Appellate

  • December 13, 2024

    Trump Rips DA's 'Dark Dream' To Legally Treat Him As Dead

    Donald Trump's attorneys Friday slammed a proposal by the Manhattan district attorney to preserve the president-elect's hush money conviction by treating him like a defendant who dies after a verdict, pushing the judge to dismiss the case altogether.

  • December 13, 2024

    After 36 Years, Texas Chief Justice Reflects On 'End Of An Era'

    Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht is unsure what his life will look like in a month, but he knows that hanging up his robe after 36 years on the Texas Supreme Court isn't goodbye.

  • December 13, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Cop's Bias Case Over COVID Policies

    The Eleventh Circuit backed a win for Birmingham, Alabama, in a lawsuit claiming it assigned a police officer to the city jail as punishment for requesting an exemption from pandemic face mask policies because of his anxiety, finding he hadn't shown the city was motivated by bias.

  • December 13, 2024

    Lawmakers Press Tech Giants As TikTok D-Day Looms

    A pair of lawmakers on Friday leaned on TikTok to ensure it meets a Jan. 19 deadline to sell its operations or face a U.S. ban, while also pressing tech giants Apple and Google to be prepared to deplatform the video-sharing app if it refuses to sell.

  • December 13, 2024

    5 Rulings That Brought The EFAA Into Sharper Focus In 2024

    Nearly two years after its enactment, courts' interpretations of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act are taking shape, though plenty of questions remain. Here's a look back at five rulings this year that helped clarify how judges see the 2022 law.

  • December 12, 2024

    Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Late BNSF Worker's Retaliation Claims

    The full Ninth Circuit on Thursday agreed to reconsider retaliation allegations against BNSF Railway Co. brought by the estate of a former BNSF conductor claiming the railroad terminated him, in part, because he conducted a safety test.

  • December 12, 2024

    T-Mobile Says Split On TM Use Must Be Resolved By Justices

    T-Mobile is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit panel's revival of a prepaid cellphone company's trademark infringement suit, telling the justices in a new petition this week that trademarks should have to be in continuous use for their holders to be able to protect them.

  • December 12, 2024

    Coke Zero Sweetener Co. Asks Justices To Hear Patent Feud

    The company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero wants to keep patents that were filed at the patent office after the drinks went on sale, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that Federal Circuit judges who thought otherwise were prioritizing their "own decisions over Congress's judgment."

  • December 12, 2024

    Sierra Club-EPA Row Has 6th Circ. Debating Smog Data

    A Sixth Circuit judge questioned Thursday whether a Sierra Club challenge over Detroit's air quality was "a debate over the science" as opposed to the law, as the group fights federal regulators' determination that air pollution in the area is under control.

  • December 12, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rehear Guatemala Power Plant Fight

    The Eleventh Circuit will not reconsider its decision refusing to vacate an arbitral award issued following an ill-fated Guatemalan power plant construction project, rejecting arguments that the tribunal improperly turned a blind eye to alleged corruption underlying the project.

  • December 12, 2024

    Wash. Judge Weighs Stay Of Gas Reg Suit Amid New Cases

    A Seattle federal judge hinted on Thursday she might pause a building industry coalition's lawsuit challenging Washington regulations discouraging the use of natural gas appliances in new construction, pointing to fresh litigation in state court that could force regulators to revise the rules in the wake of an initiative voters passed in November.

  • December 12, 2024

    DC Circ. Leans Toward BofA In Pandemic Market Loss Bout

    The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether Bank of America had a duty to try harder to stop one of its clients from dumping his investments when the market tanked at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but at arguments Thursday morning, the panel did not seem to think so.

  • December 12, 2024

    Feds Weigh In On High Court North Dakota Voting Dispute

    Two local North Dakota Republican Party officials lack standing to claim racial gerrymandering in a dispute over the state's newly created voting subdistricts, the federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing there's undisputed evidence to conclude that federal law requires the state to establish the boundaries.

  • December 12, 2024

    Ryan Park Withdraws Nomination For 4th Circ. Bench

    Ryan Young Park, solicitor general of North Carolina, has dropped his bid for a seat on the Fourth Circuit after it was clear he would not be getting a vote on the Senate floor.

  • December 12, 2024

    6th Circ. Appears Divided On Telecom Breach Reporting Rule

    A Sixth Circuit panel seemed split over the Federal Communications Commission's tightened telecommunications data breach rules, with one judge defending the commission as taking necessary steps to safeguard consumers from a "true" danger and another claiming that the rule seemed to run afoul of lawmakers' wishes.

