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In Rarity, 1 Party's Judges Gain 100% Control Of Circuit Bench
At the First Circuit, the judges' robes are all black, but the judges are all blue. It's a new and unusual instance of one political party's judicial picks controlling each active seat on a federal appeals court, and the Democratic dominance could prove magnetic for ideologically charged litigation.
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June 04, 2024
Ga. County Wants 11th Circ. To Rethink Trans Care Ban Ruling
A Georgia county that lost a legal challenge to a provision of its health plan that bars coverage for gender-affirming surgery has asked the full 11th Circuit to revisit the decision, arguing that an opinion last month wrongly found the policy discriminates against transgender people, rather than being isolated to a single procedure.
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June 04, 2024
Pharma Cos. Tell Justices Feds Support Remanding Terror Suit
Pharmaceutical companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to heed the federal government's suggestion to throw out a D.C. Circuit ruling holding them potentially liable for allegedly financing terror attacks against U.S. servicemembers through contracts with the Iraqi government.
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June 04, 2024
2nd Circ. Says ERISA Blocks Cigna Bill Backpedaling Suit
The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a podiatric medicine provider's suit alleging Cigna illegally backtracked on covering a patient's $200,000 bill, ruling that a lower court was right to find that federal benefits law blocks the healthcare provider's breach of contract claims.
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June 04, 2024
PQA Tells Fed. Circ. To Deny VLSI's Speculative Stay Bid
One of the companies sanctioned for misconduct while successfully challenging a VLSI Technology LLC patent has told the Federal Circuit that there's no reason to stay VLSI's appeal while unrelated litigation plays out.
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June 04, 2024
10th Circ. Backs CPSC In Baby Lounger Injunction Dispute
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday sided with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in an appeal by a pillow company aiming to block a CPSC proceeding against it over one of its infant products, saying even if the company can show that removal protections for CPSC's commissioners and a judge are unconstitutional, the company hasn't shown how that affects its case.
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June 04, 2024
Franchise Co. Faces Sanctions For 'Frivolous' 7th Circ. Appeal
The Seventh Circuit has upheld a district court's order that restaurant franchise company Sun Holdings Inc. must pay insurer American Zurich a roughly $1.1 million arbitration award plus interest and attorney fees in a dispute over a workers' compensation policy, and ordered Sun Holdings to show cause for why further sanctions aren't warranted for a "frivolous appeal."
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June 04, 2024
Northrop Fights Retirees' 9th Circ. Bid For New Judge
Northrop Grumman has asked the Ninth Circuit to keep a proposed ERISA class action in U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II's courtroom, arguing it would be inappropriate to accept the retirees' bid to move the case before a different judge after two appellate court panels overturned Judge Wright's previous dismissals in the matter.
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June 04, 2024
Garland Defends DOJ Integrity, Demurs On Justices' Ethics
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday defended the Department of Justice's independence, deflecting questions about ethics scandals at the U.S. Supreme Court and rejecting Donald Trump's "conspiracy theory" that federal prosecutors were the real force behind his recent conviction.
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June 04, 2024
Netflix Tells 10th Circ. Warhol Helps Defense In 'Tiger King' Suit
Netflix Inc. has told the Tenth Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year finding that an Andy Warhol silkscreen of pop icon Prince infringed the photo it was based on strengthens its position in a lawsuit that accuses the streaming service of infringing a copyrighted funeral video by using a clip of it in the popular 2020 docuseries "Tiger King."
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June 04, 2024
Ga. Appeals Court Reverses Wrongful Crash Suit
The Georgia Court of Appeals revived in part a suit over who was at fault in a 2016 crash between an Iron Mountain Inc. truck and a car on a Peach State road, saying the lower court failed to acknowledge questions that could only be answered at trial.
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June 04, 2024
6th Circ. Says 1,000-Yard Gun Range Not Constitutional Right
A split Sixth Circuit panel said a Michigan town had the authority to ban long-distance gun ranges despite the Second Amendment's protections, ruling it was "difficult to imagine" that training to shoot from 1,000 yards away was needed to defend oneself.
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June 04, 2024
3rd Circ. Doubtful NJ Temp Worker Law Is Unconstitutional
A Third Circuit panel on Tuesday seemed skeptical that a New Jersey law geared toward protecting temporary workers was unconstitutionally protectionist, despite an apparent acknowledgment of industry groups' fears that it could destroy the temp staffing agency industry in the Garden State.
