The Federal Circuit held that organic farmers lack standing to seek a declaratory judgment of non-infringement with respect to 23 patents owned by a large seed manufacturer. The farmers do not intend to use the manufacturer's seeds, but given the proliferation of genetically modified seeds today, it...

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a raisin grower's claim that a marketing order under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) requiring handlers to participate in a raisin reserve program violates the Fifth Amendment's p...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part a lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of the government in a city's lawsuit seeking to set aside DOI's decision to accept in trust, for the benefit of the Tohono O’odham Nation, a 54-acre parcel of land on whi...

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a FCC declaratory ruling that state and local zoning authorities have 150 days to process siting applications for new wireless towers and antennas. Section 332(c)(7)B) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, requires state or local governments to act on siting ap...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') unconditional deregulation of Roundup Ready Alfalfa (RRA), a genetically modified plant that allows farmers to control weeds through herbicide application without harming the alfalfa plant. APHIS correctly concluded t...