Appellate

  • September 19, 2024

    6th Circ. Upholds NLRB's Severance Order Against Hospital

    The Sixth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a National Labor Relations Board decision that found a Michigan hospital violated federal labor law through its offer of severance agreements, but didn't weigh in on whether the board's precedent shift on pacts that include nondisparagement clauses should stand.

  • September 19, 2024

    Pa. Justices Cement Dismissal Of Ballot Date Rule Challenge

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court headed off voting-rights groups' effort to quickly revive a challenge to state rules for signing and dating mail-in ballots, clarifying Thursday that a statewide court would still lack jurisdiction even if the challengers added all 67 counties to the case.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ch. 7 Trustee Urges Justices To Uphold Return Of Taxes

    The bankruptcy trustee of a defunct Utah transportation company warned the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that overturning a decision forcing the IRS to return tax payments made by company directors to cover their personal debts would encourage shareholder fraud.

  • September 19, 2024

    Conn. Justices Seem Open To Child Bond Claims In Injury Suit

    Two Connecticut Supreme Court justices on Thursday seemed open to allowing parents to seek a new legal remedy for the impairment of their relationship with a child, with one justice observing that compensable losses aren't limited to "obligatory functions" under the state's existing tort law.

  • September 19, 2024

    Union Pacific Contractors Again Escape Texas Enviro Claims

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss without prejudice the claims scores of people lodged against two Union Pacific Railroad Co. contractors in their litigation over cancer-causing contamination related to a Houston rail yard.

  • September 19, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Takes $166M Arbitration Loss To 4th Circ.

    Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg is looking to overturn a $166 million arbitral award favoring defunct Dutch life insurer Conservatrix after a North Carolina federal judge found the proceedings were conducted fairly.

  • September 19, 2024

    5th Circ. Says Deported Honduran Wrongly Deemed A Felon

    The Fifth Circuit has vacated the removal order of a Honduran woman charged as an accessory to an armed robbery, finding that the Louisiana statute she was deported under for an aggravated felony doesn't align with the federal definition of the removable offense of obstruction of justice.

  • September 19, 2024

    Fla. Panel Backs Simon Option On Closed Boca Raton Sears

    A split Florida appeals court has sided with Simon Property Group in backing a trial court ruling that the owner of a Boca Raton mall has a right to buy a vacant Sears store after Seritage Growth Properties pitched a redevelopment plan out of line with a 1980s easement.

  • September 19, 2024

    EPA Urges DC Circ. Not To Block Coal Ash Rule Implementation

    A Kentucky electric utility is "misleading" the D.C. Circuit about how clean former coal ash pits are once the material is removed, and should not be allowed to block implementation of a new coal ash rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Norwich Asks Justices To Allow Sale Of Generic Diarrhea Drug

    A New York drugmaker has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the courts have gone too far in preventing the release of a generic version of a blockbuster diarrhea drug, after a lower court found there was a way of using the drug that would infringe certain patents.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ohio Panel Says Landfill Death Suit Shouldn't Be Thrown Out

    A split Ohio state appeals court has revived a wrongful death suit brought against waste management firm Rumpke Sanitary Landfill Inc. over a tree on its land that fell and killed a motorist passing a landfill, with one judge saying the company can't be held liable and another calling for new standards.

  • September 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Hilton Builder's $7.5M Insurance Suit

    Two insurers for a construction company have no duty to provide coverage for a more than $7.5 million water damage claim, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday, finding a rain damage exclusion in the company's policies is applicable.

  • September 19, 2024

    Conn. Justices Wonder How 'Malicious' Firm's Ex-Client Was

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday questioned whether an ex-McCarter & English LLP client was "wanton" and "malicious" enough to justify the firm's novel $3.6 million punitive damages bid in a protracted billing dispute that has already fetched the firm judgments totaling more than $2 million on contract claims.

  • September 19, 2024

    New NJ Senator Seeks Postelection Vote On 3rd Circ. Nominee

    New Jersey's new U.S. senator, freshly sworn-in Democrat George Helmy, hopes the Senate will vote after the election on the long-stalled nomination of Adeel Mangi to the Third Circuit, which includes his state.

