Appellate

  • May 15, 2026

    Calif. High Court Releases EdTech Co. From Data Breach Suit

    California's top court struck down a proposed class action accusing education technology provider Illuminate of failing to safeguard students' personal and health information, which was exposed in a data breach, finding the plaintiff hadn't sufficiently alleged key elements for his claims under the state's medical confidentiality or data security laws.

  • May 15, 2026

    7th Circ. Eyes Sanctions In 'Are We Dating The Same Guy' Suit

    The Seventh Circuit Friday refused to revive a Chicago-area man's suit over allegedly false reports of his "obnoxious behavior" on an "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook page, while questioning why he shouldn't be sanctioned for "frivolously appealing" the tossed claims and submitting a brief containing "fictitious" citations.

  • May 15, 2026

    DC Circ. Has Doubts About Standard General's FCC Bias Suit

    The D.C. Circuit did not seem convinced Friday morning that the Federal Communications Commission was part of a racist conspiracy to kill Standard General hedge fund manager Soo Kim's $8.6 billion merger with broadcaster Tegna due to his race.

  • May 15, 2026

    Texas Justices Give Delta-8 THC Cos. More Time To Fight Ban

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday gave hemp companies more time to pull together a counter-attack against its prior ruling giving the state's health commissioner the power to ban manufactured delta-8 THC goods.

  • May 15, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Drops A Theme Song, Talks Guest Judges

    The Federal Circuit's full lineup came together Friday to provide practitioners with insight about their experience sitting on other courts, in a conference where the chief judge dropped the court's first (and only) single.

  • May 15, 2026

    Med Device Groups 'Overshot' In Fair Use Args, Judge Says

    A judge on a D.C. Circuit panel said a set of industry groups covering the advanced medical device industry might have "overshot" in a challenge to a Library of Congress exemption that said use of copyrighted software for the purpose of repairing those devices fell under fair use, since the groups tried to lump the software that merely operates the machines into the case.

  • May 15, 2026

    Justices Deny Va. Dems' Emergency Redistricting Bid

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia Democrats' request to stay a state high court ruling that invalidated a newly drawn, voter-approved congressional redistricting map. 

  • May 15, 2026

    Pharmacies Stuck With CVS Arbitration Mandate At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel refused Friday to let four independent pharmacies avoid arbitrating their antitrust claims that CVS exploited a Medicare loophole to charge them exorbitant fees, standing by a district court's conclusion that just because parts of the arbitration agreement were unconscionable doesn't negate the entire thing.

  • May 15, 2026

    Ga. Panel Backs Win For Kratom Seller In Wrongful Death Suit

    A Georgia appellate panel affirmed an early win Friday for a kratom distributor whose customer died after ingesting its product, agreeing with a trial court that the company's repackaging of the substance did not make it a manufacturer.

  • May 15, 2026

    Ariz. Justices Clarify Prosecutorial Error Standard

    The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that when courts consider claims of prosecutorial error or misconduct, they do not need to consider the prosecutor's intent.

  • May 15, 2026

    4th Circ. Halts Md. Law Banning Electricity Greenwashing

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday halted a Maryland law aimed at preventing electricity companies from falsely marketing their power as environmentally friendly, saying it may be overly broad in a likely violation of the First Amendment.

  • May 15, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Urges Justices To Reject Newman Suspension Case

    The Federal Circuit has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear Judge Pauline Newman's appeal targeting a suspension imposed on her by the court's other judges, arguing that a lower court correctly held that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

  • May 15, 2026

    Fed. Circ. OKs Decisions Clearing Banks In Patent Cases

    The Federal Circuit on Friday backed lower court decisions that cleared a pair of banks of allegations that they infringed an online banking patent, but threw out a nearly $85,000 sanctions order against the patent owner and its counsel.

  • May 15, 2026

    6th Circ. OKs Immunity In Louisville, Ky., Traffic Stop Shooting

    The Sixth Circuit has ruled that a Louisville Metropolitan Police Department officer is shielded by qualified immunity from a civil rights lawsuit filed against the officer after he shot and killed an armed-robbery suspect who had driven his car into police during a traffic stop.

  • May 15, 2026

    US Backs Pause On Tatneft Discovery Over Ukraine Risks

    The Trump administration seeks to keep a nearly decade-old case filed by one of Russia's largest oil companies to enforce a $173 million arbitral award against Ukraine on ice until hostilities in the region have ended, saying Kyiv has "credibly asserted" that its national security is at risk.

  • May 15, 2026

    DC Circ. Hears Russia's Bid To Block $5B Yukos Award

    The Russian Federation's constitution and statutes make clear that Vladimir Putin's administration and Yukos Oil Co.'s financing arm didn't have a valid agreement to arbitrate a dispute that resulted in a nearly $5 billion arbitral award against the country, Russia told the D.C. Circuit Friday.

  • May 15, 2026

    Colo. Governor Reduces Ex-Election Clerk's Sentence

    Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the nine-year prison sentence of former Mesa County clerk and recorder Tina Peters to over four years for an election-related scheme in which she baselessly asserted the 2020 presidential election was stolen and assisted with the unlawful access to election equipment.

