Appellate

  • October 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Upholds Sanctions Against Northwestern Law Prof

    A panel of the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Colorado district court's sanctions against a Northwestern University law professor for his frivolous attempt to remove a probate dispute with his sister to federal court, finding in a brief, unpublished opinion that the sanctions were not an abuse of discretion.

  • October 30, 2024

    Conn. Justices Doubt Fertility Doc Suit Is For 'Wrongful Life'

    Some justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court were skeptical Wednesday that a lawsuit accusing a fertility doctor of impregnating patients with his own sperm is a barred claim for wrongful life, pressing defense counsel on the now-grown children's allegations that they suffered psychological harm when they discovered the truth.

  • October 30, 2024

    Insurer Can't Cap Interest In Birth Injury Case, Patient Says

    A patient suing his doctor over injuries he suffered at birth urged the Colorado Supreme Court not to limit interest on his medical malpractice damages to $1 million, arguing in a brief the doctor's insurer had chances to settle the case years ago and refused.

  • October 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Texas A&M's Defeat Of Hiring Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday backed Texas A&M University's win over a professor's lawsuit claiming its hiring practices prevent white and Asian men's applications from being properly considered, finding his failure to actually seek a job at the school doomed his case.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ex-Ford Models CEO Can't Arbitrate Sex Misconduct Suit

    A California appeals court won't let the former CEO of Ford Models send a woman's suit brought under a state sex trafficking law to arbitration, saying her allegations don't fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement she signed.

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Told Medicare Drug Price Talks Not Voluntary

    Three pharmaceutical companies told the Third Circuit on Wednesday the Medicare drug price negotiation program is anything but voluntary, arguing the appeals court should revive their challenges to the program because it is unconstitutional.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ga. Health Commish 'Overstepped' In Hospital Turf War

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has tossed a ruling from the state's Commissioner for the Department of Community Health that would have allowed a metro Atlanta hospital system to open a new radiology center, saying Tuesday that the commissioner overstepped his review powers.

  • October 30, 2024

    COVID-19 Order Could Save Med Mal Suit, Ga. Judges Say

    A mistake made by a paralegal working for former Georgia state representative Robbin Shipp may have been saved by a recent Peach State high court ruling that a pandemic-era judicial emergency order can toll the deadline to file medical malpractice suits, the state appeals court found Tuesday.

  • October 30, 2024

    AIG Tells Del. Justices Texas Medicaid Case 'Steeped In Fraud'

    An attorney for insurers who brought a mid-case appeal in a tangled suit focused on a Texas Medicaid claims processor's battles over its alleged errors and omissions in orthodontia billings told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday that the original case was "steeped in fraud" and propped up by negligence claims.

  • October 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Reverses NFL Fans' Win In Railing Collapse Suit

    A dispute over a railing collapse that injured fans at the Washington Commanders' stadium could still end up in arbitration after a Fourth Circuit panel reversed a lower-court decision blocking the team from enforcing the arbitration clause on the fans' game tickets.

  • October 30, 2024

    Mich. Judges Reject Interest For Unclaimed Property Returns

    A Michigan appellate panel overturned a trial court Tuesday that admitted it was going against the grain by requiring the state to pay interest when it returns seemingly abandoned property, with appellate judges finding state statute was comprehensive enough to supersede the common law idea that "interest follows principal." 

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Asks If Dodge Charger Suit Is Ripe For Revival

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday asked owners of Dodge Charger Hellcats whether now is the right time to revive allegations that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC sold them muscle cars that fell short of advertised high-performance standards.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ohio PBM Case Will Wait For High Court Ruling

    The Sixth Circuit agreed to pause a case from Ohio state enforcers accusing Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of driving up prescription drug prices while the U.S. Supreme Court decides another case dealing with federal versus state jurisdiction.

  • October 30, 2024

    Mich. Justices To Mull Reviving Diminished Capacity Defense

    Michigan's highest court announced Wednesday that it will hold arguments in a case that could reinstate the diminished mental capacity defense in the Great Lakes State.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ohio Justices Say Attorney In Prison Should Not Be Disbarred

    The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an attorney in federal prison for his participation in a tax fraud scheme should not be disbarred, and should have a chance to reapply for his law license in the future

  • October 30, 2024

    NY Telecoms Urge Justices To Keep Pause On Price Cap

    Telecommunications trade groups urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to keep New York's broadband price cap for low-income residents on hold even if the justices ultimately decide to review it, saying in a new brief Wednesday enforcement of the price caps would do irreparable harm to their members.

  • October 30, 2024

    Gulfstream Arbitration Notice To Worker Adequate, Court Says

    Jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace's use of a hyperlink to the terms of its arbitration requirement for employee disputes was adequate notice to a worker who later tried to sue, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court said Wednesday.

