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Appellate
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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.
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July 15, 2024
North Carolina Cases To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report
The second half of 2024 will see the North Carolina Business Court tackle media rights in one of the country's largest collegiate athletic conferences while state justices weigh the scope of hospital immunity under the Tar Heel State's COVID-19 emergency law.
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July 15, 2024
Personal Injury, Med Mal Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024
A Pennsylvania case over hospitals' liability for not admitting a mental health patient who ended up killing his girlfriend and a Texas high court case over solicitations by personal injury attorneys are among the cases injury and malpractice attorneys will be following in the second half of 2024.
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July 15, 2024
8th Circ. Revives Cop's Biased Transfer Suit After Muldrow
The Eighth Circuit reinstated a St. Louis police officer's suit alleging he was reassigned to a different unit for being straight, reversing its prior decision affirming the dismissal of his suit following a U.S. Supreme Court order loosening requirements the circuit placed on Title VII discrimination claims.
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July 15, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Rethink Revived DOJ Realtor Antitrust Probe
The D.C. Circuit won't reconsider a ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into certain rules and policies of the National Association of Realtors, rejecting the trade group's request that the court correct "far-reaching and exceptionally important" legal errors.
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July 15, 2024
Neoprene Maker Tells 5th Circ. Louisiana Can Stall EPA Rule
A Louisiana neoprene manufacturer is asking the Fifth Circuit to affirm a state regulator's decision to grant the company a two-year extension to comply with a final chemical emissions rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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July 15, 2024
6th Circ. Unsure If Philips Glass Pollution Suit Time-Barred
A Sixth Circuit panel considered Monday whether there was any reason to throw out a jury's verdict clearing Philips Electronics of releasing harmful pollution in a Kentucky town, with the judges seemingly leaning different ways on whether the jury properly found the property owners missed their window to sue.
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July 15, 2024
SoulCycle Must Face Suit Over Fall From Exercise Bike
A New Jersey appeals panel on Monday revived a woman's claims against SoulCycle Inc. alleging an instructor's negligence led to her falling from a stationary exercise bike, finding the waivers she'd signed were ambiguous and unenforceable.
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July 15, 2024
Theranos Ex-Exec's Lead Atty Joins Boutique Firm In LA
A former BigLaw attorney who was lead defense counsel for Theranos' former president Ramesh Balwani has joined Los Angeles boutique Foundation Law Group LLP to lead its white collar practice, the firm announced Monday.
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July 15, 2024
Union Fund Asks Justices To Reject Withdrawal Liability Case
A pension fund for the International Association of Machinists urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb its win in a dispute with two employers over the correct way to calculate how much employers must pay when they withdraw from multiemployer retirement plans, saying retroactive recalculations are valid.
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July 15, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Awards In Nursing Home Ch. 7
The Eleventh Circuit found Monday a bankruptcy court didn't abuse its discretion when it awarded attorney fees to Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP, Fox Rothschild and a firm that merged with Venable for representing the Chapter 7 trustee in a nursing home operator's insolvency.
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July 15, 2024
Waste Site Ruling Must Be Undone, Nuke Group Tells Justices
The main trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit decision that barred the federal government from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Texas, saying the erroneous ruling threatens to upend the industry.
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July 15, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Chancery Court news was full of fees and settlements last week, with three multimillion-dollar deals getting a court OK, and a daylong discussion over a potentially multibillion-dollar fee award for attorneys who got Tesla CEO Elon Musk's astronomical pay package thrown out. The court also banged the gavel in cases involving e-payment venture SwervePay and managed care company Centene Corp., and heard arguments from software company SAP SE and biotech Renmatix Inc.
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July 15, 2024
Rejecting Euthanasia For Pet Not Cruelty, Mass. Justices Say
Massachusetts' top court ruled Monday that a pet owner's decision to bring her ailing 14-year-old cocker spaniel home to die rather than have it euthanized as recommended by a veterinarian didn't qualify as animal cruelty, affirming lower court decisions dismissing the case.
