Supreme Court to Decide Significant Spending Clause Case

In Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, Indiana v. Talevski the U.S. Supreme may decide two questions. First, it may review its holding that Spending Clause legislation allows private parties to bring lawsuits for money damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Section 1983). Assuming the Court doesn’t overturn this holding it will decide whether such claims may be brought under the Federal Nursing Home Amendments Act (FNHRA) transfer and medication rules.

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SCOTUS Holds Emotional Distress Damages Aren’t Available Under Various Spending Clause Anti-Discrimination Statutes

In Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-3 that emotional distress damages aren’t available if funding recipients violate four federal statutes adopted using Congress’s Spending Clause authority.

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SCOTUS Issues Unfavorable Ruling for States and Local Governments in Malicious Prosecution Case

In a 6-3 decision in Thompson v. Clark the U.S. Supreme Court held that to demonstrate a favorable termination of a criminal prosecution in order to bring a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution case a plaintiff need only show that his or her prosecution ended without a conviction.

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