Switchblades Are Arms, a Botched FBI Rescue Has a Price, and an Oilfield Contract Isn't Maritime

Bruen's reach extends to the switchblade

The week's marquee ruling came in Knife Rights v. Blanche, where the Fifth Circuit held the Federal Switchblade Act unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Applying the framework from New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the court concluded that switchblade knives qualify as Arms and that the government failed to meet its burden at Bruen's second step. The court acknowledged a tradition of regulating concealed weapons but found the government had not shown the Act's broad restrictions on manufacture and distribution are consistent with historical tradition. It reversed the dismissal of the section 1242 claim and remanded for further proceedings while affirming dismissal of the section 1243 claim. m:…2335

The reasoning matters beyond knives. Every post-Bruen Second Amendment case is a test of how courts apply the history-and-tradition framework to a specific weapon or restriction, and this opinion gives future litigants a worked example on both steps: text-and-history at step one, analogical reasoning at step two. For federal firearms-adjacent enforcement, it signals that broad manufacture-and-distribution bans face an uphill fight without tight historical analogues. m:…2335

When the government kills the hostage

In Garcia v. United States, the Fifth Circuit affirmed that the United States is liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the death of a hostage during an FBI rescue operation. The court held the discretionary function exception does not shield the government when an agent acts negligently without a reasonable belief of imminent danger, finding the record supported the conclusion that the agent was negligent in shooting the hostage. Judge James C. Ho dissented, arguing the exception should protect the government because the agent acted in good faith during a high-stakes rescue. m:…0346

The court gave with one hand and took with the other on damages. It reversed the amended damages award, holding that the district court improperly inflated damages to account for attorney's fees: under 28 U.S.C. section 2678, fees in FTCA cases are capped at 25 percent of the total award and must be carved out of it, not added on top. The case goes back for reissuance of the original award. The holding is a useful reminder for civil-rights and tort practitioners that fee strategy in FTCA litigation is arithmetic, not negotiation. m:…0346

What counts as maritime

In Quality Process Services v. Whitney Oil, the Fifth Circuit affirmed that a master service agreement between an oilfield services company and an operator is not a maritime contract. Under the Doiron test, a contract is maritime if it facilitates oil and gas production and involves a vessel playing a substantial role; here, the vessel's role was limited to transporting workers from shore to a platform, which the court deemed incidental. A clause purporting to make general maritime law applicable does not change the Doiron inquiry. m:…4257

The practical consequence is which indemnity law applies: because the agreement is non-maritime, the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act governs the indemnity provision rather than federal maritime law. The court also dismissed the attorney-fee appeal without prejudice as premature, noting it lacks jurisdiction to review a fee award until the amount is fixed to a sum certain. m:…4257

Meanwhile, in the First Circuit

The First Circuit added a consumer-finance coda in Dworman v. PHH Mortgage Services. The court affirmed summary judgment for PHH Mortgage Services and Ocwen Loan Servicing, holding that issuance of an IRS Form 1099-C is a tax reporting requirement under federal law and does not legally discharge the underlying debt. The plaintiff had not satisfied the conditions precedent for principal reduction in his 2016 loan modification agreement, and a Massachusetts Chapter 93A claim derivative of the failed claims had to be dismissed. For borrowers, the lesson is blunt: a 1099-C in the mail is the IRS's paperwork, not a forgiveness letter. m:…8192