9th Circ. Partially Upholds Block Of Idaho Abortion Travel Ban

By Mark Payne

A split Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld part of a lower court's temporary injunction to an Idaho law that criminalizes helping minors travel out of state to receive abortions without parental permission, finding the "recruiting" portion of the law is unconstitutional. 

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Wash. Airport Deportation Ban Unconstitutional, 9th Circ. Says

By Greg Lamm

Ninth Circuit judges have determined that a Washington county's ban on deportation flights departing from a Seattle-area airport was an unconstitutional interference with federal government operations, as well as a breach of a World War II-era agreement.

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Justices On Fence In Tax Clawback Case For Defunct Utah Co.

By Anna Scott Farrell

U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed divided during oral arguments Monday over whether the Tenth Circuit was correct to allow the bankruptcy trustee of a defunct Utah company to use state law to claw back $145,000 in federal taxes after the two-year deadline, a ruling that has created a 3-1 circuit split.

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5th Circ. Bars Feds From Messing With Texas' Wire Barriers

By Britain Eakin

A split Fifth Circuit panel said federal agents can't interfere with concertina razor wire barriers Texas erected to deter illegal border crossings, ruling that the federal government isn't immune from Texas' state law claims for trespass and conversion.

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Justices Seem Inclined To Back FDA Block Of Flavored Vapes

By Emily Field

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday seemed skeptical of arguments by an e-cigarette company that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acted unfairly in rejecting its applications to market its flavored vaping products, with several justices supporting the FDA's position that the company knew it had to counterbalance the risk of its products appealing to kids.

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Russia Looks To 4 FSIA Cases In Bid To Stay $5B Award Suit

By Joyce Hanson

Russia urged a D.C. federal judge to pause a case against it by a Yukos Oil Co. unit seeking to enforce $5 billion in arbitral awards, saying Monday that four parallel Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act cases are pending before the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit that could affect the suit.

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NC Judge Is 2nd To Reverse Senior Status Plans After Election

By Courtney Bublé

A second federal judge appointed by a Democratic president has reversed his decision to take senior status in the wake of former President Donald Trump's win in the 2024 presidential election.

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Mining Cos. Ask Justices To Sink Peruvians' Pollution Claims

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

The Renco Group Inc., owned by U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Eighth Circuit ruling that greenlit a lawsuit filed by more than 2,000 Peruvians who are seeking to hold The Renco Group and other companies liable for alleged lead poisoning tied to a smelting and refining complex in rural Peru.

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Solar Cos. Ask High Court To Review Vermont-Imposed Fine

By Tom Lotshaw

Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. and several other companies pursuing a solar generation project in Bennington, Vermont, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into their row with the Vermont Public Utility Commission and hold that it had no authority to impose a civil penalty on them without a jury trial.

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Green Group Urges Justices To Save Wash. Port CWA Ruling

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

A Washington state environmental group is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a Ninth Circuit ruling that protects its right to sue over pollution discharges under the citizen enforcement provision of the Clean Water Act.

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DC Circ. Asked To Spike 'Dangerous' NEPA Regulatons Ruling

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Environmental groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to overturn a panel's "demonstrably dangerous" ruling that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue legally binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB's Ax Of Telecom Patent Claims

By Andrew Karpan

Federal Circuit judges decided Monday to keep intact three patent board decisions that had knocked out claims in a patent issued to Dutch mobile telecom developer Koninklijke KPN NV that covered a way of regulating access to a telecommunications network.

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Fed. Circ. Questions Reynolds' Bid To Undo $95M Patent Loss

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit probed R.J. Reynolds' challenge to a $95 million damages award against it for infringing Philip Morris' vape patents, questioning Monday the company's argument that the amount was not supported by the evidence.

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DOJ, AGs Back Block Of ESPN Sport Streaming JV At 2nd Circ.

By Bryan Koenig

The Justice Department and a group of Democratic state attorneys general are backing a lower court injunction against a sports-only streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, telling the Second Circuit the sports giants can't claim they have a right to refuse dealing with rivals after joining forces.

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Ex-Soccer Boss Fears He'll Die While Fighting Conviction

By Ryan Harroff

The ailing former president of the Brazilian soccer federation urged a New York federal judge to rule on his petition to have his FIFA bribery conviction overturned, telling the court Monday that he could die before a scheduled January hearing on the issue.

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Texas Truck Co. Owes Chinese Tire Import Tax, 5th Circ. Says

By Anna Scott Farrell

A Houston truck company that sold tires made by a Chinese manufacturer is on the hook for excise taxes as the beneficial owner of the tires, the Fifth Circuit decided in an opinion Monday that reversed a ruling freeing the company from its nearly $2 million tax bill.

