The Court of International Trade in a pair of administrative orders extended both the preliminary injunction enjoining liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to the massive Section 301 litigation and the order telling the U.S. to refund duties should the Section 301 plaintiffs be successful in unassigned Section 301 challenges. In July 2021, the court temporarily suspended liquidation of the subject imports. Judge Mark Barnett extended this order via an administrative order to unassigned Section 301 cases.

The Judicial Conference of the U.S., the federal court system's policymaking body, extended the pandemic-era exception to its broadcasting policy by another 120 days, following President Joe Biden's move to end the emergency conditions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy allows the use of teleconferencing to enable the public and media members to listen in on civil and bankruptcy court proceedings while access to the courthouse is restricted.

The Senate on Sept. 20 voted to confirm Judge Florence Pan to fill now-Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson's spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The vote was 52-42 in favor of confirmation, with six senators not voting. The vote split largely along party lines, though three Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in voting for the judge. Pan was elevated to the court after previously serving on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The vote marks the second time Pan has filled a seat left vacant by Brown-Jackson, after the justice left the D.C. District Court to join the D.C. appellate court. With her confirmation, Pan becomes the first Chinese-American to serve on the key appeals court panel.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reopened the National Courts Building to the public Sept. 12, the court announced. The move was made "based on recent changes to public health guidance and conditions within Washington D.C. and the National Capital Region," the court said. The decision's order specified all visitors must wear N-95, KN-95 or KF-94 masks, regardless of vaccination status. The court may also implement further health and safety protocols as needed, it said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit changed the label on a key antidumping duty decision from "nonprecedential" to "precedential." The decision stated that the Commerce Department cannot select just one mandatory respondent in an antidumping duty review where multiple exporters have requested a review (see 2208290026). The appellate court said that Commerce's interpretation of the statute finding that it can use only one respondent runs "contrary to the statute's unambiguous language." The judges ruled the agency has not shown it to be otherwise reasonable to calculate the all-others rate based on only one respondent and said the directive to find a weighted average gives no reason that it's reasonable to use only a single rate. The decision was originally listed as "nonprecedential," but the court later reversed that (YC Rubber Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-1489).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a Sept. 2 notice laid out 17 proposed amendments to its rules of practice that, if adopted, would take effect Dec. 1. Public comments on the proposed amendments are due by Oct. 3.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dropped its recently imposed show cause order "due to administrative impracticality," the court announced Aug. 23. The Aug. 17 order concerned the court's efforts to unseal various paper case records in certain cases. The court asked parties, counsel and other affected individuals to show cause within 60 days from the date of the order as to why the records must remain sealed.

Following the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's remand results at the Court of International Trade further justifying its lists 3 and 4A tariff action, it can be expected for the thousands of plaintiffs to argue that the explanation falls short in addressing the trade court's concerns, three Wiley Rein attorneys said in an Aug. 2 alert on the remand results. The plaintiffs will further argue that "the court should order the tariffs to be lifted," the law firm said.

The pay.gov system used by the Court of International Trade will undergo maintenance Aug. 6, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT. Documents that require payment through this system cannot be filed on CM/ECF during this time.

Court of International Trade Judge Timothy Reif recently won a seven-year legal battle over the ownership of two early 20th century Austrian paintings allegedly stolen by the Nazis. The case ended following a one-sentence order from the State of New York Court of Appeals in May rejecting a London-based art dealer's bid to have his appeal heard on the merits. A lower court ordered in 2018 that two Egon Schiele paintings, valued at a combined $3.4 million, were to be transferred to the heirs of an Austrian Jewish entertainer who collected the works, later dying in a Nazi concentration camp. Reif is one of those heirs, Law.com reported. The paintings were owned by Fritz Grunbaum, a famous cabaret performer in pre-World War II Vienna and the first cousin of Reif's paternal grandfather, a story in Princeton Alumni Weekly said.