Supreme Court's Recent Cert Grants Include Rare Privileges and Immunities Case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear seven new cases last Friday, including an appeal claiming a state is discriminating against out-of-state residents.
SCOTUSblog says the case involves the “rarely interpreted privileges and immunities clause.” At issue is whether the state of Virginia violated the Constitution when it allowed its own citizens greater access to public records than residents of other states.
One of the plaintiffs is California citizen Roger Hurlbert, owner of a company that searches property assessment records for its clients, according to the cert petition (PDF). The second plaintiff is Mark McBurney, who sought records related to his child support application. The case is McBurney v. Young.
Other cases accepted by the court include:
• Bowman v. Monsanto Co. At issue is whether an Indiana farmer is liable for infringement because he planted herbicide-resistant second-generation soybean seeds purchased from a grain elevator. Monsanto developed and sold the patented first-generation seeds. SCOTUSblog posted the cert petition (PDF) and Bloomberg has a story.
• Gunn v. Minton. At issue is whether federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction in legal malpractice cases involving patent law, Texas Lawyer’s Tex Parte Blog reports. Reuters has a story and the cert petition (PDF).
