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Appellate
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August 23, 2024
SPAC Investors Ask Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Lucid Merger
Investors have urged the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a panel's refusal to revive their proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, arguing that the panel's holding misconstrues U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other issues.
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August 23, 2024
Georgia Cases To Watch In The Last Half Of 2024
The prosecutions of former President Donald Trump and his election interference case codefendants, along with Atlanta rapper Young Thug's bid to have the judge overseeing his racketeering trial removed from the case, will take center stage in Georgia's courts as we enter the second half of 2024.
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August 23, 2024
Texas Justices Back Creation Of 15th Appeals Court
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday backed the creation of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, writing that Dallas County's arguments alleging its unconstitutionality, while "not implausible," are not "inevitable."
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August 23, 2024
Workers Ask 6th Circ. To Remand UAW Bribery Scheme Row
A group of engineers urged the Sixth Circuit to make a lower court send their fraud and civil conspiracy claims against the United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler back to Michigan state court, arguing they fall under state law and do not require interpretation of a labor contract.
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August 23, 2024
NJ Panel Backs Dismissal Of Whistleblower Suit
A former New Jersey assistant prosecutor did not provide a clear enough link between complaints he filed against his boss and an alleged retaliatory disciplinary action, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled Friday when it dismissed his whistleblower suit.
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August 23, 2024
Punchbowl News Gets Win In TM Spat With Punchbowl Inc.
A California federal judge has ruled there is no likelihood of confusion between a publication called Punchbowl News and a greeting card and event planning company named Punchbowl Inc., justifying the dismissal of the latter's trademark infringement claims, according to a summary judgment order.
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August 23, 2024
1st Circ. Says Longshoremen Local Still On Hook For $1.7M
The International Longshoreman's Association pension fund is entitled to collect nearly $1.7 million in unpaid contributions and attorney fees from a union local in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following a merger with another local that had been in arrears, the First Circuit has ruled.
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August 23, 2024
On Final Night Of DNC, Prosecutors Ruled The Stage
Vice President Kamala Harris invoked her experience as a prosecutor and an attorney general in her speech Thursday night in Chicago accepting the Democratic nomination for president.
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August 22, 2024
10th Circ. Pauses Debt Relief Appeal After 8th Circ. Ruling
The Tenth Circuit on Thursday paused several states' appeal challenging a Kansas federal judge's injunction that partially barred the Biden administration's latest student debt relief plan, citing a broader injunction the Eighth Circuit issued earlier this month.
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August 22, 2024
Split 6th Circ. Reopens Coca-Cola Bottling Race Bias Case
A split Sixth Circuit panel Thursday revived a lawsuit filed against a Coca-Cola bottling company by an employee who failed a drug test, finding a genuine dispute exists over whether the man voluntarily waived his rights to sue for racial discrimination and retaliation when he signed a "last chance" agreement.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA
The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices OK Argentine Atty's Uber Fraud Fight
California justices gave an Argentinian lawyer a green light Thursday to pursue allegations that Uber fraudulently hid crucial information as he represented Uber before its Buenos Aires launch, clarifying that his tort fraudulent-concealment claim is not necessarily barred by the so-called economic loss doctrine if his employment contract never contemplated the alleged fraud.
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August 22, 2024
Texas Appeals Knocks $1M Hernia Mesh Fee Ask Down To $135K
A Texas appeals court on Wednesday upheld an arbitration award of $135,000 in attorney's fees in a decadeslong hernia mesh litigation dispute while denying the firm's request for $1 million.
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August 22, 2024
Homeowner Loses Atty Fees In Suit Over HOA Fence Policy
A Texas appeals court reversed a homeowner's win in a dispute with his neighbors over privacy fences facing a road, finding that a new state law prevents homeowners associations from enacting any covenant barring homeowners from putting up security measures, so the homeowner couldn't collect attorney fees.
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August 22, 2024
7th Circ. Says Rep. Isn't Injured By Extended Ballot Count
A split Seventh Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a challenge to Illinois' ballot receipt procedure, saying no one was forcing a congressman to spend money to safeguard the counting of mail-in ballots up to 14 days after Election Day.
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August 22, 2024
5th Circ. Says No Tolling For COVID, Trims Atty's Conviction
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday knocked a false statement charge off Houston attorney Richard Plezia's conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme but upheld the rest of his conviction, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by helping another lawyer evade federal income taxes.
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August 22, 2024
6th Circ. Reopens Red Cross Nurse's COVID-19 Vax Suit
The Sixth Circuit revived a former Red Cross nurse's claim that the nonprofit organization failed to accommodate her religious beliefs when it refused to exempt her from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that the lower court held the plaintiff to an overly strict standard when it tossed her suit.
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August 22, 2024
3rd Circ. Denies Liberian Bank Whistleblower's Asylum Bid
The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that a Liberian man can't claim asylum despite having "suffered horrors" after unearthing a fraud scheme involving Liberian government officials' relatives and refusing a politician's bribe, saying he did not show evidence that his alleged perpetrators targeted him for having an anti-corruption political opinion.
