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Streamlining the Regulations Governing Testimony by Employees and the Production of Documents in Legal Proceedings; Correction

Regulatory rule · Signed

Commerce Department

Effective Oct 26, 2026

This regulatory action is a technical correction only. The Commerce Department previously issued a final rule that streamlined its regulations on employee testimony and document production in legal proceedings, removing redundant language and unnecessary references. However, one of the amendatory instructions in that prior rule incorrectly stated that certain introductory text and a subparagraph were being amended, when in reality those portions were left unchanged. This…

FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd.

Supreme Court of the United States

Decided Jun 11, 2026

Published

In FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit and held that Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act does not create an implied private right of action allowing investors to sue for rescission of contracts that allegedly violate that law. The Court reasoned that Section 47(b) is directed at courts and their remedial authority, not at conferring individual rights to sue, and that the Act's comprehensive…

The case arose when Saba Capital, an activist investment firm, sued several closed-end mutual funds after those funds adopted resolutions under Maryland law that limited the voting rights of large shareholders like Saba. Saba argued that these resolutions violated the Investment Company Act, which requires that every share of stock carry equal voting rights. Saba relied on Section 47(b) of the Act, which says a court may not deny rescission of a contract that violates the…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.

Outbound Investment Security Program Regulations

Proposed rule · Signed

Treasury Department

This proposed rule implements Subtitle C of the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, which is codified within Title VIII of the Defense Production Act. It establishes two tiers of restrictions on outbound investments by US persons: a notification requirement for transactions involving foreign persons engaged in certain 'notifiable technologies,' and an outright prohibition on transactions involving foreign persons engaged in 'prohibited technologies.' The…

Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc.

Supreme Court of the United States

Decided Jun 11, 2026

Published

In Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc., the Supreme Court unanimously vacated a Fifth Circuit ruling that had blocked a personal-injury lawsuit because the plaintiff failed to disclose the claim during a pending bankruptcy case. The Court held that courts must look at the totality of the circumstances when deciding whether such an omission was inadvertent or a mistake, rather than applying the Fifth Circuit's narrow two-factor test that asked only whether the debtor…

Thomas Keathley filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in December 2019, which required him to disclose all assets including potential legal claims against third parties. In August 2021, while the bankruptcy case was still open, Keathley was injured in a car accident involving an employee of Buddy Ayers Construction. He hired a personal-injury attorney and told his bankruptcy lawyer about plans to sue, but neither he nor his bankruptcy counsel informed the bankruptcy court. He then…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Modernization of FMVSS No. 108 To Accommodate ADS-Equipped Vehicles

Proposed rule · Signed

Transportation Department

This proposed rule from NHTSA targets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, the federal regulation governing lamps, reflective devices, and related vehicle equipment. Two initial changes are technical in nature: adjusting the test voltage specification for integral beam headlamps and eliminating requirements specific to vertical headlamp arrangements, which are considered outdated or redundant with current safety performance. The more significant proposed changes…

Becky Joseph v. Thomas-Grace Const. Inc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Decided Jul 24, 2026

Published

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Thomas-Grace Construction Inc. Becky Joseph, a former Lead Installer, had sued her employer alleging sex discrimination and retaliation under federal and Michigan civil rights law. The appellate court agreed with the lower court that TGC was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Becky Joseph was hired by Thomas-Grace Construction Inc. as a Lead Installer in November 2022 and was assigned to a project in Las Vegas beginning in January 2023. From early in her employment, Joseph had repeated conflicts with her supervisors, including Gary Raney and later Joe Cikotte. She complained that supervisors were condescending and dismissive, and she sent several emails and texts to TGC management expressing frustration, at times in confrontational language. She…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.

NRC Reviews of Reactor Designs Previously Authorized by U.S. Department of Energy or Department of War

Regulatory rule · Signed

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Effective Nov 25, 2026

This rulemaking by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission establishes a new, explicit regulatory pathway for commercial nuclear reactor applicants whose designs were previously authorized by the U.S. Department of Energy or the Department of War. Rather than requiring a completely fresh safety review, applicants can now formally leverage those prior federal authorizations as part of demonstrating that their reactor designs meet NRC safety requirements. This is described in the…

Jennifer Audette v. Lake of the Woods County

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Decided Jul 24, 2026

Published

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling against Robert and Jennifer Audette, who sued Lake of the Woods County under the Americans with Disabilities Act after the county denied their after-the-fact permit for a large concrete ramp they built without prior approval. The court found that the Audettes had missed their opportunity to properly request a disability accommodation by violating the county's instructions and proceeding with construction without going…

Robert and Jennifer Audette own a lakefront home in Minnesota. In 2020, Robert met with county land and water planning officials who told him he could pour limited concrete on the property without a permit, as long as it stayed on existing fill and remained under 400 square feet. Without obtaining county approval, the Audettes built a 12-foot-wide concrete ramp from their property down to the lake's ordinary high-water mark. A subsequent inspection found approximately 2,122…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

Regulatory rule · Signed

Commerce Department

Effective Oct 26, 2026

This regulatory action by NMFS, under the Commerce Department, reallocates projected unused Pacific cod from one category of commercial fishing vessels to others within the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). Specifically, unused quota held by catcher vessels using trawl gear is being redistributed to catcher vessels less than 60 feet in length overall that use hook-and-line or pot gear, as well as to American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher/processors…

Derrick Bernard Jackson v. State of Georgia, et al.

U.S. District Court, M.D. Georgia

Decided Oct 23, 2026

In Jackson v. State of Georgia et al., the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia denied a series of motions filed by Derrick Bernard Jackson, a prisoner challenging his May 2025 Baldwin County conviction, in which he repeatedly sought release on bail while his federal habeas corpus petition was pending. The court found that Jackson did not meet the legal requirements for bail pending habeas review, that a case he cited in support of his argument was…

Derrick Bernard Jackson filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. Section 2254 challenging his May 7, 2025 conviction in Baldwin County Superior Court, while being held at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. Alongside his petition, he filed numerous motions asking the court to release him on bail while the habeas case was being resolved. A Magistrate Judge first denied those bail requests, finding he did not meet the required standard, and the…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.

Ohio Regulatory Program

Regulatory rule · Signed

Interior Department

Effective Nov 25, 2026

This regulatory action involves OSM formally approving changes that Ohio proposed to its state-administered surface coal mining and reclamation program. Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), states can operate their own regulatory programs in place of the federal program, provided their rules are at least as effective as federal standards. Ohio holds such an approved state program, and when it proposes changes, OSM must review and approve them…

Tavern L Downing Sr v. Enisha Bryant, et al.

U.S. District Court, M.D. Georgia

Decided Oct 23, 2026

In Tavern L. Downing Sr. v. Enisha Bryant, et al., the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia issued an order addressing Defendant Isaac Munguia's motion to set aside a Clerk's entry of default that had been entered on October 21, 2026. The court did not immediately rule on the motion but instead gave the pro se plaintiff twenty-one days to file a response. The court outlined the legal standard it would apply, which centers on whether there is 'good cause' to…

When a defendant in a lawsuit fails to respond in time, the court clerk can enter a formal 'default' against that defendant, which is a legal recognition that they have not been participating in the case. After a default is entered, the court can then enter a default judgment, which would decide the case against the non-responding party without a full trial. In this case, a default was entered against Defendant Isaac Munguia, and he filed a motion asking the court to set it…

Advisory citizen opinion on this ruling, never a legal appeal or challenge. It does not form a citizen mandate. Public record, no accusation of wrongdoing.