Appellate

  • July 03, 2024

    Broiler Chicken Buyers' Attys Get $51.6M Fees In Antitrust Suit

    An Illinois federal judge overseeing sprawling antitrust litigation against broiler chicken producers awarded class counsel more than $51.6 million in attorney fees in a $181 million deal for chicken buyers after the initial $57 million award was tossed by the Seventh Circuit last year, according to an order Wednesday.

  • July 03, 2024

    24 AGs Urge High Court To Preserve Ghost Gun Regs

    A coalition of 24 attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a new federal regulation regarding the weapon parts kits consumers can purchase and use to build ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers — treating them the same way preassembled firearms are, saying the new rule is "crucial to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related offenses."

  • July 03, 2024

    Sonos Says Chevron's End Doesn't Impact Google Patent Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court's abolition of so-called Chevron deference doesn't warrant granting Google's request for the full Federal Circuit to review precedent on the U.S. International Trade Commission's patent powers, which requires "special justification" to undo, Sonos said Wednesday.

  • July 03, 2024

    Adobe Prevails As Fed. Circ. Rules Alice Dooms E-Sign Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that axed an electronic signature patent for not inventing "much of anything," saying the patent Adobe Inc. allegedly infringed merely covered a long-standing business practice of signing documents.

  • July 03, 2024

    Muldrow Revives Worker's Pregnancy Bias Suit, 3rd Circ. Says

    The Third Circuit reinstated parts of a worker's suit claiming she was forced to resign from Pennsylvania's probation board because she was denied light duty and remote assignments to accommodate her pregnancy, stating Wednesday a recent high court ruling requires another look at her case.

  • July 03, 2024

    Chevron Irrelevant To Spouse Work Permit Case, Group Says

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that courts don't have to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes doesn't pertain to a lawsuit challenging an Obama-era program allowing work permits for spouses of highly skilled foreign workers, a nonprofit group intervening in the case told the D.C. Circuit.

  • July 03, 2024

    Fla. Court Nixes $5.5M Award In Patient Stroke Suit

    A Florida state appellate panel on Wednesday vacated a $5.5 million award in a suit accusing a cardiologist of causing a woman's incapacitating stroke due to alleged medical malpractice, saying the doctor was unfairly denied the opportunity to blame a nonparty surgeon.

  • July 03, 2024

    Restaurant Group Gets Another Shot At TM Suit Against Hotel

    The Fifth Circuit has revived a trademark infringement case in which restaurant chain Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises accused Hotel Magdalena Joint Venture of ripping off its summer-themed branding, finding that the lower court didn't apply the right standard properly.

  • July 03, 2024

    Rochester Says Chevron Ruling May Impact Telecom Fee Deal

    The city of Rochester is clashing with Verizon Wireless, Crown Castle and Extenet in New York federal court over the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning the Chevron deference amid litigation over how much the city can charge telecoms to do business.

  • July 03, 2024

    Ind. Panel OKs Coverage For Taiwanese Chemical Co. Owners

    An Indiana appeals court ruled that a Taiwanese company's owners were additional insureds and that an insurer could not stack various policies' deductibles and retentions to reduce the coverage it owed for defense costs of a chemical exposure class action.

  • July 03, 2024

    Veterans Ask High Court To Revive PTSD Benefits Claims

    Two military veterans urged the U.S. Supreme Court to remand Federal Circuit rulings that denied their benefits claims for post-traumatic stress disorder, saying the lower courts failed to properly review whether they deserved the benefit of the doubt.

  • July 03, 2024

    Revived Skinny Label Case Is A Warning For Generics

    The Federal Circuit has made clear that generic-drug companies need to pay close attention to public statements when advertising drugs that still have patent-protected uses, even if their so-called skinny labels properly avoid references to those carved-out indications, attorneys say.

  • July 03, 2024

    Panel Says Settlement Evidence Was 'Harmless' In Injury Case

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Tuesday said a trial court was right to let a hospital tell jurors about a surgeon's settlement with a man who sued over postsurgery complications, saying it is "highly probable" that the evidence didn't contribute to a jury verdict in the hospital's favor.

  • July 03, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Rethink Amazon Patent Program Case

    Lighting Defense Group has urged the full Federal Circuit to undo a decision that it must face a declaratory judgment suit in the home state of a company it accused of infringement through an Amazon patent program, saying the holding is in "intractable conflict" with precedent.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • 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.

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