Appellate

  • May 10, 2024

    No 'Piecemeal' Fees For Infant Data Win Amid 6th Circ. Appeal

    A federal judge said Friday that he wouldn't award attorney fees to children who challenged Michigan's handling of blood samples collected in an infant health screening program until the state's Sixth Circuit appeal is resolved.

  • May 10, 2024

    4th Circ. Tosses Driver's Allstate UIM Appeal As Untimely

    The Fourth Circuit dismissed a South Carolina woman's appeal seeking underinsured motorist coverage from Allstate for injuries she suffered in a car accident, finding Friday that the appellate court lacked jurisdiction over the issue because outstanding, competing claims in the action remained.

  • May 10, 2024

    Fuzzy Jurisdiction In Web Cases Has 1st Circ. Judge 'Worried'

    A First Circuit judge has said uncertainty over how personal jurisdiction rules apply to cases involving the borderless internet may require action from Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court, expressing concern that website operators can "manipulate" the legal requirement in order to avoid accountability.

  • May 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs NLRB In Union Rep. Discipline Case

    A tape manufacturer's decision to punish two Michigan employees for not adequately cleaning their work areas was motivated by animus toward their actions as a union steward and a union committee member, the Sixth Circuit found, upholding a National Labor Relations Board ruling.

  • May 10, 2024

    The Week In Trump: All Eyes On NY As Other Cases Lag

    Donald Trump's Manhattan hush money trial took center stage with dramatic testimony from adult film actress Stormy Daniels, while the former president's criminal cases in Georgia and Florida ran into delays that could last through Election Day.

  • May 10, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds Steve Bannon's Contempt Conviction

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld former Trump aide Steve Bannon's conviction for contempt of Congress, rejecting Bannon's argument that he did not "willfully" flout a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee because his lawyer advised him not to respond to it.

  • May 09, 2024

    NC Bribery Jury Hears Insurance Chief's Undercover Convo

    Defense attorneys for embattled insurance mogul Greg E. Lindberg on Thursday played recordings to back their assertion that the North Carolina insurance commissioner separated Lindberg from his "trusted advisers" and goaded a bribe, saying he never brought up money until the public official put it on the table.

  • May 09, 2024

    'Love Is Blind' Producer Can't Evade Imprisonment Suit

    A Texas appellate court found Thursday that the producers of the Netflix reality show "Love is Blind" can't fully escape an assault and negligence suit brought by a Season 5 contestant, saying the contestant could keep her claims of imprisonment and negligence in the Lone Star State.

  • May 09, 2024

    Ga. Justices Can't Reach Merits In 'Unprecedented' Map Fight

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday tossed a court challenge that temporarily blocked a suburban Atlanta county's unprecedented bid to redistrict itself, while seemingly lamenting that the plaintiffs' lack of a case prevented the court from cracking the constitutional nut at the heart of the litigation.

  • May 09, 2024

    FTC Urges High Court To Reject Challenge To $5.2M Award

    The Federal Trade Commission has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a credit monitoring company's challenge to a $5.2 million refund award the federal agency won on behalf of a class of consumers, arguing the award is authorized under the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

  • May 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Lifts Ban On Generic Cos.' Bladder Drugs

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday rejected Astellas Pharma's latest effort to stop the launch of generic drugs that would compete with its own blockbuster overactive bladder medication and lifted a temporary ban that was put in place by the appeals court in April.

  • May 09, 2024

    Walmart Slips Out Of $1.3M Judgment In Icy Slip-And-Fall Suit

    A New Jersey state appeals court overturned a jury verdict and $1.3 million judgment awarded to a woman who slipped and fell at a Walmart parking lot, saying the trial judge was required to tell the jury about the state high court's ongoing storm rule.

  • May 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Wary Of Undoing Gilstrap's Toss Of Banking IP Suit

    The Federal Circuit didn't seem convinced Thursday morning that a patent case against online stockbroker TD Ameritrade had been wrongly tossed out of court, with a judge at one point telling banking patent owner Island Intellectual Property that "this is all abstract."

  • May 09, 2024

    Industry Orgs Urge DC Circ. To Ax HUD Disparate Impact Rule

    Several industry associations are backing a D.C. Circuit challenge to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule governing disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act, contending the federal agency exceeded its powers and ignored Supreme Court precedent in issuing the regulation.

  • May 09, 2024

    Wash. Justices Say HR Managers Can Accept Service For Co.

    The Washington State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a human resources manager is classified under state law as someone who can receive service on a company's behalf, siding with a personal injury plaintiff in a lawsuit against an Evergreen State nursing home.

  • May 09, 2024

    11th Circ. Urged To Reconsider Ruling In Cancer Cluster Case

    A group of Florida families asked the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reconsider its decision affirming a jury verdict that found defense contractor Pratt & Whitney was not liable for a cancer cluster near the company's former rocket testing site, arguing that the panel affirmed a legally deficient verdict form.

  • May 09, 2024

    High Court Leaves Discovery Rule Question For Another Day

    The U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion Thursday that plaintiffs in copyright ownership disputes can recover damages past the three-year statute of limitations could lead to an increase in claims for infringing acts that occurred decades before, while leaving uncertainty about whether the so-called discovery rule that widened the time window for claims even exists, according to attorneys.

