Appellate

  • May 18, 2026

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Touch $71M Christmas Tree Patent Ruling

    The full Federal Circuit on Monday rejected Polygroup Ltd.'s request to rethink a panel decision affirming a $71.4 million judgment against it for infringing competitor Willis Electric Co. Ltd.'s artificial pre-lit Christmas tree patent.

  • May 18, 2026

    NC Says Open-Court Gun Review Didn't Prevent Fair Trial

    A North Carolina trial court did not violate state rules when it allowed jurors, at their request, to view in open court a weapon in connection with a case against a man accused of gun and drug charges, state lawyers have told the North Carolina Supreme Court.

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Won't Revive LA Schools COVID Vaccine Policy Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review whether the Los Angeles Unified School District's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees passes constitutional muster, keeping in place the Ninth Circuit's ruling that relied on a 121-year-old high court precedent upholding a city's smallpox vaccine policy.

  • May 18, 2026

    Amputee Keeps $55M Verdict Over Freight Cos., Driver's Estate

    A New Jersey appeals court said on Monday it won't disturb a $55 million verdict awarded to a motorist who lost both of her legs in a collision with a tractor-trailer, holding that there was no miscarriage of justice.

  • May 18, 2026

    Pa. High Court Snapshot: Wegmans, PennDot Top May Lineup

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's May session begins Tuesday with an argument whether the state's Department of Transportation can be sued over a tree branch that fell onto a state road, even though the tree itself was growing from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority property.

  • May 18, 2026

    Fla. Court Revives Child Abuse Case Against YMCA

    A Florida appeals court has revived part of a lawsuit by the parents of a 3-year-old girl who says she was molested by boys on a YMCA playground, ordering the district court to allow the parents to amend two of their claims.

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Skip Review Of Accountant Strict Liability Standard

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Ninth Circuit decision holding that legal liability does not extend to auditors who certify a client's financial statements for initial public offerings, even if those statements are later found to contain alleged misstatements.

  • May 18, 2026

    Interest Wrongly Refunded Is Subject To Relief, 4th Circ. Says

    A woman is eligible for innocent spouse relief on interest owed to the IRS after an erroneous refund, the Fourth Circuit held Monday, reversing a 2024 U.S. Tax Court ruling.

  • May 18, 2026

    Conn. Justices Uphold Murder Verdict Despite Juror Fear

    A man sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing a member of a rival group in 2008 should not have a new trial, although one juror told another she was concerned for her safety after interacting with someone attending the proceeding, the Connecticut Supreme Court has affirmed.

  • May 18, 2026

    HMRC Wins Appeal In £56M Supplements Dispute

    A supplements provider can rely only on expert evidence limited to the nutritional quality of the products in a £56 million ($75 million) value-added tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs, a London tribunal said in a ruling siding with the tax agency released Monday.

  • May 18, 2026

    Trump Seeks Circuit Seats For 2 Judges He Appointed

    President Donald Trump's recent picks for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits mark the first time in his second administration that he's seeking to elevate judges he appointed in his first term.

  • May 18, 2026

    Murdaugh Sues Ex-Court Clerk Who Tried To Sway The Jury

    Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is suing the court clerk whose attempt to influence the jury in his murder trial led the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn his murder conviction.

  • May 18, 2026

    11th Circ. Doubts Amazon's Appeal Of Captive Audience Ban

    Amazon appeared likely Monday to lose its challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's ban on mandatory anti-union meetings after an Eleventh Circuit panel doubted the company's standing to fight the policy, which the board announced but did not apply in a decision involving the company.

  • May 18, 2026

    Hanover Not Liable For Coverage Gap, Mass. Court Affirms

    Hanover Insurance Co. is not responsible for a Massachusetts property owner's inadequate coverage, an intermediate state appellate court said Monday, rejecting arguments that the insurer's familiarity with the home it had insured for nearly two decades created such a duty.

  • May 18, 2026

    Return's Fraud Voids Assessment Deadline, IRS Tells Justices

    The IRS can slap a tax assessment against a taxpayer without time constraints when a return is fraudulent, even if a third-party preparer was the scammer, the agency told the U.S. Supreme Court in opposing a woman's petition for relief from what she alleges was her accountant's deception.

  • May 18, 2026

    Farmers Secures Retrial On $6.4M Medical Costs Award

    A California state appeals court ordered a limited retrial of a jury's nearly $6.4 million economic damages award in a drunk driving dispute, saying the trial court erred by allowing a life care planning expert to testify about the costs of the crash victim's past and future medical care.

  • May 18, 2026

    2nd Circ. Looks Poised To Uncork Reversal In Wine TM Fight

    The Second Circuit appeared inclined Monday to reverse a trial judge's findings that left a California winery owing $1.3 million to Italian vintner Cesari SRL in a well-aged trademark dispute, with three judges suggesting the case was improperly decided.

