Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

William Kelly v. Graphic Packaging International, LLC

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 24-1400, 24-1599 · judgment February 21, 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.

Questions presented

  1. Whether the Seventh Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(c)(1) guarantee a jury trial when a plaintiff seeks compensatory or punitive damages for retaliation under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, precluding a district court from striking a timely jury demand and conducting a bench trial.

  2. Whether a district court’s grant of summary judgment on ADA discrimination and accommodation claims—despite genuine disputes of material fact—and its later factual findings that the employer’s “restriction-free” return-to-work rule violated the ADA, demonstrate the kind of credibility-laden disputes that Rule 56 and the Seventh Amendment reserve for a jury, requiring reversal.

  3. Whether the Sixth Circuit violated Federal Rule 52(a)(6) and the Seventh Amendment by affirming a bench judgment that rested on credibility determinations a jury should have made after the district court erroneously denied Petitioner his jury right.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Gwen-Marie Davis
GDH Law Firm

For respondent
Stephanie R. Setterington
Varnum LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 06 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Sep 03 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
  3. Aug 20 2025
    Brief of respondent Graphic Packaging International, LLC in opposition filed.
  4. Jul 15 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 20, 2025)