Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Apr-26-1995
New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Ins. Co. - 514 U.S. 645 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus NEW YORK STATE CONFERENCE OF BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD PLANS ET AL. v. TRAVELERS INSURANCE CO. ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT No. 93-1408. Argued January 18, 1995-Decided April 26, 1995* A New York statute requires hospitals to collect surcharges from patients covered by a commercial insurer but not from patients insured by a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan, and also subjects certain health maintenance organizations (HMO's) to surcharges. Several commercial insurers and their trade associations filed actions against state officials, claiming that 514(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)-under which state laws that "relate to" any covered employee benefit plan are superseded-pre-empts the imposition of surcharges on bills of patients whose commercial insurance coverage is purc...
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Jan-09-1995
Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co. - 514 U.S. 159 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus QUALITEX CO. v. JACOBSON PRODUCTS CO., INC. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 93-1577. Argued January 9, 1995-Decided March 28,1995 Petitioner Qualitex Company has for years colored the dry cleaning press pads it manufactures with a special shade of green gold. Mter respondent Jacobson Products (a Qualitex rival) began to use a similar shade on its own press pads, Qualitex registered its color as a trademark and added a trademark infringement count to the suit it had previously filed challenging Jacobson's use of the green-gold color. Qualitex won in the District Court, but the Ninth Circuit set aside the judgment on the infringement claim because, in its view, the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act) does not permit registration of color alone as a trademark. Held: The Lanham Act permits the registration of a trademark that consists, purely and simp...
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Apr-26-1995
..... enact bankruptcy laws, cl. 4, or coin money and fix the standard of weights and measures, cl. 5, or punish counterfeiters of united states coin and securities, cl. 6. likewise, congress would not need the separate authority to establish post offices and post roads, cl. 7, or to grant patents and copyrights, cl. 8, or to "punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas," cl. 10. it might ..... be expected to affect the functioning of the national economy in two ways. first, the costs of violent 4 we note that on september 13, 1994, president clinton signed into law the violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994, pub. l. 103-322, 108 stat. 1796. section 320904 of that act, id., at 2125, amends 922(q) to include congressional findings ..... (july 1994). council on competitiveness, elevating the skills of the american workforce (may 1993). council on competitiveness, governing america: a competitiveness policy agenda for the new administration 33-39 (1989). r. cyert & d. mowery, technology and employment: innovation and growth in the u. s. economy (1987) (cyert & mowery). j. cynoweth, enhancing literacy for jobs and productivity ..... dynamics of global manufacturing site location, 35 sloan management review, no.4, p. 69 (1994) (maccormack, newman, & rosenfield). f. machlup, education and economic growth (1970). markey, the labor market problems of today's high school dropouts, monthly labor review, june 1988, p. 36. 641 marshall, the implications of internationalization for .....
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Oct-11-1995
..... court decided that those provisions of 2710(d)(7) that were problematic could be severed from the rest of the section, and read the surviving provisions of 2710(d)(7) to provide an indian tribe with immediate recourse to the secretary of ..... many states the judges are dependent for office and for salary on the will of the legislature. the constitution of the united states furnishes no security against the universal adoption of this principle. when we observe the importance which that constitution attaches to the independence of judges, we ..... setting forth the exclusive catalog of permissible federal-court jurisdiction." union gas, supra, at 39. never before the decision in union gas had we suggested that the bounds of article ..... to read the twenty-sixth amendment's rejection of oregon v. mitchell, 400 u. s. 112 (1970) (which held that congress could not require states to extend the suffrage to 18-year-olds) to ..... devoted to the executive and legislative branches," and that the framers deliberately left many questions open for later resolution). 150 for the immunity of a state as against the jurisdiction of the national courts would have been sheer illogic. 2 we ..... patent law, to those concerning bankruptcy, environmental law, and the regulation of our vast national economy.l 1 see, e. g., pennsylvania v. union gas co., 491 u. s. 1 (1989) (holding that a federal court may order a state to pay cleanup costs pursuant to the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act .....
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Feb-21-1995
Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation - 513 U.S. 374 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus LEBRON v. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT No. 93-1525. Argued November 7, 1994-Decided February 21, 1995 Petitioner Lebron, who creates billboard displays that comment on public issues, filed suit claiming, inter alia, that respondent National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) had violated his First Amendment rights by rejecting a display for an Amtrak billboard because of its political nature. The District Court ruled that Amtrak, because of its close ties to the Federal Government, was a Government actor for First Amendment purposes, and that its rejection of the display was unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals reversed, noting that Amtrak was, by the terms of the legislation that created it, not a Government entity, and concluding that the Government was not so involved with Amtrak that ...