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June 04, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs TD Bank's Win Over Ex-Manager's Bias Suit
The Second Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a former TD Bank manager's suit claiming he was fired because he suffered from anxiety and had requested parental leave, finding he couldn't overcome the bank's explanation that he was let go because of forgery.
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June 04, 2024
9th Circ. Rejects Immigrant's Evidence Authenticity Challenge
A split Ninth Circuit refused to revive a Guyanese man's bid for deportation relief, saying he didn't actually challenge the authenticity of evidence used to support his removability, including an FBI rap sheet he said included an incorrect birthplace.
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June 04, 2024
First Citizens Bank Seeks $15M Tax Refund After Bailout
First Citizens bank is seeking a $15 million refund from the North Carolina Department of Revenue stemming from taxes it paid on a federal bailout it received during the mid-2000s financial crisis, according to a filing in the state court.
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June 04, 2024
Clinton Says Dismissal Of Trump's RICO Suit Was Warranted
Hillary Clinton and members of the Democratic National Committee urged the Eleventh Circuit not to revive Donald Trump's suit alleging they conspired to push false claims of Russian election interference in 2016, arguing that the dismissal and resulting sanctions for pursuing the frivolous suit should be kept in place.
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June 04, 2024
Senate Confirms DC Judge As Court Calls For Attention
The Senate voted 57-41 Tuesday to confirm Judge Tanya Monique Jones Bosier to serve on the D.C. Superior Court for a term of 15 years, which chips away at the "vacancy crisis" plaguing the district's court system.
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June 04, 2024
Paxton Asks Texas Justices To End Bar's Political 'Lawfare'
The Texas bar's ethics lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton over his challenge to the 2020 presidential election violates the state constitution's separation of powers and is barred by sovereign immunity, Paxton told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, calling the case "politically motivated lawfare" in an announcement.
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June 04, 2024
Buchanan Ingersoll Denies Deceit Over Harrisburg Incinerator
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC didn't give Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, bad advice when it set up a debt deal that allowed construction to continue on a controversial incinerator project that sent the state capital into financial distress, an attorney for the firm told Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Tuesday.
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June 04, 2024
Crash Victim Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Suit Against Port Co.
A man who was hit by a dockworker driving his pickup truck at the Port of Savannah urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to revive his claims against the worker's employer, arguing that the worker was already on the job and not commuting when he caused the crash.
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June 04, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Nix Of IRS Easement Disclosure Guidance
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday that an Internal Revenue Service notice imposing reporting requirements on potentially abusive conservation easements was invalid because the agency failed to solicit the public feedback required by administrative law.
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June 03, 2024
Hooters Can't Yet Ditch Ex-Workers' Sex Harassment Claims
A California appellate court has refused to undo a lower court's decision finding that Hooters of America must continue to fight former servers' allegations that they were harassed and abused at work, ruling that Hooters hasn't met its burden of showing that it was entitled to summary adjudication.
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June 03, 2024
California Pizza Kitchen Hack Deal Is Half Baked, 9th Circ. Told
An attorney for objectors to a settlement between a class of current and former California Pizza Kitchen employees and the restaurant chain over a data breach told a Ninth Circuit panel on Monday that the district court did not properly scrutinize the deal or allegations of collusion between the parties.
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June 03, 2024
11th Circ. Backs Freeze Of Grants For Black Women Only
In a split decision Monday, the Eleventh Circuit said that a Georgia federal judge should have blocked a Black-led venture capital firm from awarding grants to businesses owned only by Black women, opining that the practice was "substantially likely" to violate federal law barring racial discrimination in the writing of contracts.
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June 03, 2024
Green Groups Drop Their Challenge To SEC's Climate Rule
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have voluntarily asked the Eighth Circuit to dismiss their challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule, saying they are instead focusing their resources elsewhere.
Editor's Picks
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Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
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DC Circuit Cases To Watch In 2024
As the D.C. Circuit heads into 2024, its judges are poised to answer hotly anticipated political questions about former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as a number of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cases that could determine the future of certain natural gas projects.
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Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
UPDATED May 23, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Trending At The PTAB: Real Party In Interest And IPR
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s recent Luminex v. Signify decision, finding a complaint seeking indemnification may be treated as a public demand sufficient to establish a real party-in-interest, shows that the board continues to apply a broad and expansive definition to that term, say Yicong (Eve) Du and Yieyie Yang at Finnegan.
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Perspectives
Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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The Fed. Circ. In May: The Printed Matter Doctrine's Scope
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Ioengine v. Ingenico, which addressed the scope of the printed matter doctrine as applied to transmitted data or program code, restores the doctrine’s status as a relatively narrow part of patent law, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.