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Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.
October 30, 2024
5th Circ. Keeps Most No Surprises Act Provisions Intact

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld several provisions for calculating qualifying payments under a federal law aimed at protecting Americans from surprise medical bills, saying in a published opinion that the provisions were neither inconsistent with the law nor arbitrary and capricious.
October 30, 2024
Class Asks Court To Revive Claims Against Florida Blue

A proposed class of Florida state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan asked an appeals court Wednesday to revive their suit claiming the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.
October 30, 2024
Del. Justices Probe Implications Of Tripadvisor Nevada Move

Delaware's justices closely questioned on Wednesday an attorney defending shopping and travel giant Tripadvisor Inc.'s bid to reincorporate in Nevada, pressing for frameworks that protect the interests of current stockholders as well as fiduciaries and investors seeking more business-friendly pastures.
October 30, 2024
Texas Trying To 'Cloak' Uvalde Records Forever, Justices Hear

Justices on a Texas appeals court questioned why the state should get to keep almost three terabytes worth of data relating to the Uvalde school massacre away from the public eye, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that Texas was seemingly claiming it could hold onto all of its records.
October 30, 2024
Calif. Panel Axes $10.6M Abex Asbestos Verdict

A California appellate panel has thrown out a $10.6 million asbestos verdict against Pneumo Abex LLC and ordered a new trial, finding that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict that rejected the now-bankrupt braking lining manufacturer's sophisticated user defense.
October 30, 2024
9th Circ. Says Calif. City Can't Sue State Over Housing Laws

The Ninth Circuit refused to revive the city of Huntington Beach, California's challenge to Golden State laws requiring it to build a certain number of housing units to keep up with population growth, writing in an order Wednesday that the city lacked standing to sue the state in federal court.
October 30, 2024
'Less-Is-More' Ill. Justice Preps For Next Decade On The Court

With voters set to hand Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White her first full term on the high court bench next week, the justice said she is ready to tackle the next decade of cutting-edge legal issues. But don't expect florid phrasing in her future opinions.
October 30, 2024
Fla. Vax Critic Urges Panel To Revive Advance Auto Injury Suit

A Florida woman Wednesday urged a state appellate panel to revive her personal injury lawsuit against Advance Auto Parts, saying a lower court wrongly tossed it after determining she misrepresented medical problems from a vehicle collision with a company driver based on her internet comments regarding COVID-19 vaccine reactions.
October 30, 2024
'Politically Charged' Bid To Unseat Justice Alarms Colo. Bar

The Colorado Bar Association said Tuesday it was concerned about a campaign to unseat the Colorado Supreme Court's chief justice because of her vote to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the state's ballot, calling them "politically charged efforts that target the judiciary's independence."
October 30, 2024
Texas Hospital Can't Escape $3.5M Blood Clot Verdict

A Texas appellate court largely affirmed a jury's $3.5 million verdict in a suit accusing a hospital of negligently treating a patient's blood clots and causing serious injuries, saying awards for future lost earnings and medical expenses were supported by the evidence.
October 30, 2024
Google's Bid To Depose AG Has Texas Appeals Judge 'Extremely Troubled'

A Texas appeals court raised concerns about Google's claim that it had the right to depose the Texas Office of the Attorney General, with a justice saying during oral arguments Wednesday that giving Google a green light to interview lawyers representing the state could open a legal can of worms.
October 30, 2024
Pa. Says GOP Regret Doesn't Merit Freeze On Mail-In Vote Fix

Pennsylvania told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday the federal justices have no authority to freeze a ruling from the state's top court allowing voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected as defective to submit provisional ballots as replacements, adding that the Republican Party's alleged regret over its litigation strategy doesn't require action either.
October 30, 2024
4th Circ. Keeps NC Voter Registration Suit In Fed. Court

The Fourth Circuit has ruled that a district court was wrong to send part of a Republicans' lawsuit challenging the legality of 225,000 voters' registrations in North Carolina back to state court.
October 30, 2024
4th Circ. Mulls Shipping Honeywell Royalty Fight To Fed. Circ.

The Fourth Circuit grappled Wednesday with whether a fight over royalty payments between technology conglomerate Honeywell and its Japan-based rival had its roots in patent or contract law, which could dictate whether the appeal stays put or gets kicked over to the Federal Circuit.
October 30, 2024
11th Circ. Says Daughter's B-Day Dooms Dad's Removal Relief

A Mexican father's hopes to remain in the country and not cause undue hardship for his American daughter were foiled when he didn't object to his final removal hearing getting scheduled for after her 21st birthday, a divided Eleventh Circuit panel ruled.
October 30, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms Soldier's Loss Against Fluor Over Bombing

A split Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a soldier's lawsuit against Fluor Corp. over injuries he sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, holding the suit's state tort claims are preempted by a "combatant activities" exception in federal law.
October 30, 2024
10th Circ. Upholds Sanctions Against Northwestern Law Prof

A panel of the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Colorado district court's sanctions against a Northwestern University law professor for his frivolous attempt to remove a probate dispute with his sister to federal court, finding in a brief, unpublished opinion that the sanctions were not an abuse of discretion.
October 30, 2024
Conn. Justices Doubt Fertility Doc Suit Is For 'Wrongful Life'

