Appellate

  • October 15, 2024

    Tribes, Backers Urge Justices To Take On Oak Flat Dispute

    Tribes, religious groups and scholars are backing a bid in the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit ruling allowing part of the Tonto National Forest that is sacred to the Western Apache to be destroyed for a copper mine proposed by a Rio Tinto and BHP venture.

  • October 15, 2024

    DC Circ. Is Asked To Revive Nuke Waste Suit

    An anti-nuclear advocacy group is urging the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its support for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of a temporary nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico, arguing that the court's ruling contained "material legal errors."

  • October 15, 2024

    Fla. High Court Declines To Hear Case Of Land-Buying Funds

    The Florida Supreme Court refused to hear a lawsuit brought by environmental groups against the state over alleged misspent money from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund that went toward expenses not authorized under a 2014 constitutional amendment, rather than being used to purchase property meant for conservation and recreation purposes.

  • October 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Votes No On Reviving Ballot Machine Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday shut down an effort to revive language in a patent covering a "ballot marking device" for disabled voters that had been asserted against vote-counting business Smartmatic USA Corp.

  • October 15, 2024

    Gamers End Challenge Of Microsoft's $69B Activision Deal

    Microsoft reached an agreement ending a challenge from a group of gamers targeting its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard as a merger challenge from the Federal Trade Commission remains pending at the Ninth Circuit.

  • October 15, 2024

    Realtors Ask High Court To Quash DOJ Antitrust Probe

    The National Association of Realtors has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a ruling that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division to reopen an investigation into the trade group's rules and policies after an earlier settlement.

  • October 15, 2024

    Benefit Cos. Urge Justices Take Up Cert. Fight From 5th Circ.

    Three benefit companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit decision upholding certification of a class of more than 290,000 workers in a suit alleging excessive health and retirement plan fees, arguing the justices need to iron out a circuit split on standing requirements.

  • October 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Look Into Avenatti's Identity Theft Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider whether the Second Circuit used an incorrect standard when ruling that identity theft played a "key role" in celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti's forging of ex-client Stormy Daniels' name and signature, upholding the disbarred lawyer's aggravated identity theft conviction.

  • October 15, 2024

    Split NC Panel Unties Barge Operations From Utility Oversight

    A North Carolina island village can't force its parking space and ferry service provider to obtain regulatory approval from the state's utilities commission before it can divest its barge operations, a split panel of state appeals court judges ruled in a published opinion Tuesday.

  • October 15, 2024

    Hedge Fund Urges Justices To Hear Swing-Trade Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked by a hedge fund facing insider trading allegations to address "significant and recurring issues" that allowed a 1-800-Flowers.com shareholder to proceed with his derivative lawsuit despite failing to prove that the company was harmed in any way by the fund's short-swing trades.

  • October 15, 2024

    Justices Probe 'Oddities' Of Law On Revoked Visa Petitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court questioned the federal government Tuesday over its argument that Congress intended to bar judicial review of revoked visa petitions, asking why initial petition decisions are reviewable but revocations are not.

  • October 15, 2024

    Medical Insurer Needn't Defend Doc Against Trans Bias Suit

    A plastic surgeon's medical liability insurer had no duty to defend against claims that the surgeon violated Minnesota's Human Rights Act by suggesting that a transgender woman seek breast augmentation surgery elsewhere, a state appeals court ruled, finding the claims didn't constitute a "medical incident."

  • October 15, 2024

    EPA Says GHG Power Plant Rule Is In 'Heartland' Of Authority

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is urging the D.C. Circuit to approve its plan to control greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, saying its prescribed methods for controlling releases are legally sound, effective, reliable and reasonably affordable for the facilities that must implement them.

  • October 15, 2024

    Ex-FCA Exec's Wife Must Turn Over Notes In GM RICO Suit

    A Michigan state judge said Tuesday that the wife of a former Fiat Chrysler executive accused of participating in a bribery scheme must turn over notes she took about their conversations, ruling that a state law protecting spouses from testifying against each other only applies to in-court testimony.

