Appellate

  • December 10, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Antitrust Suit Over Instagram Algorithm

    A split Second Circuit Tuesday revived defunct app Phhhoto Inc.'s claims that Meta Platforms used anticompetitive means, including an algorithm for Instagram to suppress rival content, to squash its business, finding that Phhhoto adequately alleged Meta's fraudulent concealment of an anticompetitive scheme would stretch out the four-year statute of limitations.

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says IT Cos. Can't Duck $4K H-1B Petition Fees

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday rejected software companies' attempt to secure a refund on H-1B visa petition fees for U.S.-based noncitizens, saying the fee is applicable regardless of whether the workers are already in the country or not. 

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Ruling That Wireless Tech IP Is Invalid

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that a mobile communications patent owned by a unit of European patent-licensing company Sisvel was invalid, handing a win to challengers, including Honeywell International and Sierra Wireless.

  • December 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Idaho Can't 'Veto' Federal Law In Abortion Row

    The Ninth Circuit seemed poised on Tuesday to turn away fresh arguments from Idaho officials claiming a state abortion ban does not conflict with a federal emergency stabilizing law, after the officials said the federal government can't impose conditions on private hospitals receiving Medicare funds.

  • December 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Asks ATF Where To 'Draw The Line' In Trigger Ban

    A Fifth Circuit panel has pressed the government on how so-called "forced reset triggers" are different from bump stocks, asking where it was supposed to draw the line to determine whether the triggers turn semiautomatic firearms into federally banned machine guns.

  • December 10, 2024

    Kid Climate Activists Ask Justices To Save Twice-Nixed Case

    Youth plaintiffs have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their climate change lawsuit against the federal government but said the court should decide a key death penalty case first that involves a similar constitutional question.

  • December 10, 2024

    Great-Grandson Brings Nazi-Looted Art Case Back To Justices

    A California man who has been trying for nearly two decades to get a Spanish museum to return a painting that the Nazis stole from his great-grandmother is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene for a second time after the Ninth Circuit again denied his request.

  • December 10, 2024

    Venezuela Oil Cos. Say $23M Suit Wasn't Properly Served

    Two Venezuelan oil companies urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to undo a $23 million judgment for a Florida-based chemical distributor, arguing neither company was properly served the summons and complaint.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ohio Justices Undo Paint-Maker's Lead Paint Coverage Win

    Insurers for Sherwin-Williams Co. don't have to cover the paint-maker's portion of a $305 million settlement to abate lead paint in California homes, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, finding the payment does not qualify as damages under its commercial general liability policies.

  • December 10, 2024

    2nd Circ. Backs Deloitte's Win In 401(k) Fee Suit

    The Second Circuit said a trial court correctly tossed a proposed class action by a group of workers claiming Deloitte saddled its $7.3 billion retirement plan with excessive recordkeeping fees, stating they couldn't overcome concerns that their claims amounted to comparisons of apples to oranges.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ga. Justices Say Courts To Decide Whether Utilities Are Taxes

    A Georgia trial court wrongly decided it could not judge whether a county's utility rates are a backdoor tax on property owners, the state's highest court said Tuesday, ruling that a restriction on the state Legislature's power to "regulate or fix" rates doesn't bar review by the judicial branch.

  • December 10, 2024

    Utah Counties' Narrow NEPA Test Meets High Court Critics

    Utah counties looking to narrow courts' ability to review federal agencies' environmental analyses of proposed projects hit roadblocks Tuesday from skeptical U.S. Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Department of Justice, who said the proposed limits go too far.

  • December 10, 2024

    Michigan Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Land Trust Order

    A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a decision that rejected its bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture outside Detroit, arguing that if the ruling is left to stand, it will forever impair its ability to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

  • December 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Wary Of Axing Fishing Pact Over Tribe's Objections

    A Sixth Circuit panel gave an icy reception Tuesday to a tribe's request that it unwind a Great Lakes fishing decree because the tribe was excluded from late-stage negotiations and denied a trial on its objections.

