Updated
March 08, 2024
Published
July 17, 2023
Fighting—and winning—for business in the courts is one of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s top priorities, and no group does it better than our Litigation Center, led by Chief Counsel Daryl Joseffer. We wrapped up another successful U.S. Supreme Court term, achieving a 78% win rate in decided cases where the Chamber participated as amicus curiae.
Below are three of the 18 victories our Litigation Center helped secure for members. We are highlighting these cases in particular because of the significant impact they will have across the business community. In addition to filing amicus briefs, the Litigation Center hosted moot courts for all of these cases to help the advocates prepare for their arguments before the Supreme Court.
- In Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC and SEC v. Cochran, the Court unanimously held that when confronted with administrative enforcement actions, businesses may head straight to federal court to raise constitutional challenges to the agency’s structure—without having to endure years of process before the very agency they seek to challenge. This escape valve will help businesses go on the offensive when faced with regulatory overreach rather than feel forced into settling even weak and unmeritorious enforcement actions.
- In Twitter v. Taamneh, the Court rejected aggressive theories of aiding and abetting liability that seek to hold businesses liable for third-party criminal conduct. The Court held that social media companies are not liable for aiding and abetting terrorism merely because the companies provided a generally available platform that was misused by third parties. This decision is important to any company that provides goods or services abroad and ensures that innocent companies are not unfairly labeled as collaborators and burdened with costly cross-border discovery.
- In Sackett v. EPA, the Court rejected expansive definitions of “waters of the United States” that threatened to tie up building projects with years of red tape. The Court adopted a narrower and commonsense definition of the Clean Water Act, providing long-overdue relief and much-needed clarity for landowners and businesses.
The Litigation Center continues to be the preeminent legal advocate for the business community. Click here to learn more about our work.
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