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July 15, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Yemeni Man's Removal After Marriage Fraud
The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the removal of a Yemeni citizen who fraudulently claimed he was married to a U.S. citizen, rejecting arguments that he has since legitimately married another U.S. woman who he now supports and that his removal proceedings should have been paused while he pursued other visa options.
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July 15, 2024
11th Circ. Upholds UMiami's Win In Retaliation Suit
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Miami federal jury's verdict rejecting claims that the University of Miami fired a compliance officer for his refusal to close an investigation into the college's alleged Medicare overcharging, ruling that the officer had "invited" the jury instruction on which he based his appeal.
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July 15, 2024
Trump Classified Docs Case Canned Over Special Counsel Law
A Florida federal judge on Monday tossed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, ruling that the appointment of a special prosecutor for the case is unconstitutional.
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July 12, 2024
Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
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July 12, 2024
Del. Court Finds 1 Of 6 Bylaws Invalid But All Unenforceable
Only one of six contested advance-notice bylaws that Florida pharma company AIM Immuno Tech Inc. adopted in response to an activist shareholder's proxy contest is actually invalid but none remain enforceable because the board adopted them primarily to thwart the shareholder's challenge, Delaware's Supreme Court has ruled.
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July 12, 2024
Loper Bright Is Shaking Up Dozens Of Regulatory Fights
In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, the landmark decision has emerged as a live issue in dozens of administrative challenges, with federal courts already pausing agency regulations expanding LGBTQ+ rights in education and healthcare and with a wave of parties seeking to use the new decision to win their cases.
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July 12, 2024
10th Circ. Tosses Prof's Conviction In 'China Initiative' Case
A split Tenth Circuit panel has reversed the conviction of a former University of Kansas professor accused of hiding the fact that he was pursuing a job in China, ruling that prosecutors hadn't offered enough evidence to prove that his omission was material to any federal agency funding decision.
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July 12, 2024
NC Justices Asked To Take Up 'Double Odor' Pot Test Appeal
Police should not be able to establish probable cause to search a vehicle based on the smell of cannabis and a perceived "cover scent," such as cologne, according to a petition filed to the North Carolina Supreme Court which described this kind of conduct as a "stealthy encroachment" on constitutional rights.
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July 12, 2024
FirstEnergy Denied 6th Circ. Appeal In Doc Dispute
Scandal-plagued utility company FirstEnergy Corp. lost another attempt to shield internal investigation documents from a class of investors as well as its former CEO on Friday when an Ohio federal judge denied the company's request to appeal the dispute to the Sixth Circuit on a "logically fallacious" premise.
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July 12, 2024
Texas Assistant DA Blew Whistle A Day Late, Panel Finds
A Texas appeals court tossed a suit filed by a former assistant district attorney who says he was fired for blowing the whistle on alleged kickbacks and other illegal acts by his colleagues, finding in a Friday opinion that the whistleblower filed his complaint one day past the deadline.
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July 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Revives 'Whole Wheat Flour' Cracker Label Suit
Advertising which emphasized "organic whole wheat flour" in a box of crackers when white flour was the primary ingredient was misleading and "arguably false," according to the Second Circuit, which revived a lawsuit accusing Back to Nature Foods Co. of tricking its customers.
Expert Analysis
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Fed. Circ. Rulings Crystallize Polymorph Patent 'Obviousness'
A comparison of two recent Federal Circuit obviousness challenge decisions regarding polymorph patents provides helpful insight into the assessment of screening arguments, particularly the issue of reasonable expectation of success, say Michael Green and John Molenda at Steptoe.
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DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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3 Infringement Defenses To Consider 10 Years Post-Nautilus
In the 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s influential Nautilus ruling, the spirit of the “amenable to construction” test that the opinion rejected persists with many patent litigators and judges, so patent infringement defense counsel should always consider several key arguments, says John Vandenberg at Klarquist Sparkman.
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NY Ruling Paves A Court Payment Shortcut For More Creditors
A recent New York state appeals court ruling expands access to an expedited statutory procedure for court enforcement of promissory notes or unconditional guaranties, allowing more creditors to minimize the risk of potentially challenging litigation on threshold issues, says Alexander Levi at Friedman Kaplan.
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9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense
The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air
The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.
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3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.