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Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2024's Most Memorable Moments

One judge said a litigant's position would cause "an effing nightmare," and another decried the legal community's silence amid "illegitimate aspersions." Public officials literally trashed one court's opinion, and fateful rulings dealt with controversial politicians, social media and decades of environmental policy. Those were just a few appellate highlights in 2024, a year teeming with memorable moments both substantive and sensational.
January 08, 2025
BREAKING: Trump Asks Supreme Court To Stop NY Sentencing

Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt proceedings in his New York criminal hush money case, including a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday, as the president-elect challenges his guilty verdict.
January 07, 2025
4th Circ. Revives Ex-NC State Athlete's Title IX Assault Suit

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a former North Carolina State University athlete's claims the university didn't protect him from being sexually assaulted by the school's ex-director of sports medicine, finding that a report about the director's "sexual grooming" may have been enough to put the school on notice of the abuse.
January 07, 2025
Hyundai Can't Ditch Fees In Settled Case, Calif. Justices Told

Hyundai and a California couple fought before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday over whether a cost-shifting statute was triggered after the couple settled their lemon law dispute during trial for less than what Hyundai previously had offered, with the couple arguing a ruling against them could deter future settlements.
January 07, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Ore. Ban On Secret Audio Recordings

A split en banc Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld as constitutional an Oregon law prohibiting secret audio recordings of people's conversations, ruling in a published opinion that the statute was narrowly tailored to Oregon's significant interest in ensuring its residents know when their conversations are recorded, even in public.
January 07, 2025
2nd Circ. Denies BDO Second Shot At AmTrust Appeal

The Second Circuit Tuesday denied BDO USA LLP's request for a rehearing of an appellate panel's decision not to overturn a suit brought by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. that alleged the auditor did a poor job reviewing the insurer's financial statements.
January 07, 2025
Fed. Circ. Clarifies Role Of Corrected IP In Construction PGR

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision upholding several claims in a Columbia Insurance Co. construction hanger patent, clarifying that the board's finding only applies to the original version of the claims.
January 07, 2025
Feds Defend FCA Whistleblower Constitutionality At 11th Circ.

The federal government has called on the Eleventh Circuit to uphold the constitutionality of the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions, saying a Florida district court ruling otherwise is an "outlier" that goes against U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
January 07, 2025
Cato Institute Urges Justices To Hear Jury Right Case

The Cato Institute asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to accept a social media influencer's certification petition over the denial of a jury trial for a misdemeanor, saying the erosion of the Constitutional jury right for "all crimes" goes against the founders' intentions.
January 07, 2025
Calif. Justices Urged To Rescue Malicious Prosecution Claims

A fugitive recovery agent urged the California Supreme Court on Tuesday to revive malicious prosecution claims that a lower court struck under the attorney-malpractice law's one-year statute-of-limitations, arguing that he never had an attorney-client relationship with the defendant and so the two-year statute-of-limitations for tort claims must apply.
January 07, 2025
Feds Urge 9th Circ. To Uphold Ringed Seal Protections

The federal government and environmentalists on Monday asked the Ninth Circuit to keep Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals in place and reject Alaska's effort to roll them back.
January 07, 2025
Amneal Calls Teva's IP Delisting Panic 'Theatrical Distraction'

The pharmaceutical industry won't fall into "chaos and disruption" if the Federal Circuit doesn't stay an injunction ordering Teva to remove inhaler patents from the Orange Book, and Teva's arguments otherwise are "a mere theatrical distraction" from the weakness of its position, according to Amneal Pharmaceuticals.
January 07, 2025
10th Circ. Says Age Bias Didn't Drive Aircraft Co. Layoffs

The Tenth Circuit declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit from former Spirit AeroSystems Inc. workers who said the aircraft maker targeted older workers during a workforce reduction, ruling they hadn't shown the company was motivated by age discrimination.
January 07, 2025
Surgeon Says Unprovided Report Should Nix Transplant Suit

A lawsuit from the families of three patients who died on a Texas hospital's liver transplant waiting list should have been tossed because the families failed to provide an expert report to a surgeon accused of tampering with their data, the surgeon argued to a state appeals court Monday.
January 07, 2025
9th Circ. To Let Feds Argue In Wash. ICE Inspection Law Fight

The Ninth Circuit has said the U.S. government can participate in oral arguments over a blocked Washington law that allowed the state to inspect conditions at a privately-run immigration detention facility in Tacoma.
January 07, 2025
AT&T, Biz Groups Urge Justices To Back Cornell's ERISA Win

Top business and employee benefits industry lobbying groups along with telecommunications giant AT&T urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Cornell University's victory over a federal benefits lawsuit alleging retirement plan mismanagement, in a flood of amicus briefs at the high court before arguments later this month.
January 07, 2025
4th Circ. Says Farm Bill Does Not Preempt Va. Hemp Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Tuesday that the federal farm bill legalizing hemp nationwide did not preempt Virginia's new law reining in intoxicating products containing THC derived from hemp.
January 07, 2025
Detroit Flooding Class Quizzed On Decision To Skip Expert

