No. 25-1395October Term 2025Before Arguments
Azad Alamgir Kabir, Petitioner v. WebMD LLC
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 systematic denial of Electronic Case Filing (ECF) access to pro se litigants violates the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment by creating a discriminatory two-tiered system that grants represented parties instantaneous docketing while subjecting self-represented litigants to a 5-to-12-day “ paper-filing blockade, ” dispropor tionately impacting minority communities and small inventors. 2. Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(d)(3)(B)(i) is unconstitutional as applied to a geo graphically distant pro se inventor in a complex intel lectual property case, where the mandatory use of pa per-filing creates a “ procedural vacuum ” that allows institutional defendants to exploit timing asymme tries and moot opposition before it is even docketed. 3. Whether the venue doctrine articulated in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, 581 U. S. 258 (2017), when combined with restrictive local procedural regimes and unequal electronic ac cess, violates the.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Civil Rights
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
A self-represented inventor asked the Supreme Court to review federal rules that can deny online filing to people without lawyers while represented parties can file instantly. The petition says that difference, along with venue rules (rules about where a case may be filed) tied to TC Heartland, unfairly shaped a complex intellectual property case.
Argument
The case is still at the petition stage, and no oral argument is scheduled. The petition argues that mandatory paper filing creates a two-tiered system by giving represented parties immediate docketing while delaying self-represented parties for days.
Impact
If the Court takes the case, the result could matter for self-represented people who live far from the courthouse and must paper-file time-sensitive motions. The petition says a 5-to-12-day delay can let a large institutional defendant gain an edge before an opposition even appears on the docket.
What is at stake in Kabir v. WebMD?
The petition challenges rules that can block self-represented litigants from electronic filing. It says those delays can create unequal access in federal court.
Who could be affected if the Court takes this case?
Self-represented inventors, small businesses, and people living far from a federal courthouse could be affected. The petition says minority communities may face heavier burdens from delayed paper filing.
What happens next in Azad Alamgir Kabir v. WebMD LLC?
The Court will decide whether to grant certiorari (agree to hear the case). No oral argument is scheduled yet.
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 18, 2026
- Method
- Methodology