  • December 10, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Revive Tesla Worker's Whistleblower Suit

    A split Ninth Circuit refused to revive a terminated Tesla worker's Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claim alleging he was retaliated against for reporting unlawful activity, ruling on Tuesday the worker is precluded from re-litigating in district court whether he engaged in protected activity, since an arbitrator already decided that he did not.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ex-CEO Argues Arbitrator's Failure To Disclose Sinks Award

    A former CEO of Canadian biopharmaceutical company FSD Pharma Inc. who sued after he was terminated is urging the Third Circuit to reverse a lower court's decision confirming an unfavorable Canadian arbitral award, asserting the arbitrator concealed an extensive prior relationship with the company.

  • December 10, 2024

    8th Circ. Remands Sexual Misconduct Removal Case

    The Eighth Circuit sent a Minnesota man's removal case back to immigration court for further review after finding that the third-degree sexual misconduct statute that he pled guilty to doesn't fall within the federal definition of rape that would allow him to be removed.

  • December 10, 2024

    4th Circ. Casts Doubt On Broker's FINRA Challenge

    A Fourth Circuit panel wondered Tuesday whether it was too soon to hear one North Carolina broker's constitutional challenge against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with the circuit judges pointing out that FINRA's case against the broker was not yet over.

  • December 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Judge Criticizes SF's 'Arbitrary' COVID Vax Mandate

    A Ninth Circuit panel doubted Tuesday whether a district judge followed the appellate panel's prior order requiring him to reconsider ex-San Francisco public employees' injunction bid in their civil rights case challenging the city's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, with one judge criticizing the city's since-expired worker vax mandate as "arbitrary."

  • December 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Judges Doubt Engineers' Claims Avoid Labor Act

    Sixth Circuit judges on Tuesday sounded skeptical that a group of auto engineers' claims over a bribery scheme between the United Auto Workers union and Fiat Chrysler, which the engineers allege negatively affected their employment, wouldn't be based on their collective bargaining agreement and thus preempted by federal labor law.

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says VA Board Had The Power To Scrap Atty's Fee

    The Federal Circuit has ruled that a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrative tribunal was within its rights to scrap a 20% fee awarded to an attorney dropped from a veteran's benefits challenge, saying the "tortured history" of the dispute does not reflect well on the department.

  • December 10, 2024

    Movie Producer Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Defamation Claim

    A Hollywood movie producer urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to revive his defamation suit against The Hollywood Reporter over a story about a feud with another producer, but the appellate judges voiced skepticism about his argument that Florida law, and not California law, applies to the claim.

  • December 10, 2024

    NJ Panel Revives Union's Suit Over Sick Leave Policies

    A New Jersey appeals court upended Jersey City's win in a firefighters union's lawsuit challenging two city policies pertaining to sick leave, finding Tuesday the union put forward enough information to defeat the city's dismissal bid.

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Overturns VA Rule On 'Special' Ambulance Rates

    The Federal Circuit has vacated a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rule effectively reducing the rates the VA pays for "noncontract" ambulance services for disabled veterans, saying the rule exceeded the agency's statutory authority.

  • December 10, 2024

    9th Circ. OKs Dues Language In Allegiant Union Contract

    Allegiant Air and a Transport Workers Union local can keep their victory over a challenge to the dues provision of their collective bargaining agreement, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, upholding a California federal judge's ruling that the provision's language is legal under the Railway Labor Act.

Expert Analysis

  • How NJ Temp Equal Pay Survived A Constitutional Challenge

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    The Third Circuit recently gave the New Jersey Temporary Workers' Bill of Rights a new lease on life by systematically dismantling multiple theories of the act's unconstitutionality brought by staffing agencies hoping to delay their new equal pay and benefits obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • What We Know From Early Cyberinsurance Rulings

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    Recent cyber disruption incidents, like the Crowdstrike outage and the CDK Global cyberattack this summer, highlight the necessity of understanding legal interpretations of cyberinsurance coverage — an area in which there has been little litigation thus far, say Peter Halprin and Rebecca Schwarz at Haynes Boone.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Highlights Complexity Of ERISA Preemption

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Standard Insurance v. Guy — that the defendant couldn't collect his mother’s life insurance after being convicted of murdering his parents — illustrates how courts must engage in mental gymnastics to avoid the broad reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act preemption, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • Strategies To Defend Against Healthcare Nuclear Verdicts

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    The healthcare industry is increasingly the target of megaclaims, particularly those alleging medical malpractice, but attorneys representing providers can use a few tools to push back on flimsy litigation and reduce the likelihood of a nuclear verdict, says LaMar Jost at Wheeler Trigg.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War

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    In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.

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