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Appellate
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August 12, 2024
Visa Lottery Winners Ask Full DC Circ. To Allow Processing
Attorneys for 2020 and 2021 diversity visa lottery winners asked the full D.C. Circuit to undo a panel decision barring the U.S. Department of State from processing their expired visa applications, saying the decision flouts precedent.
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August 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Arbitration Ban Protects Sex Harassment Suit
The Second Circuit said Monday that because a financial services worker said she continued to experience harassment after a law went into effect curbing mandatory arbitration for workplace sex misconduct disputes, her case can't be kicked out of court.
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August 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Co. Can't Patent Coke Zero's Secret Sweetener
A Federal Circuit panel found Monday that the company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero can't patent its formula after it has already touched the lips of customers even if they kept the recipe secret, something that's consistent with "precedent going back to the 1800s."
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August 12, 2024
States Oppose Shkreli High Court Bid For $64M Disgorgement
State enforcers are opposing a petition from ex-pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a disgorgement order requiring him to pay up to $64 million for an alleged scheme to increase the price of a life-saving drug by 4,000%
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August 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Nixes 'Excessive' $5M Award For Housing Nonprofit
The Second Circuit on Monday overturned a $5 million award to a nonprofit that faced pushback from a Connecticut town while trying to open a group home for individuals with disabilities, finding that it was unconstitutionally excessive, but at the same time castigated the municipality's officials for "highly reprehensible" conduct.
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August 12, 2024
DC Circ. Revives Businessman's Suit Over Mueller Report
A Georgian-American businessman discussed in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election can pursue claims that inaccuracies in the report harmed his reputation and business dealings, the D.C. Circuit said Friday.
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August 12, 2024
Convicted Fla. Atty Says Bogus Threat Testimony Tainted Trial
A Florida attorney has urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss her criminal wire fraud conviction and six-year prison sentence, because she said the trial court wrongly let prosecutors "throw a loaded grenade" at her by allowing testimony about an "unsubstantiated and uncorroborated claim" that the attorney threatened a co-defendant.
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August 12, 2024
NJ Bar Aims To Nix Opinion Allowing Atty Keyword Search
The New Jersey State Bar Association is urging the state Supreme Court to overturn an ethics advisory opinion allowing attorneys to purchase other attorneys' names to use as keywords in online searches in order to redirect web traffic to their website.
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August 12, 2024
Ex-Morris James Paralegal Loses Unemployment Pay Fight
Delaware's Supreme Court on Monday denied an ex-Morris James LLP paralegal's attempt to revive his bid to collect unemployment benefits after he agreed to leave the firm, saying he failed to show that a lower court made a "reversible error" in upholding the denial of his jobless pay bid.
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August 12, 2024
The Biggest Georgia Rulings Of 2024 So Far
From upholding a win for a transgender sheriff's deputy who challenged a county health plan's refusal to pay for gender-affirmation surgery, to ruling that a judicial emergency order issued during the pandemic can be used to toll the state's medical malpractice statute of repose, Georgia courts have been busy in the first half of 2024.
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August 12, 2024
Court Observers Offer Their Wish Lists For A Judiciary FOIA
Government transparency advocates and court watchers think a recently introduced bill to subject the judiciary to the Freedom of Information Act would increase trust and transparency in the courts, and they have some ideas already of what they'd like to obtain from them.
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August 09, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Affirms Ax Of Meta Anti-Vax Censorship Suit
A split Ninth Circuit panel Friday affirmed the dismissal of Children's Health Defense's lawsuit challenging Meta's policy of censoring its anti-vaccine Facebook posts, with the majority concluding that the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-founded nonprofit failed to show Meta was acting on the government's behalf to state viable constitutional claims.
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August 09, 2024
9th Circ. Wipes Out BNSF's Retaliation Win
The Ninth Circuit on Friday overturned BNSF Railway Co.'s win in a late conductor's retaliation suit on Friday, saying the railroad failed to show it would've terminated the worker regardless of his refusal to stop conducting a brake test — even though the employer has insisted he was mainly fired for insubordination and misreporting his time card.
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August 09, 2024
Valeant's Legal Gripe A Total 'Nothingburger,' Justices Told
A lawyer who assembled a whistleblower lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company using publicly available patent board filings says the larger legal question of whether he can do that is way too niche for the U.S. Supreme Court to bother thinking about.
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August 09, 2024
Tesla Can't Duck Workers' PAGA Case Under Anti-SLAPP
A California appellate court has rejected Tesla's attempt to ditch a Private Attorneys General Act case brought by former employees seeking personnel records, agreeing with a lower court that the workers' status as members of a class in a related action against Tesla doesn't entitle the electric-car maker to protection under anti-SLAPP.
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August 09, 2024
Trump Again Appeals Merchan's Gag Order To NY High Court
Former President Donald Trump is again seeking dismissal of a gag order in his criminal hush money case barring him from threatening court and district attorney staff, telling New York's highest court on Thursday that he disagreed with "each and every part" of a recent intermediate appellate court ruling that found threats remained imminent.
