Appellate

  • June 18, 2024

    Hospital Board Says Feds Underpaid Claims By $17M

    A Navajo Nation hospital board is suing the federal government, alleging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services underpaid its fiscal year 2016 funding request for contract support costs by $17.4 million without any legal justification.

  • June 18, 2024

    Split Pa. High Court Finds Rental Registry Suit Moot

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed out landlords' appeal of Pittsburgh's 2015 ordinance requiring them to list their rental units in a public registry, because it had been replaced by a newer, narrower law, but two justices said they should have ruled on the case anyway to settle whether other governments could pass similar measures.

  • June 18, 2024

    Justices Urged To Take Case On USPTO Home Address Rule

    Five organizations have expressed support for a small North Carolina law firm asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to require trademark applicants to disclose their home addresses — a decision that should have had public input, according to amicus briefs filed over the past week.

  • June 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Filmmaker Has Right To Sealed Court Docs

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a documentary filmmaker's bid to access sealed documents from a False Claims Act suit against student loan providers, finding he has a First Amendment right to the material and the parties must prove if the seal is warranted.

  • June 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Keeps Suit Over CFPB's Card Late Fee Rule In Texas

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday ordered a banking industry lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's credit card late fee rule to remain in Texas federal court, rejecting a second attempted transfer of the case to Washington, D.C.

  • June 18, 2024

    Blue States And Enviro Groups Back DOE Furnace Rule

    Several blue states and environmental and consumer groups have thrown their support behind the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that challenges to the new rules are meritless.

  • June 18, 2024

    DOJ Says DC Circ. Shouldn't Rethink Realtor Antitrust Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the D.C. Circuit that its April decision allowing it to reopen an investigation into the National Association of Realtors doesn't conflict with any U.S. Supreme Court or circuit court decisions and that the NAR's rehearing petition should be denied.

  • June 18, 2024

    Ford Says Sanctions Violated Due Process In $1.7B Case

    Attorneys for Ford Motor Co. urged the Georgia Court of Appeals on Tuesday either to order a new trial or substantially reduce a record-setting $1.7 billion punitive damages verdict returned against the automaker in litigation over a fatal rollover, arguing the award resulted from "death penalty sanctions" that essentially directed a verdict against it.

  • June 18, 2024

    Fla. Judge Admits To Ethics Charges In Mishandling DQ Bid

    A Miami-Dade County state court judge has admitted to violating the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct while overseeing proceedings, saying that he made improper commentary in orders of recusal that he granted in two separate criminal cases, Florida Supreme Court records show.

  • June 18, 2024

    Novant Drops NC Hospital Merger After 4th Circ. Pauses Deal

    Novant Health has abandoned its plans to purchase two North Carolina hospitals for $320 million after a split Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday granted the Federal Trade Commission's bid for an emergency injunction putting the deal on hold indefinitely.

  • June 18, 2024

    Panel Laments 'Hunger Games' Tactics In Mich. Judicial Races

    A Michigan Court of Appeals panel has expressed concern that judicial candidates are weaponizing the complexity of Michigan's filing requirements to eliminate their competition, with one judge commenting that "contests for vacant judgeships all too often have turned into the Hunger Games." 

  • June 18, 2024

    Ariz. County Says New Kari Lake Vote Claims Merit Sanctions

    Maricopa County officials are slamming former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's bid to unravel a Ninth Circuit decision affirming the toss of her lawsuit over Arizona's voting machines, contending that the "fatally flawed" effort warrants sanctions.

  • June 18, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says No Gov't Misconduct In Campaign Money Case

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday reversed a ruling from a Connecticut federal judge that found prosecutors violated their evidence disclosure obligations in a campaign finance case against a former state senator and his treasurer.

  • June 18, 2024

    10th Circ. Won't Revive Airline's Union Election Challenge

    A low-cost airline based in the Salt Lake City area lost its challenge to a union representation as the Tenth Circuit ruled that a Utah federal judge correctly dismissed the case.

  • June 18, 2024

    EPA Tells DC Circ. That Smog Plan Is Legally Sound

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday defended its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, telling the D.C. Circuit that it's taken a sensible approach to cracking down on upwind pollution using a formula that has been backed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Wrongly Slashed $366M Bias Verdict, Justices Told

    A Black former FedEx employee urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the reduction of a $366 million jury verdict in her suit alleging she was fired for reporting race discrimination, arguing the Fifth Circuit incorrectly held that her employment contract could shorten her window for filing suit.

  • June 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Vax Mandate Case Amid Judge DQ Bid

    In a nonprecedential opinion, the Ninth Circuit has refused to restore a COVID vaccine mandate suit brought by federal workers and contractors who also sought to disqualify a judge they believed was conflicted, finding the workers lacked standing because they named officials who cannot reinstate them rather than their employers.

  • June 18, 2024

    NY High Court Denies Trump's Gag Order Appeal

    New York state's highest court on Tuesday denied Donald Trump's rapid appeal of the gag order that limited his speech during his criminal hush money trial, finding it did not raise serious constitutional issues.

  • June 17, 2024

    Excess Insurers May Need To Pay In Kaiser Asbestos Dispute

    A policyholder can tap into first-layer excess policies as soon as the primary coverage for that period is exhausted, the California Supreme Court ruled, potentially implicating several first-level excess insurers to contribute to coverage for underlying asbestos exposure claims against Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corp.

  • June 17, 2024

    Teva, DOJ Signal Key Kickback Case May Fizzle At 1st Circ.

    A U.S. Department of Justice kickback case against Teva Pharmaceuticals — closely watched by False Claims Act lawyers because of its multibillion-dollar stakes and its link to a major circuit split — is poised for settlement, according to a new First Circuit filing ahead of eagerly awaited oral arguments.

  • June 17, 2024

    Email Doesn't Cut It For Contempt Notice, Colo. Justices Say

    Colorado justices on Monday ruled that email is not enough to properly put a party on notice about contempt proceedings, concluding the medium does not meet the requirement for "directly" serving a party.

  • June 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Facebook 'Face Signatures' Not Subject To BIPA

    The Ninth Circuit sided with Meta Platforms on Monday by declining to revive an Illinois resident's proposed class action accusing Facebook of breaking the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, ruling that the "face signature" at issue isn't protected by the law because it cannot be used to identify someone.

  • June 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Gives FERC More Clarity On Scope Of Climate Reviews

    A recent D.C. Circuit decision not only endorses the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's current approach to reviewing the climate change impacts of gas infrastructure projects, but may also help trim environmental reviews by federal agencies across the board.

  • June 17, 2024

    Mifepristone Ruling Means End Of Texas DACA Suit, Feds Say

    A Texas-led coalition of states doesn't have standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster decision rejecting a challenge to the abortion drug mifepristone, the Biden administration told the Fifth Circuit on Monday.

  • June 17, 2024

    Hurricane Coverage Fight Must Be Arbitrated, 5th Circ. Rules

    The Fifth Circuit has ruled that a group of domestic insurers could force arbitration of a coverage dispute for hurricane damage under an international arbitration clause despite conflicting state law, overturning the underlying ruling based on a since-issued opinion.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

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    In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law​​​​​​​.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

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