Appellate

  • March 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Shreds 'Muddled' Argument In Amazon Antitrust Case

    A panel of the Ninth Circuit on Thursday picked apart arguments from consumers in their lawsuit alleging Amazon violated antitrust law through the e-commerce giant's fulfillment services, with the judges saying an amended complaint was "extraordinarily light on any actual evidence" and the arguments appeared "muddled."

  • March 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Judge Stresses Unknown Software To Fintiv, Apple

    A Federal Circuit panel expressed frustration Thursday as it struggled to get straight answers regarding whether Apple's products have a "widget" that would infringe Fintiv's contactless payment patent, with one judge ending arguments by saying that "after 45 minutes here, I'm still not clear what the widget does."

  • March 06, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Believe it or not, there's still important litigation happening that doesn't involve President Donald Trump, and the proof exists in this month's circuit court calendars. During the remaining weeks of March, arguments will explore numerous high-profile topics, including a law firm's severe punishment for alleged misconduct in 9/11 litigation and a judicial rebuke of Trader Joe's for "an attempt to weaponize the legal system."

  • March 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs $100K For Ky. Couple Denied Marriage License

    The Sixth Circuit upheld $100,000 in damages awarded to a couple denied a marriage license by Kentucky clerk Kim Davis on Thursday, affirming that she is liable for ignoring the U.S. Supreme Court's recognition of same-sex couples' right to marry. 

  • March 06, 2025

    California City Abandons Battle Over Affordable Housing

    A wealthy Southern California city wants to drop its appeal of a legal nonprofit's suit that was filed over the city's opposition to a mixed-income affordable-housing project, according to a filing in a state appellate court.

  • March 06, 2025

    Insurer's 9th Circ. Procedural Win Highlights Appraisal Rules

    A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed that a property owner could not litigate its insurer's failure to pay for losses before a required appraisal to resolve disagreements, highlighting the importance of appraisal provisions and how they could limit potential policyholder challenges. Here, Law360 speaks to Colin Kemp, an insurance recovery attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, about Mount Vernon Specialty Insurance Co.'s procedural victory and its implications for coverage challenges.

  • March 06, 2025

    Texas Court Orders 400-Mile Transfer For Discrimination Suit

    A Texas appeals court has granted a Fort Worth-based energy company's request to have a former employee's lawsuit accusing it of discrimination and libel transferred hundreds of miles from Hidalgo County to Tarrant County, where it is located.

  • March 06, 2025

    Del. Corporate Law Rework Under Pressure At Tulane

    An attorney whose firm largely represents investors and consumers told a corporate law conference in New Orleans on Thursday that the list of plaintiff-friendly rulings that would be effectively overturned by a pending corporation law bill in Delaware "will probably be just as long as the bill itself."

  • March 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Nixes Challenge To Wash. Abortion Coverage Law

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a Christian church's challenge to a Washington state law requiring employer health plans to cover abortion services, saying the church could invoke its religious beliefs to skirt the challenged obligations.

  • March 06, 2025

    Mich. Supreme Court Preview: Sex Offender Tracking, Rentals

    The Michigan Supreme Court is gearing up to hear arguments next week on the constitutionality of making sex offenders wear location-tracking devices for life, whether short-term vacation rentals fit into the definition of residential use of a property and whether political parties have standing to sue when a community's election workers are overwhelmingly from the same political party.

  • March 06, 2025

    Insurance Mogul Can Pursue $8.2M Battle Over NC Office Park

    Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg and his company Global Growth Holdings Inc. will have another shot at counterclaims in an unpaid rent lawsuit against another company once owned by Lindberg, a North Carolina state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

  • March 06, 2025

    Texas Panel Says Police Dept. Must Face Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday said a police department cannot escape a former employee's lawsuit accusing it of firing her after she asked to take unpaid leave to recover from a cesarean section, but ruled the city encompassing the police department was not involved in employment decisions.

  • March 06, 2025

    Diverse Judiciary Is Crucial, Justice Jackson Tells Attys

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told attorneys in Miami on Thursday at the American Bar Association's annual White Collar Crime Institute that her judicial philosophy is "still under development" and said diversity in the judiciary is necessary to help instill confidence in the judicial branch of government.

  • March 06, 2025

    Apple Tells DC Circ. Google Search Fixes Change Incentives

    Apple has told the D.C. Circuit that it did not know the U.S. Department of Justice would go as far as it did with its proposed fixes in the Google search antitrust case, and it moved to intervene as soon as it became clear the two companies have opposing interests under the government's proposal.

  • March 06, 2025

    Citi's Appeal Gamble Is A Loser For All, NY AG Says

    New York's attorney general has urged a Manhattan federal judge to deny Citibank's bid to appeal the judge's decision allowing the state's wire transfer fraud protection case against the bank to proceed, arguing that an immediate appeal would not benefit any party, even the bank.

