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Appellate
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September 18, 2024
Feds Oppose Bid To Block EPA Mercury Rule At High Court
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, several blue states and a coalition of green groups on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an effort to reverse the D.C. Circuit's decision allowing the EPA to implement a mercury air pollution rule.
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September 18, 2024
VW Can't Nix $4.7M Mechanic's Brake Pad Asbestos Verdict
A Washington state appeals court has refused to throw out a $4.7 million verdict in favor of the estate of a mechanic who died of mesothelioma he claimed he contracted from asbestos in Volkswagen AG's brake pads, rejecting the automaker's arguments that the evidence didn't support the verdict or that the jury instructions were wrong.
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September 18, 2024
Cleanup Worker Wants Full 5th Circ. To Review BP Spill Suit
A worker who alleges that he was exposed to toxic substances while cleaning up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 is urging the full Fifth Circuit to review a decision to dismiss his case, saying the panel that upheld the dismissal misconstrued precedent in finding that he needed to show that the discovery he sought was enough to defeat summary judgment.
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September 18, 2024
NC Panel Won't Undo Energy Rates In Solar Incentives Row
The North Carolina state appeals court has declined to unravel the state's revised energy rates for residents with rooftop solar power, saying that while the North Carolina Utilities Commission erred by concluding it was not required to conduct a cost-benefit investigation, it de facto carried out such an inquiry anyway.
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September 18, 2024
Ex-Amgen Rep Wasn't Original Whistleblower, Judge Says
A Brooklyn federal judge tossed a former Amgen sales representative's whistleblower suit on Wednesday, saying many elements of his allegations of a kickback scheme had been disclosed in news reports and civil lawsuits prior to his filing.
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September 18, 2024
3rd Circ. Digs Into NLRB's Power To Punish Starbucks
A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday struggled to find agreement between Starbucks Corp. and the National Labor Relations Board on the scope of the agency's power to penalize companies for violating employees' rights, as it considered the coffee chain's challenge to the agency's penalties over its firing of two unionizing workers.
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September 18, 2024
No Rehearing For 10th Circ. Methane Rule Challenge
A Tenth Circuit panel rejected a request to reconsider its decision to throw out a ruling that partially invalidated an Obama-era rule limiting venting, flaring and leaks from oil and gas wells on federal land.
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September 18, 2024
Mich. Justices To Hear 911 Dispatcher's Whistleblower Appeal
The Michigan Supreme Court will consider whether a 911 operator's complaint about a supervisor's handling of a call was protected activity under the state's whistleblower law, the justices said Wednesday.
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September 18, 2024
Del. Justices Grapple With Noncompete Litigation Limits
An attorney for residential solar power system dealer Sunder Energy LLC told Delaware's top court Wednesday that the Chancery Court last year relied on a case record "procedurally anomalous and bereft of fact" when it denied a preliminary injunction in a noncompete suit targeting a co-founder and two competitors.
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September 18, 2024
Harvard Rips Morgue Theft Appeal's Immunity Claim
Harvard University told Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court that litigation over the alleged theft and sale of cadaver body parts from its medical school's morgue relies on a "crabbed" reading of an immunity law related to anatomical gifts.
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September 18, 2024
Mass. Appeals Court Backs Pot Shop's Arbitration Agreement
A Massachusetts medical marijuana dispensary can enforce an arbitration clause in its employment agreement even when it did not specify the rights a worker was waiving, an intermediate state appellate court has said.
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September 18, 2024
DOL Points To 5th Circ. Ruling To Save Contractor Wage Hike
A recent Fifth Circuit decision ruling that the U.S. Department of Labor could raise salary levels for overtime-exempt workers clarifies that the major questions doctrine should stay out of a case challenging the minimum wage increase for federal contractors, the DOL told the appeals court.
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September 18, 2024
Convicted Pastor, An NYC Mayor Ally, Denied Bail For Appeal
A Brooklyn pastor and reported friend of New York City Mayor Eric Adams who was convicted of fraud in March has been denied bail by the Second Circuit while he appeals the jury verdict and his nine-year prison sentence.
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September 18, 2024
Ex-Employees Can Bring ADA Benefits Suits, High Court Told
A retired Florida firefighter called on the U.S. Supreme Court to find that former employees can bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act pertaining to post-employment benefits, challenging an Eleventh Circuit ruling that determined only current employees can file these disability bias suits.
