Fenster

Opinion analysis: Punitive damages not available under general maritime law in personal-injury unseaworthiness action – Joel Goldstein

Opinion analysis: Long-time prohibition on registration of scandalous and immoral trademarks is struck down – Megan Carpenter
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- Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media Where commercial or financial information is both customarily and actually treated as private by its owner and provided to the government under an assurance of privacy, the information is “confidential” within the meaning of 5 U. S. C. §552(b)(4), the Freedom of Information Act’s Exemption 4.
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- The Dutra Group v. Batterton A plaintiff may not recover punitive damages on a maritime claim of unseaworthiness.
- United States v. Davis Title 18 U. S. C. §924(c)(3)(B), which provides enhanced penalties for using a firearm during a “crime of violence,” is unconstitutionally vague.
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Current Relists
- Atlanta Gas Light Co. v. Bennett Regulator Guards Inc. (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit erred in concluding that it had jurisdiction to review the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to institute inter partes review of respondent’s patent over respondent’s objection that it was time-barred; and (2) whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit erred when it rejected the longstanding principle that a dismissal without prejudice leaves the parties as if a suit had never been brought, splitting the circuits.
- Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (1) Whether the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy is judicially reviewable; and (2) whether DHS’s decision to wind down the DACA policy is lawful.
- Kelly v. United States Whether a public official “defraud[s]” the government of its property by advancing a “public policy reason” for an official decision that is not her subjective “real reason” for making the decision.
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Cases argued	69
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Summary reversals	5
Merits cases granted to date	74

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