Appellate

  • March 13, 2025

    $181K Sanctions Against Texas AG-Tied Investor Stand

    A Texas appeals court upheld around $181,000 in sanctions against the real estate developer at the center of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed impeachment, finding in a Thursday opinion that developer Natin Paul breached court orders when he wired money to an NBA player.

  • March 13, 2025

    Grubhub Can't Force Arbitration, But Uber Can At 2nd Circ.

    A partially divided Second Circuit panel said Thursday that Grubhub cannot force into arbitration a proposed class action's price-fixing claims based on rules barring restaurants from selling food more cheaply through other channels, but left the arbitrability question for the same claims against Uber Eats up to the arbitrator.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sides With Merck In Reissued Patent Debate

    The Federal Circuit isn't buying that a reissued patent was actually "issued" at the time it was originally awarded, dashing generic-drug makers' hopes of breaking pharmaceutical giant Merck's hold on a blockbuster drug that counteracts the effects of anesthesia.

  • March 13, 2025

    Merck Asks Justices To Block Fosamax Failure-To-Warn Suits

    Merck has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Third Circuit ruling that allowed more than 1,000 state-law failure-to-warn claims over its osteoporosis drug Fosamax, arguing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's formal rejection of a such a proposed warning label should block such lawsuits under federal law.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fla. Attys Disbarred, Suspended For Forgery Accusations

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday disbarred a West Palm Beach attorney for making threatening social media posts during litigation, repeatedly failing to file a viable complaint in a toxic tort case, and falsely accusing opposing counsel of forgery, an infraction that also earned his co-counsel a suspension.

  • March 13, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Kills Injunction In Indiana Power Line Dispute

    The Seventh Circuit has knocked down an injunction blocking an Indiana right of first refusal law that gives Indiana-based utilities the first shot at securing new transmission project contracts before those from other states.

  • March 13, 2025

    Calif. AG Appealing State Limits On Pay-For-Delay Ban

    California enforcers are appealing to the Ninth Circuit after a lower court found that a new state law restricting "reverse payment" settlements between brand-name and generic-drug makers cannot be used to regulate deals that were struck outside the state.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Dings Antibody Patent App For Lacking Description

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed a decision from top U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials in a highly watched and technical dispute over an antibody patent application, concluding that preambles for so-called Jepson claims need sufficient written descriptions.

  • March 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Saks, Luxury Brands No-Poach Case

    A Second Circuit panel refused Thursday to revive an antitrust suit from former Saks Fifth Avenue employees over the retailer's alleged agreements with Gucci, Louis Vuitton and other luxury fashion houses to not hire workers from its stores.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. OKs Injunction Against Innova's Car Circuit Testers

    The Federal Circuit decided Thursday to keep an injunction in place stopping sales of Innova Electronics Corp.'s car-testing devices amid allegations those devices infringe a patent by rival Power Probe Group Inc.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives Bid For Increased Costs From DHS Build

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday revived a construction contractor's claim for additional costs under a contract to construct a utilities plant at U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters, finding the government's building specifications were inadequate.

  • March 13, 2025

    Ga. Judge Slams 'Meaningless' Reading Of Open Records Act

    A Georgia appellate judge took his colleagues to task Thursday for not backing a local newspaper publisher's effort to force a city to hand over its police records, writing that a majority opinion that declined to fully resolve the dispute "substitute[s] our policy preferences for the policy choices of the legislature."

  • March 13, 2025

    Ga. Court Nixes Reinstatement Of Officer Who Beat Jail Inmate

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court decision that reinstated to his job a former Athens-Clarke County police officer who was found to have beaten a person incarcerated in county jail, ruling there was enough evidence to justify the officer's firing for the assault.

  • March 13, 2025

    Karen Read Loses Double Jeopardy Bid In Federal Court

    Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman who stands accused of killing her boyfriend with her SUV, will not be able to avoid a retrial in state court after a federal judge on Thursday denied her bid to escape two charges that jurors supposedly rejected during deliberations.

  • March 13, 2025

    Pa. Justices Let Convicted Doctor Reapply For License

    A former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center radiologist who lost his license for unlawfully prescribing Vicodin can seek reinstatement less than 10 years after his 2019 suspension thanks to a change in state law defining a drug trafficking offense, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

  • March 13, 2025

    Full Fed. Circ. Probes Basis For $20M Google Patent Verdict

    The en banc Federal Circuit on Thursday closely scrutinized the damages evidence underlying EcoFactor's $20 million thermostat patent trial victory against Google, with some judges suggesting that it doesn't support the testimony given by EcoFactor's expert witness.

  • March 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Ends Idaho Abortion Law Row After Mutual Dismissal

    A Ninth Circuit panel has dropped an appeal from Idaho claiming the state's strict abortion ban doesn't conflict with a federal law protecting emergency abortions, after the Trump administration announced its decision to drop the Biden-era legal challenge. 