  • May 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Judge 'Baffled' By Gov't Args In Boeing Costs Case

    An exasperated Federal Circuit judge on Thursday tore into the government's contention that a disputed cost accounting regulation has no bearing on Boeing's claim that the defense contractor was wrongly barred from offsetting multiple simultaneous accounting changes against each other.

  • May 09, 2024

    Justices Asked To Weigh In On $1.3B India Award Fight

    Shareholders of an Indian satellite communications company are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the analysis of a highly technical jurisdictional question as they look to revive their bid to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award against a state-owned division of India's space agency.

  • May 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Northrop Retirees' Putative Class Action

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday once again resurrected a proposed class action accusing Northrop Grumman of misinforming retirees about their pension benefits, ruling that the retirees have plausibly alleged that they received inaccurate benefit statements.

  • May 09, 2024

    Houston Firm Can't Escape Litigation Funder's $2M Loan Suit

    A Houston-based law firm doesn't have to turn over financial documents to a litigation funder that has alleged the firm failed to pay back a more than $2 million debt, but it does have to continue litigating the underlying matter, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.

  • May 09, 2024

    Denver Firm Gets $1.4M Fee For Elijah McClain Settlement

    A Colorado appellate court Thursday partially reversed a lower court decision awarding roughly $3.1 million to a Denver firm for its work on behalf of Elijah McClain's family in connection with a $15 million federal litigation settlement, ruling that the firm is only entitled to about $1.4 million.

  • May 09, 2024

    3rd Circ. Tears Up Pa. Town's 'Crazy Quilt Of A Sign Ordinance'

    The Third Circuit backed a lower court's decision Thursday holding that a Pennsylvania town's sign ordinance violated the First Amendment by restricting what "personal expression signs" can be posted based on their content — a precedential victory for local Republicans who challenged the rule.

  • May 09, 2024

    Sens. Press Colleagues For Public Defender Funding

    Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a former public defender, led a letter Thursday to Senate appropriators calling for the federal public defender program to receive its full funding request for the upcoming fiscal year. 

  • May 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Skeptical Allergan Illegally Extended Exclusivity

    A Federal Circuit panel seemed doubtful Thursday that a patent covering Allergan's bowel treatment drug Viberzi should have its life cut short based on the expiration date of related patents, in oral arguments over obviousness-type double patenting.

Expert Analysis

  • NY Bond, Enforcement Options As Trump Judgment Looms

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    In light of former President Donald Trump's court filing this week indicating that he can't secure a bond for the New York attorney general's nearly $465 million judgment against him, Neil Pedersen of Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency and Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen explore New York state judgment enforcement options and the mechanics of securing and collateralizing an appellate bond.

  • What To Watch As Justices Consider Appeal Deadline Case

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    Next week, in Harrow v. U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider for the first time whether a statutory deadline for appealing from a federal agency to an Article III court is jurisdictional, setting the stage for a decision that could dramatically reshape the landscape for challenging agency decisions, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Trump Ballot Ruling May Spark Constitutional Crisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump must be reinstated to Colorado’s primary ballot endorses an unnecessarily broad legal theory of disqualification from federal office, raising constitutional questions that will only become more urgent as the next presidential election nears, says Devon Ombres at the Center for American Progress.

  • Rebuttal

    High Court Should Maintain Insurer Neutrality In Bankruptcy

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    While a recent Law360 guest article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should endorse insurer standing in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, doing so would create a playground for mischief and delay, and the high court should instead uphold insurance neutrality, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • The Future Of ERISA If High Court Ends Chevron Deference

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decisions in two cases involving fishing company challenges to regulatory requirements could weaken or repeal Chevron deference, meaning U.S. Department of Labor regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act may be heavily scrutinized, modified or vacated by federal courts, say Naina Kamath and Julie Stapel at Morgan Lewis.

  • Assessing 2 Years Of High Court's Arbitration Waiver Ruling

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    In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Morgan v. Sundance, clarifying that no special rules apply to waiver of arbitration provisions, the ruling has had immediate ramifications in federal courts, but it may take some time for the effects to be felt on other federal issues and in state courts, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

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    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • Infringement Policy Lessons From 4th Circ. Sony Music Ruling

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Sony Music v. Cox Communications, which in part held that the internet service provider was liable for contributing to music copyright infringement, highlights the importance of reasonable policies to terminate repeat infringers, and provides guidance for litigating claims of secondary liability, say Benjamin Marks and Alexandra Blankman at Weil.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • When Your Client Insists On Testifying In A Criminal Case

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    Speculation that former President Donald Trump could take the stand in any of the four criminal cases he faces serves as a reminder for counsel to consider their ethical obligations when a client insists on testifying, including the attorney’s duty of candor to the court and the depth of their discussions with clients, says Marissa Kingman at Fox Rothschild.

  • Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Fed. Circ. Patent Lesson: No Contradiction, No Indefiniteness

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Maxwell v. Amperex Technology highlights the complexities of construing patent claims when seemingly contradictory limitations are present, and that when a narrowing limitation overrides a broader one, they do not necessarily contradict each other, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

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