  • September 19, 2024

    7th Circ. Asks If Law School Should Be 'Safe Space'

    Seventh Circuit judges considering a retaliation suit from a University of Illinois Chicago Law School professor who used a racist slur in an exam hypothetical asked Thursday if law schools should really be a "safe space" shielding students from the kind of "horrific facts" courts deal with regularly. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Defend At-Sea Monitoring Rule Despite Chevron Demise

    The federal government is defending its power to require fishermen to partially fund the cost of compliance monitors aboard their ships, arguing to the D.C. Circuit that the demise of the so-called Chevron deference doesn't change the fact that federal law authorizes the at-sea monitoring rules.

  • September 19, 2024

    Calif. Panel Rejects Malpractice Claim In Ambulance Crash Suit

    A California appeals panel won't revive a woman's legal malpractice suit against her former attorney stemming from an ambulance crash suit that was filed too late, finding she also filed the malpractice suit outside the one-year statute of limitations.

  • September 19, 2024

    Mich. Judge Can't End Probe Over Alleged Lies

    Michigan's judicial misconduct watchdog on Wednesday rejected a recommendation to dismiss an ethics probe of a Detroit judge accused of lying to investigators about another judge's alleged misconduct, finding that a public hearing is necessary to determine the merits of the case.

  • September 19, 2024

    Tax Or Fee, Utility Rates Beyond Review, Ga. Justices Hear

    A Georgia city told the state Supreme Court on Thursday that its use of utility fees to bolster city coffers was not an illegal tax, despite a sports bar owner's claims to the contrary, and that a trial court rightly said it could not decide the matter.

  • September 19, 2024

    Disbarred Fla. Atty Sentenced To Jail Time For Contempt

    A disbarred Florida attorney has been sentenced to time in jail followed by probation and ordered to pay a nearly $24,000 fine for indirect criminal contempt and continuing to practice law even after his license was revoked.

  • September 19, 2024

    Alaska Man Accused Of Death Threats Against Justices

    An Alaska man has been indicted on charges of sending hundreds of hate-filled messages that included death, kidnap and assault threats to six unnamed U.S. Supreme Court justices, according to court documents.

  • September 19, 2024

    DC Circ. Skeptical Of Copyrights For AI-Created Artworks

    A trio of D.C. Circuit judges appeared skeptical Thursday of arguments from an artificial intelligence inventor trying to copyright a painting by his AI system, questioning whether he is backing off his stance that his program created the art completely autonomously — the very reason the U.S. Copyright Office rejected his application.

  • September 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Role Must Face Scrutiny, Djibouti Tells DC Circ.

    The Republic of Djibouti has told the D.C. Circuit that there is no need to take a second look at a panel's July opinion that sent a dispute involving a $470 million-plus arbitral award back to the trial court to determine whether Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP had authority to represent a port operator in a long-running legal battle.

  • September 19, 2024

    3rd Circ. Curious When Workplace Acts Become 'Concerted'

    Third Circuit judges pressed the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday to specify what elevated a Pennsylvania plastic company employee's complaints about working during COVID-19 closures into protected, "concerted" activities, if there was little evidence that other employees joined him in his concerns.

  • September 19, 2024

    H&R Block Again Asks 8th Circ. To Remove ALJs In Ad Suit

    H&R Block asked the Eighth Circuit to reconsider its denial of the company's request to stop administrative law judges from presiding over its coming false-advertising hearing before the Federal Trade Commission, saying the court's one-sentence ruling lacked any explanation despite the significant constitutional issues involved.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Justices' Malicious-Prosecution Ruling Shows Rare Restraint

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, Ohio, declining to limit malicious-prosecution suits, is a model of judicial modesty and incrementalism, in sharp contrast to the court’s dramatic swings on other rights, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School.

  • Series

    After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Opinion

    Trump Immunity Ruling Upends Our Constitutional Scheme

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. U.S. decision elevates the president to imperial status and paves the way for nearly absolute presidential immunity from potential criminal prosecutions — with no constitutional textual support, says Paul Berman at the George Washington University Law School.

  • High Court Paves Middle Ground For Proceedings Obstruction

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Fischer sensibly leaves the door open for prosecutors to make more nuanced assessments as to whether defendants' actions directly or tangentially impair the availability or integrity of anything used in an official proceeding, without criminalizing acts such as peaceful demonstrations, say attorneys at Perry Law.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

  • Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Calif. Ruling Heightens Medical Product Maker Liability

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    The California Supreme Court's decision in Himes v. Somatics last month articulates a new causation standard for medical product manufacturer liability that may lead to stronger product disclosures nationwide and greater friction between manufacturers and physicians, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

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