Appellate

  • March 25, 2025

    Railroad's Trial Win Axed In Suit Over Worker's Cancer Death

    Soo Line Railroad Co. must face a new lung cancer trial arising from the death of a former worker after it improperly elicited surprise expert testimony from the man's treating oncologist, a Missouri appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • March 25, 2025

    Medical Image Co. Gets Fed. Circ. To Back Ax Of Rival's IP

    A Federal Circuit ruling Tuesday affirmed administrative patent board holdings that wiped out claims in patents that cover a 3D photography system used in medical imaging and clinical trials.

  • March 25, 2025

    7th Circ. Says Wendy's Couldn't Foresee Or Prevent Shooting

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a legal win for Wendy's in a suit brought by a customer who was shot in his car in the drive-thru lane, saying the unprovoked shooting was not foreseeable.

  • March 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Weighs Muldrow Ruling In ASU Gender Bias Case

    Alabama State University on Tuesday faced an Eleventh Circuit judge's question on whether its argument for reversing a gender discrimination win for the school's former softball coach holds up under the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow ruling for Title VII claims.

  • March 25, 2025

    Docs Sought By Paper Likely To End Up In Suit, Dallas Says

    The city of Dallas told a Texas appeals court Tuesday that making it turn over records on a federal housing discrimination investigation to The Dallas Morning News would disturb " the equal footing between governmental bodies and individuals" because the records at issue will likely end up in a lawsuit.

  • March 25, 2025

    Texas Panel Asks If Guadalupe Diversion Meshes With Law

    A Texas appeals panel questioned the state on Tuesday on why it didn't conduct site-specific assessments before issuing a permit to divert water from the Guadalupe River, saying that the Texas Water Code appeared to conflict with the state's process.

  • March 25, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Jan. 20 Pause On New Refugee Admissions

    The Ninth Circuit granted in part Tuesday the Trump administration's emergency bid to stay a preliminary injunction barring President Donald Trump from suspending the U.S. refugee program, but clarified that refugees whose requests were processed prior to Trump's Jan. 20 order must be admitted.

  • March 25, 2025

    Dow, PPG Likely To Face Modesto's Contamination Claims

    A California appellate court tentatively ruled Tuesday that the city of Modesto's claims against Dow Chemical and PPG Industries related to perchloroethylene in the city's soil and water at a dry-cleaning site that used a solvent they manufactured weren't filed too late, saying the allegations were encompassed in the original 1998 complaint.

  • March 25, 2025

    Insurers Claim 4th Circ. Must Revisit Ruling For Aluminum Co.

    Insurers in a coverage cap dispute with an aluminum company have asked the Fourth Circuit to reconsider an opinion holding that an ambiguous policy provision must be construed in the company's favor, calling it contrary to South Carolina law.

  • March 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Meta's PTAB Win On Xerox Message Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday shot down Xerox Corp.'s bid to overturn a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that claims in its message distribution patent were invalid, handing a win to Meta in the tech giant's challenge to the patent.

  • March 25, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Rethink Ruling On 'Captive Audience' Memo

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday said it wouldn't rethink its ruling that a Michigan construction trade group lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of a memo from the National Labor Relations Board former general counsel regarding employers' anti-union meetings.

  • March 25, 2025

    Insurance Mogul Seeks To Overturn $122M Contempt Order

    A convicted billionaire embroiled in lawsuits over the demise of his insurance empire wants out of a nine-figure contempt order, telling the North Carolina Court of Appeals that neither he nor his company has the ability to pay more than $122 million to purge the contempt.

  • March 25, 2025

    Calif. Justices Reject Fees For Hyundai Drivers In Settled Case

    A California couple who settled a lemon law dispute with Hyundai Motor America during trial for less than what the carmaker had previously offered cannot recover their costs from Hyundai because they did not win a judgment and are not the prevailing party, the state supreme court ruled.

  • March 25, 2025

    Mich. Legislators Tell Justices They Can Sue Over Voting Laws

    Eleven Republican Michigan lawmakers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to find they have standing to challenge the validity of ballot initiatives that expanded early voting and voter registration in Michigan and placed redistricting in the hands of a citizen commission.

