Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
September 09, 2024
Colo. Justices To Weigh Excess MedMal Damage Calculations
Colorado's justices agreed Monday to consider the standard for how a trial court determines if a $1 million cap on medical malpractice damages can be exceeded, granting a hospital company's petition to review a nearly $40 million judgment.
-
September 09, 2024
EPA Power Plant GHG Rule Is Unworkable, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's push to curb greenhouse gas pollution from power plants imposes unrealistic carbon capture and sequestration requirements, jeopardizes power grid reliability and exceeds its Clean Air Act authority, two dozen states and a host of coal and utility groups told the D.C. Circuit on Friday.
-
September 09, 2024
Disability Rights Group Wants In On Ga. Election Law Fight
A Georgia-based disability rights organization asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to be let into a legal challenge that successfully blocked two Peach State election law provisions that put additional rules on voting by mail and handing out food and water to voters.
-
September 09, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Ruling In Food Wrapping Feud
The Federal Circuit has refused to revive claims in a trio of Converter Manufacturing LLC food wrapping patents, handing a win to patent challenger Tekni-Plex Inc. in the legal dispute.
-
September 09, 2024
Mass. High Court Hints At Notice Rule To Open Clerk Hearings
Justices of Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared to signal that 28 men accused of patronizing high-end brothels catering to attorneys, political figures and other high-profile clients should have been given a chance to oppose a request by news organizations to open what are normally closed-door hearings.
-
September 09, 2024
5th Circ. Lets BP Keep Deepwater Horizon Cleanup Suit Win
The Fifth Circuit won't upend BP's win in a suit by a boat captain alleging he was injured while helping with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, finding the trial court rightly excluded his expert for failing to prove that exposure to the chemicals could have caused his claimed injuries.
-
September 09, 2024
Immigration Nonprofit Can Join 10th Circ. Okla. Suit, For Now
A nonprofit that has backed the Biden administration's opposition to Oklahoma's ban on unauthorized immigrants living in the state can participate in the state's appeal to the Tenth Circuit, but the appellate court said the panel ultimately assigned to the case can decide otherwise.
-
September 09, 2024
Red States, Industry Look To Sink EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
The federal government's rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans must be squashed because it favors electric vehicles in a way only Congress can do, 26 red states and a coalition of business groups have told the D.C. Circuit.
-
September 09, 2024
Baltimore Strikes $80M Opioid Settlement With Teva
Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay Baltimore $80 million to resolve claims that the company inflamed the city's opioid crisis, the city of Baltimore announced Monday ahead of a trial slated to begin next week against the remaining defendants in the Maryland state court litigation.
-
September 09, 2024
Colo. Justices Rule Amazon's Holiday Pay Must Be In OT Math
Amazon's holiday incentive pay is the type of compensation Colorado wage law requires to be included in overtime calculations, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday, agreeing with warehouse workers that the incentive pay needed to be included in their regular rate when calculating overtime.
-
September 09, 2024
FERC Botched Tenn. Pipeline Approval, Enviro Orgs Tell DC Circ.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relied on a botched climate change analysis to unlawfully approve a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant that is set to replace a coal-fired plant, environmentalists told the D.C. Circuit.
-
September 09, 2024
DC Circ. Revives Legal Malpractice Suit Over Terrorism Case
The D.C. Circuit has revived legal malpractice claims brought by the family of a bombing victim who was killed in Jerusalem in 1997 by Hamas militants, after the family claimed their counsel's slow progress deprived them of a chance at a larger recovery in a mass disbursement of Iranian assets to terrorism victims.
-
September 09, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.
-
September 09, 2024
Kramer Levin Beats NJ Malpractice Suit From RE Developer
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has defeated a malpractice suit from a real estate developer who claimed it represented both the developer and a firm partner's son — who was an employee of the developer — at the same time, according to a New Jersey state appellate decision issued Monday.
-
September 07, 2024
Justice Barrett Describes Life With Constant Security Detail
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Friday her around-the-clock protection has been the largest adjustment since joining the high court, recalling an evening when she had to explain the bulletproof vest she was issued to her 13-year-old.
