Appellate

  • March 07, 2025

    Justices Asked To Audit Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' Win

    Structured Asset Sales LLC asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review the Second Circuit's opinion that Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" did not rip off Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," arguing that the lower appellate court incorrectly affirmed that the Copyright Act of 1909 only protected the Motown song's sheet music.

  • March 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Talks Definitions In Express Mobile Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit spent a chunk of its morning hashing it out over the meaning of the phrase "runtime engine" in a pair of disputes brought to the court by Express Mobile, one in which it accused GoDaddy of violating a set of patents and another fighting the invalidation of one of those patents.

  • March 07, 2025

    FINRA Says High Court Appeal Shouldn't Stop Broker's Case

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that it would like to move forward with disciplinary proceedings against a broker currently challenging the organization's constitutionality before the high court, arguing that the broker doesn't face the immediate harm of expulsion from the industry while the case is pending.

  • March 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Panel Wary Of Discarding Prosecution Laches

    A Federal Circuit panel indicated Friday that it doesn't plan to overturn precedent holding that inventors forfeit their patent rights when they cause unreasonable delays in the application process, telling counsel for prolific inventor Gilbert Hyatt that it would take the full court to do that.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Overturns Remand Of Md., SC PFAS Suits Against 3M

    U.S. district court judges erred when they sent lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over environmental contamination from consumer products containing forever chemicals back to state courts, a split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.

  • March 07, 2025

    Frost Bank Wins Arbitration Right In Texas Ownership Dispute

    A Texas appeals court has found Frost Bank has the right to compel arbitration in a tangled ownership dispute involving a privately owned South African packaging company's Texas affiliate, holding Thursday that the bank has a valid arbitration agreement.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ohio, PBMs Say High Court Ruling Didn't End Pricing Appeal

    Ohio state enforcers have told the Sixth Circuit an appeal in their case accusing Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of driving up prescription drug prices was not resolved by a U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing with federal versus state jurisdiction.

  • March 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Critical Of Nordstrom Nixing $6.7M Order

    A Ninth Circuit judge doubted Nordstrom Inc.'s stance on Friday in a suit accusing it of using labor concerns as a false pretense to pull a $6.7 million menswear order, calling the department store chain's alleged oversupply of dress shirts at the time of the cancelation "the elephant in the room."

  • March 07, 2025

    Del. Justices Side With Gov. In State Port Appointment Battle

    Delaware's Supreme Court handed Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer a precedential win Friday in an early-term battle with the state's Democratic-controlled Senate over appointments to the Diamond State Port Corp., operators of the Port of Wilmington.

  • March 07, 2025

    Apple Prevails In Watch Tech Patent Fight At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit handed Apple a significant victory Friday in a dispute that might have led to a ban on imports of its smartwatches, affirming that a competing company's heart monitor patents are invalid and vacating a conflicting U.S. International Trade Commission decision that found the watches infringed those patents.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Novo Nordisk Worker Can't Reopen Harassment Suit

    A former employee of Novo Nordisk can't revive her lawsuit claiming she was let go because she is a Jewish woman and had a back and hip injury, a California state appeals court ruled, finding no issue with a trial court tossing the case after she failed to oppose the move.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Set To Consider NASCAR Antitrust Injunction In May

    The Fourth Circuit will hear arguments on May 9 as to whether NASCAR should be extricated from an injunction forcing it to offer charter contracts to two teams — including one co-owned by former NBA star Michael Jordan — that have accused the league of antitrust violations.

  • March 07, 2025

    1st Circ. Nixes Order Halting Foxconn Patent Arbitration

    The First Circuit on Thursday nixed an order barring a subsidiary of Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn from pursuing arbitration in China of a patent dispute with a U.S. power systems manufacturer while related proceedings at the U.S. International Trade Commission are ongoing.

  • March 07, 2025

    Okla. Gov.'s Brother Can't Use McGirt Ruling to Avoid Ticket

    Keith Stitt, brother of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, can't dodge a speeding ticket on the back of a 2020 landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a state appeals court panel said, arguing that the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, maintains jurisdiction over the dispute.

  • March 07, 2025

    CPKC Rail Merger Enviro Review Needs Redo, DC Circ. Told

    A group of Illinois towns told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that federal regulators relied on flawed train traffic data to approve Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern, failing to account for significant public safety and environmental harms to Windy City communities.

  • March 07, 2025

    Gas Station Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Pollution Coverage Suit

    A Florida gas station owner asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive its lawsuit trying to get Nautilus Insurance Co. to cover the costs to clean up contamination caused by a leaking underground fuel tank, telling the appeals court the company did not learn of the leak until after the policy went into effect.