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Ex-Palo Alto Engineer Fights Fraud Conviction At 9th Circ.

By Dorothy Atkins

A former Palo Alto Networks engineer urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to overturn his securities fraud conviction and 18-month prison sentence, arguing that he didn't have a personal relationship with the tipper and so there isn't sufficient evidence to show he traded off of insider information.

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Mexico Says Okla. Immigration Law Would Weaken Diplomacy

By Britain Eakin

Mexico has told the Tenth Circuit that it would be forced to expend diplomatic and consular resources to deal with the fallout of an Oklahoma law barring unauthorized immigrants from residing in the state if it was allowed to take effect.

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Yellow Fights Teamsters' Call For 10th Circ. To Nix Claims

By Beverly Banks

The Tenth Circuit should not pay mind to arguments from the Teamsters about upholding a lower court's dismissal of Yellow Corp.'s $137 million suit against the union, the company is arguing, doubling down on its claims that it was not required to exhaust the grievance process under a contract.

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11th Circ. Axes Failed Med Student's Disability Suit

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit on Monday affirmed a win for Florida International University in a dispute with a disabled medical student, ruling that the student's removal was not due to disability discrimination but rather to his failure to meet the minimum academic standards even with accommodations.

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Fla. Judge Suspended For Pro-Cop Campaign Remarks

By Madison Arnold

A Florida state judge will face a 25-day suspension without pay for showing bias in favor of law enforcement during his campaign by making or approving statements such as, "Criminals won't be happy to see me on the bench."

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Brief

Pa. Justices To Weigh Asbestos Suits For Defunct Co.'s Parent

By Matthew Santoni

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will take up an appeal over whether a case can pierce the corporate veil to turn tort claims against a dissolved company into claims against its parent company.

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New Jersey Panel Upholds $140K Legal Fee In Divorce Case

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey law firm is owed more than $140,000 in legal fees from a divorce action after it merged with the firm that originally handled the case, a state appellate panel ruled Monday.

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Mich. Justices To Mull Immigrant Org.'s Workers' Comp Fight

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Michigan Supreme Court said Monday it would review whether a one-year filing deadline bars an immigrant legal aid organization from forcing the state to stop denying workers' compensation benefits based on immigration status.

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Mich. Justices Take Up Contractor's 'Fees For Fees' Appeal

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to review whether a construction contractor was entitled to additional attorney fees for time spent arguing that it was entitled to a fee award in its lawsuit alleging that a county-level road agency failed to disclose information about its hiring of minority-owned contractors.

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Warehouse Didn't Know Slabs Would Kill Workers, Panel Says

By Danielle Ferguson

The estates of employees who died while moving stone slabs at a Michigan warehouse didn't prove the workers' employer deliberately put them in harm's way or knew the way the materials were stored could cause their deaths, a state appellate panel has determined, upholding the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estates.

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Meta Can't Dodge $25M Fine For Wash. Election Ads

By Greg Lamm

Facebook parent company Meta must pay $25 million in fines for repeatedly running afoul of Washington state's political advertising transparency law, a state appellate panel ruled Monday, finding the technology giant's free speech rights were not violated by being forced to comply with the law.

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Worker's Case Threatens 'Sea Change,' Conn. Justices Hear

By Brian Steele

If the Connecticut Supreme Court sides with a workers' compensation claimant who is challenging a benefits determination, it would "create a sea change" that makes claims "drastically more expensive," the state's mental health agency told the justices Monday.

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Cargo Facility Merits Property Tax Break, Mass. Justices Told

By Sanjay Talwani

A property leased from the Massachusetts Port Authority to a for-profit cargo enterprise is exempt from property tax because the facility serves a public purpose, the lessee told the state's highest court Monday, urging reversal of a tax board decision.

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Unpacking Arguments From High Court's Rural Hospital Case

During oral arguments in Advocate v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court justices focused questions on the meaning of being "entitled to" supplementary security income assistance, and there's reason for optimism that the likely split decision will break in favor of hospitals, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Args In 2 High Court Cases May Foretell Clarity For Employers

Mary Anna Brand at Maynard Nexsen examines possible employment implications of two cases argued before the Supreme Court this fall, including a higher bar for justifying employees as overtime exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and earlier grants of prevailing party status for employee-plaintiffs seeking attorney fees.

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IP Ruling Likely To Limit Arguments Against Qualified Experts

The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Osseo v. Planmeca, clarifying when experts may offer testimony from the perspective of a skilled artisan, provides helpful guidance on expert qualifications and could quash future timing arguments regarding declarants' expertise, says Whitney Jenkins at Marshall Gerstein.

