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Starbucks Corporation v. M. Kathleen McKinney, Regional Director of Region 15 of the National Labor Relations Board, for and on Behalf of the National Labor Relations Board

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 22-5730 · judgment August 8, 2023


Decided · June 13, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 27% cert probability (95% interval 18%–38%)

Before the decision, about 6.4× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.

Question presented

Under the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issues, prosecutes, and adjudicates complaints alleging that employers committed unfair labor practices. 29 U.S.C. § 160(b). Section 10(j) of the Act authorizes federal district courts, while the NLRB adjudication remains pending, to grant preliminary injunctive relief at the NLRB's request "as [the court] deems just and proper." Id. § 160(j). The question presented, on which the courts of appeals are openly and squarely divided, is: Whether courts must evaluate the NLRB's requests for section 10(j) injunctions under the traditional, stringent four-factor test for preliminary injunctions or under some other more lenient standard.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Lisa S. Blatt
Williams & Connolly LLP

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage · 13 merits
(7 supporting pet./neither, 6 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued April 23, 2024 — Lisa S. Blatt · Austin Raynor. Audio and transcript

Decided June 13, 2024. Opinion by Thomas.

Proceedings

  1. Jul 15 2024
    Judgment Issued.
  2. Jun 13 2024
    Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Jackson, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, dissenting in part, and concurring in the judgment.
  3. Apr 23 2024
    Argued. For petitioner: Lisa S. Blatt, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Austin Raynor, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
  4. Apr 12 2024
    Reply of petitioner Starbucks Corporation filed. (Distributed)
  5. Mar 29 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Remedies Scholars filed. (Distributed)
  6. Mar 29 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)
  7. Mar 29 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Labor and Employment Law Professors filed. (Distributed)
  8. Mar 28 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed. (Distributed)
  9. Mar 28 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Starbucks Workers filed. (Distributed)
  10. Mar 28 2024
    Brief amici curiae of American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) filed. (Distributed)
  11. Mar 27 2024
    CIRCULATED
  12. Mar 22 2024
    Brief of respondent Kathleen McKinney, Regional Director of Region 15 of the National Labor Relations Board, for and on Behalf of the National Labor Relations Board filed.
  13. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, et al. filed.
  14. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
  15. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation filed.
  16. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance filed.
  17. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amici curiae of State of Tennessee and Twenty Other States filed.
  18. Feb 28 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Buckeye Institute filed.
  19. Feb 27 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed.
  20. Feb 22 2024
    Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
  21. Feb 21 2024
    Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
  22. Feb 21 2024
    Brief of petitioner Starbucks Corporation filed.
  23. Feb 20 2024
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED.
  24. Feb 16 2024
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
  25. Feb 08 2024
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Starbucks Corporation.
  26. Jan 12 2024
    Petition GRANTED.
  27. Jan 08 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
  28. Dec 20 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
  29. Dec 20 2023
    Reply of petitioner Starbucks Corporation filed. (Distributed)
  30. Dec 06 2023
    Brief of respondent M. Kathleen McKinney, Regional Director of Region 15 of the National Labor Relations Board, for and on Behalf of the National Labor Relations Board in opposition filed.
  31. Nov 06 2023
    Brief amici curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. filed.
  32. Nov 06 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance filed.
  33. Nov 06 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, et al. filed.
  34. Oct 16 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 6, 2023.
  35. Oct 13 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 6, 2023 to December 6, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
  36. Oct 03 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 6, 2023)