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Aurelius Investment, LLC, et al. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 18-1671, 18-1746, 18-1787 · judgment February 15, 2019
Before the decision, about 4.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a First Circuit decision below, counsel with five or more prior petitions here, and a circuit split argued in the petition, and down for a state or local-government respondent.
Question presented
Consolidated with 18-1334. A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously held that all seven voting members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, a federal entity that manages Puerto Rico's financial affairs and prosecutes its historic bankruptcy, have occupied their offices in violation of the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution since 2016. Nevertheless, the First Circuit applied the so-called "de facto officer doctrine" to uphold all of the Board's actions prior to the First Circuit's decision, as well as the Board's actions for 150 days after the First Circuit's judgment. The question presented is: Does the de facto officer doctrine allow courts to deny meaningful relief to successful separation-of-powers challengers who are suffering ongoing injury at the hands of unconstitutionally appointed principal officers?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Theodore B. Olson
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
Argument & decision
Argued October 15, 2019 — Donald B. Verrilli · Jeffrey B. Wall · Theodore B. Olson · Jessica .... Audio and transcript
Decided June 1, 2020. Opinion by Breyer.
Proceedings
- Jul 06 2020JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- Jun 01 2020Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Breyer, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Ginsburg, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., and Sotomayor, J., filed opinions concurring in the judgment. VIDED.
- Oct 15 2019Argued. For Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico: Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Washington, D. C. For United States: Jeffrey B. Wall, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Aurelius Investment, LLC, et al.: Theodore B. Olson, Washington, D. C. For UTIER: Jessica E. Méndez-Colberg, Ponce, P. R. VIDED.
- Aug 29 2019Record material electronicall received from the U.S.D.C. District of Puerto Rico. All other non confidential filings are located on PACER.
- Aug 26 2019The record from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit is located on PACER, with the exception of the appendix located electronically.
- Aug 16 2019Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit.
- Aug 01 2019CIRCULATED
- Jul 01 2019SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. VIDED
- Jun 20 2019Petition GRANTED. The petitions for writs of certiorari in Nos. 18-1334, 18-1475, 18-1496, 18-1514 and 18-1521 are granted. The cases are consolidated, and will be set for argument in the second week of the October 2019 argument session. Parties challenging the First Circuit’s ruling on the Appointments Clause issue shall file an opening brief on that issue on or before Thursday, July 25, 2019. The briefs are to bear a light blue cover and are limited to 15,000 words. Parties supporting the First Circuit’s ruling on the Appointments Clause issue and challenging the ruling on the de facto officer doctrine issue shall file a consolidated opening brief on or before Thursday, August 22, 2019. The briefs are to bear a light red cover and are limited to 20,000 words. Parties challenging the First Circuit’s ruling on the Appointments Clause issue and supporting the ruling on the de facto officer doctrine issue shall file a consolidated opening brief and reply on or before Thursday, September 19, 2019. The briefs are to bear a yellow cover and are limited to 13,000 words. Parties challenging the First Circuit’s ruling on the de facto officer doctrine issue shall file with the Clerk and serve upon counsel a reply brief limited to that issue on or before 2 p.m., Tuesday, October 8, 2019. The briefs are to bear a tan cover and are limited to 6,000 words. Amicus curiae briefs challenging the First Circuit’s ruling on the Appointments Clause issue and/or supporting the ruling on the de facto officer doctrine issue are to be filed on or before Thursday, August 1, 2019. The briefs are to bear a light green cover and are limited to 9,000 words. Amicus curiae briefs supporting the First Circuit’s ruling on the Appointments Clause issue and/or challenging the ruling on the de facto officer doctrine issue are to be filed on or before Thursday, August 29, 2019. The briefs are to bear a dark green cover and are limited to 9,000 words. An amicus curiae shall file only a single brief.
- Jun 20 2019Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 18-1334. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 18-1334. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the fling is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
- Jun 17 2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2019.
- Jun 12 2019Letter of June 12, 2019 from counsel for petitioners filed.
- Jun 11 2019Waiver of right of respondent Unión de Trabajadores de la Industria Eléctrica y Riego, Inc. (“UTIER”) to respond filed.
- Jun 10 2019Letter of June 10, 2019 from the Solicitor General filed.
- Jun 10 2019Waiver of right of respondents Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of All Title III Debtors (Other than COFINA) to respond filed.
- May 24 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 27, 2019)