Two ND Law professors cited at Supreme Court

Two Notre Dame Law professors – A.J. Bellia and Stephen Yelderman – were cited at the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

In oral arguments for WesternGeco v. Ion Geophysical Corp on Monday, Professor Yelderman’s amicus brief was cited by both Ion’s counsel and the government.

The case focuses on the laws surrounding foreign damages in patent violations. Yelderman’s brief addresses how damages should be measured for patent infringement. The Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether profits lost outside the U.S. can be recovered as damages for infringement that takes place inside the United States.

On Tuesday, Justice Neil Gorsuch cited Professor Bellia in his separate opinion in Sessions v. Demaya, a case involving the definition of “crime of violence” in certain deportation cases.

Gorsuch joined Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in affirming the lower court’s ruling that the clause is “unconstitutionally vague.”