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September 18, 2024
Texas Criminal Court Pauses Paxton Prosecutor Fee Ruling
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday agreed to pause a lower court ruling that would allow Collin County to pay a lower amount to the special prosecutors appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, putting the county's victory on ice while it considers the dispute.
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September 18, 2024
Ga. Justices Rebuke Local GOP For Delays In Ballot Challenge
The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday shot down a county Republican Party's bid to keep several candidates for local office off the ballot for an election that was already held this year, scorning the GOP chapter for its "failure to litigate this appeal with dispatch."
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September 18, 2024
9th Circ. Breathes New Life Into Swimmers' Boycott Suit
The Ninth Circuit has revived a class action from the International Swimming League and a trio of competitive swimmers accusing the sport's global governing body of orchestrating a de facto boycott of the upstart league, overruling a district court that threw out the case.
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September 17, 2024
2nd Circ. Lets American Girl Doll Counterfeit Case Proceed
The Second Circuit on Tuesday held that doll manufacturer American Girl LLC could move ahead with its New York federal suit accusing a China-based company of selling counterfeit versions of its dolls, finding that American Girl showed the defendant transacted business in the state.
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September 17, 2024
Pa. Judge Confirmed As GOP Leader Bemoans Dems' Tactics
The Senate voted 52-41 Tuesday to confirm Mary Kathleen Costello as U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but first the chamber's top Republican took time to blast judiciary policymakers for backing what he said were Democratic initiatives regarding the federal bench.
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September 17, 2024
Prepaid Wireless Cards Not Subject To Tax, NC Justices Told
A North Carolina cellphone retailer wasn't obliged to remit tax on sales of prepaid wireless cards because the cards are gift cards that can be used for nontaxable services and sales, an attorney for the company told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
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September 17, 2024
Fla. Lawmakers Claim Deposition Immunity In Voter Map Case
Several Florida lawmakers told an appellate panel Tuesday they shouldn't be compelled to testify about their legislative activities in a lawsuit brought by Black voters over a redistricted congressional map, arguing that the state constitution protects them from depositions in civil litigation.
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September 17, 2024
Fla. Should Get CWA Permitting Back, State Tells DC Circ.
Florida should be allowed to keep administering its own Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging, the Sunshine State told the D.C. Circuit in an opening brief that noted the state had successfully run the program for three years, and that taking away its ability to do so calls into question a congressional promise.
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September 17, 2024
Fla. Panel Told Boies Schiller Film Co. Had Proper Fraud Claim
A financier for the Natalie Portman movie "Jane Got A Gun" told a Florida state appellate panel Tuesday that a lower court wrongly denied a fraud claim against a co-funder, saying the law was misapplied in determining that misrepresentations couldn't be relied upon for loaning money to complete filming.
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September 17, 2024
Vt. Supreme Court Upholds $1.1M Property Valuation
The Vermont Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the nearly $1.1 million valuation of a residential property determined by a hearing officer, saying the officer was not wrong to base the determination in part on a town assessment that was later found to be problematic.
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September 17, 2024
Meta Deletes Photo Tagging IP At Fed. Circ.
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday handed Meta Platforms Inc. a win in an infringement case, upholding the invalidation of a patent-holding company's patent on digitally tagging images and dismissing related patents on appeal after they failed to survive at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Expert Analysis
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Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated
In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.
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Series
After Chevron: Good News For Gov't Contractors In Litigation
The net result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Chevron deference is that individuals, contractors and companies bringing procurement-related cases against the government will have new pathways toward success, say Joseph Berger and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.
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Series
After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Series
After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Opinion
It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections
While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.
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Opinion
Justices' Malicious-Prosecution Ruling Shows Rare Restraint
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, Ohio, declining to limit malicious-prosecution suits, is a model of judicial modesty and incrementalism, in sharp contrast to the court’s dramatic swings on other rights, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School.
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Series
After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue
As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.
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Series
After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted
Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Opinion
Trump Immunity Ruling Upends Our Constitutional Scheme
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. U.S. decision elevates the president to imperial status and paves the way for nearly absolute presidential immunity from potential criminal prosecutions — with no constitutional textual support, says Paul Berman at the George Washington University Law School.
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High Court Paves Middle Ground For Proceedings Obstruction
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Fischer sensibly leaves the door open for prosecutors to make more nuanced assessments as to whether defendants' actions directly or tangentially impair the availability or integrity of anything used in an official proceeding, without criminalizing acts such as peaceful demonstrations, say attorneys at Perry Law.
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.