Appellate

  • April 14, 2025

    Senate Dems Seek Briefing On Threats To Federal Judges

    Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee announced Monday that they're asking the U.S. Marshals Service for a briefing on threats against federal judges.

  • April 14, 2025

    Groupon Urges Full Fed. Circ. To Undo Panel's IP Suit Revival

    Groupon Inc. is pushing the full Federal Circuit to intervene after a panel allowed Kroy IP Holdings to proceed with a suit accusing it of infringing unchallenged claims of partly invalidated patents.

  • April 14, 2025

    Michigan Justices Revive 911 Dispatcher's Whistleblower Suit

    The Michigan Supreme Court breathed new life into a former 911 operator's retaliation lawsuit on Monday, sending the case to a lower court to determine if the state's whistleblower protections cover the operator's criticism of the way a supervisor handled a call. 

  • April 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over Calif. Refinery's Pollution

    A Ninth Circuit panel revived part of a class action that neighbors of a Torrance, California, refinery brought against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Torrance Refining Co. over its pollution, holding that a lower court misconstrued the scope of a trespass claim.

  • April 14, 2025

    Chiquita Wants New Trial In $38M Paramilitary Case

    Chiquita has told the Eleventh Circuit that the landmark $38 million verdict in a bellwether case in multidistrict litigation accusing the company of paying Colombian right-wing paramilitaries was the product of numerous errors by the district court, including an instruction that improperly gave jurors a "watered-down causation standard."

  • April 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Bid To Cancel Saints' Fleur-De-Lis TM

    The Federal Circuit on Monday threw out an appeal by a man claiming to be the descendant of French royalty who unsuccessfully tried to have the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancel the New Orleans Saints football team's fleur-de-lis design mark.

  • April 14, 2025

    Tesla's Arbitration Win Upended In Ex-Exec's Defamation Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday said a lower court judge wrongly confirmed a zero-dollar arbitration award in favor of Tesla and Elon Musk that dismissed a former Tesla engineer's defamation claims, saying the federal court didn't have jurisdiction because no money was awarded.

  • April 14, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of NCAA Racial Bias Suit's Theory

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Monday pressed counsel for a student alleging that the NCAA's Academic Performance Program discriminates against student-athletes at historically Black colleges and universities to address how she could have standing to sue if her lacrosse team was not penalized under the challenged academic standards.

  • April 14, 2025

    Mich. Panel Says Car Insurance Fee Schedule Not Retroactive

    A Michigan appellate panel said a fee schedule governing benefits auto insurers must pay injured parties does not apply to injuries sustained before the fee schedule became law, determining the state insurance regulator's 2024 memo misinterpreted the rules.

  • April 14, 2025

    7th Circ. Won't Transfer Honeywell Pension Suit To NC

    The Seventh Circuit turned down Honeywell's bid to transfer a retiree's proposed class action alleging pension plan miscalculations from Illinois to North Carolina, finding the aerospace manufacturer's request for extraordinary appellate court relief was not justified.

  • April 14, 2025

    Conn. Justice Hints Lapsed Policy Row Should Go Before Jury

    A jury may need to decide whether a Connecticut insurance agency was duty-bound to tell a couple that their homeowners policy was not renewed ahead of a ruinous fire, a justice of the state's Supreme Court signaled Monday.

  • April 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Asked To Rethink Credit Union's Liability In Scam

    A metal fabricator asked the full Fourth Circuit to rethink a panel decision finding a credit union cannot be held liable for a scammer's use of its services to swindle the fabricator out of $560,000, saying the majority should have deferred to the district court's findings about the scheme.

  • April 14, 2025

    10th Circ. Revives Takings Suit Over Colo. Property Law

    The Tenth Circuit revived a suit filed by Colorado residents who claimed the state unconstitutionally used its unclaimed-property law to take their properties, finding the residents sufficiently claimed the state failed to provide just compensation.

  • April 14, 2025

    Top Court Ruling Dooms Suit Challenging Housing Grant Cuts

    A federal judge in Boston on Monday vacated an earlier ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from cutting $30 million in housing anti-discrimination grants, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a similar case involving teacher training grants likely strips the court of jurisdiction.

  • April 14, 2025

    Law Firm Fights 'Career Ending' Calif. Sanctions At Fed. Circ.

