Analysis

DOJ Seeking Steep Costs To Make Challengers Think Twice

By Jeff Overley

The U.S. Department of Justice is quickly implementing President Donald Trump's plan to seek huge sums of money from litigants whose cases impede his agenda but ultimately prove unsuccessful, court records show.

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Justices Doubtful Of Inmate's Habeas Amendment Petition Bid

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared reluctant to make an exception to a federal law preventing incarcerated people from bringing multiple habeas corpus challenges to their convictions by allowing prisoners to amend their initial habeas petitions while they are still pending on appeal.

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Sotomayor And Jackson Rue Court's Rejection Of Habeas Case

By Cara Salvatore

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said Monday the U.S. Supreme Court should resolve a circuit split regarding how many circuit judges' votes are needed to allow a habeas appeal, critiquing the denial of cert to a death row prisoner.

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Justices Probe Wis. Denial Of Exemption To Catholic Charities

By Maria Koklanaris

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed deeply skeptical Monday that Wisconsin was on firm constitutional grounds in denying an unemployment tax exemption to a group of Catholic charities because, as the state claimed, they were not operated primarily for religious purposes.

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Justices Ask US To Respond To IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case

By Anna Scott Farrell

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on a cryptocurrency investor's challenge to the IRS' seizure of his account records, a request that followed a spate of support for the investor, including by attorneys general and Elon Musk's X Corp.

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5th Circ. Judge Criticizes Texas AG's Use Of Document Law

By Catherine Marfin

A Fifth Circuit judge on Monday accused the Texas Attorney General's Office of trying to unfairly "play with litigants" under a statute that allows the office to examine business records.

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Justices Decline Chance To Clarify Medical Pot Protections

By Sam Reisman

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal arguing that congressional spending legislation bars federal prosecutors from bringing cases against state-compliant medical marijuana operations.

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Justices Reject Gas Price-Fixing Claims Over Trump Oil Pact

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a bid to revive a proposed class action alleging price-fixing between major oil producers as part of a 2020 deal among Russia, Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump's administration to cut production.

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Trump Admin Asks DC Circ. To Stay 'Lawless' CFPB Injunction

By Jon Hill

The Trump administration moved Monday to thwart a Washington, D.C., federal judge's preliminary injunction that bars it from stopping work and firing employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asking the D.C. Circuit for an emergency stay.

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Ex-MSPB Member Asks Full DC Circ. To Hear Firing Case

By Tim Ryan

Former Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris asked the full D.C. Circuit on Monday to hear a case challenging President Donald Trump's decision to fire her and a National Labor Relations Board member, saying the court's "authoritative announcement" would calm uncertainty surrounding the status of independent agencies.

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Salesforce Gets Judge To Ax Patent Suit Fed. Circ. Revived

By Adam Lidgett

A Nevada federal judge has thrown out a suit accusing Salesforce of infringing patents for database software reprogramming, saying the transfer of the patent rights to the consulting company that sued was voided by an earlier transfer.

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Fed. Circ. Tells PTAB To Look At Samsung Foe's Patents Again

By Andrew Karpan

Samsung convinced the Federal Circuit Monday that administrative patent board judges used an "erroneous" definition of a term used in two gesture-sensing interface patents that the smartphone giant is accused of infringing in litigation in Texas.

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Boston Bomber Judge Won't Recuse From Juror Bias Inquiry

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge declined to recuse himself from conducting an inquiry into potential juror bias during the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

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Brief

Regulators Seek Pause On 5th Circ. Fight Over CRA Rules

By Sydney Price

Federal regulators have asked the Fifth Circuit to halt further proceedings in a banking industry challenge to their Biden-era Community Reinvestment Act rules, citing their recently announced plans to go back to the drawing board with them.

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6th Circ. Affirms County's Foreclosed Property Proceeds Win

By Grace Dixon

The Sixth Circuit sided with a Michigan county Friday in a resident's suit alleging the decision to withhold surplus proceeds from the tax foreclosure sale of her home was an unconstitutional taking, affirming the constitutionality of a process for claiming proceeds that she failed to follow.

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9th Circ. Revives Investor Suit Over $8B Avalara Sale

By Jessica Corso

The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially revived a proposed class action accusing tax software company Avalara Inc. of underselling investors on its future prospects before taking the company private in an $8.4 billion deal.

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9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction On Transgender Troop Ban

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied the federal government's bid for an emergency stay that would have allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to move forward with the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service following a Washington federal judge's decision to block the prohibition last week.

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JB Hunt Drivers Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Piece-Rate Wage Suit

By Gina Kim

Delivery truck drivers urged the Ninth Circuit to revive their wage-and-hour suit alleging J.B. Hunt used a piece-rate formula that did not separately compensate for tasks done off-the-clock, which included fueling trucks or completing paperwork, arguing Monday the company's system ultimately failed to pay drivers for all hours worked. 

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10th Circ. Hands Server New Trial In Sexual Harassment Case

By Grace Elletson

The Tenth Circuit granted a former server a new trial Monday on her sexual harassment and retaliation claims against a golf club restaurant, citing "puzzling" jury findings that cleared the restaurant of wrongdoing but awarded the server $125,000 in damages.

