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Appellate
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July 18, 2024
6th Circ. Sees 'Fundamental' Shift Post-Chevron In Title X Row
The toppling of Chevron deference set the tone for a Sixth Circuit hearing on Thursday as the court contemplated Tennessee's arguments that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services went beyond its statutory power when it introduced new requirements for family planning funding.
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July 18, 2024
Florida Urges 11th Circ. To Allow Gender Law Despite Appeal
Florida officials have urged the Eleventh Circuit to immediately allow enforcement of a law restricting gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors and adults despite an appeal, saying that a lower court wrongly determined the law was discriminatory and that patients will be harmed if "life-altering" medical procedures are not outlawed.
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July 18, 2024
Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.
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July 18, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Tossing Of Ship Captain's Toxic Injury Suit
A former offshore supply vessel captain, who claims chemicals aboard caused his cancer and kidney failure, must sue his U.S. employer in England, the Fifth Circuit has ruled, saying the employment contract's forum selection clause is enforceable even after considering Louisiana's law which largely prohibits such clauses.
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July 18, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Fired Doctor's COVID Vax Religious Bias Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a doctor's claims that Washington State University failed to accommodate his religious beliefs when it fired him from his residency for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling Thursday that U.S. Supreme Court precedent necessitates another look at his case.
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July 18, 2024
Fed. Circ. OKs Gilstrap's Alice Ax Of Background Check Patent
The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap's invalidation of a background check patent for claiming only an abstract idea, as well as his refusal to award attorney fees to the small Texas city that prevailed in the case.
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July 18, 2024
9th Circ. Signals Support For Alaska Salmon Fishery
A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday leaned toward allowing government-approved commercial salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska, with one judge saying the economic hardship indigenous communities would face without fishing outweighs the "enormous uncertainty" of impacts on a small population of orca whales that feed on the fish.
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July 18, 2024
Google Warns Fed. Circ. Panel Backed Manipulating Damages
The Federal Circuit's decision to make Google pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent clears patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate" and ignore both market realities and apportionment, Google told the full court in a bid for rehearing.
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July 18, 2024
SpaceX Tells 5th Circ. It Will Win Challenge To NLRB Structure
The Fifth Circuit should block claims that SpaceX violated labor law from proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board because the company has a good shot at winning its constitutional challenge to the agency's structure, SpaceX argued.
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July 18, 2024
Menendez Appeal Could Make Hay From Bribery Case Law
Sen. Robert Menendez's planned "aggressive" appeal will almost certainly include broadsides against his novel foreign-agent conviction and attempt to capitalize on the U.S. Supreme Court's proven appetite for bribery cases, experts say.
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July 18, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Panel Backs Restoring DHS Bond Rule
A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a Department of Homeland Security rule barring some immigration surety firms from posting bonds for detained border-crossers Thursday, saying the rule's 2021 ratification by current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cured any defects with its original introduction in 2020.
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July 18, 2024
Judge Won't Pause Sanctions In Byju's Ch. 11
A Delaware district court Thursday ruled hedge fund Camshaft Capital Fund LP cannot hold off a contempt order from a Delaware bankruptcy court in the Chapter 11 case of Byju's Alpha while it appeals the sanctions, finding that it could avoid sanctions if it complied with a court order.
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July 18, 2024
Miner Seeks Atty Fees After 4th Circ. DOL Judges Ruling
A former miner urged the Fourth Circuit to approve approximately $21,000 in attorney fees in his case seeking benefits for his black lung disease, saying he has been unable to reach a settlement with an engineering company that challenged the appointment of two U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges.
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July 18, 2024
LegitScript Asks 9th Circ. To Ax Price-Checker Antitrust Suit
LegitScript has told the Ninth Circuit that PharmacyChecker cannot bring antitrust claims for allegedly having its price-checking website blacklisted because the bulk of its business is geared towards helping people illegally import prescription drugs.
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July 18, 2024
Bank Exec's Tax Tip Case Wrongly Axed, Estate Tells DC Circ.
The estate of a Dutch bank executive asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn a U.S. Tax Court decision denying him a whistleblower award for reporting on tax avoidance schemes, saying the lower court improperly relied on proposed regulations from the Internal Revenue Service.
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July 18, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Deflate Air Mattress Patent Upheld At PTAB
The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's conclusion that no claims of a Sun Pleasure Co. air mattress patent are invalid based on the grounds asserted by a Chinese company.
