Appellate

  • February 28, 2025

    Russia's $34M Award Suit Appeal Must Be Nixed, Cos. Say

    Ukrainian gas companies that won a $34 million arbitral award against Russia urged the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to summarily affirm a ruling rejecting the country's sovereign immunity defense, saying Moscow is just trying to prolong the proceeding with overtly unmeritorious claims.

  • February 28, 2025

    Feds Say Tribes Can't Block New Oregon Casino

    The federal government and an Oregon Native American tribe are pushing back on a bid from three other tribes to block the operation of a new casino in Oregon, telling the D.C. Circuit that the tribes filed their emergency motion improperly and are likely to lose on the merits of their case.

  • February 28, 2025

    FERC Says PJM Watchdog Can't Fight Meeting Roadblock

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday told the D.C. Circuit that PJM Interconnection's electricity market watchdog isn't harmed by being prevented from attending certain meetings held by the regional grid operator and urged the appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the decision.

  • February 28, 2025

    7th Circ. Says It's Too Early To Mull Fired ISU Coach's Suit

    A Seventh Circuit panel says it lacks the jurisdiction to consider if a lower court rightly denied dismissal of a lawsuit brought by an ex-Illinois State University football coach who claims he was unlawfully fired for posting an "All Lives Matter" sign on his office door, because the district judge postponed a decision on the school officials' qualified immunity argument.

  • February 28, 2025

    La. Regulators Ask Justices To Review Tesla Sales Ban Case

    Louisiana regulators have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review Tesla's case over the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, saying the presence of car dealership owners on a regulatory board does not violate the electric-car company's due process rights.

  • February 28, 2025

    Cheyenne Sioux Tribe Says US Must Pay For Building Repairs

    A Wyoming tribe is asking the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn an order that determined the federal government is not responsible for paying for a deteriorating building on its reservation, arguing that the contract over the structure is rooted in a treaty-based, nation-to-nation relationship.

  • February 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Undo National Block Of Trump Birthright Order

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Friday rejected the federal government's effort to tailor an injunction blocking the enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction.

  • February 28, 2025

    NC Judge's Ballot Battle Will Sideline Voters, Court Told

    A North Carolina Supreme Court candidate's continuing bid to throw out more than 60,000 ballots threatens to sideline thousands of legitimate voters, state election officials and his campaign rival told an appeals court on the same day they got an outpouring of amicus support.

  • February 28, 2025

    Michigan Justices Spurn Live Nation Campers' Death Case

    Concert promoter Live Nation cemented its escape from allegations that lax oversight of a music festival campground led to three festival attendees dying of carbon monoxide poisoning, as Michigan's highest court rejected the families' appeal Friday.

  • February 28, 2025

    DA Eyes Type Of Weinstein Evidence That Sank 1st Verdict

    Manhattan prosecutors preparing to retry Harvey Weinstein want a jury to hear about alleged sexual assaults by the jailed Hollywood mogul that are not part of his indictment — the same kind of testimony that doomed his original conviction on appeal.

  • February 28, 2025

    11th Circ. Asked To Revive Defect Claims In Tesla Crash Suit

    The father of a teenager killed in a Tesla crash asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive his battery defect claims against the electric car maker, arguing that the lower court should have allowed them to go to a jury.

  • February 28, 2025

    GOP Rep. Reintroduces The JUDGES Act

    The chair of the House Judiciary Committee's courts panel has reintroduced a bill to create 66 new and temporary federal judgeships, which former President Joe Biden vetoed at the end of last year.

  • February 28, 2025

    Fla. Justices Say Atty Broke Rules With Nonviable Engle Suits

    The Florida Supreme Court has found an attorney guilty of violating court rules by filing baseless Engle progeny suits and failing to properly communicate with his clients, and told a referee to determine the appropriate sanction.