  • October 15, 2024

    Travis Scott Wants Astroworld Settlement Info Before 1st Trial

    Rapper Travis Scott is urging a Texas appeals court to order the Harris County judge overseeing litigation over the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival to require several would-be bellwether plaintiffs to disclose details of their settlement agreements with his co-defendants, writing that his attorneys need the information to prepare for the impending first trial.

  • October 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says NY AG Can Sue Over Sex Assaults In Schools

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived a suit from the New York attorney general alleging that a school district failed to investigate or respond to reports of rape and sexual assault, saying the district court was wrong to determine that the state needed to show that the school had a policy of ignoring such reports.

  • October 15, 2024

    Justices Mull RICO's Scope In Trucker's CBD Case

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared conflicted whether to sanction a commercial trucker's attempt to bring a racketeering claim against CBD companies, whose allegedly mislabeled products the trucker claims led to his firing.

  • October 15, 2024

    Novartis To Appeal Ruling In Entresto Generic Drug Fight

    Swiss drugmaker Novartis said Tuesday that it plans to appeal a ruling from over the weekend that scuttled its suit over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a generic version of Entresto, the drugmaker's blockbuster heart failure medication.

  • October 15, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Reinstate Exxon OSHA Whistleblowers

    A Third Circuit panel declined Tuesday to enforce an order reinstating two former Exxon Mobil Corp. analysts who claim they were fired after The Wall Street Journal published a report claiming the company overestimated its earnings by billions of dollars, similar to concerns the plaintiffs raised internally before the news report.

  • October 15, 2024

    Google Seeks To Pause Play Store Injunction Amid Appeal

    Google has urged a California federal judge to issue an immediate stay in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. that would pause a three-year injunction requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores pending the outcome of its Ninth Circuit appeal.

  • October 15, 2024

    Paxton Can't Get Sanctions Against Immigrant Rights Org.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton failed to convince a Texas appeals court to sanction an immigrant rights nonprofit for opposing his request for a newly created state appeals court to review his effort to shutter the organization.

  • October 15, 2024

    FERC Can't Pass On LNG Pipeline Review, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shirked its legal obligations when, through inaction, it effectively greenlit the expansion of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Puerto Rico, environmental and community groups told the D.C. Circuit on Friday.

  • October 15, 2024

    Atty Says Appellate Co.'s Ads Look Like Case Updates

    A California attorney has launched a proposed class action against appellate case management company Record Press in California federal court alleging that the New York-based company sends lawyers spam emails that deceptively appear to be important updates about ongoing litigation.

  • October 15, 2024

    Delaware Justice Vaughn Remembered As 'A True Gentleman'

    Retired Delaware Supreme Court Justice James T. Vaughn Jr., who died last week at 75, is being remembered as a dedicated, practical and skilled jurist with a "warmhearted disposition" who loved serving his state's judiciary for more than two decades.

  • October 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says 'Robust' Video Privacy Law Covers NBA Suit

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday endorsed a broad reading of a decades-old video privacy law in the modern internet age as it revived a proposed class action against the NBA by one of its free newsletter subscribers who claimed the league's website unlawfully shared his viewing information with Facebook.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Policyholder Tips After Calif. Ruling Denying D&O Coverage

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    A California decision from June, Practice Fusion v. Freedom Specialty Insurance, denying a company's claim seeking reimbursement under a directors and officers insurance policy for its settlement with the Justice Department, highlights the importance of coordinating coverage for all operational risks and the danger of broad exclusionary policy language, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • Differences In Enforcing Oral Settlements In NJ And Pa.

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    New Jersey mediations should incorporate new best practices for settlement agreements after a recent state appellate court ruling eliminated the enforceability of oral-only settlements, setting New Jersey at odds with Pennsylvania’s established willingness to enforce unwritten agreements that were clearly intended to be binding, say Thomas Wilkinson and Thomas DePaola at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

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