Appellate

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Nixes Catholic Abuse Claimants' Ch. 11 Appeal

    Sex abuse claimants removed from a Catholic archdiocese's bankruptcy unsecured creditors committee don't have grounds for an appeal because they couldn't show the removal was a sanction on them that cost the claimants anything, the Fifth Circuit said.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ga. DA Asks Justices To Dismiss Open Records Suit

    A Georgia district attorney on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court of Georgia to overturn a trial court's denial of her motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing her of illegally withholding records and destroying others in an effort to avoid disclosure, arguing district attorneys are exempt from Georgia's Open Records Act.

  • May 14, 2024

    DOI Urges High Court To Uphold Seminole Gambling Compact

    Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition by two casino operators seeking to undo a sports gambling compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe, arguing that such agreements may include provisions that address matters off tribal lands.

  • May 14, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Attempted Child Sex Abuse Warrants Removal

    The Fourth Circuit approved the deportation of a man convicted of attempting to sexually abuse a child, ruling Tuesday that the attempted offense qualified as child abuse crime warranting removal.

  • May 14, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Toss Of Muslim Family's Airport Search Suit

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a Muslim family's lawsuit alleging they endured unconstitutionally intrusive treatment on an international trip that evinced they had been wrongly placed on a terrorist watchlist, finding that the lower court correctly leaned on a confidential declaration from an FBI agent in tossing the case.

  • May 14, 2024

    9th Circ. Denies Tribes, Enviro Groups' Power Line Stay Bid

    The Ninth Circuit has denied an emergency request by two Native American tribes and a couple of conservation groups to stay an Arizona federal judge's order that allows work to continue on a $10 billion power line.

  • May 14, 2024

    Seattle Public Defender's $7M Employment Win Wiped Out

    The Washington Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled a former King County public defender could not bring a hostile work environment claim over a client's harassing behavior that persisted after she stopped representing him, erasing her $7 million jury win.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Expresses Doubt On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules

    Lawyers for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq Stock Market LLC faced a barrage of questions from the full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday, with judges wondering whether rules requiring corporations to disclose board diversity information would open the door to investor questions on religious practices, political beliefs or Taylor Swift fandom.

  • May 14, 2024

    RFK Jr. Fights Uphill To Get Vax Censorship Block At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of granting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. an injunction in his case alleging Google violated his First Amendment rights by removing certain YouTube videos doubting the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, with two judges saying his arguments lack evidence.

  • May 14, 2024

    NC State Fights Cancer Patient's Presuit Building Access

    North Carolina State University is pressing the state appeals court to find it is insulated from an "unusual" order allowing a former graduate student worker diagnosed with cancer to inspect a campus building that tested high for levels of carcinogens.

  • May 14, 2024

    Hospitals Liable For Failing To Admit Killer, Pa. Justices Told

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court was reminded Tuesday, during oral arguments over whether someone can be officially treated at a hospital without filling out an application, that the case before them concerned a man who killed his girlfriend after he was turned away despite claiming homicidal and suicidal impulses.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mo. Court Says Chiropractor Must Face Broken Ribs Suit

    A Missouri appellate panel on Tuesday revived a suit accusing a chiropractor of negligently breaking a patient's ribs during a treatment session, saying the patient's two medical experts plausibly opined that the chiropractor used excessive force.

  • May 14, 2024

    The PREP Immunity Question Won't Be Decided Yet

    The Federal Circuit opted Tuesday not to say whether a 2005 public health law provides any legal immunity in a patent dispute between rival manufacturers of COVID-19 test swabs, leaving the thorny question unanswered.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mich. Biz Attys Back State's Securities Fraud Enforcement Bid

    Members of Michigan's state bar association have urged the state's highest court to adopt a U.S. Supreme Court test for determining whether promissory notes are securities, in support of an effort by the state securities regulator to bring an enforcement action against a condominium developer accused of failing to pay back investors. 

  • May 14, 2024

    Norwich, Bausch Ask Fed. Circ. To Rethink Xifaxan IP Ruling

    Alvogen's Norwich Pharmaceuticals unit and Bausch Health have launched bids for the Federal Circuit to rehear a case in which it affirmed a Delaware federal court's decision preventing the release of a generic version of Bausch's blockbuster diarrhea and brain disease drug, Xifaxan, until 2029.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Says 'Race Science' Not For Courts To Decide

    A Fifth Circuit judge wondered Tuesday whether Galveston County was asking the courts to engage in "race science" as the en banc court weighs whether multiracial or multiethnic voters facing redistricting are protected under the Voting Rights Act.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ga. Atty Disbarred For Trying To Steal $3M Settlement

    The Georgia Supreme Court announced Tuesday that an Atlanta-area elder law and real estate attorney was disbarred because he conspired with online fraudsters to try to steal a $3 million settlement from an insurance company to its policyholder.

  • May 14, 2024

    Trump Attys Trying To Delay Paying Sanctions, Mich. Says

    Michigan officials and the city of Detroit say former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and other attorneys should be penalized with another round of sanctions for apparently attempting to put off paying a hefty sanctions award imposed in a lawsuit challenging the state's 2020 presidential election results.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ind. Panel Agrees Hospital Can't Be Liable If Doctors Aren't

    An Indiana appeals court has refused to reinstate a woman's vicarious liability claim against Indiana University Health North Hospital Inc. in a suit alleging its staff failed to properly diagnose her sepsis, holding the hospital can't be held liable for the conduct of agents who have already been released from liability.