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August 22, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Suit Over App-Maker's Anti-Bullying Pledge
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a lawsuit against anonymous messaging app-maker Yolo Technologies over claims it didn't enforce its commitment to reveal and ban users who harass and bully others, finding Yolo repeatedly promised to do so, but never did, "and may have never intended to."
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August 22, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Military Bias Claims Against Alaska Airlines
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a class action alleging Alaska Airlines illegally denied accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments, saying the case now has the benefit of a decision from the court in a similar case involving the airline.
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August 22, 2024
Texas Asks Justices To Uphold Bar On Nuclear Waste Site
The state of Texas called on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's attempt to upend a Fifth Circuit decision barring the agency from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in the state.
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August 22, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Force Yellow Corp. Bias Suit Into Arbitration
The Ninth Circuit refused Thursday to kick a former Yellow Corp. employee's disability discrimination lawsuit to arbitration, ruling the agreement the worker signed was improperly lopsided in favor of his employer and had to be scrapped.
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August 22, 2024
Larry Flynt's Widow Asks 9th Circ. To End Calif. Cardroom Law
The widow of late pornography mogul Larry Flynt and two other cardroom operators urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to invalidate California statutes barring certain out-of-state casino investors from holding a state cardroom license, arguing the law interferes with interstate commerce and that's "a straight-up violation of the Constitution."
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August 22, 2024
11th Circ. Nixes Hyundai's Appeal Of $16M Dealership Verdict
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday rejected Hyundai Motor America's attempt to void a $16 million verdict awarded to a Florida dealership in a contract dispute over Hyundai's efforts to launch a separate dealer network for its luxury Genesis line of vehicles.
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August 22, 2024
Mich. Panel Upholds Block Of 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
Michigan appellate judges have refused to lift a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of a 24-hour waiting period and other abortion regulations, leaving in place a lower court decision that found the laws likely violate the state constitution.
Expert Analysis
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What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.
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Takeaways From Virginia's $2B Trade Secrets Verdict Reversal
The Virginia Court of Appeals' recent reversal of the $2 billion damages award in Pegasystems v. Appian underscores the claimant's burden to show damages causation and highlights how an evidentiary ruling could lead to reversible error, say John Lanham and Kamran Jamil at Morrison Foerster.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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Employers Face Uncertainty After Calif. Justices' Slur Ruling
In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that a singular use of a racial slur may be sufficiently severe to support a hostile work environment claim, leaving employers to speculate about what sort of comments or conduct will meet this new standard going forward, says Stephanie Roeser at Manatt.
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How Corner Post Affects Enviro Laws' Statutes Of Limitations
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board has helped to alter the fundamental underpinnings of administrative law — and its plaintiff-centric approach may have implications for some specific environmental laws' statutes of limitations, say Chris Leason and Liam Martin at Gallagher and Kennedy.
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Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Ohio's New Citation Rules Could Cure 'The Bluebook Blues'
The Ohio Supreme Court recently revised its writing manual to streamline citation format in legal briefs and opinions, deviating from Bluebook style, and encouraging lawyers and judges to draft cleaner documents that will give the substance of their legal arguments more persuasive power, say L. Bradfield Hughes and Chance Conaway at Porter Wright.
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9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media
The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.
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Trump's Best Hush Money Appeal Options Still Likely To Fail
The two strongest potential arguments former President Donald Trump could raise in appealing his New York hush money conviction seem promising at first, but precedent strongly suggests they will still ultimately fail — though, of course, Trump's unique position could lead to surprising results, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.
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Tips For Tax Equity-Tax Credit Transfers That Pass IRS Muster
Although the Internal Revenue Service has increased its scrutiny of complex partnership structures, which must demonstrate their economic substance and business purpose, recent cases and IRS guidance together provide a reliable road map for creating legitimate tax equity structures, say Ian Boccaccio and Michael Messina at Ryan Tax.
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7th Circ. Ruling Sheds Light On Extraterritoriality In IP Law
A recent Seventh Circuit decision involving the Defend Trade Secrets Act, allowing for broader international application of trade secrets laws, highlights a difference in how trade secrets are treated compared to other areas of intellectual property law, say Armin Ghiam and Maria Montenegro-Bernardo at Hunton.
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Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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2nd Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Short-Swing Claims Have Standing
The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Packer v. Raging Capital reversing the dismissal of a shareholder's Section 16(b) derivative suit seeking to recover short-swing profits for lack of constitutional standing settles the uncertainty of the district court's decision, which could have undercut Congress' intent in crafting Section 16(b) in the first place, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Insurance Lessons From 11th Circ. Ruling On Policy Grammar
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in ECB v. Chubb Insurance, holding that missing punctuation didn't change the clear meaning of a professional services policy, offers policyholder takeaways about the uncertainty that can arise when courts interpret insurance policy language based on obscure grammatical canons, say Hugh Lumpkin and Garrett Nemeroff at Reed Smith.