Appellate

  • November 06, 2024

    Alaska Asks 9th Circ. To Roll Back Ringed Seal Protections

    The state of Alaska called on the Ninth Circuit to overturn a district court's refusal to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals, arguing the federal government failed to properly credit new information that raised serious questions about the necessity for continuing protections.

  • November 06, 2024

    Venue For Fla. County Suit Against Funder Getting New Look

    A Florida appellate court ruled Wednesday that Palm Beach County can't use the "sword-wielder" exception to deny a funding agency's choice of court in a lawsuit over the authority to levy property taxes, saying the agency has proved it's a governmental entity entitled to a home venue privilege.

  • November 06, 2024

    3rd Circ. Mulls Mootness In Boy Scouts Ch. 11 Plan Appeals

    Questions over whether equitable and statutory mootness foreclose challenges to the Boy Scouts of America's bankruptcy took center stage Wednesday during arguments before the Third Circuit, with the judges and parties involved noting the impact that changing the Chapter 11 plan that's already in effect could have on thousands of sexual abuse survivors.

  • November 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Panel Irked By Confusion In Check Patent Case

    An irritated Federal Circuit panel criticized attorneys for the United Services Automobile Association and PNC Bank on Wednesday for a lack of clarity on which issues reached a final judgment in their nine-figure patent dispute, with one judge telling them, "You both should be embarrassed."

  • November 06, 2024

    1st Circ. Tells Immigration Board To Rethink Torture Definition

    The First Circuit has ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider denying removal relief for a man wanted for murder in Jamaica, finding that the board incorrectly assumed that direct police participation was needed to back his fear of torture.

  • November 06, 2024

    Netflix Jury Will Hear Victim ID Evidence In 'Our Father' Trial

    An Indiana federal judge ruled Wednesday that Netflix Inc. can't exclude evidence of third-party statements in a suit accusing the entertainment giant of wrongly revealing the identities of the biological children of a rogue fertility doctor in the "Our Father" documentary, saying the statements were not inadmissible hearsay.

  • November 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Chides Texas For Clashing Insurance Law Messages

    A Fifth Circuit judge Wednesday told the state of Texas it was "having its cake and eating it too" by arguing it didn't plan to enforce a law governing certain disclosures between vision insurers and optometrists while simultaneously fighting off a temporary injunction enjoining the law from going into effect.

  • November 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Authors' Breach Claim Against McGraw Hill

    The Second Circuit has partially restored a breach of contract claim from a would-be class action that alleged McGraw Hill shortchanged textbook authors on royalties from e-book sales, saying there was merit to one of their arguments relating to contract language.

  • November 06, 2024

    10th Circ. Backs Asset Freeze In Forex Exec's Latest Bid

    A foreign exchange asset manager lost his bid to overturn a lower court's decision that froze his assets and ordered him to pay $510,000 in legal bills in a dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with a panel of the 10th Circuit finding it does not have jurisdiction to reverse the ruling.

  • November 06, 2024

    Feds Fight Philly Injection Site Group's 3rd Circ. Appeal

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the Third Circuit to preserve its win in preventing an overdose prevention organization from opening a supervised safe-injection site in Philadelphia, arguing that a lower court correctly ruled that the group is not a religious organization eligible for federal protection.

  • November 06, 2024

    Justices Eye Narrowing Disclosure Rules In Meta Investor Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Wednesday to hand Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. a narrow victory in a case tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as justices put up a range of hypothetical scenarios to try to pin down when exactly a company needs to disclose to investors that a past event could cause future damage to its business.

  • November 06, 2024

    Maritime Commission Seeks To Ax Refusal To Deal Challenge

    The Federal Maritime Commission is asking the D.C. Circuit to toss an ocean carrier industry challenge to federal rules for carrier practices, arguing that the World Shipping Council hasn't shown it has standing to contest the regulations.

  • November 06, 2024

    GOP Will Get A Crack At The Judiciary, But First, Lame Duck

    With a little more than two months left in the Biden administration following Republicans' capture of the White House and Senate on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Durbin intends to confirm "every possible nominee" before time runs out on this Congress.

  • November 06, 2024

    Contractor Seeks Redo In Guatemala Power Plant Award Fight

    A contractor on an ill-fated Guatemalan power plant construction project urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to reconsider its decision refusing to vacate an arbitral award favoring the plant's owner, saying the panel failed to properly consider "clear evidence" of corruption tarnishing the underlying contract.

  • November 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Panel Skeptical Of GeoComply Anti-Spoofing Patent

    Judges on the Federal Circuit appeared unlikely to reverse a district court's dismissal of GeoComply's patent infringement suit against its geolocation competitor XPoint Wednesday, repeatedly telling GeoComply's attorney that its anti-location spoofing patent seemed to be largely built around conventional programming.

  • November 06, 2024

    Insurers Urge Del. Justices To Reverse Drug Co. Policy Ruling

    Attorneys for three insurers battling Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. over potential director and officer insurance payouts in a securities action launched before Alexion received a separate federal regulator penalty told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that a lower court decision wrongly sided with the company on coverage worth an additional $20 million.

  • November 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Backs Gas Co. In Ex-Worker's Severance Pay Suit

    The Fifth Circuit declined Wednesday to revive an oil and gas company worker's suit claiming he should have received severance after he resigned when his job duties changed following an acquisition, ruling that a plan committee backed up its finding that the job switch didn't qualify for exit pay.