Some justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court were skeptical Wednesday that a lawsuit accusing a fertility doctor of impregnating patients with his own sperm is a barred claim for wrongful life, pressing defense counsel on the now-grown children's allegations that they suffered psychological harm when they discovered the truth.
October 30, 2024
Insurer Can't Cap Interest In Birth Injury Case, Patient Says

A patient suing his doctor over injuries he suffered at birth urged the Colorado Supreme Court not to limit interest on his medical malpractice damages to $1 million, arguing in a brief the doctor's insurer had chances to settle the case years ago and refused.
October 30, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Texas A&M's Defeat Of Hiring Bias Suit

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday backed Texas A&M University's win over a professor's lawsuit claiming its hiring practices prevent white and Asian men's applications from being properly considered, finding his failure to actually seek a job at the school doomed his case.
October 30, 2024
Ex-Ford Models CEO Can't Arbitrate Sex Misconduct Suit

A California appeals court won't let the former CEO of Ford Models send a woman's suit brought under a state sex trafficking law to arbitration, saying her allegations don't fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement she signed.
October 30, 2024
3rd Circ. Told Medicare Drug Price Talks Not Voluntary

Three pharmaceutical companies told the Third Circuit on Wednesday the Medicare drug price negotiation program is anything but voluntary, arguing the appeals court should revive their challenges to the program because it is unconstitutional.
October 30, 2024
Ga. Health Commish 'Overstepped' In Hospital Turf War

The Georgia Court of Appeals has tossed a ruling from the state's Commissioner for the Department of Community Health that would have allowed a metro Atlanta hospital system to open a new radiology center, saying Tuesday that the commissioner overstepped his review powers.
October 30, 2024
COVID-19 Order Could Save Med Mal Suit, Ga. Judges Say

A mistake made by a paralegal working for former Georgia state representative Robbin Shipp may have been saved by a recent Peach State high court ruling that a pandemic-era judicial emergency order can toll the deadline to file medical malpractice suits, the state appeals court found Tuesday.
October 30, 2024
AIG Tells Del. Justices Texas Medicaid Case 'Steeped In Fraud'

An attorney for insurers who brought a mid-case appeal in a tangled suit focused on a Texas Medicaid claims processor's battles over its alleged errors and omissions in orthodontia billings told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday that the original case was "steeped in fraud" and propped up by negligence claims.

Editor's Picks

12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks

UPDATED October 24, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.

Expert Analysis

Calif. Ruling Offers Hope For Mitigated Negative Declarations

In Upland Community First v. City of Upland, a California appeals court upheld a warehouse development's mitigated negative declaration over its greenhouse gas emissions thresholds — a rare victory against this type of challenge providing reassurance that such declarations can be upheld, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.
3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.
Nvidia Case's Potential Impact On Securities Class Actions

In Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder, the U.S. Supreme Court could strip lower courts of their long-standing ability and obligation to holistically weigh all relevant facts supporting plaintiffs' allegations of securities fraud, which would have a wide-ranging impact on securities fraud class actions in the U.S., say attorneys at Labaton Keller.
Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula

In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
Where Can Privacy Plaintiffs Sue When Injury Is Online?

Website owners need to understand wiretapping laws to understand whether they may be sued for activity tracking in California or Pennsylvania courts, where the statutory damages for violations of half-century-old laws can be substantial — and a recent Third Circuit decision suggests establishing specific jurisdiction is not as easy as 1-2-3, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Short-Seller Implications Of 10th Circ.'s Overstock Decision

The Tenth Circuit's Oct. 15 decision in Overstock Securities Litigation provides clarity on the pleading standard for a market manipulation claim under the Exchange Act, and suggests that short sellers might not be able to rely on the fraud-on-the-market presumption typically invoked by securities plaintiffs, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In September

Cases that were reversed or vacated by the Federal Circuit last month provide helpful clarity on collateral estoppel, patent eligibility, construction of claim terms that have different boundaries across different claims, and the role of courts as neutral arbiter, say attorneys at Bunsow De Mory.
11th Circ. Ruling Offers Refresher On 'Sex-Plus' Bias Claims

While the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in McCreight v. AuburnBank dismissed former employees’ sex-plus-age discrimination claims, the opinion reminds employers to ensure that workplace policies and practices do not treat a subgroup of employees of one sex differently than the same subgroup of another sex, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
High Stakes In Justices' Review Of Clean Air Act Venue Fights

Disputes over the Clean Air Act's venue provision may seem arcane, but a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision encompassing three cases will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that could have significant consequences for the regulated community, say J. Michael Showalter and David Loring at ArentFox Schiff.
Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month

Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent a wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose
Employer Lessons From Mass. 'Bonus Not Wages' Ruling

In Nunez v. Syncsort, a Massachusetts state appeals court recently held that a terminated employee’s retention bonus did not count as wages under the state’s Wage Act, illustrating the nuanced ways “wages” are defined by state statutes and courts, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.