On July 2, 2014, in Big Ridge, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated two decisions previously issued by the NLRB, holding that, following the Supreme Court's ruling in Noel Canning, the decisions were invalid because the Board lacked a quorum at the time they were issued (Nos. 12‐3120, 12‐3258, 12‐3322, 12‐3654 (7th Cir. July 2, 2014)).

Big Ridge, Inc. and FTS International Proppants, LLC lost unrelated cases before the NLRB. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Noel Canning, they petitioned the court to vacate the orders of their cases, arguing they were invalid because the Board lacked a quorum at the time they were issued. Specifically, in Noel Canning, the Supreme Court held that three of the five members (Block, Griffin and Flynn) of the panel (Board) heading the NLRB's judicial functions were improperly appointed under the Recess Appointments Clause of the Constitution (see Legal Update, Supreme Court Holds 2012 Recess Appointments to the NLRB Were Invalid, Effectively Invalidates 20-Months of NLRB Decisions).

The Seventh Circuit vacated the orders and denied the Board's cross-petition for enforcement, holding that the Board could not exercise its powers without a lawfully-appointed quorum, and therefore the decisions were invalid.

The Seventh Circuit's ruling in this case signals the beginning of federal circuit courts applying Noel Canning to vacate applicable Board orders.