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Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.
October 31, 2024
EPA Can't Declare La. Deadline Extension Invalid, 5th Circ. Told

A Louisiana neoprene maker on Wednesday told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to invalidate a two-year compliance deadline extension that the state granted to the company, which is being sued by the EPA.
October 31, 2024
4th Circ. Told Door-Maker's $10M Claim Double-Dips Coverage

A Travelers unit says it shouldn't have to fork over $10 million in excess coverage to a North Carolina door manufacturer that paid $39.5 million to settle a securities class action, telling the Fourth Circuit that the case stems from a flurry of antitrust litigation that began before its policy went into effect.
October 31, 2024
Ga. Justices Kill Free Speech Challenge To Strip Club Tax

A Georgia tax on strip clubs that's used to fund child trafficking prevention efforts has been upheld by the state's highest court, which said in a split decision that a First Amendment challenge to the tax by club owners failed to show the levy limited their speech.
October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Wrestles With Reach Of FCC's Net Neutrality Powers

Sixth Circuit judges on Thursday sought to clear up what one described as a "close call" over how much authority Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission to regulate internet traffic when lawmakers overhauled telecommunications law in 1996.
October 31, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Revive 'Ghost Cattle' Contract Fight With Tyson

The Ninth Circuit said Thursday a rancher who admitted to invoicing Tyson Foods Inc. for nonexistent cattle cannot sue the meat company for allegedly using his name and photograph in marketing materials without giving him a cut of the profits, rejecting the rancher's argument that Tyson had agreed orally to the deal.
October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Says Removal Waiver Wouldn't Have Helped

The Sixth Circuit refused Thursday to undo a woman's removal order over an immigration judge's failure to inform her she could apply for a removal waiver, saying a waiver, if granted, would not have been able to save her case.
October 31, 2024
Ga. Panel Reopens Ex-Honeycomb Manager's Benefits Case

The Georgia Court of Appeals said the state's Department of Labor will have to determine whether a former Savannah Bee Co. honeycomb manager is entitled to unemployment benefits, finding the department and the superior court that affirmed its decision wrongly found her benefits denial appeal untimely.
October 31, 2024
Conn. Judge OKs $10.4M Remedy For Securities Fraud Appeal

A Connecticut state judge has approved a nearly $10.4 million prejudgment remedy application protecting investment banking firm FIH LLC while two principals of a beleaguered capital firm appeal a securities fraud judgment that resulted from a bench trial.
October 31, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs GE's Win In Ex-Exec's Benefits Denial Suit

The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal Thursday of a former General Electric executive's suit claiming the company should have awarded her pension and stock benefits when it moved her into an independent contractor role, ruling that her claims were filed too late.
October 31, 2024
Everglades Scientist's Contempt Upheld Over Data Theft

A Florida state appellate panel upheld indirect criminal contempt against an Everglades scientist after a lower court found he violated an order to return data he allegedly took upon resigning from his previous nonprofit job following a falling out with the CEO and went to work for a rival organization.
October 31, 2024
Health District Must Face Cyberattack Suit, Wash. Judges Say

A municipal health department in Washington is back on the hook in litigation over a cyberattack that affected nearly 109,000 individuals, thanks to a precedential ruling by a state appellate court Thursday reviving claims that the department was negligent in storing patients' personal information.
October 31, 2024
Supreme Court Sets Jan. Arguments In Cornell ERISA Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday scheduled oral argument for January in an appeal from Cornell University workers who said their retirement plan was mismanaged.
October 31, 2024
FERC Unlawfully Rewrote Grid Hookup Policy, DC Circ. Told

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revised policy on hooking up new power projects to the grid unlawfully imposes a punitive, one-size-fits-all system on transmission owners, regional grid operators and transmission companies told the D.C. Circuit Wednesday.
October 31, 2024
Judge Asks If Full 6th Circ. Needs To Settle Emissions Conflict

A Sixth Circuit judge expressed discomfort Thursday with the possibility his panel could be asked to declare that colleagues made conflicting calls in separate suits alleging carmakers deceived consumers about vehicle sustainability, wondering if the full circuit needed to weigh in.
October 31, 2024
Justices Set Arguments In Firefighter's ADA Suit Over Benefits

The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it set a January date to hear oral arguments in a case that could end up expanding the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
October 31, 2024
Pro Services Contract Nixes NJ Public Defender's Pension

A New Jersey appellate court backed the Public Employees' Retirement System board's finding that a former municipal public defender is ineligible to receive pension benefits from 2008 onward, ruling that there was enough evidence to show the attorney's services were procured through a professional services contract.
October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Split Over NLRB Remedy In Starbucks Firing Case

The Sixth Circuit was divided Thursday over Starbucks' challenge to a National Labor Relations Board order finding the coffee giant unlawfully fired a worker at a Michigan cafe, with the judges probing the limits of the board's power to remedy unfair labor practices.
October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Frets Tech Updates Could Stymy Class Actions