  • May 14, 2024

    Texas Justices Leave Cities' Franchise-Fee Suit Tossed

    The Texas Supreme Court has refused to vacate a lower appeals court's order that allowed Hulu, Disney and Netflix to escape a lawsuit from 31 municipalities claiming the streaming platforms are required to pay 5% state franchise fees, holding that the municipalities have other remedies available.

  • May 14, 2024

    Boeing Can't Beat Rival's Trade Secrets Claim, 11th Circ. Hints

    Counsel for Boeing attempted to convince the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday that a rival aircraft company's bid to claim unjust enrichment amid a long-running U.S. Air Force contract fight should be barred by contract language that waived claims for damages stemming from Boeing's allegedly underhanded bidding tactics.

  • May 14, 2024

    Texas Think Tank Tells 5th Circ. It's Owed Climate Pledge Info

    The Texas Public Policy Foundation told the Fifth Circuit that it should be allowed access to the names of federal officials involved in creating the Biden administration's climate pledge, arguing the federal government cannot rely on a disclosure exemption designed to protect personal privacy to withhold such information.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ex-Tesla Worker Urges 9th Circ. To Revive Whistleblower Suit

    A former Tesla employee who says he was fired for reporting unlawful activity asked the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive his Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claim, saying those claims aren't arbitrable, and a lower court erred when it dismissed them based on an arbitrator's findings regarding his other claims against Tesla.

  • May 14, 2024

    Giuliani, For Now, Can't Appeal Defamation Verdict In Ch. 11

    A New York bankruptcy judge on Tuesday denied Rudy Giuliani's bid to lift his bankruptcy's automatic stay so he can challenge a $148 million defamation verdict, saying the Republican firebrand needs to make more progress in his Chapter 11 and chiding him for repeating false accusations about two former Georgia poll workers.

  • May 14, 2024

    'Come On, Counsel!': 11th Circ. Scoffs At Ga. District's Appeal

    The Eleventh Circuit appeared dubious Tuesday that an Atlanta-area school district had standing to appeal a district court's order demanding the Georgia Legislature redraw a map found to be racially gerrymandered, with at least one judge casting aspersions on the school district's motives for pressing the appeal.

Expert Analysis

  • A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 'Undue Hardship'

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    Former U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Gordon reflects on his journey from student borrower to judicial observer, highlighting the challenges faced by modern students burdened with student loan debt and advocating for reform in bankruptcy laws, particularly regarding the "undue hardship" element of discharge.

  • Recent Rulings Add Dimension To Justices' Maui Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund established new factual criteria for determining when the Clean Water Act applies to groundwater — and recent decisions from the Ninth and Tenth Circuits have clarified how litigants can make use of the Maui standard, says Steven Hoch at Clark Hill.

  • Strategies For Single-Member Special Litigation Committees

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent order in the Baker Hughes derivative litigation allowing testimony from a single-member special litigation committee highlights the fact that, while single-member SLCs are subject to heightened scrutiny, they can also provide unique opportunities, says Josh Bloom at MoloLamken.

  • 10th Circ. Ruling Means More Okla. Oilfield Pollution Litigation

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    By applying Oklahoma's statutory definitions of pollution to a private landowner's claim for negligence for the first time, the Tenth Circuit's recent decision in Lazy S Ranch v. Valero will likely make it harder to obtain summary judgment in oilfield contamination cases, and will lead to more litigation, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Race Bias Defense Considerations After 11th Circ. Ruling

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    In Tynes v. Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that the McDonnell Douglas test for employment discrimination cases is merely an evidentiary framework, so employers relying on it as a substantive standard of liability may need to rethink their litigation strategy, says Helen Jay at Phelps Dunbar.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Fed. Circ. In Feb.: Using Prior Products To Invalidate A Patent

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    The Federal Circuit's recent Weber v. Provisu ruling, that prior-product operating manuals constituted printed publications that can be used to invalidate patents in an inter partes review proceeding, makes it easier for a petitioner to invalidate a patent, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • What's At Stake In Pending Fed. Circ. Design Patent Test Case

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    The full Federal Circuit recently heard argument in LKQ v. GM Global, a case concerning patent obviousness in the aftermarket for auto parts; the court's decision will likely influence how design patents are obtained, enforced and challenged, and affect the broader innovation ecosystem, says Larry DeMeo at Hunton.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Perspectives

    Compassionate Release Grants Needed Now More Than Ever

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    After the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent expansion of the criteria for determining compassionate release eligibility, courts should grant such motions more frequently in light of the inherently dangerous conditions presented by increasingly understaffed and overpopulated federal prisons, say Alan Ellis and Mark Allenbaugh at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

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    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment

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    Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling

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    While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • What Recent Setbacks In Court Mean For Enviro Justice

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    Two courts in Louisiana last month limited the federal government's ability to require consideration of Civil Rights Act disparate impacts when evaluating state-issued permits — likely providing a framework for opposition to environmental justice initiatives in other states, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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