Appellate

  • May 12, 2026

    DOE Accused Of Stretching Emergency Power For Pa. Plant

    A group of consumer and environmental advocates has told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Department of Energy illegally substituted long-term electricity planning reserved for states with its own emergency authority to keep open a Pennsylvania power plant.

  • May 12, 2026

    NCAA Wants Final Whistle On 1983 Team's Appeal Of NIL Suit

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association urged North Carolina justices to keep out of bounds a name, image and likeness lawsuit from members of a 1983 North Carolina State University championship basketball team, arguing that a lower court was right to find the suit several decades expired.

  • May 12, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Jailers Entitled To Immunity In Detainee Death

    The Sixth Circuit has ruled that a group of jail officials in Michigan should be given qualified immunity from a lawsuit alleging they ignored the medical needs of a man who was incarcerated in their facility and later died from cardiac arrest.

  • May 12, 2026

    Nurse's Family Fights Workers' Comp Loss Over COVID Death

    The family of a North Carolina nurse who died from COVID-19 is challenging the denial of their workers' compensation claim, saying the state incorrectly determined she most likely contracted the virus in the community despite federal standards indicating healthcare workers faced an increased risk of exposure at work.

  • May 12, 2026

    Businessman Fights Subpoena In Trump Media Dispute

    A Russian businessman with alleged financial ties to Donald Trump's Truth Social platform has urged a Florida appeals court panel to quash an order requiring him to produce documents in a dispute over taking the company public, arguing the production could implicate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

  • May 12, 2026

    8th Circ. Won't Revive Wells Fargo 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's decision tossing a former Wells Fargo employee's proposed class action alleging the financial services firm unlawfully used forfeited 401(k) funds to offset its own matching contributions rather than covering plan expenses, but noted the suit should've been tossed without prejudice.

  • May 12, 2026

    3rd Circ. Says Financial Services Rule Thwarts Privacy Suit

    The Third Circuit declined to reinstate class claims made by a group of John Hancock customers from Illinois accusing Amazon Web Services Inc. and Pindrop Security Inc. of collecting consumers' voice data without their consent, ruling Tuesday that exemptions under Illinois and federal law applied.

  • May 12, 2026

    Detainees Fight GEO's 'Second Bite' Quick Appeal Bid

    A group of former immigrant detainees urged a Colorado federal judge to reject The GEO Group Inc.'s latest bid for a quick appeal in a forced labor class action, arguing the company is trying to relitigate a years-old ruling.

  • May 12, 2026

    Trump Gets Time For Justices To Review $83M Carroll Verdict

    President Donald Trump can delay enforcement of the $83.3 million verdict for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals the Second Circuit's en banc refusal to rehear his appeal, as long as he puts up $7.5 million in interest that may accrue during Supreme Court proceedings, the panel said Monday. 

  • May 12, 2026

    Mass. Appeals Court Tosses Convictions For Assault On Police

    A Massachusetts man who was convicted of assaulting police officers was not criminally responsible because the state hadn't shown he wasn't insane, an appeals court majority said Tuesday.

  • May 12, 2026

    Atty Urges Texas Justices To Restore Trade Secret Damages

    A Houston personal injury lawyer is asking the Texas Supreme Court to reinstate millions in damages he was awarded in a dispute with another attorney over misappropriation of trade secrets, arguing that a lower appellate court decision could allow others to steal private information without consequence.

  • May 12, 2026

    Pa. Panel Struggles With Oversight Of $2.2B Opioid Fund

    A Pennsylvania appellate court on Tuesday questioned the system for distributing opioid companies' settlement money, after three counties and the city of Philadelphia said a review board unfairly disapproved their projects after the money was spent.

  • May 12, 2026

    Ga. Panel Revives Broker Negligence Suit Over $1M Deal

    A Georgia appellate panel revived a suit Tuesday brought by a shooting victim's widow against the insurance broker for the store where he was killed, reversing a trial court's ruling that the store couldn't assign its claims against the broker after a $1 million judgment.

  • May 12, 2026

    Insurer Needn't Cover Pre-Policy Losses, 8th Circ. Says

    A quadriplegic woman is not entitled to benefits under a long-term care policy, the Eighth Circuit affirmed, saying the policy expressly states that it does not cover the loss of ability to perform daily living activities that existed before it went into effect.

  • May 11, 2026

    NJ Justices Back Coverage Exclusion Reservation Of Rights

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday said an insurer doesn't waive its right to rely on a policy exclusion after initially defending a claim, backing Berkley Insurance Co. in a coverage dispute stemming from self-dealing suits against a pharmaceutical company and its chairman.

  • May 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Scrutinizes Email Mishap In Decade-Old Wage Fight

    A Federal Circuit panel questioned Monday whether an email mishap that kept a U.S. Department of Defense employee from timely appealing his furlough was the employee's fault, after the U.S. Supreme Court gave him the green light to continue his 13-year-old fight.

