The NFIB Legal Center begins the year with several key cases pending before the United States Supreme Court.

First, we filed an amicus (“friend-of-the-court”) brief in Enbridge Energy LP v. Nessel to support business-friendly court procedures. The case considers whether district courts can waive the thirty-day deadline for defendants to move cases to federal court. Small businesses often benefit from federal judges, and our brief asserts they have the right to transfer cases. We argue government plaintiffs should not use unfair tactics to prevent this.

We also filed a brief in Pung v. Isabella County, which asks if the government can seize real estate because of unpaid property taxes and sell it for less than fair market value, destroying the landowner’s equity in the property. This practice is known as “home equity theft,” which the Supreme Court ended in Tyler v. Hennepin County thanks to NFIB’s advocacy. Our brief argues that property owners should be fairly compensated after tax lien sales.

In Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock, we filed a brief defending the right to arbitration. The case involves local delivery workers who want to be considered interstate transportation workers so that their arbitration clause can’t be enforced. However, arbitration is essential for small businesses, serving as an alternative to the costly and time-consuming legal process. Our brief asks the Court to safeguard arbitration for small businesses nationwide.

Finally, we filed a brief in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC to protect the transportation industry from unfair lawsuits. After an accident, an injured driver sued the truck driver who injured him, as well as the freight broker who hired the truck driver, claiming that the truck driver was negligently hired. However, federal law does not allow this claim. Our brief argues that if freight brokers are exposed to additional liability, businesses will suffer and transportation costs will skyrocket.
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the NFIB Legal Center has been able to fight government overreach and gamesmanship in the courts, ensuring that small business owners can be victorious.