Weekly appellate roundup spotlights federal officer liability, AI pricing disputes and First Amendment fights

The Institute for Justice’s Short Circuit newsletter presents a collection of recent appellate opinions across several circuits. It opens with a Bivens, FTCA, Illinois tort and Westfall Act action by Leo Feler, who claims CBP agents raided his Chicago property without a warrant, caused damage and tear-gassed neighbors. The Third Circuit considered whether an algorithm that aggregates hotel pricing data can constitute illegal price fixing, while the Second Circuit permitted First Amendment challenges to New York’s attorney-disciplinary secrecy.

Other notable rulings include a Second Circuit refusal to treat a white-supremacist’s pre-shooting statements as protected speech, a Third Circuit denial of Younger abstention in a Pennsylvania pre-trial detention case, and a Seventh Circuit decision that Chobani’s “sugar-free” label may mislead consumers. The roundup further notes decisions on immigration bond regulations, a Texas inmate’s assault claims, a Tennessee Valley Authority liability case, and a Tenth Circuit dismissal of a defamation suit over a Netflix documentary.