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July 18, 2024
Texas Psychiatric Patient's Head Trauma Suit Can Go Forward
A Texas appeals court has revived a man's claims against a doctor who he said failed to diagnose and treat a head injury while he was a psychiatric patient, saying the trial court was wrong to find his allegations had no basis in fact.
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July 18, 2024
4th Circ. Deems Paying For Sex 'Immoral' In Deportation Case
The Fourth Circuit denied a Salvadorian man's petition to stop his removal from the U.S. in a precedential ruling that soliciting prostitution is a "crime of moral turpitude" that disqualifies him from getting his deportation canceled even if the public stigma surrounding sex work is reducing.
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July 18, 2024
Creek Citizenship Case Paused Amid Tribal Court Controversy
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court has paused a dispute between descendants of those once enslaved by the tribe and its citizenship board after the two plaintiffs accused the tribe's national council of illegally appointing special justices to the panel as part of a targeted campaign against them.
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July 18, 2024
6th Circ. Looks To Wash Hands Of Waters Of US Appeal
An exasperated Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday looked for an easy way to dispatch Kentucky and industry groups' appeal of the dismissal of their challenges to a federal government rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act.
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July 18, 2024
Tech Giants Can't Sink Slide-To-Unlock Patent At Fed. Circ.
Samsung, Apple and Google failed on Thursday to persuade a panel of Federal Circuit judges to kill a patent covering the idea of sliding-to-unlock a phone, purportedly developed by a small Sweden smartphone developer over a decade ago.
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July 18, 2024
Woman Can't Get Rectal Cancer Med Mal Suit Reinstated
A Texas appeals court won't let a woman revive her claims that a doctor with Houston Methodist Willowbrook failed to diagnose her rectal cancer, saying she failed to preserve for appeal the issue of whether the court properly granted a 30-day extension to file an amended expert report.
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July 18, 2024
Docs Get Same Hefty Opioid Sentences Despite Top Court Win
Two Alabama doctors accused of unlawfully prescribing patients fentanyl and other opioids failed to shave time off their lengthy prison sentences despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for such prosecutions.
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July 18, 2024
Meta And FTC Want DC Circ. Privacy Fight Kept Paused
Meta's D.C. Circuit bid to stop the Federal Trade Commission from modifying the parties' $5 billion privacy settlement should be kept on ice, both sides said Thursday, as the commission vies to toss Meta's trial court suit following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
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July 18, 2024
DeSantis Blasts Ousted Atty's 3rd Bid To 'Rush' 11th Circ. Call
Suspended Florida prosecutor Andrew Warren should not be allowed to "rush" the Eleventh Circuit's consideration of the prosecutor's case, which could have "sweeping implications" for Florida's government, Gov. Ron DeSantis told the appellate court Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation
Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Perspectives
High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform
Though advocates for civil forfeiture reform did not prevail in Culley v. Marshall last month, concerns voiced by a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices potentially leave the door open to consider stricter limits in future cases, say attorneys at Dykema.
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4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review
The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.
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Perspectives
NY Chief Judge Spotlights Need To Strengthen Public Defense
In a recent concurrence in People v. Watkins, New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson called attention to the necessity for greater investment in public defense services, highlighting not only the urgency of current crises, but the need to embrace a more ambitious vision of equal right to counsel, says Corey Stoughton at Selendy Gay.
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The Fed. Circ. In May: A Major Shift In Design Patent Law
The Federal Circuit's recent en banc decision in LKQ v. GM overruled three decades of precedent and adopted a new standard for assessing the obviousness of design patents, leaving many questions unanswered, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.
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NJ Justices Clarify First-Party Indemnification Availability
In Boyle v. Huff, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that indemnification can be available in first-party claims, resolving an open question and setting up contracting parties for careful negotiations around indemnity clauses, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.
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Takeaways From Justices' Redemption Insurance Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Connelly v. U.S. examines how to determine the fair market value of shares in a closely held company for estate tax purposes, and clarifies how life insurance held by the company to enable redemption of a decedent’s shares affects that calculation, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.
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Fair Use Doctrine Faces Challenges In The Generative AI Era
As courts struggle to apply existing copyright principles to new, digital contexts, the evolving capabilities of AI technologies are testing the limits of traditional frameworks, with the fair use doctrine being met with significant challenges, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.
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Opinion
No Matter The Purdue Ruling, Mass Tort Reform Is Needed
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP, and regardless of the outcome, it’s clear legal and policy reforms are needed to address the next mass tort, says William Organek at Baruch College.