SCOTUSblog's list of petitions with a "reasonable" chance of being granted
Conference of 1/12

Name
 Counsel of Record
 Certiorari To
 DN
 Summary
 Status
McGowan v. NJR Serv. Corp. Samuel Halpern

 CA3
 05-853

Whether a federal common law rule should be fashioned that requires a pension plan administrator to recognize a post-retirement waiver by petitioner's former spouse of her right to survivor annuity. (Link is to SG brief; petition coming soon)

Denied
Watson v. Philip Morris David Frederick
KHHTEF                                                 
CA8
 05-1284

Whether the Federal Trade Commission's role in preventing deceptive advertising by tobacco companies is sufficient to establish that a tobacco company was "acting under" a federal officer for purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1), when the tobacco company marketed cigarettes as "light." (SG brief here)

 Granted
Appoloni v. U.S.                                                                                                       John West
Bredhoff & Kaiser                                                   
CA6
 06-334

Whether early retirement payments made to tenured public school teachers, who gave up tenure and other rights upon resigning from their positions, were "wages" subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes.

 Denied
Saville v. IBM David J. Holdsworth
Solo practitioner    
CA10
 06-407

Whether the concept of "materially adverse employment action," as applied in claims alleging discrimination or retaliation under federal workplace legislation containing protections against retaliation, covers such adverse employment actions as constructive discharges or forced early retirements.  (Petition coming soon)

 Denied
PG&E v. San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace Gene Schaerr
Winston & Strawn
 CA9
 06-466

Whether the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") requires a federal agency to consider, as part of its NEPA review of an agency action, the environmental impact of potential sabotage of a nuclear plant whenever the possibility of sabotage is anything more than "remote and highly speculative."
(Note: this case was part of our post spotlighting environmental cases before the Court; see here.  Other documents in this case are here: Resp. Mothers for Peace, et al. in Opp., Federal Respondents, Reply, Amicus: Chamber of Commerce Supporting Pet., Amicus: Nuclear Energy Inst. Supporting Pet.  Thanks to Amar Sarwal at the Chamber for his assistance with these.)

Denied
City of Kennewick v. Rogers/Dopke v. Rogers  Gerald Moberg (616)
Michael McFarland (626)
 		CA9
 06-616/
06-626

Whether the police officers involved in a search with the assistance of a police canine dog are entitled to qualified immunity when the dog unexpectedly bolts from the handler's control and attacks an innocent bystander.  (Note: this case is featured in Legal Times on 1/8/07.)

 Denied
Dow Corning v. Cmte. of Unsec. Creditors Christopher Landau
Kirkland & Ellis
 CA6
 06-705

Whether a bankruptcy court may not interpret a confirmed plan of reorganization in a way that would violate the Bankruptcy Code, thereby depriving such a plan of finality and allowing parties to challenge its legality at any time. (Bank of NY BIO, Unsec. Creditors BIO, Reply.  Thanks to Chris Landau at Kirkland for the docs.)

Held