Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/gift-cards/simon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026/ --- description: The October 5 Federal Circuit opinion corrects the dismissal of Simon’s gift-card indemnification claim against Blackhawk without deciding who owes payment. title: Court corrects dismissal of Simon gift-card indemnity claim against Blackhawk image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/court-corrects-dismissal-simon-gift-card-indemnity-claim-against-blackhawk-d90b4abeabdfea21c7fda5f237e97b55.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Gift Cards](https://giftcard.news/gift-cards/) # Court corrects dismissal of Simon gift-card indemnity claim against Blackhawk The Federal Circuit ordered a new dismissal without prejudice in the gift-card partners’ contractual dispute. It made no indemnity award. By [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) October 5, 2026 2 min read [ Google News ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=giftcard.news&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Court+corrects+dismissal+of+Simon+gift-card+indemnity+claim+against+Blackhawk&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Court+corrects+dismissal+of+Simon+gift-card+indemnity+claim+against+Blackhawk+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Federal Circuit October 5 opinion corrects dismissal of Simon indemnification claim against Blackhawk and orders dismissal without prejudice](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/court-corrects-dismissal-simon-gift-card-indemnity-claim-against-blackhawk-federal-circuit-2-w1280.webp) The October 5 ruling concerns the procedural treatment of Simon’s contractual claim. It awards no indemnity payment. Photo: Gift Card News; source: Federal Circuit The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has corrected the dismissal of [Simon Property Group](https://giftcard.news/company/simon-property-group/)’s contractual indemnification claim against [Blackhawk Network](https://giftcard.news/company/blackhawk-network/) in litigation over prepaid gift-card technology. Its October 5 opinion directs the trial court to dismiss that claim without prejudice under the provision allowing federal courts to decline supplemental jurisdiction. It does not order Blackhawk to pay Simon. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) The dispute grew out of [Alexsam](https://giftcard.news/company/alexsam/)’s patent case concerning multifunction cards. Simon alleged that a 2014 gift-card supply agreement required Blackhawk to defend and indemnify it against infringement allegations, including legal fees. After the patent claims ended in a non-infringement judgment, the trial court treated Simon’s separate contractual claim as moot. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) The appeals panel said a live disagreement over indemnification remained. It treated Simon’s request to correct the judgment as a permissible motion for relief from a legal error and vacated the order denying that request. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) Both sides nevertheless accepted dismissal without prejudice under the rule allowing federal courts to decline supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims. That is the replacement order the panel directed in case 25-1138\. The opinion is nonprecedential. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) [\[S02\]](#article-source-2) For the gift-card partners, the ruling changes the procedural treatment of a dispute over who bears defence costs. It leaves contractual liability unresolved and does not reopen the earlier non-infringement decision. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) A separate district-court order filed on September 17 gives context for the defence costs at stake. In fee motions against AlexSam, Simon requested its entire defence costs, stated as USD1.8 million, while Blackhawk requested USD1,436,238.29\. The court granted entitlement to fees but required detailed accounting before fixing amounts. These requests concern recovery from AlexSam, not a ruling that Blackhawk owes Simon either sum under their supply agreement. [\[S03\]](#article-source-3) The data behind the story ### Defence costs requested in separate fee motions Amounts requested against AlexSam, recorded in the September 17, 2026 district-court order. Neither amount was fixed as an award in that order. Requested defence costs USD Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table. Source District-court fee order, page7 Simon is reported by the court as USD 1.8 million, with lower precision than Blackhawk. Both are requested total defence costs, not awarded or paid amounts. These fee motions against AlexSam are separate from the October 5 supplier-indemnity appeal. Show data tableHide data table Scroll left or right to see all columns __Defence costs requested in separate fee motions (USD)__ | Category | Requested defence costs | | ------------------------- | ----------------------- | | Simon (source rounded) | 1,800,000.00 USD | | Blackhawk (exact request) | 1,436,238.29 USD | ## In this article ### Companies * [Alexsam](https://giftcard.news/company/alexsam/) * [Blackhawk Network](https://giftcard.news/company/blackhawk-network/) * [Simon Property Group](https://giftcard.news/company/simon-property-group/) ### Sources and documents * [\[S01\] Complete nine-page October 5 appellate opinion, case 25-1138](https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/25-1138.OPINION.10-5-2026%5F2766082.pdf?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit * [\[S02\] Official October 5 opinion posting and nonprecedential designation](https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/10-05-2026-25-1138-alexsam-inc-v-simon-property-group-lp-opinion-25-1138-opinion-10-5-2026%5F2766082/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit * [\[S03\] September17 district-court order on separate fee requests against AlexSam](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-txed-2%5F19-cv-00331/pdf/USCOURTS-txed-2%5F19-cv-00331-4.pdf?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, via GovInfo Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Court+corrects+dismissal+of+Simon+gift-card+indemnity+claim+against+Blackhawk&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Court+corrects+dismissal+of+Simon+gift-card+indemnity+claim+against+Blackhawk+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-gift-card-indemnity-appeal-october-2026%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) Journalist — Industry Deals & Research Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. 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