Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, et al.
Arbitration ERISA Copyright WageAndHour EmploymentDiscrimina ClassAction
Does a court of appeals have jurisdiction to reconsider its prior decision?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Does a court of appeals have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 to decide an appeal from a final judgment that asks the court to reconsider its prior decision in the same case? 2. What is the standard of review for the mixed question of whether a worker is an “employee” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA): (i) clear error, as the Seventh and Tenth Circuits hold; (ii) a hybrid standard, as the Second and Eighth Circuits hold; or (iii) de novo, as the Sixth Circuit held here? 3. In Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318 (1992), the Court held that when Congress used the term “employee” in ERISA, Congress adopted the common-law agency definition of the word. May a court nonetheless modify Darden’s common-law test for an “employee” to suit ERISA’s perceived purpose and goals?