Appellate

  • November 04, 2024

    Exxon Keeps Win In Sand Blaster's Lung Disease Suit

    A Texas state appeals court won't overturn a summary judgment freeing Exxon Mobil Corp. from a premises liability suit from a sandblaster alleging that he developed fibrosis in his lungs while working at an Exxon facility, saying the trial court rightly excluded his experts as unreliable.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. AG Underestimates Tenants, Rental Home Group Says

    A trade group has argued that Colorado's Attorney General views tenants as "unsophisticated consumers" when he told the state's supreme court that a group of tenants should be able to sue Blackstone subsidiaries over lease terms exchanging maintenance work for a rent discount.

  • November 04, 2024

    Yale Gets 2nd Circ. Win In COVID Test Reimbursement Row

    A Connecticut medical practice can't sue Yale University under federal legislation enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to recover the $1.1 million it said it incurred while providing COVID testing to university health plan members, the Second Circuit ruled Monday, finding no private cause of action existed.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Justices Say Expert Testimony OK Without Formalities

    The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that the formal offer and acceptance of an expert isn't required for that expert's testimony to be admissible, finding in a published opinion that there's no actual state requirement for courts to use such a practice.

  • November 04, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block Coal Ash Rule During Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit has denied East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc.'s effort to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened the federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants.

  • November 04, 2024

    High Court Questions If False Claims Act Covers FCC's E-Rate

    Multiple justices seemed unconvinced Monday that the federal government plays such a limited role in requiring companies to pay fees for supporting telecom subsidies in schools that it can't seek to recover excess payouts from the fund under the False Claims Act.

  • November 04, 2024

    New Panel Not Needed In NLRB Row, Exxon Tells 5th Circ.

    A Fifth Circuit panel questioned ExxonMobil's assertion that it could keep the same National Labor Relations Board panel makeup besides a board member flagged for conflict of interest, telling Exxon there was "good reason" for a completely new panel during oral arguments Monday.

  • November 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Developer's Fire Loss Coverage Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a company's claim for lost business income after its laundromat development project was destroyed in a fire, saying Monday in an unpublished opinion that the developer's claim is not unduly speculative.

  • November 04, 2024

    Top Swimming Body Wants 9th Circ. Redo In Antitrust Case

    Swimming's international governing body has asked the Ninth Circuit to rethink a decision that revived a pair of lawsuits brought by a trio of swimmers and a swimming league claiming the governing body's boycott violated antitrust laws.

  • November 04, 2024

    FSU's Suit In Fla. Won't Be Paused For Related ACC Suit In NC

    A Florida appellate panel on Monday denied the Atlantic Coast Conference's bid to halt Florida State University's grant-of-rights contractual lawsuit, saying a lower court didn't have to solely rely on the determination that the conference's action in North Carolina was anticipatory.

  • November 04, 2024

    Farm Asks 4th Circ. To Undo $2.5M Severed-Foot Verdict

    A North Carolina farm and four of the family members who run it urged the Fourth Circuit to undo a $2.5 million verdict in favor of a former worker whose foot was severed by a grain silo auger, arguing that the trial judge was wrong to say the evidence supported the jury's decision.

  • November 04, 2024

    Conn. Justice Warns Against 'Amelia Bedelia' Tax Law Reading

    Whether a Connecticut judge properly restored a batch of tax appeals after dismissing them could center on the meaning of the word "may," a state Supreme Court justice said Monday, while also cautioning against an "Amelia Bedelia" approach to statutory construction, citing a children's book character known for her hyper-literalism.

  • November 04, 2024

    Religious Groups Want 5th Circ. To Toss FCC Diversity Form

    Religious broadcasters are asking the Fifth Circuit to step in and stop the Federal Communications Commission from making them turn in diversity data, a recently reinstated policy that they say tramples on their First Amendment rights and pressures them to "engage in race- and sex-conscious employment decisions."

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear UBS Suit Over Disclosed Account Info

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a couple's suit accusing UBS of fraudulently flagging an account to the Internal Revenue Service in violation of civil provisions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Remand Atty Privilege Case After Judge Admits Gaffe

    The Colorado Supreme Court has remanded a case over whether communications between an insurance company's outside lawyer and the experts it hired to study an alleged construction defect are privileged, after some justices said the appeal was "half-baked" because the trial judge had already admitted she was wrong.

  • November 04, 2024

    Suspended Fla. Atty Seeks Leniency Over Missing Precedent

    A suspended Florida attorney urged the Florida Supreme Court to reduce the punishment it doled out last month, including a 1-year suspension of his law license, arguing that the state Supreme Court's decision "cites no precedent," so it should use its discretion to hand out "lessor sanctions."

