Appellate

  • July 16, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships

    Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.

  • July 15, 2024

    Biggest Transportation Decisions: Midyear 2024 Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court's upending of a legal doctrine applying to federal agencies' regulatory powers, the dismantling of JetBlue's proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines and the preservation of California's authority to set its vehicle emissions standards are among the biggest court decisions so far in 2024 affecting the transportation industry.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Challenge Of US Military Aid To Israel

    Palestinian human rights activists cannot revive their lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's support for Israel's military efforts in Gaza, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the decision to provide military or other aid to a foreign nation is a political arrangement that does not belong in the courts.

  • July 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Rejects FEMA Contractor's Water Restocking Fees

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld the rejection of an embattled government contractor's claim for $13.5 million in restocking fees after the Federal Emergency Management Agency sharply reduced the amount of bottled water the agency ordered in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

  • July 15, 2024

    Green Groups, Industry Spar Over Feds' Offshore Leasing Plan

    Conservation groups and the American Petroleum Institute are weighing in with starkly contrasting opening briefs for D.C. Circuit challenges of a 2024-2029 offshore oil and gas leasing program and arguments for why it should be scaled back or expanded.

  • July 15, 2024

    JetBlue-Spirit Flyers Seek $20M Atty Fees Following DOJ Win

    The private plaintiffs who challenged the failed JetBlue-Spirit merger asked a Massachusetts federal judge to award their counsel at least $20 million in fees, saying they "substantially contributed" to the U.S. Department of Justice successfully squashing the deal and are the prevailing party in their case.

  • July 15, 2024

    Bannon Wants Full DC Circ. To Revisit Contempt Conviction

    Ex-Trump White House aide Steve Bannon asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday for an en banc rehearing as he seeks to overturn his contempt of Congress conviction, saying a three-judge panel's determination that he "willfully" flouted a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee ignored U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Filmmaker's Son Took Too Long To Probe Fraud

    The Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court order confirming an $8.7 million arbitral award in a long-running family dispute over a prominent Mexican film producer's film collection, saying the producer's son waited years too long to probe whether his siblings fraudulently tainted the award.

  • July 15, 2024

    Detroit Must Face Bus Rider's Injury Suit, Mich. Panel Says

    The city of Detroit can't escape a lawsuit claiming one of its bus drivers intentionally hit the brakes in an effort to injure a passenger she was arguing with, causing injuries to another commuter, a Michigan appeals court ruled, saying the claims fall squarely with the motor-vehicle exception to governmental immunity.

  • July 15, 2024

    10th Circ. Rejects Okla. Title X Funding Cut Challenge

    A Tenth Circuit panel on Monday rejected Oklahoma's challenge to federal cuts of its Title X funding over the state's refusal to provide referrals for abortions, affirming it was likely the state knowingly and voluntarily accepted the Department of Health and Human Services' requirements for the grant funding.

  • July 15, 2024

    La., Miss. Utility Regulators Launch FERC Grid Policy Fight

    Louisiana and Mississippi utility regulators called on the Fifth Circuit on Monday to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's sweeping overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for.

  • July 15, 2024

    'Hard To Imagine' Logic For Late Injury Evidence, Justice Says

    A Dallas County jury will hear a dispute between an apartment complex and a resident who alleges she was injured after a 2015 carbon monoxide leak, despite the late disclosure of evidence, justification for which the Texas Supreme Court said was "hard to imagine."

  • July 15, 2024

    JD Vance's Wife Leaves Munger Tolles As Campaign Launches

    Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of vice presidential candidate J. D. Vance, has resigned as a litigator at Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, her now-former law firm told Law360 on Monday afternoon, presumably to trade her Washington, D.C.- and San Francisco-based litigation career for the campaign trail.

  • July 15, 2024

    Monsanto Doubles Down In Push To Undo $82M PCB Verdict

    Monsanto has urged a Washington state appeals court to toss an $82 million jury verdict awarded over polychlorinated biphenyls exposure at a school, saying the findings by the same court in a similar case should apply.

  • July 15, 2024

    GM Eyes Deal In Design Patent Fight At PTAB

    LKQ Corp. and General Motors Co. are looking to come to a deal to settle a legal dispute over GM's design patent covering fenders at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • July 15, 2024

    Calif. Justices Nix 3 Charter Arb. Terms, Remand Severability

    The California Supreme Court held Monday that three of four challenged provisions in Charter Communications Inc.'s employee arbitration agreement are "substantively unconscionable" but remanded a worker's discrimination case back to the trial court to determine if those provisions can be severed and the agreement can still be enforced.

  • July 15, 2024

    Gun Mags Are Not 'Arms' Under Constitution, Wash. AG Says

    Washington's attorney general is urging the state Supreme Court to uphold a ban on sales of large-capacity magazines for firearms, arguing on Friday that the ammunition devices are not arms deserving of constitutional protection.

  • July 15, 2024

    3rd Circ. Wants Higher Bar For Halting Delaware Gun Laws

    The Third Circuit held Monday that courts have lowered the bar for issuing preliminary injunctions too much, allowing Delaware to keep its ban on "assault weapons" and extended magazines because the gun rights groups challenging the law hadn't met the burden of showing the harm necessary for "extraordinary relief."

  • July 15, 2024

    Towers Watson Asks 4th Circ. To Find Merger Dispute Covered

    Towers Watson's insurers must pay out $54 million in remaining directors and officers coverage to help fund a $75 million settlement in a shareholder suit over the company's merger with Willis, Towers Watson told the Fourth Circuit, saying a so-called bump-up exclusion does not apply.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Review Toss Of Youths' Climate Case

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected youth plaintiffs' request for an en banc rehearing of a May ruling that dismissed their climate change suit against the U.S. government.

  • July 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Rejects Couple's $5.1M Easement Deduction

    The Fourth Circuit rejected Monday a married couple's bid to revive a claimed $5.1 million conservation easement deduction, saying it represented a "remarkable" attempt to inflate the value of a 41-acre property that was worth just $652,000 the year before they donated it.

  • July 15, 2024

    Mogul's Co. Drops Bid To Stop Insurer's Liquidation

    A company owned by convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg wants to end a fight against North Carolina's liquidation of an insurer, saying that it desires to withdraw its case in the state Court of Appeals.

  • July 15, 2024

    NHTSA Fuel Economy Suits Consolidated In 6th Circ.

    Eight separate legal challenges to the U.S. Department of Transportation's newly finalized fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks have been consolidated in the Sixth Circuit, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Friday.

  • July 15, 2024

    4th Circ. OKs No Hardship Finding In Mexican Man's Removal

    A Fourth Circuit panel on Monday rejected a petition from a Mexican citizen seeking to halt his removal from the United States, ruling that the Board of Immigration Appeals was right to find that his petition fell short of the extreme hardship standard necessary to prevent removal.

  • July 15, 2024

    Split 2nd Circ. Nixes Surgeon's Default In Sex Assault Case

    A split panel of the Second Circuit said a Connecticut surgeon should have been fully freed from the default judgment against him in a sex assault suit after a jury concluded his accuser failed to prove the assault happened, with one judge dissenting Monday that parts of the default ruling should remain.

Expert Analysis

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Fed. Circ. Percipient Gov't Contract Ruling Is Groundbreaking

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    The effects of the Federal Circuit's decision last month in Percipient.ai v. U.S. may be limited to commercial product and service suppliers, but it is significant for government procurement in opening the door to protests by suppliers who previously would have lacked standing and Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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