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DC Circ. Decision Opens Door To NEPA Regulation Litigation

A recent D.C. Circuit decision in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration could open the door to more litigation over the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations, and could affect how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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Navigating 4th Circ.'s Antitrust Burden In Hybrid Relationships

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review the Fourth Circuit's Brewbaker decision, a holding that heightens the burden on antitrust prosecutors when the target companies have a hybrid horizontal-vertical relationship, but diverges from other circuits, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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California Supreme Court's Year In Review

Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

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Bonus Spotlight

Wilkinson Stekloff Exceeds BigLaw's Year-End Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

Associates at trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff will receive year-end bonuses as much as $57,500 higher than those given across BigLaw on top of special bonuses matching those offered by other firms, founding partners said Tuesday.

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Coinbase Says It Won't Use Firms That Hire Crypto Enforcers

By Aislinn Keely

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made clear that it won't work with law firms that employ former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys who led the charge on crypto enforcement suits, singling out Milbank LLP for its hiring of ex-SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal.

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BigLaw's China Exodus Continues With Paul Weiss Closure

By Aebra Coe

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP will close its Beijing office at the end of the year, a spokesperson confirmed to Law360 Pulse Tuesday, ending the firm's physical presence in mainland China after more than 40 years amid a wider exodus of U.S. law firms from the country.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Tunheim Advises Other Jurists

For more than a decade, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim has counseled judges from other countries on quandaries jurists face internationally, from artificial intelligence to court administration to judicial independence.

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Lockheed Martin Taps Carrier CLO And DOJ Veteran As GC

By Gina Kim

Lockheed Martin has hired Carrier Corp.'s chief legal officer and U.S. Department of Justice veteran Kevin O'Connor as its new general counsel to succeed Maryanne Lavan, who is retiring after more than 30 years at the aerospace giant.

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Exelon Promotes Ex-FERC Commissioner To Top Legal Role

By Daniel Connolly

Utility company Exelon Corp. announced Tuesday that a former Reed Smith LLP partner and former member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been named its next chief legal officer, and also said it's also expanding the top legal role.

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Brief

It's Not Your Imagination, SDNY Attys: PACER Really Is Slow

By Pete Brush

Recent mid-morning slowdowns of the federal courts database known as PACER in the Southern District of New York are caused by a profusion of data miners that ply their trade around the same time each day, a district official confirmed Tuesday.

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Microsoft Asks FTC Watchdog To Look Into Leaked Probe

By Lauren Berg

A Microsoft deputy general counsel on Tuesday asked the Federal Trade Commission's inspector general to look into whether commission management improperly told a news outlet that the FTC had opened a broad antitrust investigation of the tech giant.

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Senate Confirms Ex-Public Defender For Mass. Federal Court

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 47-45 Monday night to confirm Brian Murphy, a former public defender, as a U.S. district court judge for the District of Massachusetts.

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New Judges Include One Who Aided Puerto Rico Bondholders

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed two federal judges for Pennsylvania and one for the District of Columbia, who came under scrutiny during her confirmation hearing for her work at Jones Day.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

December's appellate forecast calls for a squall of showdowns in a tiny time period before the holidays, including arguments involving recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, Big Tech's patents and popular purveyors of health food. In addition, winds of change are swirling around the White House's litigation posture and judicial nominations, and we'll quiz you on the latter in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing.

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Trump Argues Immunity Extends To Local Prosecutions

By Frank G. Runyeon

President-elect Donald Trump told the New York state judge presiding over his hush money case that the criminal charges and guilty verdict should be thrown out, arguing in an expansive motion released Tuesday that allowing a local prosecution to proceed would upset the republic's balance of power.

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Judge Mulls Whether DA Willis Must Comply With Subpoenas

By Kelcey Caulder

A Fulton County judge on Tuesday considered whether a Georgia state Senate committee can force Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to testify or turn over records as part of its investigation into her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump.

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Tech Giants Seek Firm's Communications With Elusive Client

By Ryan Boysen

Apple and Amazon want Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP to turn over texts and emails with a client who disappeared from a putative class action against the tech giants, to determine whether the plaintiff consented to the case continuing in his absence.

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2nd Recount Underway In North Carolina Supreme Court Race

By Hayley Fowler

Election officials in North Carolina will embark on a second recount of votes in a close race for a state Supreme Court seat, at the behest of a Republican Court of Appeals judge hoping to unseat his Democratic opponent. 

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