Appellate

  • March 06, 2025

    IRS Can't Defend Slashing Of Easement Value, 11th Circ. Told

    Conservation easement donors whose charitable tax deduction was reduced by millions of dollars by the U.S. Tax Court criticized the Internal Revenue Service's defense of the decision, telling the Eleventh Circuit the ruling ignored copious evidence of the property's value underlying the donation's worth.

  • March 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Nursing Home Worker's Actions Justified Firing

    The Sixth Circuit refused to revive a former nursing home social services director's suit claiming she was fired for raising concerns about resident care and her supervisor's inappropriate behavior, finding she couldn't overcome the company's explanation that her absenteeism and covert recordings of meetings cost her the job.

  • March 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Nixes Portion Of VA Rule Authorizing Inspections

    A Federal Circuit panel on Thursday axed part of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rule that allowed it to inspect computer hardware and software and even the physical locations that people use to remotely access its electronic benefit management systems.

  • March 06, 2025

    Worker Seeks To Revive NY Teamsters Retirement Plan Suit

    A union-represented worker is fighting a New York federal judge's conclusion that he failed to show how the caretakers of his Teamsters retirement plan mismanaged his savings, asking the Second Circuit to revive his proposed Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action.

  • March 06, 2025

    Dems Intro Their Own Version Of The JUDGES Act

    Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee reintroduced a version of the JUDGES Act on Thursday that would not take effect until after the next president is elected, unlike a version from their Republican counterparts that would take effect this year.

  • March 05, 2025

    SpaceX Fails To Get 5th Circ. To Block NLRB Case

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday dismissed SpaceX's appellate court bid to stop a National Labor Relations Board administrative proceeding alleging it unlawfully fired employees who criticized company CEO Elon Musk, saying the circuit court lacked jurisdiction since a lower court didn't first deny SpaceX's injunctive relief request.

  • March 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Lets Trump Remove Watchdog Chief As Feds Appeal

    The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday issued a stay that allows President Donald Trump to fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel while the government appeals a district court order that permanently reinstalled the federal employment watchdog.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fla. Chiropractor Bilked State Farm For $2.7M, 11th Circ. Told

    State Farm urged an Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday to find that it had shelled out $2.7 million to an unscrupulous Florida chiropractor who paid kickbacks for medically unnecessary claims, arguing that the provider should be held liable for fraud under a theory that he violated a state licensure exemption.

  • March 05, 2025

    Wash. Justices Won't Take Up Pemco's Fire Coverage Appeal

    The Washington Supreme Court won't review a lower court's ruling that Pemco Mutual Insurance Co. must cover a woman's claim for fire damage to her former home after she was assaulted and set ablaze there by her ex-husband.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs PNC's PTAB Win Over Mobile Banking IP

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a win PNC Bank landed at an administrative patent board against a Texas bank that is suing PNC over mobile banking technology.

  • March 05, 2025

    Baylor Asks Texas Justices To Review $12M Virus Verdict Toss

    Baylor College of Medicine asked the Texas Supreme Court to rethink an appellate panel's COVID-19 coverage decision wiping a $12 million jury verdict in its favor, arguing the ruling was based on a 1995 edition of a legal treatise that incorrectly concluded intangible damage isn't covered.

  • March 05, 2025

    Celltrion Can't Undo Eye Med Biosimilar Injunction On Appeal

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's preliminary injunction barring South Korea-based Celltrion Inc. from launching a biosimilar version of Regeneron's blockbuster eye disease treatment Eylea, rejecting Celltrion's argument that it has shown a patent on the drug may be invalid.

  • March 05, 2025

    Justices Asked To Recuse Fitbit Judge Over Google Ties

    A Silicon Valley-based patent-holding company that lost its infringement case against Fitbit is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that a California federal judge and her husband's financial ties to Fitbit parent Google are so strong that "if these circumstances do not warrant recusal ... then nothing does."

  • March 05, 2025

    Teva Wants Pause Of Patent Delisting For High Court Appeal

    Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals is hoping the Federal Circuit will keep an injunction ordering it to remove its inhaler patents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book on hold while it appeals the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • March 05, 2025

    Feds Urge Justices To Allow Nuke Waste Storage In Texas

    The federal government on Wednesday told U.S. Supreme Court justices that the Fifth Circuit wrongly inserted itself into the debate over U.S. nuclear waste policy by nixing federal approval for a temporary storage facility in Texas.

  • March 05, 2025

    NJ Panel Wrestles With Reviving Lorillard's Tax Refund Claim

    New Jersey state appeals court judges grappled Wednesday with whether to revive tax refund claims from Lorillard following a state Tax Court decision that said changes to a royalty addback and deduction rule retroactively fixed constitutional issues with the regulation.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Marketing Costs Can Permit ITC Patent Suits

    The Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday that the U.S. International Trade Commission has wrongly prohibited domestic expenses related to sales, marketing and other activities from allowing companies to pursue ITC patent cases, and revived a suit brought by eyelash extension company Lashify.

  • March 05, 2025

    Gun Group Urges Full 6th Circ. Take Up Sig Sauer Safety Case

    The right to keep and bear arms would be infringed if customers can sue gun manufacturers on a theory that a pistol without an external safety is defectively designed, a gun advocacy group is arguing, urging the full Sixth Circuit to review a product liability lawsuit against Sig Sauer Inc.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Lenovo, Databricks Patent Fights In Texas

    The Federal Circuit has turned down efforts by Lenovo and Databricks to ship separate lawsuits they are facing from patent-holding companies out of the Eastern District of Texas.

  • March 05, 2025

    Native Groups Want Equal Footing In Fed. Appellate Courts

    Native American rights' groups are urging a federal appellate judicial rules committee to add federally recognized tribes to a list of entities that do not need a court's approval to file an amicus brief, saying the disparity restricts how and when tribal nations gain a voice in lawsuits that impact them.

  • March 05, 2025

    Wash. Justices Won't Take Up VW's $4.7M Asbestos Loss

    The estate of a mechanic who died of mesothelioma he claimed he contracted from asbestos in Volkswagen AG's brake pads can keep a $4.7 million jury win, after the Washington state's highest court rejected the automaker's bid for review.

  • March 05, 2025

    CashCall Wants 9th Circ. Redo Of Order To Pay CFPB $134M

    CashCall Inc. has asked for a rehearing of its Ninth Circuit loss that kept it on the hook for a $134 million restitution payment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, arguing that when the online lender was fined in 2016, CashCall could not relinquish its "known right" to a jury trial because the right did not exist at the time.

  • March 05, 2025

    Atty Can Be Retried For 'Disrespecting' Judge, Court Told

    Double jeopardy does not apply to summary contempt convictions, the Michigan Supreme Court heard Tuesday, as a Detroit court argued that a criminal defense attorney can be retried on a contempt charge for what a judge described as disrespectful behavior.

  • March 05, 2025

    Airplane Parts Makers Say Fatal Crash Order Invites 'Chaos'

    A pair of airplane parts makers have urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to reverse the dismissal of their appeal in a fatal crash case, arguing that the lower appellate court "usurped" the justices' authority by tossing the appeal despite an active stay order from the high court.

  • March 05, 2025

    SuperValu Wins FCA Case That Went To High Court

    An Illinois federal jury cleared SuperValu of liability Tuesday on whistleblower claims that it billed the government higher-than-customary prices for millions of prescriptions, marking the end to an important test of a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling reviving the case.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • 5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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