  • February 27, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Let ClassPass Arbitrate Auto-Renew Fight

    A split Ninth Circuit panel Thursday refused to send a proposed class action challenging ClassPass' subscription auto-renewal practices to arbitration, with the majority concluding that its online notices are too "muddled" while a dissenting judge slammed the majority's opinion for purportedly sowing "great uncertainty" in what constitutes a conspicuous notice.

  • February 27, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Trustees Can't Settle Co.'s Suit Against Ex-CEO

    Separate bankruptcy trustees for a company and its former CEO have no right to settle the company's fraud claims against the CEO with insurance proceeds from a directors and officers policy, the Fourth Circuit ruled, agreeing with the insurer that only the former CEO himself has consent-to-settle rights. 

  • February 27, 2025

    VW Urges Fed. Circ. Not To Revive 3D Glasses Patent Suit

    Volkswagen urged the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a lower court's dismissal of patent-holding company VDPP LLC's patent suit against it, arguing that VDPP "failed to investigate facts, pressed unreasonable positions, disregarded court orders and rationales, 'lied,' and committed innumerable careless errors."

  • February 27, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Revive Captivity Claims Against Cruise Co.

    Two former crew members who served aboard a Celebrity Cruises Inc. ship urged the Eleventh Circuit to reinstate their COVID-19 related false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims in a proposed class action against the company, arguing they were wrongly tossed after getting remanded to the lower court.

  • February 27, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Sheriff's Workers' Leave Policy Suit

    The Fifth Circuit declined Thursday to reinstate a lawsuit employees brought against the Harris County Sheriff's Office over a policy restricting how they can use the compensatory time off they receive in lieu of overtime wages, saying the workers cannot show they have a property interest to the accrued time.

  • February 27, 2025

    Lewis Brisbois Foe Urges 5th Circ. To Let TM Feud Go To Jury

    The main defendant of a group that was found liable for willfully stealing Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP's name for its mediation business has told the Fifth Circuit that a Texas federal court committed more than a dozen abuses of discretion and that the trademark dispute should go before a jury.

  • February 27, 2025

    NRA Urges High Court to Consider NY Carry Law Case

    The National Rifle Association and the superintendent of New York State Police are at odds over whether the U.S. Supreme Court should take up a case regarding a state law requiring "good moral character" as a prerequisite to obtaining a gun permit, with both sides filing dueling briefs to the justices.

  • February 27, 2025

    High Court Asked To Weigh Investors' Eminent Domain Case

    A pair of real estate investors want the U.S. Supreme Court to review their loss in New York state appellate court regarding a suit seeking additional compensation for a residential property that the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority took from them through eminent domain.

  • February 27, 2025

    Texas Attorney Says He Can Contact Party While Pro Se

    An attorney barred from practicing law for five years has told the Texas Supreme Court that he was allowed to contact members of the Texas Bar's disciplinary wing instead of their counsel because he was pro se, asking the court to toss his punishment.

  • February 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Partially Upholds Ruling In Ariz. Voting Rights Row

    A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a lower court's ruling that certain provisions of two Republican-backed Arizona voting laws requiring residents to provide proof of citizenship to vote by mail and in presidential elections violated federal law, saying several of the measures are examples of voter suppression.

  • February 27, 2025

    Landlords Can't Duck Injury Claim From Dweller Not On Lease

    A Washington state appeals court said Thursday that landlords must face a claim from a pregnant woman who was injured from a fall down a flight of stairs, even though she had not signed the rental lease, in an opinion that said the lower court erred by tossing the case on the eve of trial without giving proper notice.

  • February 27, 2025

    8th Circ. Says BIA Must Explain I-130 Petition Denial

    An Eighth Circuit panel said on Thursday the Board of Immigration Appeals failed to adequately explain what facts and circumstances led it to determine that a Chinese national's connections to the U.S. were insufficient to prove his habitual residence.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

    Author Photo

    Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

    Author Photo

    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

    Author Photo

    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

    Author Photo

    Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

    Author Photo

    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

    Author Photo

    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

    Author Photo

    In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

    Author Photo

    The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

    Author Photo

    Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens

    Author Photo

    States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

    Author Photo

    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!