  • May 15, 2026

    2nd Circ. Judge Flags 'Weird' Objection To $147.5M Deal

    A Second Circuit panelist said Friday that an argument advanced by a group of objectors to a $147.5 million cost-of-insurance settlement is "weird," noting that its logic depends on securing an even better outcome in separate litigation.

  • May 15, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Licorice Buyer's Wiley Wallaby Label Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday reinstated a consumer's proposed class action accusing a candy maker of deceptively labeling Wiley Wallaby-brand berry licorice as naturally flavored despite using an artificial ingredient, finding the buyer leveled plausible allegations that the manufacturer's statements would likely trick a reasonable consumer.

  • May 15, 2026

    High Court Ruling On Sexist Prosecution Has Broad Impact

    The U.S. Supreme Court's short opinion last year finding that an Oklahoma woman's capital trial was potentially marred by sexist and prejudicial evidence has been cited over 100 times since, and not just in cases involving gender bias. Litigants have invoked the ruling to challenge their convictions over a wide range of issues involving prosecutorial prejudice, bias and trial fairness — but courts so far have been reluctant to grant relief.

  • May 15, 2026

    IQ Tests And Innocence: Doubts Rattle Ark. Death Row Case

    Doubts about the guilt of Roderick Rankin, an Arkansas man sentenced to death for murdering three members of his ex-girlfriend’s family, have grown since a pastor said Rankin's brother Rodney confessed to the killings. His case sits at the intersection of actual innocence claims, false confessions, intellectual disability and federal habeas law. When the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case earlier this month, it left many of those questions unresolved.

  • May 15, 2026

    Texas Justices Say Home Depot Owes No Duty In Fatal Crash

    The Texas Supreme Court said Friday that Home Depot cannot be held liable for a deadly 2024 collision involving a Werner Enterprises Inc. truck hired to transport the retail giant's goods, saying state law doesn't impose a duty of care on passive shippers under the alleged circumstances.

  • May 15, 2026

    IRS Asks Fed. Circ. To Overturn COVID-Era Deadline Ruling

    The IRS announced Friday that it will ask the Federal Circuit to overturn a claims court decision allowing a California business owner to recover penalties and interest he had tried to get refunded during the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging an interpretation that offered potential relief for others. 

  • May 15, 2026

    Minn. Twins Doctor Can't Claim Immunity In Player Death Suit

    A doctor employed by the Minnesota Twins can't claim immunity in a lawsuit alleging he failed to diagnose a heart condition in a ballplayer that led to his death, a Florida appeals panel ruled on Friday.

  • May 15, 2026

    4th Circ. Hands Express Scripts Jury Trial In W.Va. Opioid Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday issued a writ of mandamus backing Express Scripts Inc.'s right to a jury trial in litigation over the pharmacy benefit manager's alleged role in contributing to the opioid crisis in West Virginia.

Expert Analysis

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Will Rewrite Class Action Litigation Strategies

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union is the first from a federal circuit court to hold that motions to strike are inappropriate vehicles for challenging class allegations at the pleading stage, invalidating a tactic that had been used for decades, says Jim Francis at Francis Mailman.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Salt-N-Pepa Suit May Shake Up Music Copyright Issue

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    James v. UMG Recordings is a copyright termination rights case that provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to make concrete choices about grant language, authorship, work-for-hire status and survival of derivative works, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

  • Opinion

    5th Circ.'s Abortion Pill Order Is Shaky On Multiple Grounds

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent order in Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone, seems to turn federalism upside-down, and is also questionable for several other reasons, says Gregory Curtner at Curtner Law.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 5 Takeaways From Justices' Subpoena Fight Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in First Choice v. Davenport fortifies a line of First Amendment associational privacy cases stretching back nearly 70 years, and ensures that organizations subject to government demands for donor information have a meaningful federal forum in which to defend their constitutional rights, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • Md. Justices' State Climate Tort Ban May Shape National Path

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    The Maryland Supreme Court’s recent ruling that federal law preempted state-level deceptive marketing tort claims brought by several municipalities could offer the U.S. Supreme Court a road map to use in the pending Suncor Energy v. Boulder County case to exclude states from the business of regulating global emissions, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • What Justices Are Focusing On In 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

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    Though Hikma v. Amarin appears to be a patent dispute that could reshape inducement doctrine in the pharmaceutical context, oral argument suggests the U.S. Supreme Court may treat this as primarily a pleading-stage dispute, with important unresolved questions lurking beneath the surface, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

  • Employer Tips After 4th Circ. Rejects Trimmed Suit Deadlines

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent holding in Thomas v. EOTech that employers cannot use contractual provisions to shorten statutory filing periods for Title VII or Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims offers a warning for employers to review any such documents and reassess their litigation risk, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Binance Win Shows Constraints On Anti-Terrorism Act Claims

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    The Southern District of New York's recent ruling in Troell v. Binance illustrates that the Second Circuit's earlier decision in Ashley v. Deutsche Bank is holding weight with courts, and companies facing aiding and abetting risk should thus monitor evolving case law and assess exposure based on nexus allegations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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