ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAAAB
1
Name EmailTopicQuestion and SplitCaseDue Date
2
Larry Lawyerlarry.lawyer@emory.eduSplit on the question of whether Pepsi and Coke are really just the same thingPepsi v. Coca-Cola, 123 U.S. 456 (2024);
2/1
3
2/20
4
2/20
5
Nicole Shakednicole.shaked@emory.eduAdministrative LawWhether agency interpretations retain persuasive weight under Skidmore after Loper Bright v. Raimondo, or whether courts must instead conduct fully independent statutory interpretation without reliance on agency expertise. The Fourth and Ninth Circuits continue to treat agency reasoning as persuasive authority, while the Fifth Circuit has questioned whether Skidmore survives at all, creating an emerging post-Chevron methodological split over how courts exercise independent judgment.Nicoletti v. Bayless (4th Cir. 2024); Lopez v. Garland (9th Cir. 2024); Mayfield v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor (5th Cir. 2024)2/27
6
2/27
7
3/6
8
3/6
9
3/13
10
3/13
11
3/20
12
3/20
13
3/27
14
Robin Felix FinchRobin.Finch@Emory.eduLabor Law/Civil ProcedureDoes the U.S. Supreme Court's claim-by-claim analysis for specific jurisdiction in mass torts from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California apply in collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act? . The Ninth Circuit joins the Third, Sixth, Seventh, and Eigth Circuits saying it does, but the First Circuit says that it doesn't.Harringtol v. Cracker Barrel; Waters v. Day & Zimmermann NPS, In3/27
15
4/3
16
4/3
17
4/10/26
18
4/10/26
19
20
21
POTENTIAL TOPICS
22
23
Amelia Powellamelia.powell@emory.eduSecuritiesWhether life insurance settlements are subject to federal securities law.
The Ninth, Eleventh, and Fifth circuits have ruled that life settlements are securities, but the D.C. Circuit said in 1996 that they aren’t.		SEC v. Barry, 146 F.4th 1242 (9th Cir. 2025);
24
25
Civil ProcedureWhat is the proper test to prove whether a plaintiff has standing to represent a class?
The Fifth Circuit joins the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth circuits, adopting the class certification approach, which looks at whether the named plaintiff demonstrated individual standing. The standing approach, which looks at whether the named plaintiff’s harms are sufficiently analogous to those of the rest of the class, is used by the Second and Eleventh circuits.		Wilson v. Centene Mgmt. Co., L.L.C., 144 F.4th 780 (5th Cir. 2025)
26
27
28
29
30
31
Data Privacy Law, Internet Consumers[Potentially higher difficulty, multiple questions are raised in the split]
Whether a person who trades their personal information in return for access to a newsletter is a “subscriber” protected by the Video Privacy Protection Act from their information being shared with a third party without their permission.
The Sixth Circuit says that they aren’t, but the Second and Seventh circuits say that they are.		Salazar v. NBA, 118 F.4th 533 (2d Cir. 2024)
32
Immigration LawCan the US Supreme Court’s holding in United States v. Palomar-Santiago be read to foreclose the option for an immigrant to excuse their failure to exhaust their administrative remedies under 8 U.S.C. §1326(d) in all cases?
The Fourth Circuit says no but the Sixth Circuit says yes.		United States v. Castro-Aleman, 141 F.4th 576 (4th Cir. 2025)
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100