Appellate

  • June 18, 2024

    Ariz. County Says New Kari Lake Vote Claims Merit Sanctions

    Maricopa County officials are slamming former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's bid to unravel a Ninth Circuit decision affirming the toss of her lawsuit over Arizona's voting machines, contending that the "fatally flawed" effort warrants sanctions.

  • June 18, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says No Gov't Misconduct In Campaign Money Case

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday reversed a ruling from a Connecticut federal judge that found prosecutors violated their evidence disclosure obligations in a campaign finance case against a former state senator and his treasurer.

  • June 18, 2024

    10th Circ. Won't Revive Airline's Union Election Challenge

    A low-cost airline based in the Salt Lake City area lost its challenge to a union representation as the Tenth Circuit ruled that a Utah federal judge correctly dismissed the case.

  • June 18, 2024

    EPA Tells DC Circ. That Smog Plan Is Legally Sound

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday defended its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, telling the D.C. Circuit that it's taken a sensible approach to cracking down on upwind pollution using a formula that has been backed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Wrongly Slashed $366M Bias Verdict, Justices Told

    A Black former FedEx employee urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the reduction of a $366 million jury verdict in her suit alleging she was fired for reporting race discrimination, arguing the Fifth Circuit incorrectly held that her employment contract could shorten her window for filing suit.

  • June 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Vax Mandate Case Amid Judge DQ Bid

    In a nonprecedential opinion, the Ninth Circuit has refused to restore a COVID vaccine mandate suit brought by federal workers and contractors who also sought to disqualify a judge they believed was conflicted, finding the workers lacked standing because they named officials who cannot reinstate them rather than their employers.

  • June 18, 2024

    NY High Court Denies Trump's Gag Order Appeal

    New York state's highest court on Tuesday denied Donald Trump's rapid appeal of the gag order that limited his speech during his criminal hush money trial, finding it did not raise serious constitutional issues.

  • June 17, 2024

    Excess Insurers May Need To Pay In Kaiser Asbestos Dispute

    A policyholder can tap into first-layer excess policies as soon as the primary coverage for that period is exhausted, the California Supreme Court ruled, potentially implicating several first-level excess insurers to contribute to coverage for underlying asbestos exposure claims against Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corp.

  • June 17, 2024

    Teva, DOJ Signal Key Kickback Case May Fizzle At 1st Circ.

    A U.S. Department of Justice kickback case against Teva Pharmaceuticals — closely watched by False Claims Act lawyers because of its multibillion-dollar stakes and its link to a major circuit split — is poised for settlement, according to a new First Circuit filing ahead of eagerly awaited oral arguments.

  • June 17, 2024

    Email Doesn't Cut It For Contempt Notice, Colo. Justices Say

    Colorado justices on Monday ruled that email is not enough to properly put a party on notice about contempt proceedings, concluding the medium does not meet the requirement for "directly" serving a party.

  • June 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Facebook 'Face Signatures' Not Subject To BIPA

    The Ninth Circuit sided with Meta Platforms on Monday by declining to revive an Illinois resident's proposed class action accusing Facebook of breaking the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, ruling that the "face signature" at issue isn't protected by the law because it cannot be used to identify someone.

  • June 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Gives FERC More Clarity On Scope Of Climate Reviews

    A recent D.C. Circuit decision not only endorses the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's current approach to reviewing the climate change impacts of gas infrastructure projects, but may also help trim environmental reviews by federal agencies across the board.

  • June 17, 2024

    Mifepristone Ruling Means End Of Texas DACA Suit, Feds Say

    A Texas-led coalition of states doesn't have standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster decision rejecting a challenge to the abortion drug mifepristone, the Biden administration told the Fifth Circuit on Monday.

  • June 17, 2024

    Hurricane Coverage Fight Must Be Arbitrated, 5th Circ. Rules

    The Fifth Circuit has ruled that a group of domestic insurers could force arbitration of a coverage dispute for hurricane damage under an international arbitration clause despite conflicting state law, overturning the underlying ruling based on a since-issued opinion.

  • June 17, 2024

    6th Circ. Sends Enbridge Pipeline Dispute To Mich. State Court

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Monday remanded a dispute between Michigan's attorney general and Enbridge Energy that looks to shut down dual pipelines that cross the Straits of Mackinac, saying the company failed to timely remove the case to federal court and there are no equitable exceptions to do so.

  • June 17, 2024

    Toss Universal Service Fund Challenge, FCC Urges 5th Circ.

    The Federal Communications Commission on Monday urged the Fifth Circuit to throw out a challenge to the agency's telecom subsidy system after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a pair of similar cases.

  • June 17, 2024

    Top Patent Eligibility Rulings In The Decade Since Alice

    The U.S. Supreme Court's Alice v. CLS Bank decision 10 years ago this week led to scores of inventions being found ineligible for patenting, and rulings since then have fleshed out the law on the contentious topic. Here's a look at the most notable patent eligibility decisions after Alice.

  • June 17, 2024

    No Coverage For Family Shareholder Row, 2nd Circ. Affirms

    A Liberty Mutual unit had no duty to defend Paraco Gas Corp. and two of its executives in a family shareholder dispute, the Second Circuit affirmed Monday, finding that all claims in the underlying suit fell within the policy's contract exclusion.

  • June 17, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Errors Led To Injunction In Trade Secrets Suit

    A Federal Circuit panel on Monday overturned a preliminary injunction against a South Korean insulin pump patch manufacturer that allegedly stole trade secrets from a rival, saying a Massachusetts federal court made a series of errors in its determination to grant an injunction.

  • June 17, 2024

    Feds, Tribes Say It's Too Soon To Reopen Monument Suit

    The federal government, tribes and conservation groups are fighting a bid by Utah and farming associations to lift a more than three-year stay in a challenge to the Bears Ears National Monument, arguing that the state is already involved in litigation that attempts to nullify the presidential proclamation that established it.

  • June 17, 2024

    Feds Say Bannon Must Go To Prison During Appeals

    The U.S. government on Monday urged the D.C. Circuit to reject Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon's bid to stave off his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, arguing that Bannon cannot show that the full D.C. Circuit or U.S. Supreme Court would take up his case.

  • June 17, 2024

    Colo. Justices To Review Prefiling Interest Cap Dispute

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review whether a state court can let prefiling interest exceed the state's $1 million economic damages cap under the Health Care Availability Act, in a suit over a man's injuries at birth.

  • June 17, 2024

    6th Circ. Says Labor Law Doesn't Bar Bias Case Against GM

    The Sixth Circuit revived a Black former General Motors employee's lawsuit Monday alleging he was denied a raise, demoted and suspended because of his race and post-traumatic stress disorder, ruling a lower court was wrong to say federal labor law preempted his bias claims.

  • June 17, 2024

    Pharmacy Groups Urge High Court To Hear Okla. PBM Case

    Pharmacy industry groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Tenth Circuit decision that overturned portions of an Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, saying these intermediaries have driven up costs for patients while raising their own bottom lines, and states should be allowed to keep them in check.

  • June 17, 2024

    Weigh Therapist's Opinion In Deportation Case, 4th Circ. Says

    A divided Fourth Circuit on Monday revived a Mexican woman's efforts to stay in the country, faulting an immigration judge for not considering the impact of his deportation order on the woman's clinically depressed daughter.

Expert Analysis

  • ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule

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    The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • 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.

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