A Michigan appellate panel pressed flooding victims Tuesday to explain why they didn't use an expert to bolster their case that a regional water authority's neglect led to a mass flooding event in 2021, with the judges giving away little about whether they would ultimately revive the claims.
January 07, 2025
'Unflattering' Story Not Defamatory, Gannett Says

A tax firm's defamation suit against USA Today should be tossed, the newspaper's owner told Texas justices Monday, arguing that a 2021 investigative series was not defamatory even if its "gist" was "unflattering."
January 07, 2025
Coinbase Judge Sends Crypto's Howey Question To 2nd Circ.

A New York federal judge Tuesday waved through a request from Coinbase to have the Second Circuit weigh in on whether the cryptocurrency transactions on its platform are investment contracts, putting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing registration suit against the crypto exchange on ice for now.
January 07, 2025
Fla. Crash Victims Can't Get Insurer Payout In Revised Suits

A Florida state appellate panel has blocked three vehicle crash victims' attempts to collect $16 million from an insurer, saying that the company wasn't properly joined as a party by the time settlements were reached and that final judgments were issued in two separate lawsuits over the same incident.
January 07, 2025
Biotech Co. Urges NC Panel To Revive Legal Malpractice Suit

A biotech company that lost a $22 million libel suit brought by a pharmaceutical executive has asked a North Carolina appeals panel for another shot at legal malpractice claims against its former legal counsel, arguing that a savings provision expands the statute of repose for the voluntarily dismissed claim to be revived.
January 07, 2025
Texas Gov. Appoints District Judge To State Appellate Court

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed a Hill County district judge to the Tenth Court of Appeals.
January 07, 2025
Ga. Court Backs Trial Judge's Atty Fees Award In Crash Case

The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed an award of $424,000 in additional attorney fees and costs in a car crash suit that ended in a $3 million verdict and $1.25 million in fees and costs, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that the trial court should have made a larger award but used the wrong legal standard.
January 07, 2025
Ford Tells NJ Justices Car Group Can't Rely On Franchise Law

Ford Motor Co. told the New Jersey Supreme Court during oral argument Tuesday that a coalition of car dealerships can't sue it under the state's franchising law, arguing the plain language of the law only allows for franchisees to bring a cause of action against franchisors.
January 07, 2025
US Postal Service Faces 3rd Circ. Fight Over Philly Injury

A woman who slipped and fell inside a Philadelphia post office more than six years ago told the Third Circuit that a federal judge erred in dismissing her lawsuit as untimely, arguing in a brief Monday that the court ignored factual disputes over the postal service's delays and missteps in issuing an administrative denial of her claim.

Editor's Picks

12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks

UPDATED December 20, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.

Expert Analysis

5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
Lessons From United's Axed Win In Firing Over Online Pics

In Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, a California state appeals court revived a flight attendant’s suit over her termination for linking photos of herself in uniform to her OnlyFans account, providing a cautionary tale for employers navigating the complexities of workplace policy enforcement in the digital age, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
Reviewing The High Court's Approach To Free Speech Online

As the U.S. Supreme Court began addressing the interplay between the First Amendment and online social media platforms, its three opinions from last term show the justices adopting a nuanced approach that recognizes that private citizens, public employees and online platforms all have First Amendment rights, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
Series

In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.
Mich. Ruling Offers View On 'Occurrence' Coverage Definition

As demonstrated by a Michigan state court in its recent decision finding per-wound insurance coverage for a school shooting, the amount of coverage available under occurrence-based policies often depends on how courts interpret "occurrence," say attorneys at Hunton.
Rejoinder Strategy After Allergan Double-Patenting Case

A closer look at last year's Allergan v. MSN case at the Federal Circuit highlights the importance of rejoinder during patent prosecution in view of the risks associated with obviousness-type double patenting based on later-filed applications in the same patent family, say attorneys at BCLP.
What FARA Enforcement In 2024 Reveals For The Year Ahead

A number of developments, from indictments to legislation, shaped the Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement landscape last year, and following the U.S. Department of Justice's recently released long-awaited proposed amendments to the law, 2025 shows no signs of slowing down, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.
5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle

The Fifth Circuit's recent en banc opinion vacating Nasdaq's board diversity listing rule wades into the hotly debated topic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at a time when many public companies are navigating the attention that DEI commitments are drawing from activists and shareholders, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.
Fed. Circ. In December: A Patent Prosecution History Lesson

Despite relying on two rock-solid principles of patent law, DDR lost its Federal Circuit case against Priceline.com, highlighting how a change in the scope of the invention from the provisional to the nonprovisional application can affect the court's analysis of how a skilled artisan would understand claim terms after reading the prosecution history, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.