Appellate

  • July 18, 2024

    6th Circ. Questions If Kellogg 401(k) Claims Can Be Arbitrated

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday suggested the terms of Kellogg Co.'s retirement plan may bar a former accountant from bringing claims the plan was mismanaged, as the company tries to enforce an arbitration clause that arguably prevents planwide relief. 

  • July 18, 2024

    Cannabis Co. Can't Snuff $300K Judgment In Contract Row

    A Washington state appeals court has rejected a bid by cannabis company Royal Concentrates LLC and its owners to throw out a $300,000 judgment against them in a contract dispute with an investment partner, saying any error in the exclusion of a last-minute witness and evidence was harmless.

  • July 18, 2024

    Del. Justices Asked To Undo Firm's 'Malicious' Suit Escape

    Applied Energetics is asking the Delaware Supreme Court to revive a complaint alleging Gusrae Kaplan Nusbaum PLLC and a former partner filed a frivolous federal securities fraud suit in order to hobble other litigation against the company's former chief executive officer.

  • July 18, 2024

    Au Pair Co. Can't Arbitrate Wage Claims, 1st Circ. Told

    A group of former au pairs who say they were underpaid for their work has urged the First Circuit to affirm that Cultural Care can't force them into arbitration in Switzerland, calling the agency's position a delay tactic with no merit.

  • July 17, 2024

    EPA Disputes High Court Link To Texas Clean Air Act Case

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling blocking a federal plan to reduce cross-state pollution does not impact the EPA's decision to reject state plans submitted by Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

  • July 17, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Cos. Appeal Injunction After $811M Loss

    Immigrant bond companies subject to an $811 million judgment for abusive bonding practices told the Fourth Circuit that a lower court's injunction against them is vague and far broader than federal law allows.

  • July 17, 2024

    Client Bids Didn't Trigger Fla. Long-Arm Law In Breach Suit

    A Florida appellate court on Wednesday tossed a breach of contract lawsuit brought by a wealth planner against two out-of-state companies, saying that the parties did not do business in Florida and that a visit to win over potential clients wasn't enough to establish jurisdiction in the Sunshine State.

  • July 17, 2024

    PJM Jumps Into 3rd Circ. Row Over Transmission Project

    A Pennsylvania commission's request to have the Third Circuit reinstate its rejection of a power transmission project would impinge on PJM Interconnection's federally mandated planning process, the regional grid operator said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    SEC's Peirce Calls For Rule Agenda Reset After Court Rulings

    Hester Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, called on the agency Wednesday to reconsider its rulemaking agenda given recent court rulings, saying it should "really think about hewing closely" to its statutory mandate, in comments made just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Chevron deference.

  • July 17, 2024

    Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case

    Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.

  • July 17, 2024

    'Inflammatory' Atty Statement Axes $11M Stanley Injury Verdict

    A Missouri appellate court has tossed an $11 million jury verdict in a suit alleging a Stanley Black & Decker unit caused a man to lose an eye due to a defective staple gun, saying plaintiff's counsel made improper "inflammatory" references to Stanley as a "billion-dollar company."

  • July 17, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms SEC's $32M Win Against Investment Adviser

    The First Circuit upheld roughly $32 million in fees, disgorgement and interest the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won against a Nevada-based investment adviser, who was found to have defrauded clients about the track record of a once popular investment scheme, saying the adviser "acted with a high degree of recklessness" in promoting the strategy. 

  • July 17, 2024

    Calif. Asks 9th Circ. To Lift Injunction On Kids' Privacy Law

    California urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to remove an injunction blocking a groundbreaking new law requiring social media platforms to bolster privacy protections for children, defending the protections and arguing that any unconstitutional provision should be severed following the U.S. Supreme Court's Moody v. NetChoice decision.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Open To X's Challenge To Content Disclosure Law

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Wednesday to granting X Corp.'s request to block at least some of a new California law requiring social media companies to provide semiannual disclosures regarding their content moderation policies, with each judge saying one particular provision appears to infringe free speech rights.

  • July 17, 2024

    NJ Casino Must Face Demoted Slots Director's Bias Suit

    A New Jersey appellate panel Wednesday restored a former Resorts Casino Hotel employee's disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, finding that it was unclear if he was disabled after he suffered severe burns in an explosion aboard his boat.

  • July 17, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Allows Limits On Arlington Donation Boxes

    A split Fifth Circuit upheld an Arlington, Texas, ordinance regulating the placement of donation boxes, writing that the regulation is content-neutral and tailored in a way that gives local charities the ability to collect donations through other means, even if it limits box locations.

  • July 17, 2024

    Many AI Patent Eligibility Issues Still Hazy After Guidance

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new guidance on patent eligibility for inventions involving artificial intelligence provides some helpful details for patent applicants, but attorneys say it leaves unanswered questions that will likely require court decisions or legislation to sort out.

  • July 17, 2024

    Producer Petitions 2nd Circ. To Revive Blacklisting Suit

    A Broadway producer accusing an actor and stage workers union of unlawfully blacklisting him following a labor dispute over a musical has asked the Second Circuit for another chance to revive the claims.

  • July 17, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Tells ParkerVision To Close Fla. Case Before Appeal

    The Federal Circuit has ordered ParkerVision and Qualcomm to make a Florida federal judge explicitly end counterclaims in long-running infringement litigation between the two before continuing with ParkerVision's appeal.

  • July 17, 2024

    Del. Gov. Signs Hotly Contested Corp. Law Amendments

    Delaware Gov. John Carney signed into law on Wednesday state code amendments allowing corporations to cede some governance rights to stockholders, as well as some state corporate oversight to other jurisdictions.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Scrubs Dismissal In Plant-Based Huggies Wipes Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a suit alleging that Kimberly Clark Corp.'s baby wipes mislead consumers into thinking they're made entirely from plant products, saying the district court wrongly considered the back label when dismissing claims regarding certain products.

  • July 17, 2024

    Pa. Justices OK Zoning Decision To Allow Suburban Hospital

    A zoning officer for a Pittsburgh suburb was within state law to issue a "use permit" that would allow the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to build near a rival network's existing hospital, even if that permit punted on making sure the plan conformed with other zoning rules, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Too Few Respondents Doomed Plywood Duties, Fed. Circ. Told

    The U.S. Department of Commerce brought a series of unfavorable trade court remands upon itself by selecting only two respondents in its investigation of Chinese hardwood plywood, a company fighting to keep its 0% rate told the Federal Circuit on Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Egypt Law Unsuited For Wash. Worker Case

    The Ninth Circuit said on Tuesday that Washington employment law applies to a worker's wrongful termination claims against Fivos Inc., stymieing the worker's attempt to apply Egyptian labor law because she had worked from the country.

  • July 17, 2024

    6th Circ. To Review 2 Standards In FirstEnergy's Cert. Fight

    The Sixth Circuit indicated Wednesday that it would have to examine the applicability of two different class certification standards in a securities suit by FirstEnergy investors, as the company insisted there was no proof its statements influenced stock prices, and that purported omissions didn't factor into the mix.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    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.

  • Perspectives

    High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform

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    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.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    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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