Appellate

  • May 31, 2024

    Texas Appeals Court Revives Suit Over Drilling Near Homes

    A Texas appeals court has partially revived a lawsuit brought by an environmental group against a city that approved a gas drilling zone near residential homes, finding Thursday that the trial court has jurisdiction over alleged violations of a state law regulating government meetings.

  • May 31, 2024

    Judge Wonders If Wash. Social Media Ban Blocks Free Speech

    A Washington appellate judge on Friday questioned the constitutionality of a state law barring injured workers from posting video of their state workers' compensation medical exams on social media, saying it could be cutting off someone's only way of communicating with the outside world.

  • May 31, 2024

    Texas Justices Won't Review Boeing, Union Back Pay Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to review a decision by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District permitting the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association to continue its attempt to recover lost wages from Boeing after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded its 737 Max plane in 2019. 

  • May 31, 2024

    9th Circ. Says LA's COVID-19 Eviction Ban Was No Taking

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to reinstate a Los Angeles landlord's $100 million suit challenging the city's pandemic-era eviction ban, finding it didn't constitute a physical taking since the landlord "voluntarily opened" his property to tenants, and that loss of rental income itself doesn't establish a governmental taking.

  • May 31, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Labor Battles Heat Up In June

    Several cases are heating up the Third Circuit argument calendar in June, including a home care company's attempt to duck a $7 million payout to thousands of workers who claimed the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating them for travel time.

  • May 31, 2024

    Group Sued Over Immigrants' Benefits Too Late, Panel Holds

    A Michigan state appeals court has nixed a nonprofit's challenge to the court's ruling that working while unauthorized is a crime and that immigrant workers are not entitled to benefits once their unauthorized status is discovered, saying the group brought the lawsuit in an untimely manner.

  • May 31, 2024

    4th Circ. Sees Path For Deportee To Return, But Denies Appeal

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday found that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive might provide a narrow path for a deported Salvadoran's return to the U.S. to fight his removal, but ultimately shot down his appeal.

  • May 31, 2024

    How Trump's Hush Money Sentencing Could Get 'Dicey'

    Now convicted of nearly three dozen felonies, former President Donald Trump must move through the machinery of the New York state court system's sentencing process, which involves sitting down for an interview with a probation officer and a chance to directly address a judge he's called biased and "corrupt."

  • May 31, 2024

    NY Appeals Court Backs Trimming Of 50 Cent Liquor Spat

    A New York appeals court has said a lower court rightly dismissed some components of a suit brought by a fine liquors company owned by rapper 50 Cent, allowing Jim Beam and its parent company to escape the rapper's claims they aided a fraud and rejecting his request for punitive damages and attorney fees.

  • May 31, 2024

    Michigan Justices Say Treadmill Claims Not Filed Too Late

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday revived a woman's claims against a delivery company she says negligently installed her treadmill, saying the state court claims related back to her timely filed claims in a previously dismissed federal court case with the same allegations.

  • May 31, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Transfers Freed, Atty Plays Cards Right

    In this week's Off the Bench, the NCAA agrees to more historic rule changes while experts examine its post-House settlement future, and a patent lawyer looks back at his transformation into a poker champion.

  • May 31, 2024

    Colo. Justices Agree To Weigh In On Blackstone Lease Row

    Colorado's high court agreed Wednesday to answer two key questions in a putative class action against Blackstone subsidiaries, after a federal judge said tenants' claims alleging the companies' lease agreements violate state law present novel legal issues with little case law to provide guidance.

  • May 31, 2024

    A Potential Tipping Point For Transgender Athlete Litigation

    After heated policy debates in statehouses and academic institutions, the discourse over participation of transgender athletes in college and amateur sports has spilled into the nation's courts, with a flurry of recent suits and rulings suggesting the judiciary will have its hands full for years to come.