  • December 12, 2024

    Newman Gets Amicus Support At DC Circ. In Suspension Row

    Two amici threw their support behind U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman at the D.C. Circuit on Thursday, with one free-market think tank criticizing what it said was the secrecy surrounding the disciplinary proceedings against Judge Newman over her refusal to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve as a Federal Circuit judge.

  • December 12, 2024

    Wash. Justices OK Tax Break For Pharmacy Benefits Manager

    A Washington pharmacy benefits manager is exempt from a state business tax on its services for Medicaid patients because its corporate sibling paid premium taxes in connection with the same services, the state's high court affirmed Thursday.

  • December 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Rethink Dual Citizen's FBAR Penalties

    The Second Circuit will not review its September decision finding that a dual U.S.-French citizen is liable for tax penalties for failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, the court said Thursday.

  • December 12, 2024

    High Court Launches Lottery Program For Public Seats

    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will begin testing an online lottery system for members of the public who want to reserve courtroom seats for oral arguments ahead of time.

  • December 12, 2024

    Hartford Needn't Defend Contractor In Workplace Injury Suit

    A Hartford unit has no duty to defend an electrical contractor against an employee's workplace injury suit, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday, saying the underlying negligence- and intent-based claims don't fall within the scope of a workers' compensation and employers' liability policy.

  • December 12, 2024

    Fla. Justices Call For 50 More Judgeships

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday certified a need for 48 new trial judges in the state and two appellate judges in the Sixth District Court of Appeal after a statewide judicial workload assessment found judges straining to keep up with increasingly complex litigation.

  • December 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Upends Arbitration Order In Bakery Drivers' Suit

    The Second Circuit voided its prior ruling that a bakery's delivery drivers must arbitrate claims alleging they were misclassified as independent contractors, saying Thursday the question of whether they are exempt from arbitration is up in the air after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the suit.

  • December 12, 2024

    Energy Co. Gets Redo Of $150M Power Plant Explosion Trial

    A California appeals court has ordered a new trial and vacated a $150 million verdict against Diamond Generating Corp. in a suit by the family of a worker killed in a power plant explosion, saying the jury should have been instructed to determine whether DGC retained enough control over the plant's operations to be held liable.

  • December 12, 2024

    JUDGES Act Passes House But Biden Veto Looms

    The House voted 236-173 on Thursday to pass a bill to add more judgeships, which tees it up for a likely veto by the president, as many Democrats have soured on the measure after Donald Trump's victory at the polls.

  • December 11, 2024

    5th Circ. Tosses SEC's OK Of Nasdaq's Board Diversity Rule

    A split Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Nasdaq cannot implement U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-approved rules requiring that companies listed on the exchange disclose board diversity data, finding that the stock exchange's rules run afoul of federal securities law.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Failure To Use Apportionment Has Distorted Patent Damages

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    Apportionment is the solution to the problem of inflated patent infringement damages, and courts should return to focusing on the smallest saleable unit as the starting point for apportionment analysis, say William Lee at WilmerHale and Mark Lemley at Stanford Law School.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • A Look At Recent Case Law On Expedited Judgment In NY

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    A number of recent New York state court decisions clarify and refine the contours surrounding Civil Practice Law and Rule 3213, providing landlords, lenders and other payees guidance on how to seek accelerated judgment in certain litigation, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Supreme Court Must Halt For-Profit Climate Tort Proliferation

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court does not seize the opportunity presented by Honolulu v. Sunoco to reassert federal authority over interstate pollution regulation, the resulting frenzy of profit-driven environmental mass torts against energy companies will stunt American competitiveness and muddle climate policy, says Gale Norton at Liberty Energy.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Allergan Ruling Reinforces Value Of Patent Term Adjustments

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Allergan v. MSN, which held that patent term adjustment awards for first-filed, first-issued patents cannot be stripped away by later-issuing child patents that expire earlier, means practitioners must consider the potential impact of any action that might reduce the adjustment amount, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • What's In The Cards For CFTC's Election Betting Case

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    A D.C. federal judge's Sept. 12 ruling, allowing KalshiEx to offer derivative contracts trading on the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections over objections from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, could mark a watershed moment in the permissibility of election betting if upheld on appeal, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • IP Concerns For Manufacturing Semiconductors In Low Orbit

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    With space habitation companies working to launch private space stations in the near future, semiconductor manufacturers aiming to execute research and development in low or microgravity must consider the unique claim drafting and patent protection issues that will emerge, says Greg Miraglia at Quinn Emanuel.

  • How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns

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    Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.

  • 3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim

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    The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation

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    Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

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