  • March 25, 2025

    Drug Co. Wants Fed. Circ. To Undo Pfizer COVID Patent Win

    A Boston drug developer that lost its infringement case against Pfizer over the New York company's blockbuster Paxlovid COVID-19 treatment has told the Federal Circuit that a contentious issue regarding a typo in a patent document should have gone to a jury.

  • March 25, 2025

    Delaware Legislature Passes Divisive Corporate Law Rework

    Delaware lawmakers overwhelmingly approved and sent to the state's governor Tuesday legislation that eases restrictions on some conflicted corporate acts and limits some stockholder document inspection demands, after House members overwhelmingly shot down five amendments aimed at limiting the measure's reach.

  • March 25, 2025

    Split 10th Circ. Finds Arbitrator Went Too Far With USW Award

    A divided Tenth Circuit panel concluded Tuesday that an arbitrator went beyond his powers when finding salaried employees at an HF Sinclair facility in Wyoming must be part of a bargaining unit represented by the United Steelworkers, saying the issue was not brought to arbitration by either party.

  • March 25, 2025

    ND Justices Weigh Liberty Rights In Abortion Ban Challenge

    North Dakota's top court on Tuesday wrestled with whether a recently passed anti-abortion law violates personal liberty rights and questioned both sides about the meaning of exceptions to the ban written into the law.

  • March 25, 2025

    Justices Grapple With Circuit Courts' Clean Air Act Authority

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday indicated they want to preserve circuit courts' jurisdiction over certain regional Clean Air Act disputes but recognized that Congress deliberately prioritized the D.C. Circuit's authority in many important areas of the law.

  • March 25, 2025

    'Biased' Arbitration At Stake As Flores, NFL Speak To 2nd Circ.

    A Second Circuit panel weighing former NFL coach Brian Flores' discrimination suit against the league acknowledged Tuesday that shipping the aggrieved coach's dispute to arbitration could pave a new course in corporate dispute settlement.

  • March 25, 2025

    Sam Smith Tune Gets Close Listen In 9th Circ. Copyright Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel considered Tuesday whether to resurrect a copyright lawsuit over pop stars Sam Smith and Normani's 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," with one appellate judge observing that the song's hook shares lyrics, pitches and rhythm with that of a 2015 track called "Dancing With Strangers."

  • March 25, 2025

    NC Justices Agree To Hear Traffic Stop Smell Test Appeal

    The North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal of a man's conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon after he argued that the smell of cannabis and cologne are not sufficient to justify searching his vehicle at a traffic stop.

  • March 25, 2025

    San Diego Airport Authority Backs Alaska Air's DCA Flight Slot

    The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is backing federal transportation regulators' decision to grant Alaska Airlines a slot exemption for long distance flights out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, telling the D.C. Circuit that Alaska's direct flights to San Diego "would produce enormous savings, efficiency, and benefits to the public at large."

  • March 25, 2025

    NJ Casinos Urge 3rd Circ. Not To Revive Room-Pricing Suit

    Atlantic City casino-hotel owners have told the Third Circuit a lower court was right to toss a case accusing them of inflating room rates by using the same software to set prices because there's no problem with multiple businesses separately choosing to use the same service.

  • March 25, 2025

    Pro Tennis Player Asks 11th Circ. To Affirm $9M Abuse Ruling

    A professional tennis player who was awarded $9 million over claims of sexual abuse from her coach has asked the Eleventh Circuit to uphold the ruling, arguing that a Florida federal court properly found the training facility should have done more to protect her based on the evidence.

Expert Analysis

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

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    Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

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    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

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    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Discretionary Compensation Lessons From 7th Circ. Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Das v. Tata established that contract disclaimers don't automatically bar claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, underscoring the limits of compensation systems that purport to grant employers unilateral discretion, say attorneys at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • Gas Contract Fight Holds Lessons On Force Majeure Clauses

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    Ongoing litigation over gas deliveries during Winter Storm Uri underscores the need for precision and foresight when negotiating force majeure clauses in contracts — particularly in the energy sector, where climate-related disruptions and market volatility are inevitable, but often unpredictable, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Justices Likely To Stay In ERISA's Bounds On Pleadings

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    The arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell showed the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to resolve a circuit split regarding Employee Retirement Income Security Act pleading standards by staying within ERISA's confines, while instructing courts regarding what must be pled to survive a motion to dismiss, says Ryan Curtis at Fennemore Craig.

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