  • May 31, 2024

    Wash. Prison Law Not Biased Against GEO, 9th Circ. Told

    Washington state has urged the Ninth Circuit to lift a lower court's injunction blocking a law aimed at improving private prison standards, saying the law does not discriminatorily target private prison operator GEO Group Inc.

  • May 31, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Democratic Party Chief Can't Slip Ballot Fraud Rap

    Connecticut's intermediate appeals court on Friday upheld the forgery and false statements conviction of former Stamford Democratic Party chair John Mallozzi, who was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $35,000 in fines for his role in a scheme to submit fake votes in the 2015 municipal election.

  • May 31, 2024

    Illinois Strengthens Atty Ethics Rules For Harassment, Bias

    The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that the state's professional conduct rules for attorneys have been amended to deem the act of engaging in harassment or discrimination as professional misconduct, and not just in the event a court or administrative agency finds that a lawyer violated a law prohibiting such actions.

  • May 31, 2024

    Texas Justices Take On Reach, Timing Of Atty Solicitation Law

    The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether personal injury attorneys can face claims they paid "case runners" to solicit grieving families in Louisiana and Arkansas, saying it will examine whether the state's barratry statute extends to out-of-state conduct and the applicable limitations period.

  • May 31, 2024

    Former Miami City Atty Must Face Real Estate Fraud Suit

    A former Miami city attorney can't escape a lawsuit that alleges she aided her husband in a real estate fraud scheme after a Florida state appeals court found the complaint had sufficient allegations to survive her sovereign immunity assertions.

  • May 31, 2024

    Robins Kaplan Can't Escape Sanction Over Dropbox Access

    A New York state appeals court has upheld the $156,000 sanction on litigation funding firm KrunchCash and its counsel Robins Kaplan LLP for poking through an opposing party's Dropbox database that was accidentally shared in a $10 million suit, finding that they knew or should have known it was privileged information.

  • May 31, 2024

    Atty Gets 2nd Suspension Over Sale Of $1.6M Painting

    The Florida Supreme Court approved a one-year suspension for a New Jersey-based attorney and real estate developer this week who pled guilty to smuggling a $1.6 million painting out of his house in 2013 to avoid an asset sale.

  • May 31, 2024

    New Antibody IP Ruling Still Needs To Be Tested In Courts

    A May decision from top U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials is giving some attorneys renewed hope that they'll be able to secure antibody patents, but they say the agency's ruling may not be enough to overcome courts that have been hostile toward these patents.

  • May 31, 2024

    Split NH High Court Says Cops Must Pay Back Sick Leave

    An updated version of a City of Manchester ordinance requires four police officers to pay the city back for the sick leave benefits they received while their compensation claims for on-the-job injuries were pending, a split New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled.

  • May 31, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Revive NC Homeowners' Storm Coverage Suit

    The Fourth Circuit refused on Friday to revive a suit brought by the owners of a North Carolina beach house accusing certain underwriters at Lloyd's London of stalling a $1 million payout over hurricane damage.

  • May 31, 2024

    Del. Chancellor Questions 'Rush' To Amend Corporation Law

    Weeks before the Delaware State Bar Association sent state lawmakers a draft bill explicitly allowing corporations to broadly cede some governance rights to chosen stockholders, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of Delaware Chancery Court made an unprecedented, direct appeal to think twice.

  • May 31, 2024

    DC Circ. Judge Ponders NLRB Jurisdiction Over 'Criminal' Biz

    The D.C. Circuit determined that the National Labor Relations Board lacked enough evidence to find a cannabis company illegally fired a pro-union employee, with one judge questioning the board's jurisdiction over a "criminal enterprise."

Expert Analysis

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

    Author Photo

    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

    Author Photo

    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

    Author Photo

    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

    Author Photo

    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

    Author Photo

    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

    Author Photo

    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

    Author Photo

    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

    Author Photo

    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

    Author Photo

    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

    Author Photo

    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

    Author Photo

    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

    Author Photo

    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

    Author Photo

    In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law​​​​​​​.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!