Appellate

  • December 18, 2024

    Pa. Nursing Home Must Face Resident's Slip-And-Fall Suit

    A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday reinstated a suit seeking to hold a nursing home liable for a resident's slip-and-fall injuries due to water that allegedly leaked from her room's ceiling, saying there was insufficient evidence that the home performed monthly checks for roof leaks.

  • December 18, 2024

    Texas Panel Reverses $22M Award In Gas Plant Contract Case

    A Texas appeals court has affirmed a jury verdict finding that midstream company Arrow Field Services LLC stiffed its general contractor to the tune of $20 million, but it reversed a $22.4 million award in interest and legal fees based on a carveout for oil and gas projects.

  • December 18, 2024

    EDNY US Atty Peace To Resign Before Trump Inauguration

    Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, who has headed the federal prosecution office in the Eastern District of New York since 2021, announced his resignation Wednesday ahead of the incoming Donald Trump administration.

  • December 18, 2024

    11th Circ. Doubtful Of FCC's Marketing Consent Clampdown

    Eleventh Circuit judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of the Federal Communications Commission's legal justification for a marketing rule that requires selecting businesses on an individual basis through comparison shopping sites before the businesses can reach out to consumers.

  • December 18, 2024

    Destroyed Docs Merit Harsher Sanctions, Mich. Panel Says

    A Michigan appellate panel on Tuesday said fees awarded to the estate of a man who died after choking in an adult foster care facility were likely too low, finding a lower court erred by limiting the scope of available sanctions over the destruction of "copious amounts" of digital evidence.

  • December 18, 2024

    Democrats Blocked Again On Confirming DC Judges

    Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., tried and failed to fast-track the confirmation of 10 D.C. judicial nominees, making it unlikely these vacancies will be filled before the new year starts.

  • December 18, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Reverses $13M IP Verdict Over Point-Of-Sale System

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday tossed a $13 million jury verdict against NCR Corp. in a suit accusing it of infringing two payment processing patents, saying the company wasn't liable for its customers' use of the patented system under the appellate court's precedent.

  • December 18, 2024

    Dutch Bank Exec Gave IRS Good Tax Tip, DC Circ. Judge Says

    D.C. Circuit judges grappled Wednesday with the denial of a whistleblower award to a late Dutch bank executive who tipped off the IRS to tax reporting schemes, with one judge saying during oral arguments that the executive appeared to have handed the agency "gift-wrapped" evidence of wrongdoing.

  • December 18, 2024

    Homeless Woman's Residency Unclear In Inter-Insurer Dispute

    A Michigan state appeals court has vacated a trial court order finding the insurer for a homeless woman's parents must cover injuries she suffered after being run over by a semitruck, ruling that questions remain over whether the woman had another established residence.

  • December 18, 2024

    China Co. Asks Justices To Review E-Commerce Jurisdiction

    China-based e-commerce company Zembrka has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Second Circuit opinion that found proof of an online transaction in a particular state is enough to establish personal jurisdiction, regardless of whether the product ships or is refunded.

  • December 18, 2024

    Medical Center Escapes COVID Outbreak Blame-Trading Suit

    A Michigan state appeals panel nixed a wedding venue's defamation suit alleging it was falsely blamed after several guests at a reception contracted COVID-19, handing a win to a healthcare provider the venue pointed to as the source of the outbreak. 

  • December 18, 2024

    RJ Reynolds Asks Justices To Toss Forum Shopping Argument

    R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's argument that the vape company engaged in forum shopping when it challenged denial of one of its applications in the Fifth Circuit, saying its Texas- and Mississippi-based co-petitioners make the Fifth Circuit the proper venue.