  • March 06, 2025

    No Cancer Therapy Patent For AbbVie, Says Federal Circuit

    The Federal Circuit declined on Thursday to second-guess a Virginia federal judge who sided with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in refusing to issue a patent requested to cover a purportedly new way of administering a clinical stage cancer treatment to an AbbVie unit.

  • March 06, 2025

    Conn. Justices Could Limit Court Powers In Probate Appeals

    Connecticut's state court rules do not specify that a judge can grant summary judgment to a party in a probate appeal, so that power might not be available, a Connecticut Supreme Court justice said Thursday during oral argument about an issue that the high court has never considered.

  • March 06, 2025

    Minn. Couple Can't Claim $105K Deduction, High Court Affirms

    A Minnesota couple were properly assessed an outstanding income tax liability and disallowed a business loss deduction by the state tax court, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled. 

  • March 06, 2025

    The Antitrust Litigation Surrounding NAR's Industry Rules

    A year and a half after a Missouri federal jury found that the National Association of Realtors inflated fees for home sellers, the Eighth Circuit is evaluating a series of settlements in wake of the decision while the Justice Department pursues its own antitrust investigation with a court's blessing.

  • March 06, 2025

    Conn. Chief Justice Names New Appellate Court Leader

    Connecticut Appellate Court Judge Melanie L. Cradle has been appointed as the court's top judge following her predecessor's confirmation to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

  • March 06, 2025

    USW Strikers Found Eligible For Unemployment Pay

    Workers represented by the United Steelworkers who sought unemployment compensation during a work stoppage could receive the benefit under state law, a Pennsylvania appellate court concluded Thursday, finding claimants were eligible because a steel company took actions that changed the strike to a lockout.

  • March 06, 2025

    Contempt Of Atty's 'Own Making,' Judge Says In Allowing Trial

    A Dutch software company can't push back a copyright trial after one of its attorneys from Womble Bond Dickinson was held in contempt and was temporarily kicked off the case, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, finding the predicament "entirely of counsel's own making."

  • March 06, 2025

    NY Court Rejects Leon Black's Malicious Prosecution Suit

    A New York appeals court on Thursday rejected a malicious prosecution suit brought by former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black against Wigdor LLP, which represented a woman in a failed lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.

  • March 06, 2025

    IRS Can't Defend Slashing Of Easement Value, 11th Circ. Told

    Conservation easement donors whose charitable tax deduction was reduced by millions of dollars by the U.S. Tax Court criticized the Internal Revenue Service's defense of the decision, telling the Eleventh Circuit the ruling ignored copious evidence of the property's value underlying the donation's worth.

  • March 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Nursing Home Worker's Actions Justified Firing

    The Sixth Circuit refused to revive a former nursing home social services director's suit claiming she was fired for raising concerns about resident care and her supervisor's inappropriate behavior, finding she couldn't overcome the company's explanation that her absenteeism and covert recordings of meetings cost her the job.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • 5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

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    The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Lessons From United's Axed Win In Firing Over Online Pics

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    In Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, a California state appeals court revived a flight attendant’s suit over her termination for linking photos of herself in uniform to her OnlyFans account, providing a cautionary tale for employers navigating the complexities of workplace policy enforcement in the digital age, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Reviewing The High Court's Approach To Free Speech Online

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    As the U.S. Supreme Court began addressing the interplay between the First Amendment and online social media platforms, its three opinions from last term show the justices adopting a nuanced approach that recognizes that private citizens, public employees and online platforms all have First Amendment rights, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

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    The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Mich. Ruling Offers View On 'Occurrence' Coverage Definition

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    As demonstrated by a Michigan state court in its recent decision finding per-wound insurance coverage for a school shooting, the amount of coverage available under occurrence-based policies often depends on how courts interpret "occurrence," say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Rejoinder Strategy After Allergan Double-Patenting Case

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    A closer look at last year's Allergan v. MSN case at the Federal Circuit highlights the importance of rejoinder during patent prosecution in view of the risks associated with obviousness-type double patenting based on later-filed applications in the same patent family, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • What FARA Enforcement In 2024 Reveals For The Year Ahead

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    A number of developments, from indictments to legislation, shaped the Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement landscape last year, and following the U.S. Department of Justice's recently released long-awaited proposed amendments to the law, 2025 shows no signs of slowing down, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • 5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent en banc opinion vacating Nasdaq's board diversity listing rule wades into the hotly debated topic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at a time when many public companies are navigating the attention that DEI commitments are drawing from activists and shareholders, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

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    From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

  • Fed. Circ. In December: A Patent Prosecution History Lesson

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    Despite relying on two rock-solid principles of patent law, DDR lost its Federal Circuit case against Priceline.com, highlighting how a change in the scope of the invention from the provisional to the nonprovisional application can affect the court's analysis of how a skilled artisan would understand claim terms after reading the prosecution history, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

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