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Clifford A. Lowe, et al. v. ShieldMark, Inc., et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2023-1786, 2023-1871, 2023-1893 · judgment March 24, 2025


Certiorari denied · October 6, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

The questions presented are:

  1. Whether a district court, after first deciding it lacks subject matter jurisdiction and dismissing with prejudice a cause of action, retains the power to declare an “alternative” decision on the merits despite the apparent “advisory” character of any such “alternative” decision; and

  2. Whether a court of appeals has the power to affirm a decision of a district court issued “in the alternative” after that district court first decided it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the cause of action on the merits?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Ray L. Weber
Renner, Kenner, Greive, Bobak, Taylor & Weber

For respondent
James Francis McCarthy III
Sand Sebolt & Wernow LPA

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 06 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Aug 27 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
  3. Aug 21 2025
    Waiver of right of respondent ShieldMark, Inc., et al. to respond filed.
  4. Aug 08 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 11, 2025)