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Oct-02-1995
..... i t is nonsensical to talk of things existing "within [the] territory" of a political party. also, the definitional section of the voting rights act amendments of 1970, pub. l. 91-285, 84 stat. 316, indicates that congress uses the word "state" in ..... notes, 2 and 5 would appear to be designed to work in tandem. see ante, at 209210. nonetheless, there is a patent discrepancy between the broad sweep of 2, which refers to "the political processes leading to nomination or election," and the undeniably ..... rise to the preclearance remedy imposed by 5, the minimal burden on the right of association implicated in this case is unquestionably justified. 39 relying on statements in appellees' brief, rather than anything in the record, justice thomas suggests that the registration fee was intended ..... charge a fee to cover [in smith] pointed out that many party activities were subject to considerable statutory control"). 270 the costs of the convention.ll second, it simply cannot be maintained that exclusion from the party's 1994 convention was tantamount to ..... always bring suit under the fifteenth amendment, but it was the inadequacy of just those suits for securing the right to vote that prompted congress to enact the statute. see 393 u. s., at 556, n ..... senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof." u. s. const., art. i, 4, cl. 1. by contrast, convening the members of a political association in order to select the person who can best represent and advance .....
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Oct-11-1995
..... malfeasance. the maximum civil penalty authorized by the alabama legislature for a violation of its deceptive trade practices act is $2,000; 39 other states authorize more severe sanctions, with the maxima ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 ..... of america by jeffrey robert white, cheryl flax-davidson, and larry s. stewart; and for the national association of securities and commercial law attorneys by kevin p. roddy, james p. solimano, steve w berman, and jonathan ..... 73 pennsylvania currency. see d. s. bureau of the census, historical statistics of the united states: colonial times to 1970, series z-585, p. 1198 (bicentennial ed. 1975). for the period 1766-1772, 1 (penn.) was worth ..... see appendix to this opinion, infra, at 597-598 (suggesting that the modern equivalent of the awards in the above cases is something like $150,000, $45,000, $100,000, and $25,000, respectively). and, as the majority opinion makes clear, the record contains nothing to suggest tha ..... costing in excess of 3 percent of suggested retail price or $500, whichever is greater. ala. code 8-19-5(22) (1993). mter its decision in this case, the alabama supreme court stated in dicta that the remedies available under this section of its deceptive trade practices act ..... act, 38 stat. 731, as amended, 15 u. s. c. 15, and the racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act, see 18 u. s. c. 1964, and certain breaches of the trademark laws, see 35 of the trademark act of 1946, 60 stat. 439, as amended, 15 u. s. c. 1117, and the patent .....
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Jan-18-1995
Anderson v. Edwards - 514 U.S. 143 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus ANDERSON, DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, ET AL. v. EDWARDS, GUARDIAN AD LITEM FOR EDWARDS, ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 93-1883. Argued January 18, 1995-Decided March 22,1995 The federal "family filing unit rule," 42 U. S. C. 602(a)(38), requires that all cohabiting nuclear family members be grouped into a single "assistance unit" (AU) for purposes of eligibility and benefits determinations under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. California's "non-sibling filing unit rule" (California Rule) additionally groups into a single AU all needy children who live in the same household, whether or not they are siblings, if there is only one adult caring for them. When application of the California Rule resulted in decreases in the maximum per capita AFDC benefits due respondents, who include Verna Edwards and her cohab...
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Mar-01-1995
Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of Univ. of Va. - 515 U.S. 819 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus ROSENBERGER ET AL. v. RECTOR AND VISITORS OF UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 94-329. Argued March 1, 1995-Decided June 29,1995 Respondent University of Virginia, a state instrumentality, authorizes payments from its Student Activities Fund (SAF) to outside contractors for the printing costs of a variety of publications issued by student groups called "Contracted Independent Organizations" (CIO's). The SAF receives its money from mandatory student fees and is designed to support a broad range of extracurricular student activities related to the University's educational purpose. CIO's must include in their dealings with third parties and in all written materials a disclaimer stating that they are independent of the University and that the University is not responsible for them. The University withheld autho...
Tag this Judgment!Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Jan-09-1995
Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. - 514 U.S. 122 (1995) OCTOBER TERM, 1994 Syllabus DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR v. NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING & DRY DOCK CO. ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 93-1783. Argued January 9, 1995-Decided March 21,1995 The Director of the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs petitioned the Court of Appeals for review of a Benefits Review Board decision that, inter alia, denied Jackie Harcum fulldisability compensation under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). Harcum did not seek review and, while not opposing the Director's pursuit of the action, expressly declined to intervene on his own behalf in response to an inquiry by the court. Acting sua sponte, the court concluded that the Director lacked standing to appeal the benefits denial because she was...
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