    Three attorneys from Texas patent firm Ramey LLP asked the Federal Circuit to press pause on a California magistrate judge's sanctions against them, arguing that their case was not filed in bad faith, they were not practicing law in California without a license and the penalties imposed on them are too harsh.

  • April 14, 2025

    NJ High Court Advances DuPont Appeal In $1B Pollution Suit

    The New Jersey Supreme Court will allow Chemours and E.I. du Pont de Nemours to appeal a trial court's ruling that a small New Jersey town has standing to bring its $1 billion pollution suit, according to a recent order.

  • April 14, 2025

    1st Circ. Can't Hear Class Suit Coverage Row, Oil Co. Says

    A heating oil company urged the First Circuit to toss an appeal its insurers filed following a ruling that they must continue defending the company and several executives in a class action over alleged damage caused by oil containing elevated levels of biodiesel, saying the court doesn't currently have jurisdiction.

  • April 14, 2025

    Military Voters Say Ballots Should Count In NC High Court Race

    Military and overseas voters registered in North Carolina are mounting a constitutional challenge to a Republican judge's efforts to discount their ballots, filing a federal lawsuit Monday just as the Democratic incumbent lost her bid to halt the ballot corrections process.

  • April 14, 2025

    Ex-Reed Smith Atty Gets Review Of NJ Bias Damages Limit

    The New Jersey state appeals court has said it will consider a former Reed Smith LLP labor and employment lawyer's appeal of a ruling that damages in her gender discrimination suit against the firm can only go as far back as the start date of a New Jersey equal pay law.

  • April 14, 2025

    Takeda Gets Actos Case Paused For Class Cert. Review

    A New York federal court has paused a lawsuit accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals of inflating the price of its diabetes treatment, Actos, by delaying the entry of generic alternatives, and took a scheduled July trial off the calendar, as the company appeals a class certification ruling.

  • April 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Allow Beer Co.'s 'Chicken Scratch' TM

    The Federal Circuit declined to disturb the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's refusal to register the mark "chicken scratch" for beer, affirming a finding that the proposed mark has a "similar commercial impression" to another mark already registered for restaurant services.

  • April 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Limits CFPB Layoff Ban Amid Trump Admin Appeal

    A D.C. Circuit panel has cleared a path for the Trump administration to resume job cuts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as it pursues an appeal of a preliminary injunction barring it from shutting down the agency. 

  • April 11, 2025

    NC Judge Keeps Bulk Of Win In High Court Ballot Fight

    North Carolina's highest court on Friday largely let stand a lower appeals court ruling siding with the Republican challenger in the state's still-undecided Supreme Court race, declining to throw out ballots based on incomplete registrations but still drawing scathing rebukes from two justices who said their colleagues were rushing to a decision "in the dark of night."

  • April 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives AirDoctor's $2.5M Damages Bid In TM Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday revived AirDoctor's request for $2.5 million in damages after scoring default judgment against a competitor in a trademark infringement and unfair competition case over replacement air filters, noting the plaintiff isn't barred from actual damages just because it didn't seek a specific amount in its complaint. 

  • April 11, 2025

    Pa. Bus Driver's Reinstatement Upheld In Harassment Case

    A Pennsylvania transit workers union can keep its win against a regional public transit operator over the firing of a bus driver accused of harassment, a state appellate court concluded Friday, finding that an arbitration award that changed the firing to a suspension drew its essence from the collective bargaining agreement.

Expert Analysis

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

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    Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

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    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

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    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Discretionary Compensation Lessons From 7th Circ. Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Das v. Tata established that contract disclaimers don't automatically bar claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, underscoring the limits of compensation systems that purport to grant employers unilateral discretion, say attorneys at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • Gas Contract Fight Holds Lessons On Force Majeure Clauses

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    Ongoing litigation over gas deliveries during Winter Storm Uri underscores the need for precision and foresight when negotiating force majeure clauses in contracts — particularly in the energy sector, where climate-related disruptions and market volatility are inevitable, but often unpredictable, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Justices Likely To Stay In ERISA's Bounds On Pleadings

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    The arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell showed the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to resolve a circuit split regarding Employee Retirement Income Security Act pleading standards by staying within ERISA's confines, while instructing courts regarding what must be pled to survive a motion to dismiss, says Ryan Curtis at Fennemore Craig.

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