Appellate

  • November 26, 2024

    NIH Beats 4th Circ. Bid To Unmask COVID Researcher

    National Institutes of Health on Tuesday defeated a circuit court appeal by a whistleblower organization which had sought to uncover the identity of a Wuhan University researcher who submitted sequencing data to an open-access NIH archive.

  • November 26, 2024

    Del. Justices Uphold Chancery Toss Of No-Compete Suit

    Delaware's Supreme Court has backed a Court of Chancery finding that private equity firm Court Square Capital Management wrongly withheld nearly $5.4 million in carried interest payments from former partner Kevin Brown after he was accused — three years after his 2016 departure — of violating a no-compete agreement.

  • November 26, 2024

    Amazon Not Liable For Chemical Used In Suicides, Panel Says

    A Washington state appeals court on Monday said Amazon can't be sued for the online sale of a chemical that four people used to kill themselves, in an opinion that said the state's product liability law has not caught up with the "previously unfathomable accessibility to instrumentalities of death."

  • November 26, 2024

    Tossing Uri Consumers' Claims Stifles 'Growth,' Justice Says

    A Texas appellate court justice said Tuesday that a decision by the court finding that power plants owed nothing to consumers for damages resulting from outages during Winter Storm Uri stifles "growth" in common law, dissenting from his colleagues who denied a motion for the whole court to rehear the case.

  • November 26, 2024

    Split 4th Circ. Won't Review Duke Monopoly Suit Revival

    A split Fourth Circuit denied on Tuesday an en banc review petition challenging a decision reviving antitrust allegations against Duke Energy, with the majority writing that granting the review would waste judicial resources, and a dissenting judge slamming the majority for purportedly being at odds with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • November 26, 2024

    Muscogee Nation Seeks Swift Ruling In Tulsa Jurisdiction Row

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is urging an Oklahoma federal court to swiftly block Tulsa from asserting criminal jurisdiction over its eastern Oklahoma reservation, arguing that "crystal clear" court precedent supports the tribe's position.

  • November 26, 2024

    Wells Fargo Dodges 2nd Circ. Rehearing In $500M Plunge Suit

    The Second Circuit has rejected a rehearing bid by two investors seeking to revive their proposed class action accusing Wells Fargo Securities LLC of causing a Chicago fund manager lose at least $500 million by wrongfully forcing the liquidation of its mutual fund and other investments.

  • November 26, 2024

    EPA Asks Justices Not To Block Coal Ash Rule

    U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar called on the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to reject a Kentucky electric utility's effort to halt a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule strengthening federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash.

  • November 26, 2024

    Prosecutor Defends Outside Counsel Hires To Mich. Justices

    A Michigan county's elected prosecutor told the state Supreme Court his stymied request to seek legal advice from outside law firms was valid, arguing he should be able to consult attorneys to manage risk after the county's corporation counsel refused to represent him. 

  • November 26, 2024

    T-Mobile, Sprint Slam FCC Privacy Fine At DC Circ.

    T-Mobile and Sprint are asking the D.C. Circuit to knock down $92 million in fines the FCC slapped them with for selling users' sensitive location data, saying that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision backs their contention they deserved a jury trial.

  • November 26, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Rehear Soldier's Loss In Suit Against Fluor

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday declined to rehear, or rehear en banc, a split panel decision from October in a former Army specialist's suit against defense contractor Fluor Corp. over injuries he sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan. 

  • November 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Pauses Ruling For VA To Build Vets' Housing

    The Ninth Circuit paused a federal judge's order for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build housing for veterans on a Los Angeles campus, allowing time for several constituents to weigh in on the matter.

  • November 26, 2024

    Affinity Bar Groups Decry Colo. No-Poach Restrictions

    Several attorney groups told Colorado's justices that barring lawyers from recruiting colleagues before officially leaving a firm would take away professional autonomy and harm lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds the most, filing briefs in support of a lawyer's challenge to her contract with a personal injury firm. 

  • November 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Review Rejection Of Dish's $3.9M Fees Award

    The full Federal Circuit declined Tuesday to reconsider a panel's ruling that vacated a $3.9 million attorney fees award to Dish Network for its successful defense against a Realtime Adaptive Streaming patent suit.

  • November 26, 2024

    5th Circ. Says CFPB Payday Rule Can Take Effect Next Year

    The Fifth Circuit said Monday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can begin requiring compliance with its payday lending rule in just a few months as planned, sidestepping a request from lender trade groups to keep a court-ordered stay in place for longer. 

  • November 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Reopens Teachers' Retirement Savings Interest Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a class action accusing the Washington state pension agency of unlawfully skimming interest earned by thousands of teachers on their retirement accounts, ruling the trial court went too far when it ruled the educators' suit was untimely.

  • November 26, 2024

    Justices Told To Review Fight Over PTAB Panel Makeups

    A company that had its processor module patent claims thrown out by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is arguing at the U.S. Supreme Court that the way the board is set up flouts the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • November 26, 2024

    EPA Overstepped With Methane Control Rule, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure infringe on states' authority to tailor their own regulations, Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups told the D.C. Circuit Monday.

  • November 26, 2024

    Best Buy Must Face Suit Over Deliveryman Sex Assault

    A New York state appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a suit seeking to hold Best Buy liable for a delivery worker's sexual assault of a customer, saying the dismissal was improperly based on the testimony of a manager who was hired seven years after the incident occurred.

  • November 26, 2024

    Law Firms' Tobacco Fee-Sharing Showdown Revived In Texas

    A split Texas appeals panel has remanded a dispute between an attorney and an ex-attorney over a fee-sharing agreement in tobacco litigation, finding that the contract was ambiguous and that a trial court was wrong to conclude otherwise.

  • November 26, 2024

    Fulton County DA Seeks To Reinstate Trump Election Charges

    The Fulton County District Attorney's Office told the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday that six criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others should be reinstated as they have an "abundance" of information to prepare their defense against allegations of trying to subvert the results of the November 2020 election.

  • November 26, 2024

    Illinois Landowners Blast FERC Moves On $7B Power Line

    The Federal Energy Regulatory unlawfully amended a negotiated rate authority for the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage power line despite not sanctioning a 2020 change in project ownership, Illinois residents, farmers and landowners told the D.C. Circuit Monday.

  • November 26, 2024

    Lawmaker-Turned-Judge Right Not To Recuse, Panel Says

    A New Jersey appellate panel has backed a state judge's decision not to recuse herself from a dependency case involving a law she sponsored in her previous role as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, issuing a precedential ruling that the judge's knowledge of the law would not harm her ability to interpret it fairly.

  • November 26, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend $3.4M Faulty Work Row

    An architectural design firm's commercial general liability insurer must defend it and its owner against faulty work claims seeking more than $3.4 million in damages, the Seventh Circuit ruled, after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned prior appellate precedent siding with insurers in such disputes.

  • November 26, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Backs NLRB's Finding On Worker's Firing

    A company that supplies staff to a food distributor violated federal labor law by firing a worker who went directly to the distributor with her wage concerns, a split Fifth Circuit found, upholding a National Labor Relations Board finding.

Expert Analysis

  • Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY

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    The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.

  • In Terror Case, DC Circ. Must Weigh Justices' Twitter Ruling

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    When the D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in AstraZeneca UK v. Atchley, how the court interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh will have a significant impact on future claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling

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    A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied

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    Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

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    Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

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    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

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    In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

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