Appellate

  • December 16, 2024

    NJ Panel Tosses Contempt Sanctions Against Lawyer

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday vacated contempt sanctions imposed by a Bergen County judge on a Northern New Jersey-based lawyer in an estate case, saying the attorney's conduct wasn't enough of a disruption.

  • December 16, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Navy Mooted Appeal With New Solicitation

    The Federal Circuit on Monday dismissed an appeal over a ruling that the U.S. Navy had wrongly found a technical support contract proposal untimely, saying the issuance of a revised solicitation and subsequent contract award effectively mooted the case.

  • December 16, 2024

    Honeywell Pollution Suit Belongs In Ga. Court, 11th Circ. Told

    A Georgia city suing Honeywell International Inc. over the company's alleged pollution of coastal waterways told the Eleventh Circuit Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency's supervision of remediation efforts can't transform Honeywell into a federal officer, thus denying the company the jurisdiction it needs to move the case into federal court.

  • December 16, 2024

    Chemical Co. Retirees Agree To End 401(k) Fee Suit Appeal

    Chemical company retirees who accused their former employer of unlawfully loading their 401(k) plan with costly investment options ended their bid to revive a class action, with the Third Circuit signing off on the dismissal.

  • December 16, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Latham's Roman Martinez

    Roman Martinez of Latham & Watkins LLP approaches oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court as if they were just another dinner with family or friends — people he's argued with since he was a kid.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Cite Loper Bright, Remand NLRB Successor Bar Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court remanded an NLRB dispute Monday about a Puerto Rico hospital's liability for withdrawing recognition from a union under the agency's successor bar standard, telling the D.C. Circuit to review its deference to the board under Loper Bright.

  • December 16, 2024

    With Legal Battle Looming, Neb. Legalizes Medical Marijuana

    Nebraska became the 39th state to legalize medical marijuana after supermajorities of voters approved ballot measures to decriminalize and regulate its sale, but the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from state officials that could invalidate it before implementation.

  • December 16, 2024

    Firm Tells Colo. Justices To Ignore Ex-Atty's Poaching Petition

    A petition to have the Colorado Supreme Court review a decision upholding a verdict against an attorney accused of soliciting BigLaw firms to poach her department at a personal injury firm must fail, her ex-firm told the high court, as it presents "no novel or complicating issue."

  • December 16, 2024

    Conn. Justices Revive Widow's Suit Against UConn Hospital

    The state of Connecticut failed to properly challenge the claims commissioner's decision to issue a late ruling that allowed a widow to sue University of Connecticut entities for medical malpractice, so the case can survive, the state's high court found Monday in overturning a trial court's dismissal.

  • December 16, 2024

    The Biggest Massachusetts High Court Rulings Of 2024

    Massachusetts' highest court added two justices this year while taking up several novel legal issues, including one town's effort to phase out the sale of tobacco, a paralyzed Uber rider's fight against arbitration, and a dispute over whether a hospital website's use of tracking cookies violates the state wiretap statute.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Man's Demand For Dad's Tax Info

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a D.C. Circuit decision tossing a man's suit against the IRS for withholding his dead father's tax records, a ruling the man claimed had deepened a circuit split over the correct process for obtaining personal tax documents.

  • December 16, 2024

    Dental Workers' Retaliation Appeal Nixed For Lack Of Docs

    A California appeals court declined to revive a suit brought by two dental office workers who claimed they were fired after complaining that their boss sexually harassed them, saying they hadn't provided enough details for the court to evaluate their case.

  • December 16, 2024

    4th Circ. Judge Reverses Senior Status Decision

    U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn of the Fourth Circuit has rescinded his decision to take senior status, coming shortly after President Joe Biden's nominee to replace him withdrew his nomination after it was clear he would not get a vote.

  • December 16, 2024

    High Court Passes On Navarro's Presidential Records Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro's appeal in his yearslong fight over orders that he hand over emails sent or received using a nonofficial account during his tenure at the White House.

  • December 16, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Kick Starbucks Benefits Case To Arbitration

    The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Monday that Starbucks can't force a former employee's husband to arbitrate a proposed class action claiming the coffee giant unlawfully failed to tell him about continuing health benefit options after his wife was fired, saying he wasn't bound by the terms of his spouse's employment agreement.

