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Appellate
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May 13, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act An Overbroad Dragnet, 11th Circ. Told
Congress exceeded its authority in passing the Corporate Transparency Act, which prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to solicit personal information for law enforcement purposes from those that registered and owned state-registered entities, a small-business group told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.
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May 13, 2024
New FCC Rules Preempt NY Broadband Price Cap, Prof Says
A Second Circuit ruling that revived New York's low-price broadband law in April should be reversed because the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision not to regulate rates for internet services preempts the Empire State's price cap, a law professor said Friday.
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May 13, 2024
US Tells DC Circ. Ayahuasca Church's Settlement Inapt
Federal regulators are telling the D.C. Circuit to ignore a recent settlement that will allow a Phoenix-based church to continue using ayahuasca in its ceremonies, saying it has nothing to do with the Iowa-based ayahuasca church challenging the IRS's refusal to give it tax-exempt status.
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May 13, 2024
E-Rate Requests Aren't FCA Claims, Law Group Tells Justices
The Washington Legal Foundation urged the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether reimbursement requests for the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are "claims" under the False Claims Act, arguing that a Seventh Circuit ruling that answered in the affirmative threatens wide-ranging consequences beyond the E-Rate program.
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May 13, 2024
Airlines Ask 5th Circ. To Void DOT 'Junk Fees' Disclosure Rule
A lead lobbying group for major U.S. airlines has asked the Fifth Circuit to vacate a recent final rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying the agency overstepped with a needless rule that will only confuse consumers.
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May 13, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Revive UBS Suit Over Disclosed Account Info
The Second Circuit declined Monday to revive a couple's suit accusing UBS of fraudulently flagging an account to the Internal Revenue Service, finding that any alleged harm resulting from an audit would have been caused by the agency itself.
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May 13, 2024
Calif. Jury Awards Ex-UCLA Doctor $14M In 2nd Bias Trial
A California state jury awarded $14 million to a former UCLA oncologist and professor who said she was discriminated against and constructively discharged from her job due to her gender, four years after the state appeals court threw out a $13 million jury verdict from the first trial.
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May 13, 2024
Assault Exclusion Dooms Restaurant's Coverage For Murder
An insurer doesn't have to indemnify a Detroit restaurant accused of contributing to the 2019 shooting death of a potential patron by failing to provide adequate security, the Sixth Circuit said.
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May 13, 2024
NJ Justices Hold Contract Supersedes Real Estate Wage Law
The contract a real estate agent signed deeming him an independent contractor is enough to resolve his claims of improper wage deductions, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying that a state three-prong test doesn't need to apply.
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May 13, 2024
EPA Wrongly Approved New Chevron Chemicals, Group Says
A Mississippi community group has asked the D.C. Circuit to revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization for Chevron Corp. to produce 18 new chemicals derived from plastic waste "despite their extreme health risks."
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May 13, 2024
11th Circ. Says Ga. County's Trans Health Ban Violates Title VII
A split Eleventh Circuit panel upheld a win Monday for a transgender sheriff's deputy who challenged a Georgia county health plan's refusal to pay for gender-affirmation surgery, ruling the coverage exclusion violated federal anti-discrimination law.
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May 13, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Kleinbard Bill Battle Starts May
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will weigh the spending powers of district attorneys in a Kleinbard LLC bill battle and whether an appeals court overstepped by greenlighting a hospital closure when the May argument lineup begins Tuesday.
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May 13, 2024
Ex-Banker Tied To Murdaugh Says Juror Issue Merits Retrial
A former banker who was convicted of helping ex-attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh steal clients' money has urged the Fourth Circuit to give him a new trial, arguing two jurors were unconstitutionally removed.
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May 13, 2024
Fla. Law Firms Get Settlement Share Dispute Revived
Two Florida law firms may have another shot at collecting some of the settlement proceeds in a former client's construction dispute after a Florida state appeals court reversed a lower court's dismissal of the firms' claims for improper venue.
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May 13, 2024
Chevron Says $268K Fine For Fake News Clips Must Stand
Chevron on Friday urged the Ninth Circuit to summarily toss a Seattle attorney's appeal challenging an order that he pay $268,000 for filing a fake newspaper article as a court exhibit, saying the attorney is raising arguments that have already been rejected.
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May 13, 2024
NJ Town Can Shield Atty's ID In Municipal Prosecution Case
The New Jersey state appeals court tackled a novel legal issue Monday in affirming that the Borough of Mantoloking does not need to turn over the identity of an attorney who provided collegial legal advice in the form of an email to a town prosecutor in a contentious traffic infraction case.
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May 13, 2024
Ga. Judicial Candidate Asks State High Court To Review DQ
A woman who had been running to take the seat of the judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case has asked the state's supreme court to review a recent ruling striking her from the ballot.
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May 13, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Sunken treasure, recycled plastics, questionable denim and dog food all made appearances in Chancery Court dockets last week, along with developments in cases involving Qualcomm, Tesla Inc., and Truth Social. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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May 13, 2024
High Court Skips White Law Prof's Bias Suits Against HBCU
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it won't review a white former law professor's unsuccessful suits alleging she was harassed out of her job for challenging race-and-gender-based wage inequities at a historically Black university, despite her argument that the Fifth Circuit flouted precedent when it axed her complaints.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Deny Review Bid From Convicted REIT Execs
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by four incarcerated executives with Texas real estate investment trust United Development Funding to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling upholding their convictions in a Ponzi scheme.
