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Appellate
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April 17, 2024
NC Justices Fear UNC Doc Wants 'Dramatic' Immunity Expansion
The North Carolina Supreme Court expressed concern Wednesday over a "dramatic" broadening of public official immunity if they accepted the arguments of a University of North Carolina doctor looking to escape a defamation lawsuit alleging he made up accusations to incite a vindictive investigation into a going away party for a subordinate.
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April 17, 2024
3 Takeaways From Revived Obviousness Case On J&J Patent
A Federal Circuit ruling from earlier this month that told a judge to reconsider upholding a Johnson & Johnson schizophrenia drug patent emphasizes that analyzing whether a patent is invalid as obvious requires focusing on what it actually claims and an inventor's creativity, attorneys said.
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April 17, 2024
SpaceX's NLRB Suit Stays In Calif. After 5th Circ. Deadlock
SpaceX's challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's constitutionality will be heard in California federal court after the full Fifth Circuit deadlocked Wednesday on the company's bid for review of a panel decision letting the suit's transfer from Texas stand.
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April 17, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Reinstate NJ's 'County Line' Ballot
The Third Circuit on Wednesday backed a federal judge's order barring New Jersey's long-standing ballot design in the upcoming Democratic primary, finding that the unique design is discriminatory and severely burdens the rights of non-endorsed candidates.
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April 17, 2024
Mich. Justice Warns Of Price Tag In School Liability Case
A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday said a victory for a mother seeking to hold a school liable for her toddler's dangerous fall from bleachers could have far-reaching implications, potentially requiring expensive upgrades at public buildings across the state, including courthouses.
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April 17, 2024
Fired Whistleblowers' Right To Sue Vital, Mich. Justices Hear
A former Fiat Chrysler plant employee told a mostly quiet Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday that state regulators should not be his only option for recourse after he was terminated, allegedly for reporting a workplace safety concern, arguing that Michigan workers will be hung out to dry if they can't bring their own lawsuits against employers.
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April 17, 2024
Port Authority Worker Takes Race Bias Suit To 3rd Circ.
A Black woman who claimed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey didn't promote her because of her race and complaints about discrimination told the Third Circuit on Wednesday that a lower court ignored facts that should have worked in her favor when it dismissed her lawsuit.
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April 17, 2024
3rd Circ. Erases $10M Judgment In Car Charities' TM Dispute
The Third Circuit on Wednesday erased a $10 million judgment awarded to a charity that sells donated cars for children's education, saying a lower court made a series of errors in concluding that unreasonable delays did not bar claims from Texas-based America Can Cars for Kids in a trademark dispute with a similar charity.
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April 17, 2024
2nd Circ. Doubts Adidas Appeal In Thom Browne TM Case
A Second Circuit panel on Wednesday appeared skeptical of Adidas' arguments that a Manhattan district judge gave improper instructions to a jury that shot down its trademark infringement claims against fashion brand Thom Browne, suggesting the lower court had laid out the issues fairly.
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April 17, 2024
Colo. Labor Dept. Says Amazon's Holiday Pay Must Be In OT
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment told the state Supreme Court that Amazon's holiday incentive pay is similar to shift differentials, backing warehouse workers' arguments that the pay should have been included in their overtime compensation.
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April 17, 2024
FDA Tells Justices It Has A Better Vape Case In Mind
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told the U.S. Supreme Court that if it wants to address the agency's decision not to approve applications for flavored e-cigarettes, there is a better case in the pipeline than the appeal lodged by Lotus Vaping Technologies that the justices should choose instead.
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April 17, 2024
States, Biz Groups Back Fight Over DOE Furnace Rules
Eighteen states and several business associations are backing gas utility groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is unlawfully forcing a switch to new appliances.
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April 17, 2024
Racetrack's Unlisted Use Unremarkable, Mich. Justice Says
A Michigan Supreme Court justice said Wednesday it was not "particularly remarkable" that a zoning ordinance did not list all approved commercial uses, as residents push the court to restrict a race dragway's operations, noting that the law uses examples because it would be impossible to list everything allowed.
