Appellate

  • June 28, 2024

    Nixed Purdue Ch. 11 Plan May Leave States Ready For A Fight

    State attorneys general across the country could be gearing up for more opioid-related litigation against the Sackler family after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a $5.5 billion third-party release for the owners of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, experts told Law360.

  • June 28, 2024

    High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go

    In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action. 

  • June 28, 2024

    Iowa Supreme Court Approves 6-Week Abortion Ban

    The Iowa Supreme Court narrowly ruled Friday that the state can enforce a law restricting abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, finding the state has a "legitimate interest in protecting unborn life," according to the majority opinion.

  • June 28, 2024

    Justices Limit Fed. Use Of Obstruction Charge In Jan. 6 Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court limited Friday the U.S. Department of Justice's use of an obstruction of Congress statute against defendants accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, ruling the law enacted in the wake of an accounting scandal requires the obstructive act must somehow impair the availability or integrity of official documents or proceedings.

  • June 28, 2024

    Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.

  • June 28, 2024

    Supreme Court Backs Oregon City's Anti-Camping Laws

    The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Oregon city's anti-camping ordinances Friday against a challenge from homeless residents who allege the laws penalize them for being homeless.

  • June 27, 2024

    Biden, Trump Spar On Abortion Access In The Wake Of Dobbs

    The U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision upending Americans' access to abortion care made an early appearance at Thursday night's presidential debate, with President Joe Biden lamenting the end of Roe v. Wade and former President Donald Trump taking credit for handing the issue of abortion rights "back to the states."

  • June 27, 2024

    Biden Takes Dig At 'Convicted Felon' Trump In 1st Debate

    President Joe Biden referred to former President Donald Trump as a "convicted felon" during Thursday's presidential debate, while Trump suggested that Biden could be criminally prosecuted after leaving office.

  • June 27, 2024

    Freedmen Heir Has Standing In Land Leasing Row, Court Says

    A descendant of those enslaved by the Cherokee Nation can challenge the federal government's alleged restriction on funds from early 20th century land allotments, a D.C. Circuit judge said, arguing that she suffered a cognizable injury due to the Interior Department's failure to provide an accounting of the transactions.

  • June 27, 2024

    Tesla Error Doomed Bid To Arbitrate Race Bias Suit, Court Says

    Tesla must face a Black ex-employee's claims of race discrimination in court, a California appeals court ruled Wednesday, affirming a lower court's finding that the electric vehicle maker lost its chance to arbitrate the claims after it failed to pay arbitration fees on time.

  • June 27, 2024

    Criticism Of Fla. Judge's Order Is Free Speech, ACLU Says

    The American Civil Liberties Union came to the defense of two Florida attorneys facing discipline before the state's high court over critical remarks about an Orlando judge's order in a discrimination case, arguing that suspending their licenses for 30 days would violate the First Amendment.

  • June 27, 2024

    Justices' SEC Ruling Reaffirms Oil States For Patent Attys

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting the use of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative courts on Thursday did not address weedy issues that could have shaken up the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but it did "put a ribbon on" the justices' Oil States decision, attorneys said.

  • June 27, 2024

    High Court Liberals Warn Jarkesy's Reach Will Be Widespread

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of its in-house courts will have "momentous consequences" for dozens of agencies tasked with overseeing the electric grid, environmental regulations and consumer protection laws, the court's liberal wing has warned.

  • June 27, 2024

    Interest Groups Want To Join 6th Circ. Net Neutrality Appeals

    The Sixth Circuit should allow several public interest groups to intervene in the bundle of net neutrality challenges currently before the appellate court, in case there's an administration change and the FCC switches positions on the matter, those groups are arguing.

  • June 27, 2024

    EPA's State Smog Pollution Plan Down, Not Out Yet

    The U.S. Supreme Court flexed its muscles menacingly at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and blocked it from implementing an important air pollution control plan for several states, but experts say it's too early to completely write off the rule in question.

  • June 27, 2024

    Uber, Lyft Cut $175M Deal To End Mass. Worker Status Fight

    Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. on Thursday agreed to pay a combined $175 million and provide drivers with a suite of benefits to settle an employee classification lawsuit brought by the state of Massachusetts.

  • June 27, 2024

    Parole Challenge Ruling Was 'Error Twice Over,' 5th Circ. Told

    A Texas-led coalition of states told the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that a cost-benefit analysis a trial court considered before allowing a new Biden administration migrant parole program to continue is "error twice over," writing that such calculations are not for the court to make when it evaluates standing.

  • June 27, 2024

    Navy Wrongly Ended Deal Over Staffing Req, Fed. Circ. Told

    A U.S. Navy contractor has urged the Federal Circuit to overturn the branch's decision to cancel a support services task order for default, saying the Navy had imposed unjustified staffing requirements on the deal and wrongly sought to debar the company from contracting.

  • June 27, 2024

    Self-Defense Code Should Apply To UGA Case, Panel Says

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said Thursday that a superior court judge should not have voided two provisions of the University of Georgia's code of conduct during disciplinary proceedings over an off-campus fight between two students, one of whom cited self-defense in an attempt to avoid suspension.

  • June 27, 2024

    4th Circ. Dismisses Chinese Currency Issues In $3.6M Award

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday shut down an argument that enforcing a $3.6 million Hong Kong arbitral award would violate U.S. public policy by allowing the winning party to skirt Chinese currency controls, in a dispute stemming from the organization of a real estate development firm.

  • June 27, 2024

    Gov't Can Take Corrective Action 'At Any Time,' Fed. Circ. Told

    The federal government is urging the Federal Circuit to affirm a decision allowing a U.S. Department of Commerce corrective action on a $1.5 billion information technology deal during ongoing bid protests, saying government agencies can take such actions whenever they want.

  • June 27, 2024

    Union Says DC Circ.'s LMRDA Ruling Sets Bad Precedent

    A D.C. Circuit panel's holding that the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act could compel a letter carriers union to publish a union officer candidate's advertisement in its magazine sets a dangerous precedent, the union argued Thursday, urging the full D.C. Circuit to undo the panel's ruling.

  • June 27, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Ax Of United Therapeutics' Drug Patent

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that claims in a United Therapeutics Corp. high blood pressure drug patent challenged by Liquidia Technologies were invalid as obvious, even though Liquidia's petition included an expert declaration that did not have a required oath.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ala. Must Hand Over Felon Voting Records, 11th Circ. Says

    In a split decision, an Eleventh Circuit panel ruled that Alabama can't block a Birmingham ministry from accessing lists of convicted felons barred from voting, finding that the public disclosure provision of the National Voter Registration Act "squarely covers" the records the group sued over.

  • June 27, 2024

    Titanic Purdue Ruling Shifts The Balance Of Power In Ch. 11

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Sackler family's liability shield in the Chapter 11 plan of Purdue Pharma LP not only eliminates a key tool to resolve mass tort liabilities through bankruptcy, it gives claimants more leverage and fundamentally changes the insolvency landscape in future cases, experts tell Law360.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

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