Sixth Circuit judges closely questioned Thursday whether claims about faulty automatic braking systems in certain Nissan cars should proceed as a class action or if different software versions divide the class irreconcilably, prompting one judge to wonder about the case's implications for an age of ubiquitous software updates.
October 31, 2024
NC City Urges Panel To Rethink Stormwater Ruling

A North Carolina city has urged a state appeals court panel to rethink its decision reviving part of a condo association's suit over damage the city allegedly caused by dumping stormwater onto the group's properties after Hurricane Matthew, arguing that the majority's opinion relies on a factual error.
October 31, 2024
The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.
October 31, 2024
Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.
October 31, 2024
11th Circ. Nixes ERISA Claim To John Hancock's $100M Credit

John Hancock Life Insurance Co. had no fiduciary duty to pass on to retirement plans $100 million in foreign tax credits that it had taken from taxes paid on foreign investments, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit said in upholding a lower court ruling.
October 31, 2024
Firms Fight Bid To Revive Malpractice Suit Over Liability Case

Two firms are asking the Delaware Supreme Court to affirm the dismissal of a malpractice suit filed by parents over damages sought for their child's "catastrophic injuries," allegedly caused by contamination from a chicken plant.
October 30, 2024
5th Circ. Keeps Most No Surprises Act Provisions Intact

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld several provisions for calculating qualifying payments under a federal law aimed at protecting Americans from surprise medical bills, saying in a published opinion that the provisions were neither inconsistent with the law nor arbitrary and capricious.
October 30, 2024
Class Asks Court To Revive Claims Against Florida Blue

A proposed class of Florida state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan asked an appeals court Wednesday to revive their suit claiming the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.

Editor's Picks

12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks

UPDATED October 24, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.

Expert Analysis

Reading Tea Leaves In Fed. Circ. Deep Dive On Review Scope

Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer investigates why a recent Federal Circuit opinion spent six pages explaining its unsurprising conclusion on proper scope of review — that no deference need be afforded to the trial court in a case dismissed for failure to state a claim.
How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
Newly Acquired Information Can Be Key In Drug Label Cases

The question of whether federal law preempts state law claims is often central in pharmaceutical labeling cases, like the Fosamax litigation now before the Third Circuit — but parties must also consider whether there is newly acquired information to justify submitting a proposed labeling change in the first place, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
Tips For Employers As Courts Shift On Paid Leave Bias Suits

After several federal courts recently cited the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow decision — which held that job transfers could be discriminatory — in ruling that paid administrative leave may also constitute an adverse employment action, employers should carefully consider several points before suspending workers, says Tucker Camp at Foley & Lardner.
NC Ruling Takes Practical Approach To Duty-To-Defend Costs

In Murphy-Brown v. Ace American Insurance, a case of first impression, the North Carolina Business Court adopted the commonsense rationale of many state courts in holding that policyholders' defense costs should be deemed presumtively reasonable when a insurer breaches its duty to defend, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
Calif. Ruling Offers Hope For Mitigated Negative Declarations

In Upland Community First v. City of Upland, a California appeals court upheld a warehouse development's mitigated negative declaration over its greenhouse gas emissions thresholds — a rare victory against this type of challenge providing reassurance that such declarations can be upheld, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.
3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.
Nvidia Case's Potential Impact On Securities Class Actions

In Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder, the U.S. Supreme Court could strip lower courts of their long-standing ability and obligation to holistically weigh all relevant facts supporting plaintiffs' allegations of securities fraud, which would have a wide-ranging impact on securities fraud class actions in the U.S., say attorneys at Labaton Keller.
Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula

In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
Where Can Privacy Plaintiffs Sue When Injury Is Online?

Website owners need to understand wiretapping laws to understand whether they may be sued for activity tracking in California or Pennsylvania courts, where the statutory damages for violations of half-century-old laws can be substantial — and a recent Third Circuit decision suggests establishing specific jurisdiction is not as easy as 1-2-3, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Short-Seller Implications Of 10th Circ.'s Overstock Decision

The Tenth Circuit's Oct. 15 decision in Overstock Securities Litigation provides clarity on the pleading standard for a market manipulation claim under the Exchange Act, and suggests that short sellers might not be able to rely on the fraud-on-the-market presumption typically invoked by securities plaintiffs, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In September

Cases that were reversed or vacated by the Federal Circuit last month provide helpful clarity on collateral estoppel, patent eligibility, construction of claim terms that have different boundaries across different claims, and the role of courts as neutral arbiter, say attorneys at Bunsow De Mory.
11th Circ. Ruling Offers Refresher On 'Sex-Plus' Bias Claims

While the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in McCreight v. AuburnBank dismissed former employees’ sex-plus-age discrimination claims, the opinion reminds employers to ensure that workplace policies and practices do not treat a subgroup of employees of one sex differently than the same subgroup of another sex, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.