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April 17, 2024
Tax Challenge Viable In Court, Philip Morris Tells NC Justices
A North Carolina administrative court has the power to find a state tax law unconstitutional, tobacco company Philip Morris USA has told the state Supreme Court in its attempt to avoid a more than $300,000 franchise tax bill.
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April 17, 2024
Ga. Justices Scoff At 'Unchallengeable' Redistricting Bid
Georgia's high court on Wednesday seemed dubious of unprecedented claims from a suburban Atlanta county that it could assert the power to redistrict itself, while voicing equal skepticism that the two citizens who challenged that power had standing to do so.
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April 17, 2024
Compass Group Gets New Damages Trial In $8M Death Suit
A California state appeals court has rejected cross-appeals from food service giant Compass Group USA Inc. and a mother suing it for negligence in a wrongful death suit that ended in an $8 million verdict, sending the case back for a new trial on damages.
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April 17, 2024
Bankman-Fried Appeal May Cite Unusual Preview Testimony
Sam Bankman-Fried's appeal of his conviction and 25-year prison sentence may cite a "rather unprecedented" trial procedure in which the FTX founder gave provisional testimony before officially taking the witness stand last year, one of his attorneys said Wednesday.
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April 17, 2024
Data Co. Seeks Coverage For $250M Lebanon Explosion Suit
A data services company told a Texas state court that its insurers must defend it in an underlying $250 million lawsuit stemming from the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion in Lebanon which killed over 218 people, maintaining that the insurers have wrongfully refused.
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April 17, 2024
Panel Agrees Pot Investor's Deal In 2017 Suit Nixes 2019 Suit
A Washington state appeals court has thrown out an investor's suit alleging that a cannabis venture failed to follow through on a deal to acquire ownership interest in exchange for a $650,000 investment, finding his settlement of a prior suit block his claims.
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April 17, 2024
GOP Sens. Raise Ethical Concerns Over 6th Circ. Nominee
Republicans went after a nominee for the Sixth Circuit during a hearing on Wednesday over allegations that he has behaved unethically as a prosecuting attorney, and that the White House picked him through a "backroom deal."
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April 17, 2024
NJ Justices Won't Hold Prosecutor Org. To Transparency Law
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey is not a public agency and is therefore not subject to record requests under the state's transparency law.
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April 17, 2024
Biden Taps Kaplan Hecker, MoFo Attys For DC Appeals Court
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he is nominating a Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP civil rights litigator and the co-chair of Morrison Foerster LLP's appellate and Supreme Court practice to serve on the D.C. Court of Appeals.
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April 17, 2024
9th Circ. Tosses $3.9M Tax Foreclosure Appeal As Premature
The Ninth Circuit dismissed a man's challenge to a court order that he believed allowed the government to foreclose on his property to pay his son's tax liabilities of more than $3.9 million, saying Wednesday that the appeal was premature because the order wasn't final.
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April 17, 2024
American Urges 1st Circ. To Reject 'Radical' JetBlue Ruling
American Airlines has told the First Circuit that a judge's "radical vision of the antitrust laws" that blocked its Northeast Alliance joint venture with JetBlue shouldn't stand, arguing that federal enforcers are relying on misleading claims and outdated precedent to prop up the lower court's mistaken conclusion.
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April 17, 2024
Ga. Justices To Examine 'Actual Malice' In Atty's Libel Case
The Supreme Court of Georgia has agreed to take up a contentious defamation case, pitting an orthopedic surgeon against a defense attorney known for criticizing "litigation networks" of plaintiffs attorneys and doctors, that could determine how difficult it is to sue attorneys accused of bad-mouthing third parties to other attorneys.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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UK Court Ruling Reinforces CMA's Info-Gathering Powers
An English appeals court's recent decision in the BMW and Volkswagen antitrust cases affirmed that the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority can request information from entities outside the U.K., reinstating an important implement in the CMA's investigative toolkit, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Fed. Circ. In Jan.: One Word Can Affect Claim Construction
The Federal Circuit's recent Pacific Biosciences v. Personal Genomics decision highlights how even construction of a simple term can be dispositive, and thus disputed, in view of the specific context provided by the surrounding claim language, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.