  • March 07, 2025

    For Many Biden Clemency Grantees, Freedom Is On Hold

    Former President Joe Biden set records when he granted approximately 2,500 people clemency at the end of his term, but the process of getting out of prison for those people has not been so straightforward and two months later, a majority remain in custody.

  • March 07, 2025

    Texas High Court Passes On 1 Of 3 'Love Is Blind' Fights

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to take up a dispute between the producers behind the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" and a former contestant, passing on one of three appeals that stem from the show's fifth season.

  • March 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Probes Ax Of Trader Joe's IP Suit Against Union

    Ninth Circuit judges on Friday questioned a federal judge's decision to toss Trader Joe's trademark suit against a union selling merchandise with the grocers' name, with one saying it was "a little bit unusual" to have a determination about the likelihood of confusion decided at the motion to dismiss stage.

  • March 07, 2025

    Utah Court Affirms Walmart's Collective $52M Property Value

    A trio of Utah-based Walmart retail properties were correctly assessed at a collective $52 million for property tax, a Utah appeals court said, finding that a lower court didn't make any errors when valuing the three properties.

  • March 07, 2025

    Prison Phone Co. Floats New FCC Rate Cap Plan

    Prison phone company NCIC Correctional Services is hoping to kill several birds with one stone by presenting the Federal Communications Commission with a proposal it says would fix issues with a 2024 order changing how the phone prison payment system works and resolve some issues it has on appeal at the First Circuit.

  • March 07, 2025

    Mich. Justices Ax Bid To Sue Pizza Delivery Driver's Employer

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal from a woman who argued her settlement with a Jet's Pizza delivery driver who rear-ended her did not bar vicarious liability claims against his employer, while a dissenting justice called on the court to rethink the "counterintuitive" rule that prohibited her claims.

  • March 07, 2025

    Honda, Class Spar Over Defect Verdict And Fees At 9th Circ.

    Class counsel representing a certified class of Illinois Honda owners urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to reverse their partial summary judgment loss, along with a $1.5 million fee and cost award for securing a $1.4 million valve defect verdict, while Honda argued that the verdict should be tossed entirely.

  • March 07, 2025

    Conn. Justice Questions Fairness Of Water Rate Hike Rebuff

    Connecticut's utility regulator may have treated an Eversource subsidiary unfairly when it told the company it could not increase consumers' water rates to make up for $42 million in capital expenditures, a state Supreme Court justice said Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

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    A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • UK Lawyers Can Access Broad US Discovery To Win Cases

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    Given its breadth, U.S. discovery can be a powerful tool in litigation in the U.K. and other jurisdictions outside the U.S., and a survey of recent cases indicates that discovery requests made in the U.S. are likely to be granted — with many applications even proceeding without contest, say lawyers at Miller & Chevalier.

  • 7 Employment Contracts Issues Facing DOL Scrutiny

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    A growing trend of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement against employment practices that limit workers' rights and avoid legal responsibility shines a light on seven unique contractual provisions that violate federal labor laws, and face agressive litigation from the labor solicitor, says Thomas Starks at Freeman Mathis.

  • Ruling Shows High Court Willing To Limit Immigration Review

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas is the latest demonstration of the court’s readiness to limit judicial review in the immigration space, a notable break from other recent decisions that expanded judicial review of agency decisions in other areas, says Mark Fleming at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

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    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

  • High Court Unlikely To Expand FSIA In Holocaust Asset Fight

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    Not surprisingly for a court where the majority are strict textualists, the U.S. Supreme Court justices appear poised to rule in favor of Hungary in Republic of Hungary v. Simon, reaffirming the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act as a narrow exception to jurisdiction, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • The Fed. Circ. In 2024: 5 Major Rulings To Know

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    In 2024, the Federal Circuit provided a number of important clarifications to distinct areas of patent law – including design patent obviousness, expert testimony admissions and patent term adjustments – all of which are poised to have an influence going forward, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Mass Arbitration Procedures After Faulty Live Nation Ruling

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    Despite the Ninth Circuit's flawed reasoning in Heckman v. Live Nation, the exceptional allegations of collusive conduct shouldn't be read to restrict arbitration providers that have adopted good faith procedures to ensure that consumer mass arbitrations can be efficiently resolved on the merits, says Collin Vierra at Eimer Stahl.

  • Lessons From Two New Year's Eve Uptier Exchange Decisions

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    On the last day of 2024, two different courts issued important decisions relating to non-pro rata uptier exchanges — and while they differ, both rulings highlight that transactions effected in reliance on undefined terms in debt agreements come with increased risk, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

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