Appellate

  • September 24, 2024

    Mich. Court Affirms Walmart Valuation As $5M Vacant Property

    The $5 million tax valuation of a Walmart store in Michigan will stand, the state court of appeals said, rejecting arguments by a local township that a tax panel was wrong to value it as if it were vacant.

  • September 24, 2024

    1st Circ. Sides With Wynn Casino Over Voucher Payouts

    The First Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision tossing a proposed class action over Wynn Resorts Encore Boston Harbor casino's use of vouchers instead of coins to pay out winnings under $1.

  • September 23, 2024

    3rd Circ. Probes SEC's 'Close To Vacuous' Reply To Coinbase

    Members of a Third Circuit panel on Monday pressed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on its brief denial of crypto exchange Coinbase's request for rulemaking around digital assets, digging into how much of an explanation the agency owes the industry about its decision to forego setting rules for now.

  • September 23, 2024

    High Court Enviro Shadow Docket Could Diminish DC Circ.

    The U.S. Supreme Court's "shadow docket" is full of pleas from environmental rule opponents who want the justices to overturn D.C. Circuit rulings that allowed the regulations to go into effect, and recent history shows the challengers have some chance for success — but experts say the high court's willingness to step in at this stage risks diminishing lower courts' voices.

  • September 23, 2024

    Prolific Patent Filer Says 'Prosecution Laches Does Not Exist'

    A prolific filer of patents told the Federal Circuit on Monday that a legal doctrine created by the courts to punish filers for deliberately delaying applications "does not exist" under current laws.

  • September 23, 2024

    Tyson, Cargill Want Appeal Of Pollution Verdict Plan Certified

    Tyson, Cargill and other poultry producers have urged an Oklahoma federal judge to certify their interlocutory appeal of a plan to hash out remedies concerning a river pollution trial that took place over a decade ago, arguing that the record is far too "stale" to support forward-looking relief now.

  • September 23, 2024

    3rd Circ. Revives $60M Moroccan Hotel Award Fight

    The Third Circuit has sent a decision over a $60 million arbitral award favoring the Royal Mansour Hotel's current owner back to a lower court for further consideration, saying the company has plausibly argued that it didn't cause the Moroccan establishment to fall into financial ruin.

  • September 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Qualcomm Power Amplifier Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday opted to leave unchanged a handful of rulings from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board involving a Qualcomm patent that was challenged by Intel.

  • September 23, 2024

    Ex-Adviser Can't Seek Due Process Update, Justices Told

    A Morgan Stanley unit on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to tackle a purported circuit split over whether "manifest disregard of the law" remains a valid reason for vacating an arbitral award, arguing that a former employee missed his chance to press the argument in the lower courts.

  • September 23, 2024

    Feds, SunZia Urge 9th Circ. To Toss Power Line Challenge

    The federal government and SunZia Transmission LLC have asked the Ninth Circuit to uphold a lower court decision tossing a suit by a coalition of tribes and conservation groups challenging the government's decision to let the company route a 520-mile power line through cultural and historical sites.

  • September 23, 2024

    Starbucks Wins At 9th Circ. In 'S'mores' Lip Gloss IP Theft Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused to revive lip balm company Balmuccino's claims that Starbucks breached an implied contract and misappropriated trade secrets by stealing its idea for coffee-flavored "S'mores Frappuccino" lip gloss, agreeing with the lower court's order that Balmuccino's claims were filed too late.

  • September 23, 2024

    EPA Admits Mistakes In Approving New Chevron Chemicals

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday told the D.C. Circuit that it overestimated the risk of allowing Chevron Corp. to create new fuel chemicals derived from plastic waste, asking the appeals court to remand the order authorizing the new substances back to federal regulators.

  • September 23, 2024

    NJ Justices Probe State's Role In Tax Sale Foreclosures

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday probed whether the state's Tax Sale Law still holds up in the wake of a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the government cannot profit from a property seizure, pondering the state's role in tax sale foreclosures and if a private, third-party lienholder could be considered a state actor.