  • December 16, 2024

    Court Culture Seen As Barrier To Workplace Misconduct Fixes

    The federal judiciary's internal system for resolving workplace misconduct allegations has gone through a six-year overhaul that officials tout as evidence of sustained progress, but some experts say the tight bonds that unite court personnel may still be an impediment to meaningful change.

  • December 16, 2024

    3rd Circ. Nominee Decries 'Broken' Confirmation Process

    Adeel Mangi, the nominee for the Third Circuit who would have been the first federal Muslim appellate judge if confirmed, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday saying the selection process for federal judges is "broken."

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear 3rd Circ. CFPB Student Loan Trust Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it would leave in place a lower court decision allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to sue securitization trusts over their servicers' treatment of borrowers, declining to take up a challenge to the scope of the agency's enforcement authority.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Won't Review NY Cap On Broadband Rates

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't review a split Second Circuit ruling upholding New York's $15 cap on the amount broadband companies can charge low-income households for high-speed internet service plans.

  • December 16, 2024

    High Court Won't Hear Wisconsin Takings Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to consider claims that federal courts wrongly shut the door on constitutional takings claims from two residents of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, whose properties were taken to make way for a Foxconn Technology Group plant.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Pass On TCPA Case Over Fax Promoting Webinar

    The nation's top court on Monday declined to take up a healthcare technology company's appeal seeking to stave off a proposed class action accusing it of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending faxes about a free webinar.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Preserve Calif. Vehicle Emissions Autonomy

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to allow California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, a power red states had challenged as unconstitutional.

  • December 13, 2024

    Combs Gives Up Bail Fight Ahead Of Sex-Trafficking Trial

    Embattled music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs abandoned his final avenue for pursuing bail amid racketeering and sex-trafficking charges Friday, agreeing to remain jailed through his scheduled May 2025 trial in New York federal court.

  • December 13, 2024

    3 Pa. Counties Urge Justices To Review Ballot Date Rule

    The election boards of Pennsylvania's three most populous counties have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether the state's requirement that mail-in ballots have handwritten dates on their outer envelopes violates the materiality provision of the Civil Rights Act, arguing that a Third Circuit panel interpreted the provision too narrowly. 

  • December 13, 2024

    Texas Panel Prods Harrison County About Tank Leakage

    A Texas appeals court judge on Friday questioned whether Harrison County is seizing on a legal ambiguity to avoid required testing of underground storage tanks, saying its loose interpretation of the word "year" in a state law "doesn't sound like a very good idea."

Expert Analysis

  • What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

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    Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright

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    The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.

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    Automakers and their suppliers need uniformity under the law to create sufficient scale and viable markets — but the Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Fenner v. General Motors creates more uncertainty around the question of when state law consumer claims related to violations of federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are preempted, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • 'Minimum Contacts' Issues At Stake In High Court FSIA Case

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    In CC/Devas v. Antrix, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether a "minimum contacts" requirement should be implied in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, with the potential to dramatically change the legislative landscape through the establishment of a new and significant barrier to U.S. suits against foreign states, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 2nd Circ. American Girl Ruling Alters Test Purchase Norms

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in American Girl v. Zembrka overturns years of precedent that required completed test purchase shipments to establish jurisdiction in infringement cases, but litigators shouldn't abandon the strategy entirely, say Robert Wasnofski and Sara Gates at Dentons.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 11th Circ. Kickback Ruling May Widen Hearsay Exception

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    In a $400 million fraud case, U.S. v. Holland, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a conspiracy need not have an unlawful object to introduce co-conspirator statements under federal evidence rules, potentially broadening the application of the so-called co-conspirator hearsay exception, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • 2 Rulings Show How Courts Assess Health Benefit Denials

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    Two recent decisions from federal appeals courts offer important insights into how courts are assessing denials of health benefit claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including guidance on how plan administrators should evaluate claims and what documents must be disclosed, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • 2nd Circ. Provides NY Pathway For Fighting Foreign Infringers

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    A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provides a road map for expeditiously obtaining personal jurisdiction in New York against foreign trademark infringers based on a single purchase of counterfeit goods, meaning the Second Circuit could now be the preferred venue for combating foreign infringement, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures

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    Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.

  • Sublimit And Policy Interpretation Lessons From Amtrak Case

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    The recently settled dispute between Amtrak and its insurers over sublimit coverage illustrates that parties with unclear manuscript policies may wish to avoid litigation in favor of settlement — as the New York federal court declined to decide the case by applying prior term interpretations, says Laura Maletta at Chartwell Law.

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