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May 13, 2024
Houston Truck Co. Doesn't Owe $2M Excise Tax, 5th Circ. Told
A Houston truck company that sells tires made by a Chinese manufacturer doesn't owe $2 million in import taxes because it's not legally the tire importer, the company told the Fifth Circuit in asking it to affirm a ruling that could split circuits.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Decline To Hear $3.5B Insurance Surplus Case
A proposed class action accusing an insurer of failing to return an over $3.5 billion surplus of underwriting profits back to policyholder members will be litigated in Illinois state court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, denying the company's bid for certiorari.
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May 13, 2024
Rail Worker Wage Case Won't Get High Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a pending Massachusetts lawsuit against the operator of a freight rail line over whether its employees are covered by the state's Prevailing Wage Act, declining Monday to review the case.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Touch Insurer's Win In 401(k) Exit Fee Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a dental office's case accusing an insurance company of unlawfully charging fees to 401(k) plans that left its platform, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found the insurer was under no obligation to waive the charges.
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May 13, 2024
Supreme Court Won't Hear 'Original Patents' Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition from Ikorongo Texas LLC challenging how a Texas federal judge interpreted a rarely invoked requirement for reissue patents when he invalidated the company's patents in litigation with the dating app company Bumble.
Expert Analysis
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing And A Golden Rule
In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo examines one recent decision that clarifies the elements necessary to establish prejudice and federal claims court standing in multiphase protests, and two that exemplify a government procurements golden rule.
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Employer Trial Tips For Fighting Worker PPE Pay Claims
Courts have struggled for decades to reach consensus on whether employees must be paid for time spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment, but this convoluted legal history points to practical trial strategies to help employers defeat these Fair Labor Standards Act claims, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Gilead Ruling Signals That Innovating Can Lead To Liability
A California appeals court's ruling last month in Gilead Life Sciences v. Superior Court of San Francisco that a drug manufacturer can be held liable for delaying the introduction of an improved version of its medication raises concerns about the chilling effects that expansive product liability claims may have on innovation, says Gary Myers at the University of Missouri School of Law.
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Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement
Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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High Court Case Could Reshape Local Development Fees
If last month's oral arguments are any indication of how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, it's unlikely the justices will hold that the essential nexus and rough proportionality tests under the cases of Nollan, Dolan and Koontz apply to legislative exactions, but a sweeping decision would still be the natural progression in the line of cases giving property owners takings claims, says Phillip Babich at Reed Smith.
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Employer Lessons From Nixed Calif. Arbitration Agreement
A California state appeals court’s recent decision to throw out an otherwise valid arbitration agreement, where an employee claimed a confusing electronic signature system led her to agree to unfair terms, should alert employers to scrutinize any waivers or signing procedures that may appear to unconscionably favor the company, say Guillermo Tello and Monique Eginli at Clark Hill.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Highlights 'Two-Step' Challenges In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Bestwall’s Chapter 11 case, and the decision's interpretation of Fourth Circuit law, suggests that, compared to other circuits, it may be more difficult to dismiss so-called Texas Two-Step bankruptcy cases within the Fourth Circuit, say Brittany Falabella and Kollin Bender at Hirschler Fleischer.
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EEO-1 Ruling May Affect Other Gov't Agency Disclosures
By tightly construing a rarely litigated but frequently asserted term, a California federal court’s ruling that the Freedom of Information Act does not exempt reports to the U.S. Department of Labor on workplace demographics could expand the range of government contractor information susceptible to public disclosure, says John Zabriskie at Foley & Lardner.
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What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits
As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.
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Sentencing Shift Might Not Help Most White Collar Defendants
Many have lauded the new zero-point offender adjustment in the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which may provide a pathway for noncustodial sentences for first-time offenders — but given the types of cases federal prosecutors often pursue, it likely won't offer much relief to white collar defendants, says Saurish Appleby-Bhattacharjee at BCLP.
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Del. Ruling Adds Momentum For Caremark Plaintiffs
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent opinion in Lebanon County Employees' Retirement Fund v. Collis could be viewed as expanding plaintiffs' ability to viably plead a Caremark claim against directors, so Delaware companies should be on heightened alert and focus on creating a record of board oversight, say attorneys at V&E.
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What's At Stake In High Court NLRB Injunction Case
William Baker at Wigdor examines the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Starbucks v. McKinney — where it will consider a long-standing circuit split over the standard for evaluating National Labor Relations Board injunction bids — and explains why the justices’ eventual decision, either way, is unlikely to be a significant blow to labor.
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Opinion
High Court's Gifts Problem Taints Public Corruption Cases
A history of U.S. Supreme Court justices failing to disclose luxurious gifts from wealthy donors coincides with a troubling line of court precedent overturning jury convictions in public corruption cases, indicating that perhaps justices aren't presently fit to be making these decisions, says Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.