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Deny Eli Lilly's Qui Tam Constitutional Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review Eli Lilly's $183 million trial loss to a whistleblower who claimed the drugmaker knowingly defrauded the government by underpaying Medicaid drug rebates.

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Pass On Bakery Distributors' FAA Arbitration Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review whether a Federal Arbitration Act exemption applies to agreements between two business entities when neither is a worker, leaving intact a Second Circuit decision that sided with two delivery drivers seeking to pursue their claims in court rather than arbitration.

  • May 18, 2026

    Ex-Pol's Insider Trading Case Not Fit For Top Court Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up former Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer's appeal of his insider trading conviction, after he urged the justices to correct what he deemed to be an "outdated" venue rule that steers many such cases toward the Southern District of New York.

  • May 18, 2026

    Colo. Justices Tell Hospital To Resume Gender-Affirming Care

    The Colorado Supreme Court ordered Children's Hospital Colorado on Monday to resume its provision of gender-affirming care for transgender youth patients, finding the patients demonstrated actual harm from the denial of care.

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Won't Decide If Contractor Fees Are Payroll Costs

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it won't review an information technology company's bid for full forgiveness of a $7.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, letting stand the Third Circuit's decision that the Small Business Administration rightfully denied the request because the company's payments to independent contractors did not count as "payroll costs."

  • May 18, 2026

    Justices Seek SG's Input In GEO Group Immunity Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court asked for the U.S. solicitor general's input Monday in a case that questions whether the GEO Group is covered by intergovernmental immunity and therefore able to pay immigrant detainees $1 a day for their work.

  • May 18, 2026

    High Court Spurns Pharma Challenges To IRA Drug Price Talks

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected six petitions Monday from pharmaceutical giants seeking to bring down the Medicare drug price negotiations established as part of the Inflation Reduction Act three years ago.

  • May 18, 2026

    High Court Remands ND Tribes' Voting Rights Act Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded an Eighth Circuit challenge by two North Dakota tribes that looks to overturn a ruling prohibiting lawsuits against states for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a decision civil rights groups say could disenfranchise voters in seven states.

Expert Analysis

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Closure Highlights Labor Law Stakes

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    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's recently announced closure, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied relief from an injunction mandating that the newspaper restore terms from its previous collective bargaining agreement, illustrates that prematurely declaring an impasse and implementing unilateral changes carries risk, says Sunshine Fellows at Freeman Mathis.

  • Unpacking Dormant Commerce Clause Cannabis Circuit Split

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    Federal courts have reached differing conclusions as to whether state-legal cannabis is subject to the dormant commerce clause, with four opinions across three circuit courts in the last year demonstrating the continued salience of the dormant commerce clause debate to the nation's cannabis industry, regulators and policymakers, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Texas AG Wields Consumer Protection Law Against Tech Cos.

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted technology companies using the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a broadly worded statute that gives the attorney general wide latitude to pursue claims beyond traditional consumer protection, creating unique litigation risks, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • Emerging Themes In Nevada High Court Civil Litigation

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    The Nevada Supreme Court issued a series of significant civil rulings in 2025 that reflect recurring themes: a restrained approach to personal jurisdiction, heightened expectations of professionalism, close scrutiny of trial conduct, and a willingness to enforce contractual provisions that other jurisdictions might reject, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.

  • What To Know As Courts Rethink McDonnell-Douglas

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    Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined the latest opportunity to address the viability of the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework used in employment discrimination and retaliation claims, two justices and courts around the country are increasingly seeking to abandon it, which could potentially lead to more trials and higher litigation budgets, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • A Primer On Law Enforcement Self-Defense Doctrine

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    In the wake of several shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, misconceptions persist about what the laws governing police use of force actually permit, and it’s essential for legal practitioners to understand the contours of the underlying constitutional doctrine, says Markus Funk at White & Case.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • How Specificity, Self-Dealing Are Shaping ERISA Litigation

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    Several recent cases, including the U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, illustrate the competing forces shaping excessive fee litigation, with plaintiffs seeking flexibility, courts demanding specificity, fiduciaries facing increased scrutiny for conflicts of interest, and self-dealing amplifying exposure, says James Beall at Willig Williams.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Terminations Galore

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    Three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals provide valuable insights about sticking to a contract's plain language, navigating breach of contract claims, and jurisdictional limits on reinstatement of a canceled contract, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Illinois

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    In 2025's last quarter, Illinois’ appellate courts weighed in on overlapping homeowners coverages for water-related damages, contractual suit limitation provisions in uninsured motorist policies, and protections for genetic health information in life insurance underwriting, while the Department of Insurance sought nationwide homeowners' insurance data from State Farm, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • How 2 Tech Statutes Are Being Applied To Agentic AI

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    The application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act to agentic artificial intelligence is still developing, but recent case law, like Amazon's lawsuit against Perplexity in California federal court, provides some initial guidance for companies developing or deploying these technologies, say attorneys at Weil.

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