Appellate

  • July 03, 2024

    5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July

    Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.

  • July 03, 2024

    One Judge Not Enough For TCPA Deal's Toss, 11th Circ. Told

    An Alabama woman has said a recent Eleventh Circuit decision tossing her and other class members' $35 million settlement with GoDaddy.com should get another look from a three-judge panel because outstanding questions about which of the panel's opinions control are poised to sow confusion with the district court.

  • July 03, 2024

    Wash. Justices Say City RV Camping Ban Is Constitutional

    The Washington Supreme Court upheld a city ordinance on Wednesday banning recreational vehicles and trailers from parking on municipal streets for more than four hours, rejecting a man's argument that the law violated his constitutional travel rights by barring him from living indefinitely in his 23-foot trailer on city property.

  • July 03, 2024

    No 'Unfettered Discretion' For Zoning Boards: Mich. Justices

    The Michigan Supreme Court has held that conditionally rezoning a property is only valid if the property's proposed use is already allowed under a town's ordinances, instructing a trial court to determine whether a racing dragway is a permitted use under a township's commercial zone.

  • July 03, 2024

    Cannabis Cos. To Take Constitutional Challenge To 1st Circ.

    A group of cannabis businesses challenging the federal prohibition on marijuana gave notice of appeal Wednesday to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • July 03, 2024

    Doctor Who Won $12M Assault Case Can't Revive USC Claims

    A female doctor who won a $12 million verdict against a male colleague over a sexual assault at a Los Angeles County hospital affiliated with USC's Keck School of Medicine can't revive sexual harassment claims against the university and the county, a California appellate court held.

  • July 03, 2024

    'Who Does That?' 7th Circ. Pans Walmart's Price Audit Theory

    The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday revived a class action accusing Walmart of systematically posting lower prices on shelves than it actually charges, rejecting the retailer's argument that the onus is on customers to keep track of prices as they're juggling various distractions during checkout.

  • July 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Backs NY Campaign Finance Laws Favoring Parties

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday rejected a constitutional challenge to New York state campaign finance laws that created a stricter set of rules for candidate-nominating independent bodies than for more established political parties.

  • July 03, 2024

    NC Solicitor General Faces GOP Roadblock To 4th Circ. Bench

    President Joe Biden's selection of North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Y. Park for a Fourth Circuit seat tops off a distinguished resume that includes a Harvard Law degree and a stint at Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, but he still faces an uphill road to the bench amid pushback from Tar Heel State senators.

  • July 03, 2024

    Contentious Ala. Gender Care Case Partly Paused

    Favoring "judicial efficiency," an Alabama federal court has partially granted the Biden administration's opposed motion to stay a case challenging the state's ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a similar Tennessee ban, though some briefing, including for summary judgment, was permitted to proceed.

  • July 03, 2024

    Google Defeats Online Media Patent Suit At Fed. Circ.

    A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday backed Google LLC's win in a California federal suit accusing it of infringing patents on creating layered web-based communications like ads and websites.

  • July 03, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Carjacking Is Not Reason For Removal

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled the 2006 carjacking conviction of a Salvadoran immigrant isn't enough to deport him because carjacking alone "is not a categorical crime of violence" under federal law.

  • July 03, 2024

    Ohio Ambulance Co. Keeps Win In Air Horn Injury Suit

    An Ohio state appeals panel has affirmed a jury verdict in favor of Emergency Medical Transport Inc. in a suit by a woman who alleges her hearing was damaged by an air horn on one of its ambulances, saying a dispute over whether EMT's own ambulance indeed caused the injury was what ultimately blocked the jury instruction she wanted.

  • July 03, 2024

    Mich. Justices Skip Dinsmore Ex-Client's Malpractice Appeal

    Michigan's top court won't review a ruling dismissing a cannabis company's lawsuit against Dinsmore & Shohl LLP that alleged the firm reneged on an agreement to help the company apply for a dispensary license hours before the paperwork was due.

  • July 03, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds McGuireWoods' Downtown LA Shop Lead

    McGuireWoods LLP's former Los Angeles downtown office head is taking her class action and complex litigation-focused practice in finance, technology, aerospace and oil industries to DLA Piper, the firm announced this week.

  • July 03, 2024

    Mass. Court Partially Revives Trooper's Bias Suit

    An intermediate-level appellate panel in Massachusetts on Wednesday partially revived a suit brought by a state trooper who claimed she faced retaliation and was treated differently after breaking up with a colleague.

  • July 03, 2024

    1st Circ. Hands Hearing Loss Biotech Win In Stock-Drop Suit

    A panel of the First Circuit declined to revive an investor class action alleging that a hearing loss treatment company and some of its executives concealed disappointing clinical trial results, saying there was no evidence the company had knowingly made false statements about the trial.

  • July 03, 2024

    NC Appeals Court OKs Hospital's 'Facility Fees' For ER Patient

    The North Carolina Court of Appeals has found that Novant Health was allowed to charge an emergency room patient "facility fees" because a contract she signed for healthcare included language requiring payment for anything not covered by insurance.

  • July 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Overturns Enforcement Of $2B In Venezuelan Bonds

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday overturned the enforcement of nearly $2 billion in defaulted bonds issued by Venezuela's state-owned oil company, following a ruling from New York's highest court that Venezuelan law, not New York law, governs the validity of the bonds.

  • July 03, 2024

    After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know

    This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.

  • July 03, 2024

    Biden's New Picks Include NC Solicitor General For 4th Circ.

    President Joe Biden announced four new judicial nominees on Wednesday, including one for the Fourth Circuit.

  • July 02, 2024

    Data Breach Suits Drive Consumer Protection Docket Growth

    Federal consumer protection lawsuits are back on the rise after nearly a decade of steady decline, with disputes over increasingly prevalent data breaches fueling the uptick, according to a Wednesday report by Lex Machina.

  • July 02, 2024

    11th Circ. Reverses $500K Insurer Benefit In Climber's Death

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday reversed a lower court decision saying Reliance Standard Life Insurance had to pay $500,000 in benefits to the sons of a mountaineer who died ascending a peak in Pakistan, ruling that the life insurer wasn't unreasonable in determining that the climber didn't die by accident.

  • July 02, 2024

    Immigration Attys Cautiously Optimistic After Chevron Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that courts no longer have to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes could help some immigrants fight removal orders while serving as a buffer against partisan challenges to executive immigration actions.

  • July 02, 2024

    IT Workers Say Chevron's End Dooms Spouse Work Permits

    Ex-information technology workers told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning decades-old precedent instructing judges about when they can defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law buoys their challenge to an Obama-era program allowing work permits for some spouses of highly skilled foreign workers.

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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