  • September 23, 2024

    Alito Pauses 5th Circ. Ruling Against Horse Racing Law

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has pressed pause on a Fifth Circuit ruling that would strip the teeth from a federal law handing horse safety regulation over to a private entity after the appellate court found the law's enforcement provisions to be unlawful delegation.

  • September 23, 2024

    Calif. Roller Rink Beats Suit Over Skater's Fall

    A Los Angeles-area skating rink can't be held liable for a patron's fall, a Califorina appeals court ruled Monday, saying everyone agrees that skating is an inherently risky activity.

  • September 23, 2024

    AFL-CIO Backs Firefighter's Benefits Suit At High Court

    The AFL-CIO urged the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to overturn an Eleventh Circuit order finding that the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't protect certain retirees from disability bias, arguing it erred when finding a Florida firefighter with Parkinson's couldn't contest a policy stripping her healthcare in retirement.

  • September 23, 2024

    Family Asks NC Justices To Keep $40M Drunk Driving Verdict

    A family member of a woman killed by a drunken driver wants North Carolina's highest court to uphold a $40 million verdict, described as the largest amount for such a case in state history, asserting the driver isn't allowed to present arguments that the judgment was a result of an impassioned jury.

  • September 23, 2024

    Paxton Urges Firearms Ban Reversal Before State Fair Opens

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a state appeals court Monday for emergency relief prohibiting the State Fair of Texas from enforcing its new policy banning firearms on fairgrounds, writing that the entity is "forcing thousands of law-abiding Texans to choose" between their constitutional rights and attendance at the state tradition, which opens Friday.

  • September 23, 2024

    Del. Justices Uphold Bankrupt Byju's US Lender Takeover

    A panel of Delaware Supreme Court justices on Monday affirmed a lower court's ruling that the American arm of Indian educational technology business Byju's was in default under a $1.2 billion loan and that lenders had the authority to install new directors.

  • September 23, 2024

    Walmart Keeps Win In Fabric Softener Slip-And-Fall Suit

    An Ohio state appeals court on Monday declined to revive a man's suit alleging he slipped and fell on fabric softener while shopping at Walmart, finding that he hadn't produced any evidence that Walmart or its employees created or were aware of the spill in that aisle.

  • September 23, 2024

    Ex-Iowa Lawmaker Takes 'Success Kid' Meme Row To Justices

    Former Iowa Rep. Steve King has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the mother of the widely memed "Success Kid" engaged in "lawfare" by taking a copyright case against the controversial former politician to trial and ultimately obtaining $750 in damages.

  • September 23, 2024

    Profs, Retired Judges Ask Justices To Uphold Return Of Taxes

    Two former bankruptcy judges and a group of law professors threw their support behind the bankruptcy trustee of a Utah transportation company seeking to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that the IRS, like any other creditor, should have to return payments deemed fraudulent under state law.

  • September 23, 2024

    3rd Circ. Vexed By Time-Tracking Role In $22M Wage Case

    The Third Circuit contemplated on Monday whether a Pennsylvania battery manufacturer shorted workers $22 million for time they spent putting on and taking off protective gear, with one judge questioning the employer's stance that it was the workers' responsibility to track their donning and doffing time. 

  • September 23, 2024

    Rahimi Supports Lift Of Under-21 Handgun Ban, 5th Circ. Told

    A trio of Second Amendment advocacy groups told the Fifth Circuit Monday that a June high court decision keeping domestic abusers unarmed has no bearing on their challenge to handgun bans for those under 21, urging the panel to focus on the Framers' intentions for the amendment at the time of the founding.

  • September 23, 2024

    What A Harris Administration Would Mean For The Courts

    Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is familiar with the courtroom.

Expert Analysis

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech

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    Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.

  • Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now

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    Though the substantive holding of Loper Bright is unlikely to affect bid protests because questions of statutory interpretation are rare, the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision may signal a general trend away from agency deference even on the complex technical issues that often arise, say Kayleigh Scalzo and Andrew Guy at Covington.

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