  • November 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upholds PTAB's Ax Of Centripetal Cybersecurity IP

    The Federal Circuit declined Wednesday to revive a Centripetal Networks LLC patent covering computer network protection, backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that handed a win to challenger Palo Alto Networks Inc.

  • November 06, 2024

    Mass. Tobacco Law's Penalty Provision Hits State's Top Court

    Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday attempted to reconcile a state law mandating a $1,000 fine for selling flavored tobacco products with a separate statute requiring local officials to file a criminal complaint if they seek to enforce penalties of that amount.

  • November 06, 2024

    Insurer Must Fully Cover $1.17M Crash Award, Fla. Panel Says

    A Florida state appeals court upheld a directed verdict finding an auto insurer acted in bad faith while attempting to settle a woman's injury claims over a drunken driving crash, affirming Wednesday that the company must fully cover her $1.17 million compensatory damages award, less a prior $25,000 payment.

  • November 06, 2024

    City Can't Appeal Ex-Worker's PTSD Case, Conn. Justices Told

    The city of Stamford, Connecticut, cannot appeal a hearing referee's decision allowing a military veteran to tack a post-traumatic stress syndrome accommodation claim onto a workplace disability discrimination case because it was not a final order, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities told the state's highest court on Wednesday.

  • November 06, 2024

    Business Groups Urge Calif. Justices To Nix HIV Drug Ruling

    Business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking the California Supreme Court to throw out a suit alleging Gilead Sciences Inc. deprived customers of a safer form of its HIV drug for profits, saying the current ruling creates an untenable duty and liability even when there's no harmful defect in a product.

  • November 06, 2024

    NC Agencies Say Forest Service Workers' OT Is Straight Time

    A North Carolina trial court correctly held that the overtime rate under state law for North Carolina Forest Service professional employees is a straight-time rate, two state agencies told the state's appeals court, arguing that a higher rate is not warranted.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ga. Justices Signal Newly Chartered City Likely To Survive

    The Supreme Court of Georgia appeared unlikely Wednesday to declare a newly created metro Atlanta city illegitimate, casting doubt on the notion that the simultaneous creation of a special tax district alongside the city violated the state's constitution.

  • November 06, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Retaliation Suit By Ex-Santa Clara Deputy DA

    The Ninth Circuit partially revived a lawsuit by a former Santa Clara County, California, deputy district attorney who alleged First Amendment retaliation when he was unlawfully transferred after publishing an op-ed that disagreed with the views of his boss, the district attorney.

Expert Analysis

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Enron Law Is Still Threat To Execs After Justices' Jan. 6 Ruling

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Fischer v. U.S. decision is a setback for prosecutors’ obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants, it also represents a strong endorsement of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s original purpose, serving as a corporate compliance reminder for executives, say Michael Peregrine and Ashley Hoff at McDermott.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • How 3 Recent High Court Rulings Could Shape Fintech Policy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Jarkesy, Loper Bright and Corner Post provide fintech companies with new legal strategies to challenge regulatory actions, but agency reactions to these rulings and inconsistent judicial interpretations could bring compliance challenges and uncertainties, says Amy Whitsel at FS Vector.

  • Maryland 'Rain Tax' Ruling May Offer Hope For Tax Credits

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    A Maryland state appellate court's recent decision in Ben Porto v. Montgomery County echoes earlier case law upholding controversial stormwater charges as a valid excise tax, but it also suggests that potential credits to reduce property owners' liability could get broader in scope, says Alyssa Domzal at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar

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    Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Navigating The Murky Waters Of Patent Infringement Damages

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    Recent cases show that there is no easy way to isolate an infringed patent’s value, and it would serve all sides well for courts to thoroughly examine expert opinions of this nature and provide consistent guidance for future cases, say Manny Caixeiro and Elizabeth Manno at Venable.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Delegation Of Authority And Tax Regulators

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service will face higher standards following Loper Bright’s finding that courts should determine whether agency rules meet the best possible interpretation of the tax code, as well as the scope of the authority delegated by Congress, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.

  • Series

    After Chevron: NRC Is Shielded From Loper Bright's Effects

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright v. Relentless decision brought an end to Chevron deference, Congress' unique delegation of discretionary authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely insulate it from the additional judicial scrutiny that other federal agencies will face, say Ryan Lighty and Scott Clausen at Morgan Lewis.

  • 3rd Circ. Ruling Shows Benefits Of IP Licenses In Bankruptcy

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    The Third Circuit’s recent ruling in Mallinckrodt’s Chapter 11 filing, which held that Mallinckrodt could sever its obligations to pay Sanofi royalties on sales of an autoimmune disease drug, highlights the advantages of structuring transactions as nonexclusive licenses for developers of intellectual property, say Gregory Hesse and Kaleb Bailey at Hunton.

  • How 3rd Circ. Raised Bar For Constitutional Case Injunctions

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    The Third Circuit's decision in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security, rejecting the relaxed preliminary injunction standards many courts have used when plaintiffs allege constitutional harms, could portend a shift in such cases in at least four ways, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Fed. Circ. In June: More Liability For Generic-Drug Makers

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    The Federal Circuit’s June ruling in Amarin v. Hikma will likely result in more allegations of induced infringement by generic drugs postapproval, with more of those cases proceeding to at least the summary judgment stage instead of being cut off at the outset, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

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