  • May 11, 2026

    Tribal Nations Back Muscogee In Okla. Jurisdiction Fight

    Several Native American tribes in Oklahoma and a nonprofit intertribal organization have voiced their support for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as it asks the Tenth Circuit to block Tulsa County's district attorney from exercising criminal jurisdiction on its reservation.

  • May 11, 2026

    Justices Clear Way For Ala.'s Gerrymandered Map In Midterms

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday opened the door for Alabama to use electoral maps that the justices previously found unconstitutionally diluted Black residents' voting power, following the court's recent ruling limiting the Voting Rights Act's use in challenging racial discrimination in congressional redistricting.

  • May 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Clears Redesigned Vacuums In Bissell Patent Row

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission barring imports of some Tineco wet-dry vacuums found to infringe Bissell patents, while clearing redesigned products, as arguments by both sides challenging those findings fell flat.

  • May 11, 2026

    5th Circ. Wary To Flip IP Suit's 'Case-Terminating Sanctions'

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed skeptical of a bid to undo "case-terminating sanctions" that a lower court leveled against a servicing company accused of stealing Philips North America LLC's trade secrets, saying Monday that the company admitted to deleting some files to cover its tracks.

  • May 11, 2026

    11th Circ. Says Voter Suit Can't Rest On 'Shaken Confidence'

    An Eleventh Circuit panel ruled Monday that two Georgia voters lacked standing to sue the state over alleged irregularities in the maintenance of its voter rolls, finding that their "shaken confidence" in Peach State elections was not an actionable injury.

  • May 11, 2026

    Colorado Justices Decline To Rehear Insurer Cooperation Suit

    The Colorado Supreme Court denied Monday a policyholder's bid for the court to rehear his case after the justices dismissed his claims last month and limited the reach of a Colorado law addressing procedural requirements for insurers asserting failure-to-cooperate defenses against policyholders.

  • May 11, 2026

    5th Circ. Tosses Another DOL Overtime Rule Appeal

    The U.S. Department of Labor will no longer pursue another appeal seeking to save a Biden-era rule that increased the salary threshold for white-collar overtime exemptions.

  • May 11, 2026

    Johns Hopkins Keeps Trial Win In Fatal Heart Condition Suit

    A Maryland appellate court has affirmed a jury verdict clearing Johns Hopkins-affiliated healthcare providers and MedStar defendants of liability in a medical malpractice case alleging they failed to timely diagnose a man's heart condition, which proved fatal, saying expert testimony on an unapproved drug was rightly excluded.

  • May 11, 2026

    Split Fed. Circ. Fully Voids Railway Safety Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board properly invalidated the entirety of a rail safety patent challenged by Siemens but erred in upholding part of a second patent, the Federal Circuit held on Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 True Lender State Laws And 1 Appeal For Fintechs To Watch

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    The fintech industry faces increased scrutiny through proposed true lender laws from several states, as well as ongoing litigation regarding the impact of Colorado's opt-out from the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act — all of which should heighten industry participants' vigilance, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

  • Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Fresenius v. Bonta suggests that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities, even if those donations are motivated by economic self-interest, potentially calling into question years of Anti-Kickback Statute proceedings against pharmaceutical manufacturers for making similar donations, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • Written Consent Ruling May Signal Change For Telemarketing

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    The Fifth Circuit's ruling in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control is a takedown of the Federal Communications Commission's prior express written consent regulation, and because Loper Bright empowers courts to disregard agency interpretations, Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigants now have an opportunity to challenge previously settled FCC regulations, orders and interpretations, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

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    As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

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    Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

  • At The Fed. Circ., Means-Plus-Function Is Not Quite Dead

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    Recent Federal Circuit opinions confirm that means-plus-function claims continue to be drafted, issued, litigated and even infringed — but minding the restrictions imposed over the years by courts and statute requires three steps, says Jay Yates at Patterson & Sheridan.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

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    Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Anticipating The Justices' Potential Ruling On Tax Takings

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    Recent oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case Pung v. Isabella focused on rules for valuation, timing and administrability of tax auction proceeds and whichever method the court adopts for determining just compensation, it will have far-reaching impacts on tax collection, homeowners' equity and the secondary market for tax-foreclosed property, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 5 Welcome Changes To Texas' Summary Judgment Rule

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    Following recent amendments to the Texas rule for summary judgment motions,​​​​​​ practitioners adjusting to the new framework will likely benefit from a more streamlined process that focuses attention on substantive legal arguments rather than procedural uncertainty, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Reinforces Securities Act Limits Post-Slack

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision to limit treatment of mandatory reverse splits as actionable sales in Knapp v. Barclays is narrow but important, offering issuers a stronger basis to challenge expansive Securities Act theories and reinforcing the post-Slack v. Pirani discipline of tracing, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Opinion

    BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

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    If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Opinion

    CBP's $166B Tariff Refund Portal Needs 4 Safeguards

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    Before launching its automated web portal to process tariff-refund disbursements on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection should apply the expensive lessons learned from the pandemic-era employee retention credit, says Peter Gariepy at RubinBrown.

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