  • December 18, 2024

    Justices' Homes Would Get Security Funds Under Resolution

    More than $25 million to fund security upgrades to U.S. Supreme Court justices' homes is included in a stopgap measure to fund federal agencies through mid-March — a proposed allocation that comes two years after the arrest of an armed man outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

  • December 18, 2024

    DA Willis Tears Into Trump's Try At Ducking Election Case

    The Georgia Court of Appeals should reject President-elect Donald Trump's "procedurally and legally inadequate" effort to scuttle the state election interference case against him since "president-elect immunity" does not exist, prosecutors told the court in a scathing filing.

  • December 18, 2024

    The Biggest Trademark Decisions Of 2024

    The Pennsylvania State University emerged victorious in arguably the most closely watched trademark trial of the year against an online retailer that sold merchandise bearing historic Penn State marks, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attorney's attempt to register "Trump Too Small" as a trademark. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trademark decisions of 2024.

  • December 18, 2024

    Raskin Elected To Head House Judiciary Democrats

    Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was unanimously elected to lead the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, it was announced on Wednesday.

  • December 18, 2024

    11th Circ. Considers Reviving Developer's I-20 Truck Stop Suit

    A Georgia property owner and his company urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to revive their suit challenging a Rockdale County ordinance that thwarted plans for a new QuikTrip truck stop near Interstate 20.

  • December 18, 2024

    1st Circ. Says It Can't Review Revoked Visa Petition

    The First Circuit said it lacks the authority to review U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' decision to revoke a Brazilian woman's I-140 permanent resident petition after discovering she never worked as a physiotherapist like she claimed.

  • December 18, 2024

    City Urges High Court To Skip Christian Fire Chief's Bias Suit

    A California city told the U.S. Supreme Court there's no need to review the dismissal of a fire chief's suit claiming his Christian beliefs got him fired, arguing his criticism of the legal framework used to analyze his claims is baseless, and he's simply unhappy he lost.

  • December 18, 2024

    The Biggest 1st Circ. Rulings Of 2024

    The nation's smallest federal circuit court in 2024 issued an opinion tackling the government of Mexico's efforts to hold U.S. firearms makers responsible for the flow of illegal arms across the southern border, determining the claims are not barred by a litigation shield, among other high-profile decisions.

  • December 18, 2024

    Mont. High Court Cements Right To 'Stable Climate System'

    The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state's constitution guarantees the right to "a stable climate system" and affirmed a lower court's decision to strike down state law provisions that barred the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in permitting decisions.

  • December 18, 2024

    High Court To Review TikTok Sale-Or-Ban Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will fully review TikTok's First Amendment challenge to a federal law requiring the wildly popular social media platform to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a nationwide ban, scheduling expedited oral arguments one week before the law's effective date.

  • December 18, 2024

    Justices Will Decide If Medicaid Recipients Can Pick Providers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday partially granted the state of South Carolina's petition to review a Fourth Circuit decision blocking its Medicaid program from ending its provider agreement with Planned Parenthood, agreeing to determine if the Medicaid Act allows a beneficiary to choose a specific provider. 

  • December 17, 2024

    NC Panel Revives Negligence Suit Against State Health Dept.

    An adult care center's constitutional claims accusing the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of negligently asserting bogus penalties and unfairly suspending admissions at the facility are timely, a North Carolina state appellate panel ruled Tuesday, reviving a case that previously landed before the North Carolina Supreme Court.

  • December 17, 2024

    BDO Asks 2nd Circ. To Rethink AmTrust Investor Suit Ruling

    Auditing firm BDO USA LLP has asked the full Second Circuit to review an earlier decision that allowed a lawsuit brought by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. investors to move forward on claims that the auditor did a poor job reviewing the insurer's financial statements.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

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    Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

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    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

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    In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

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    The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

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    Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens

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    States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

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    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

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    The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • 2nd Circ. Maxwell Ruling Adds To Confusion Over NPA Reach

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision upholding Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction made an analytical leap in applying plea agreement precedent to a nonprosecution agreement, compounding a circuit split and providing lessons for defense counsel, say attorneys at Kropf Moseley.

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