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Urges Appeals Court To Toss Netflix Sales Tax Ruling

    Netflix subscriptions in Colorado are tangible personal property subject to sales tax under long-standing state law, the state tax department told an appeals court, urging it to reverse a trial court ruling.

  • November 04, 2024

    Atty Moves To Oust DA Who Cleared Cops In Brother's Death

    A Littler Mendelson PC shareholder's effort to remove the Massachusetts district attorney who absolved officers in the 2021 fatal shooting of his brother left justices on the state's highest court grappling with the reach of a seldom-used state statute allowing them to oust government officials for "the public good."

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Say Gov't Can Join Oral Arguments In $47M TM Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will allow Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to participate in oral arguments in a case where the justices will consider whether a real estate development company's corporate affiliates should be responsible for a $46.6 million trademark infringement judgment, even though they were not defendants.

  • November 04, 2024

    Ford Gets New Trial In $1.7B Rollover Case In Georgia

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a new trial in a record-setting $1.7 billion rollover case against Ford Motor Co., saying it was "reluctantly" vacating the jury's verdict after finding that a trial court wrongly imposed issue preclusion sanctions that "almost completely prevented Ford from presenting a defense as to liability."

  • November 04, 2024

    Texas Rips Feds' 5th Circ. Bid To Revive Highway GHG Rule

    Texas is telling the Fifth Circuit there's no reason to disturb a district court's decision to vacate a Federal Highway Administration rule that called on states to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Skip TM Challenge To BofA's Virtual Assistant 'Erica'

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Tenth Circuit decision that found Bank of America Corp. did not infringe a movie website owner's trademark with its virtual financial assistant "Erica."

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices To Review 30-Day Appeal Window In Removal Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday accepted a case that could resolve a circuit split on whether noncitizens with final removal orders must appeal to courts within 30 days of the order, or 30 days after administrative appeals conclude.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Will Review Use Of Race In La.'s Election Map

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear arguments over the constitutionality of Louisiana's new congressional map containing two majority-Black voting districts, in a dispute that asks the justices to harmonize the Voting Rights Act's objectives with the language of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Nix Ex-Adviser's Manifest Disregard Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a petition asking it to resolve whether the Eleventh Circuit wrongly nixed an ex-Morgan Stanley financial adviser's bid to vacate an arbitral award favoring his former employer on the grounds that the panel manifestly disregarded the law.

Expert Analysis

  • Recent Developments In Insurance Coverage For FCA Claims

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    As the U.S. Department of Justice continues its vigorous False Claims Act enforcement, companies looking to their insurers to help defray the costs of an investigation or settlement should note recent decisions on which types of policies cover FCA claims, which policy periods apply and which portions of FCA-related losses are covered, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Boosting Confidence In Pennsylvania's Election System

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    As Election Day nears, Pennsylvania is facing an intense flurry of litigation, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centered on mail-in and provisional ballots, but the state's election system is robust, and attorneys from all practice areas have an important role to play in ensuring confidence in and access to our election system, says Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.

  • Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win

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    A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.

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    The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Reading Tea Leaves In Fed. Circ. Deep Dive On Review Scope

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    Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer investigates why a recent Federal Circuit opinion spent six pages explaining its unsurprising conclusion on proper scope of review — that no deference need be afforded to the trial court in a case dismissed for failure to state a claim.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Newly Acquired Information Can Be Key In Drug Label Cases

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    The question of whether federal law preempts state law claims is often central in pharmaceutical labeling cases, like the Fosamax litigation now before the Third Circuit — but parties must also consider whether there is newly acquired information to justify submitting a proposed labeling change in the first place, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Tips For Employers As Courts Shift On Paid Leave Bias Suits

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    After several federal courts recently cited the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow decision — which held that job transfers could be discriminatory — in ruling that paid administrative leave may also constitute an adverse employment action, employers should carefully consider several points before suspending workers, says Tucker Camp at Foley & Lardner.

  • NC Ruling Takes Practical Approach To Duty-To-Defend Costs

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    In Murphy-Brown v. Ace American Insurance, a case of first impression, the North Carolina Business Court adopted the commonsense rationale of many state courts in holding that policyholders' defense costs should be deemed presumtively reasonable when a insurer breaches its duty to defend, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Calif. Ruling Offers Hope For Mitigated Negative Declarations

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    In Upland Community First v. City of Upland, a California appeals court upheld a warehouse development's mitigated negative declaration over its greenhouse gas emissions thresholds — a rare victory against this type of challenge providing reassurance that such declarations can be upheld, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

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    While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.

  • 3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

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    A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.

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