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Apple Beats Suit From Actor Who Refused COVID Shot

By Hailey Konnath

A California appellate court held Friday that Apple Studios had the right to pull an offer for actor Brent Sexton after he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, ruling that a lower court should've thrown out the actor's suit.

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Law Firm's Blog Post Unwinds $43M Ill. Injury Retrial Verdict

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois appellate court wiped out a couple's $43 million jury verdict and ordered a third trial in their injury case Monday, saying the trial judge should have done a better job probing their attorney's highly improper blog and social media posts.

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NJ Panel Denies Double Pay For Union In COVID Case

By Carla Baranauckas

Members of the Jersey City Public Employees union are not entitled to double pay under the COVID-19 state of emergency declared by Gov. Phil Murphy on March 9, 2020, even though their contract calls for the increased compensation during such designations, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled Monday.

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Primerica Can't Force Arbitration In $1.4M Theft Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

Primerica cannot force two women who claim they were the victims of theft totaling $1.4 million to go to arbitration because they did not affirmatively sign an account agreement, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled Monday.

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Del. Legal Overhaul Won't Scuttle Key Rulings, Expert Says

By Jeff Montgomery

A longtime expert on Delaware's general corporation law disputed on Monday predictions that a recently signed legislative overhaul will upend dozens of important precedents in the state.

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Insurer Off The Hook For Tribe's COVID Casino Shutdown

By Greg Lamm

Lexington Insurance Co. does not owe a Washington tribe business-loss coverage after COVID-19 forced the shutdown of the tribe's casino, a Washington state appeals court said Monday, ruling that the virus did not cause direct physical loss or damage to tribal properties.

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Voting Exec Says Defamation Suit Not Fit For Colo. High Court

By Thy Vo

A former Dominion Voting executive urged Colorado's justices not to hear appeals from a conservative broadcaster and radio host in his defamation suit, saying the defendants haven't made any new dismissal arguments and that "this case is not the case" for the high court to resolve disagreements about state anti-SLAPP law.

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Conn. High Court Urged To Expand Amazon Wage Questions

By Irene Spezzamonte

Amazon workers asked Connecticut's top court to expand two questions certified from the Second Circuit over whether post-shift anti-theft screenings should have been compensated, saying the time workers spent walking to screening areas is also part of the issue.

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Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

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NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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Willkie Becomes 3rd Firm To Reach Deal With Trump

By Alison Knezevich

After issuing a string of executive orders in recent weeks targeting BigLaw firms, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP had agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services for certain causes and to refrain from what Trump has called discriminatory diversity hiring practices.

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Ex-DHS Intel Head To Lead Mayer Brown Investigations Team

By Jack Rodgers

The former leader of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's intelligence office has joined Mayer Brown LLP to help lead its global investigations and white collar defense practice — a role that he says allows him to join forces with attorneys whom he's known for years.

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Ex-Speaker Gingrich Lends Support To Limited Injunctions Bill

By Courtney Bublé

Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich on Tuesday endorsed the idea behind Republican legislation that would require nationwide injunctions imposed by lower courts against White House policies to be quickly brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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Analysis

Fight Over AI Training Pushes Copying Question To Forefront

By Ivan Moreno

When courts weigh fair use in copyright disputes, how much a defendant takes from a particular work is usually overridden by other factors. But with artificial intelligence requiring immense amounts of training material, a legal tech company is trying to change that as it battles infringement claims by Thomson Reuters over the media company's Westlaw platform.

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Venezuelans Ask Justices To Keep Block On Removals

By Katie Buehler

Five detained Venezuelans urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to deny President Donald Trump's move to lift a D.C. federal judge's order prohibiting the removal of alleged gang members from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, arguing the president's "staggering" assertion of authority under the wartime law is unsubstantiated.

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Wilson Sonsini Adds Antitrust Attys From MoFo, K&L Gates

By James Mills

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC is expanding its antitrust team, bringing in two new partners — a Morrison Foerster LLP trial attorney in San Francisco and a K&L Gates LLP litigator in Chicago.

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Schiff Says He'll Hold On Trump's Pick For DC US Attorney

By Lauren Berg

Senate Judiciary Committee member Adam Schiff announced Tuesday he will hold on President Donald Trump's nomination of Ed Martin to be the top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., calling Martin a "one-man wrecking ball" demolishing the wall between the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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The Top In-House Hires Of March

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires over the last month included high-profile appointments at the NFL, Supermicro and Dropbox. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from March.

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Hub Hires: Ropes, Sherin, Nixon Peabody

By Chris Villani

March gave us a little madness in the Boston legal scene, with a former U.S. attorney returning to his old BigLaw stomping grounds, a smaller firm bringing on a real estate veteran, and the launch of a new plaintiff-side boutique.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Tymkovich On New Judgeships

When Tenth Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich testified before Congress recently about the need for more federal judges, it had been about 10 years since he'd made a similar request of Congress, which hasn't expanded the federal bench since 2002.

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