SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK

Court won't hear appeal over Mich. sore loser law WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal over Michigan's sore loser law that kept Gary Johnson from appearing as a Libertarian presidential candidate on the state ballot after running in the Republican primary. The high court Monday refused to hear an appeal from Johnson and the Libertarian Party of Michigan. Johnson in the 2012 presidential election ran as a GOP presidential candidate in the primary, and then tried to run as the Libertarian presidential nominee. State law says candidates who run in a primary must run as the party's candidate in the general election or as an unaffiliated candidate. Johnson said the law should not apply to presidential elections, but the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Michigan law. Justices decided not to review that decision. Dispute over Grand Canyon Skywalk denied WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a Nevada developer over the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The high court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from lawyers for the late Las Vegas businessman David Jin. Jin invested $30 million to build the bridge that opened in 2007. He and the tribe have disagreed on management fees and an incomplete visitors' center. His lawyers say the Hualapai tribal court system lacks authority to hear the case. But tribal attorneys say the operation of the popular glass bridge in northern Arizona is governed by Hualapai law. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco sided with the tribe, and justices decided not to review that decision. Health plan suit cutoff ruled legal WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court says a contractual limit on suing over health plan benefits is legal. The high court unanimously ruled against Julie Heimeshoff, who worked as a Wal-Mart senior public relations manager. She filed for long term disability benefits with Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co., after being diagnosed with lupus and fibromyalgia in 2005 but was denied in 2007. She sued in federal court for her benefits in 2010, but Hartford says her claim had to be filed within three years and she missed the time limit. Heimeshoff said the Employee Retirement Income Security Act doesn't have a time limit but Justice Clarence Thomas said for the court that the contract is enforceable. "A participant and a plan may agree by contract to a particular limitations period," Thomas said. Justices turn down Gulf spill moratorium case WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't decide if the Obama administration violated a judge's order that struck down its temporary moratorium on deep water drilling after BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from offshore service companies that challenged the moratorium. A federal judge overturned the Interior Department's decision to halt new permits for deep water projects and suspend drilling on 33 exploratory wells after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed 11 workers and triggered the massive spill. But the agency issued a second nearly identical suspension, leading the judge to issue a civil contempt finding. But a federal appeals court concluded Interior officials took steps to avoid the effect of the injunction but didn't violate it. Appeal over news release will not be heard WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a CEO convicted because a news release misstated the results of a drug's effectiveness. The high court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Dr. W. Scott Harkonen, the chief executive of the biotechnology company InterMune Inc. from 1998 until 2003. He was convicted wire fraud in the marketing of the drug Actimmune, which was supposed to fight the fatal lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The conviction centered on an August 2002 news release that misstated the results of a clinical trial using Actimmune. The release falsely said the test showed Actimmune helped IPF patients live longer. Harkonen's lawyers say the results of the trial were accurate, and he is being punished for offering a scientific opinion about the results. Published: Wed, Dec 18, 2013