No. 25-1387October Term 2025Before Arguments
Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P., Petitioner v. Powder Springs Logistics, LLC, et al.
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Case status
- Current stage
- Before Arguments
- Latest event
- Accepted by the Court
- Decision timing
- No window until argument is scheduled.
- What it's about
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Question presented
1. Whether the Federal Circuit’s standard for recovery of lost profits damages violates 35 U.S.C. § 284. 2. Whether Rule 702 requires courts to exclude expert testimony when record evidence is contrary to a critical fact upon which the expert relied, as the Federal Circuit holds, or whether juries should determine whether facts upon which an expert relied are true, as all other Circuits have held.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Supreme Court case awaiting argument
Timing
Expected by late June 2026, if argued this term
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 94 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Briefing
What it's about
Sunoco Partners asks the Supreme Court to review two Federal Circuit rules in a patent dispute. The petition challenges that court's approach to lost-profits damages and its Rule 702 approach to expert testimony when record evidence conflicts with a key fact the expert used.
Argument
No argument is scheduled yet. The petition says Section 284 requires damages that put the patent owner in as good a position as if there had been no infringement, and it argues juries should usually decide factual disputes behind expert assumptions.
Impact
The case could affect how much money patent owners can recover after proving infringement and how often damages experts get to testify. For example, a company that says a rival's infringement cost it sales could face a harder path to lost-profit damages if the Federal Circuit's approach stays in place.
What is Sunoco Partners v. Powder Springs about?
It asks whether the Federal Circuit uses the wrong rules for lost-profits damages in patent cases and for excluding expert testimony under Rule 702.
Who could be affected if the Supreme Court takes this case?
Patent owners, accused infringers, and damages experts could all be affected. The answer could change how lost sales are proved and how much a winner can recover.
What happens next in Sunoco Partners v. Powder Springs?
The Supreme Court must decide whether to hear the case. If it does, the next major milestone would be briefing and then oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 17, 2026
- Method
- Methodology