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August 09, 2024
Judge Slams Justices For 'Eschewing' History In Trump Case
The U.S. Supreme Court spurned historical analysis and "fundamentally" changed the presidency when it granted Donald Trump broad criminal immunity from federal charges that he interfered with the 2020 presidential election while in office, a Massachusetts federal judge wrote in a ruling Friday that ended an ex-public defender's sexual harassment lawsuit.
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August 09, 2024
DC Circ. Pans Suit Claiming HHS Caused Health Aid Shortage
The D.C. Circuit said Friday that a judge properly dismissed a proposed class action blaming the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a lack of home health aides willing to assist Medicare beneficiaries with chronic illnesses, saying the private providers aren't required to accept those patients.
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August 09, 2024
Guarantors Ink Deal To End 11th Circ. Appeal Of $8.7M Award
Guarantors facing an $8.7 million judgment on a hospitality lender's breach claim have settled the matter stemming from an unpaid $6.2 million loan for a Michigan hotel, according to an Eleventh Circuit filing.
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August 09, 2024
Texas Justices To Answer SMU Law Prof's Defamation Query
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday agreed to answer a question posed by the Fifth Circuit regarding the interpretation of the state's human rights act in a case involving a former Southern Methodist University law professor who sued the school and several administrators after being denied tenure.
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August 09, 2024
6th Circ. Partially Revives Crypto IRS Reporting Challenge
The Sixth Circuit issued a mixed ruling Friday in a suit brought by a group of cryptocurrency users challenging the IRS' pending mandate to report large crypto transactions, reversing the dismissal of the suit's Fourth and First Amendment violation claims but affirming that some of the case's claims are not ripe.
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August 09, 2024
Transco Can't Get Full 3rd Circ. Review Of Pa. Permit Fight
The Third Circuit has rebuffed Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co.'s bid for en banc review of a district court's decision backing a Pennsylvania state environmental board's authority to review pipeline upgrade permits.
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August 09, 2024
Vidal Can't Be Used Against Ex-Client At PTAB, Fed. Circ. Says
The Federal Circuit said Friday that the initial involvement of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal in a handful of patent challenges during her private practice days at Winston & Strawn LLP isn't enough to prevent the patent board from ever deciding on those petitions.
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August 09, 2024
DC Circ. Says Mining Cos. Can't Appeal Retiree Health Win
Four former subsidiaries of the now-defunct coal company Consol Energy Inc. can't challenge an arbitration award that banned unilateral changes to union-represented retirees' health benefits plan, the D.C. Circuit held Friday, saying the ex-subsidiaries weren't parties to the award and aren't injured by it.
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August 09, 2024
RNC, Ariz. Lawmakers Ask Justice Kagan To Halt Voting Order
The Republican National Committee and the leaders of Arizona's House and Senate want Justice Elena Kagan to block a district court's injunction that bars the state from prohibiting individuals without proper citizenship documentation from voting, saying the order is an "unprecedented abrogation" of the state legislature's sovereign authority.
Expert Analysis
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Justices' Bump Stock Ruling Skirted Deference, Lenity Issues
Despite presenting a seemingly classic case on agency deference, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Garland v. Cargill did not mention the Chevron doctrine, and the opinion also overlooked whether agency interpretations of federal gun laws should ever receive deference given that they carry criminal penalties, say Tess Saperstein and John Elwood at Arnold & Porter.
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Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation
Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.
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Next Steps After 5th Circ. Nixes Private Fund Adviser Rules
The Fifth Circuit's recent toss of key U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules regarding private fund advisers represents a setback for the regulator, but open questions, including the possibility of an SEC petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, mean it's still too early to consider the matter closed, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Foreign Discovery Insights 2 Years After ZF Automotive
Although an Arizona federal court decision last month demonstrates that Section 1782 discovery may still be available to foreign arbitral parties, the scope of such discovery has narrowed greatly since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in ZF Automotive, and there are a few potential trends for practitioners to follow, say attorneys at Venable.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Deciphering SEC Disgorgement 4 Years After Liu
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Liu v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to preserve SEC disgorgement with limits, courts have continued to rule largely in the agency’s favor, but a recent circuit split over the National Defense Authorization Act's import may create hurdles for the SEC, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock
On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.
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8th Circ. Insurance Ruling Spotlights Related-Claims Defenses
The Eighth Circuit’s recent Dexon v. Travelers ruling — that the insurer must provide a defense despite the policy’s related-acts provision — provides guidance for how policyholders can overcome related-acts defenses, say Geoffrey Fehling and Jae Lynn Huckaba at Hunton.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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What To Know As CFPB Late Fee Rule Hangs In Limbo
Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final credit card late fee rule faces an uncertain future due to litigation involving injunctions, emergency petitions and now a venue dispute, card issuers must understand how to navigate the interim period and what to do if the rule takes effect, say attorneys at Steptoe.