-
September 07, 2024
Colo. Justice Warns Judges: Studying Up On AI Isn't Optional
Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter urged judges and lawyers Saturday not to wait to learn about how artificial intelligence tools are being used in the legal profession, citing thorny situations raised by the technology including litigants who push back against their lawyers based on inaccurate AI-generated information.
-
September 06, 2024
11th Circ. Judge Continues Drum Beat For Bench Use Of AI
An Eleventh Circuit judge who has explored how courts might use artificial intelligence to interpret terms in legal disputes revisited this idea in a recent concurring opinion in a criminal appeal, though he acknowledged the notion is "fairly provocative."
-
September 06, 2024
DC Circ. Considers Age Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Claims
Even after more than an hour of argument, the D.C. Circuit didn't seem convinced Friday that ex-Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page timely accused the Justice Department, the FBI and several individuals of various violations tied to their surveillance of him as they probed Russian election interference.
-
September 06, 2024
7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Revive Fraud Claims Against Firm
The Seventh Circuit seemed inclined Friday not to disturb lower court rulings that sank a litigation funder's fraud and damages claims against a law firm that abruptly dropped the business to represent a former employee who left to open a competing venture.
-
September 06, 2024
NJ Atty's Med Mal, Defamation Suit Against Hospital Revived
A New Jersey appellate court on Friday reinstated a suit accusing a hospital of negligently committing an attorney complaining of hip pain as a schizophrenia patient, saying the requisite medical expert affidavit was not necessary due to the so-called common knowledge exception.
-
September 06, 2024
Takeaways From Fair Use Rejection Of Free E-Book Library
The Second Circuit's decision shutting down a fair use argument by Internet Archive over its system of scanning physical books and converting them into e-books to lend for free is a resounding victory for book publishers that argued their market was in danger of being supplanted.
-
September 06, 2024
Texas Biz Court Will Be A Brave New World For Energy Cos.
Energy companies gained a new forum to hash out their legal fights Sept. 1 when the Texas business court recently started hearing cases, but questions about the court and how it'll operate might give companies pause before they take the plunge. Here's what energy companies and energy attorneys should know as the new court gets up and running.
-
September 06, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives ParkerVision Patent Suit Against Qualcomm
The Federal Circuit on Friday revived a ParkerVision Inc. lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. over wireless communications patents, ruling that a Florida judge wrongly relied on earlier decisions to grant summary judgment to Qualcomm and exclude ParkerVision's experts.
-
September 06, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Bulk Of CFTC's Fraud Claim Win Against CEO
The Seventh Circuit has largely upheld a win for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, finding that the head of a Chicago-based brokerage conducted a multimillion-dollar options fraud scheme, but remanded on two claims related to whether the company was required to register as a commodity trading adviser.
-
September 06, 2024
Fla. Hospital Wins Records Fight In Amputation Suit
A Florida appeals court ruled Friday that a hospital need not produce an orthopedic surgeon's "credentialing file" in a suit accusing the surgeon of providing negligent care resulting in a leg amputation, saying the documents are protected under the state's Peer Review Statutes.
Expert Analysis
-
Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
-
Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
-
5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
-
A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
-
PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.
-
To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
-
Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
-
Fed. Circ. Rulings Crystallize Polymorph Patent 'Obviousness'
A comparison of two recent Federal Circuit obviousness challenge decisions regarding polymorph patents provides helpful insight into the assessment of screening arguments, particularly the issue of reasonable expectation of success, say Michael Green and John Molenda at Steptoe.
-
DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
-
Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
-
3 Infringement Defenses To Consider 10 Years Post-Nautilus
In the 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s influential Nautilus ruling, the spirit of the “amenable to construction” test that the opinion rejected persists with many patent litigators and judges, so patent infringement defense counsel should always consider several key arguments, says John Vandenberg at Klarquist Sparkman.
-
NY Ruling Paves A Court Payment Shortcut For More Creditors
A recent New York state appeals court ruling expands access to an expedited statutory procedure for court enforcement of promissory notes or unconditional guaranties, allowing more creditors to minimize the risk of potentially challenging litigation on threshold issues, says Alexander Levi at Friedman Kaplan.
-
9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense
The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
-
After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air
The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.
-
3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.