  • March 13, 2025

    Mich. High Court Unsure Of GOP Role In Poll Worker Parity

    Michigan Supreme Court justices mulled whether the Republican Party has standing to seek better representation of its party in the election workforce on Thursday while hinting mootness could present a wrinkle in the two-year-old case.

  • March 13, 2025

    Cavanagh Selected As Mich. Supreme Court's Chief Justice

    Justice Megan K. Cavanagh will become the Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice when Justice Elizabeth T. Clement steps down next month, the court announced Thursday. 

  • March 13, 2025

    Colo. Panel Keeps Workers' Comp Law Out Of Contractor Suit

    An independent contractor cannot use Colorado's workers' compensation law to limit the damages awarded to a colleague for his negligence claim over an on-the-job injury, a state appeals panel ruled Thursday, saying that the two worked together, but not for each other.

  • March 13, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Rehear Ex-Electric Co. Exec's Severance Suit

    The Sixth Circuit will not rethink its panel decision upholding the dismissal of a severance suit brought by American Electric Power Services Corp.'s former chief digital officer who claimed he was shortchanged on his way out the door, according to a Thursday order.

  • March 13, 2025

    Rink Can't Escape Skater's Party Injury Claim, Ill. Panel Says

    An Illinois skating rink was incorrectly handed a pre-trial win over accusations that its failure to keep a floor supervisor on duty during a backward-skating round caused a man's injury during a birthday party, a state appellate panel said Wednesday.  

  • March 13, 2025

    Full 4th Circ. Urged To Rethink Drug Price-Fixing Class Action

    The Fourth Circuit's dismissal of a proposed class action accusing drug companies of conspiring to inflate the price of a drug for Huntington's disease has deepened a circuit split on proving injury under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a group of reimbursement recovery entities has said in asking the full court to rethink the ruling.

  • March 13, 2025

    Colo. Appeals Court Affirms $2.6M Award To Car Crash Victim

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday declined to throw out a jury's $2.6 million economic damages award to a car accident victim following arguments that her experts didn't explicitly state her medical expenses were of "reasonable value," finding the jury had enough information to reach their decision.

  • March 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Ex-Uber Exec's Conviction Over Data Breach

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a former Uber security executive's conviction for attempting to cover up a data breach from government investigators, rejecting his challenges to the jury instructions and strength of the evidence.

Expert Analysis

  • What SDNY Judge Can And Can't Do In Adams Case

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    The federal judge in the Southern District of New York overseeing the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams deferred making a decision on the government's motion to dismiss the indictment, and while he does have limited authority to deny the motion, that would ultimately be a futile gesture, says Ethan Greenberg at Anderson Kill.

  • Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove

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    The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Expropriation Claims After Justices' Holocaust Asset Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Hungary v. Simon, rejecting Holocaust survivors' claims against the Hungarian government under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception, continues the trend of narrowly interpreting that exception and offers important guidance for future plaintiffs considering such claims, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Questions Remain After Justices' Narrow E-Rate FCA Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wisconsin Bell, holding that requests for reimbursement from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are subject to False Claims Act liability, resolves one important question but leaves several others open, says Jason Neal at HWG.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Colo. Anti-SLAPP Cases Highlight Dismiss Standard Disparity

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    A pair of recent decisions from the Colorado Court of Appeals highlights two disparate standards for courts evaluating anti-SLAPP motions: one that requires a court to accept the plaintiff's evidence as true and another that allows the court to assess its merits, says Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane.

  • Appealing An Interlocutory Order On Insurer Duty To Defend

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    A recent First Circuit decision on a motion regarding an insurer's duty to defend underlying litigation highlights how policyholders may be able to pursue immediate appeals of interlocutory orders, especially in light of other circuit courts' stances on this issue, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Del. Supreme Court TripAdvisor Ruling May Limit 'MFW Creep'

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Maffei v. Palkon ruling regarding TripAdvisor's proposed reincorporation to Nevada potentially signals a turning point in the trend of expanding the protections from Kahn v. M&F Worldwide to other types of transactions, says Andrew J. Haile at Elon University.

  • 9th Circ. Draws The Line On Software As A Derivative Work

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Oracle International v. Rimini Street clarifies the meaning of derivative work under the Copyright Act, and when a work based upon a preexisting item doesn't constitute a derivative, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

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    Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Justices' Certiorari Denial Leaves Interstate Tax Questions

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review a Philadelphia resident’s claim that her Delaware state income taxes should be credited against her city wage tax liabilities, constitutional questions about state and local tax distinctions linger, and some states may continue to apply Supreme Court precedent differently, say attorneys at Dentons.

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