  • October 30, 2024

    Pa. Panel Says Undated Special Election Votes Should Count

    A split Pennsylvania appellate court ruled Wednesday that throwing out mail-in votes solely for missing or "incorrect" dates on their outer envelopes was a violation of the state's constitution, but insisted the ruling applies only to a September special election in Philadelphia.

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Vacates, Remands Philly Union Rule Suit

    The Third Circuit revived a suit by a group of contractors against Philadelphia and its mayor's office over the city's former policy requiring that companies working on public projects be members of certain designated unions, ruling that those contractors still have standing for injuries that arose while the rule was enforced.

  • October 30, 2024

    High Court Says Va. Can Keep Purging 'Noncitizen' Voters

    A divided U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a federal court order Wednesday that prohibited Virginia from removing suspected noncitizens from its voting rolls this close to Election Day, a program the U.S. Department of Justice and advocacy groups claim has erroneously stripped eligible voters of their constitutional rights.

  • October 29, 2024

    Wash. Chief Justice Calls Diversity 'Critical' For Courts

    Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González reflected Tuesday night on what diversity in cultural perspectives can bring to classrooms and courtrooms alike, remarking that the dynamic on the high court has changed for the better during his 13 years on the bench as he's been joined by more colleagues of color.

  • October 29, 2024

    Justices Won't Let RFK Jr. Off Mich., Wis. Ballots

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s emergency requests to have his name removed from the presidential ballots in the key battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

  • October 29, 2024

    Sporting Goods Chain Beats Suit By Man Shot With Stolen Gun

    A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of a suit seeking to hold Academy Sports liable after a man was shot by a gun stolen from the store, saying a federal law shielding firearms dealers from third-party criminal acts did indeed apply.

  • October 29, 2024

    Retired Fed. Circ. Judge Backs Invisalign In Monopoly Cases

    Retired Federal Circuit Judge Paul R. Michel warned the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday that reversing a lower court's decision to toss a pair of class actions accusing Invisalign of monopolizing the clear braces and teeth scanners market by illegally refusing to deal with a rival would increase patent owners' legal uncertainties.

  • October 29, 2024

    Texas AG Says State Rep Tried To Sway 'Shaken Baby' Case

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday called for state Rep. Jeff Leach to resign after he allegedly attempted to sway judgment in capital punishment proceedings in what would have been the nation's first execution for a conviction based on a "shaken baby syndrome" diagnosis.

Expert Analysis

  • High Stakes In Justices' Review Of Clean Air Act Venue Fights

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    Disputes over the Clean Air Act's venue provision may seem arcane, but a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision encompassing three cases will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that could have significant consequences for the regulated community, say J. Michael Showalter and David Loring at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month

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    Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Employer Lessons From Mass. 'Bonus Not Wages' Ruling

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    In Nunez v. Syncsort, a Massachusetts state appeals court recently held that a terminated employee’s retention bonus did not count as wages under the state’s Wage Act, illustrating the nuanced ways “wages” are defined by state statutes and courts, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling May Signal Software Patent Landscape Shift

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    The Federal Circuit's recent ruling in Broadband iTV, despite similarities to past decisions, chose to rely on prior cases finding patent-ineligible claims directed to receiving and displaying information, which may undermine one of the few areas of perceived predictability in the patent eligibility landscape, say attorneys at King & Wood.

  • Series

    After Chevron: The Future Of OSHA Enforcement Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Loper Bright provides a blueprint for overruling the judicial obligation to defer to an agency's interpretation of its own regulations established by Auer, an outcome that would profoundly change the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s litigation and rulemaking landscape, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • What Hawaii High Court Got Right And Wrong In AIG Ruling

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    Though the Hawaii Supreme Court in its recent Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance decision correctly adopted the majority rule that recklessly caused harm is an accident for coverage purposes, it erred in its interpretation of the pollution exclusion by characterizing climate change as "traditional environmental pollution," say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Sound The Alarm About Lost Labor Rights

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    In the Fifth Circuit, recent rulings from judges appointed by former President Donald Trump have dismantled workers’ core labor rights, a troubling trend that we cannot risk extending under another Trump administration, say Sharon Block and Raj Nayak at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • Peeling Back The Layers Of SEC's Equity Trading Reforms

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments lowering the tick sizes for stock trading and reducing access fee caps will benefit investors and necessitate broad systems changes — if they can first survive judicial challenges, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 5th Circ. DOL Tip Decision May Trigger Final 80/20 Rule Fight

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision concerning a Labor Department rule that limits how often tipped employees can be assigned non-tip-producing duties could be challenged in either historically rule-friendly circuits or the Supreme Court, but either way it could shape the future of tipped work, says Kevin Johnson at Johnson Jackson.

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