Appellate

  • June 03, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs Freeze Of Grants For Black Women Only

    In a split decision Monday, the Eleventh Circuit said that a Georgia federal judge should have blocked a Black-led venture capital firm from awarding grants to businesses owned only by Black women, opining that the practice was "substantially likely" to violate federal law barring racial discrimination in the writing of contracts.

  • June 03, 2024

    Green Groups Drop Their Challenge To SEC's Climate Rule

    The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have voluntarily asked the Eighth Circuit to dismiss their challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule, saying they are instead focusing their resources elsewhere.

  • June 03, 2024

    Enviro Groups Ask 9th Circ. To Affirm Blocked Logging Plan

    Several environmental groups have urged the Ninth Circuit to uphold a Montana federal judge's decision halting a large logging operation in the Kootenai National Forest over concerns about the project's effect on grizzly bears and old-growth trees.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Contempt Sanctions Against Drug Co.

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals' challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's $40 million judgment against it for misrepresenting weight-loss drugs and violating an injunction.

  • June 03, 2024

    Mich. Justices Say Mid-Case Appeal Should Have Frozen Trial

    The Michigan Supreme Court said Monday that a judge should not have moved ahead with a man's rape trial while an appeal of a pretrial ruling was pending before the high court, but the justices were split over whether the man deserved a new trial as a result.

  • June 03, 2024

    Colo. Defendants Must Show Real Need To Make DAs Testify

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that criminal defendants must have a "compelling and legitimate need" for forcing their prosecutor to testify, concluding that a trial court judge in Boulder County was wrong to force such testimony in an assault case.

  • June 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Mulls Acts Vs. Belief In Anti-Abortion Worker's Firing

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday seemed torn over whether it should "split hairs" between religious conduct and religious belief as it weighed whether to uphold a Southwest flight attendant's win in a wrongful termination suit over graphic anti-abortion messages she sent her union president.

  • June 03, 2024

    American Says 'Common Sense' Makes JetBlue Deal A Positive

    An attorney for American Airlines appeared to run into turbulence during his First Circuit oral arguments Monday while contending that the mere presence of "upward pricing pressure" from the since-blocked Northeast Alliance joint venture with JetBlue is outweighed by deal benefits improperly ignored by the district court.

  • June 03, 2024

    Treasury Aims To Salvage Corp. Transparency Act At 11th Circ.

    The Corporate Transparency Act is a valid exercise of congressional authority to curb money laundering under the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause in the Constitution, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday in a bid to restore the law's reporting requirements.

  • June 03, 2024

    Mich. Asks 6th Circ. To Keep Airport PFAS Suit In State Court

    Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the state attorney general are asking the Sixth Circuit to keep the department's suit against Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over so-called forever chemicals in state court, saying the Airport Authority is not entitled to removal as a "federal officer."

  • June 03, 2024

    Google Gets Amicus Boost In Fed. Circ. Battle With Sonos

    Google's efforts to prevent the reinstatement of a $32.5 million patent infringement verdict won against it by wireless speaker company Sonos have found support in the Federal Circuit from business trade groups, public interest nonprofits and a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official.

  • June 03, 2024

    Feds Oppose Fla.'s Plea For Rushed CWA Appeal

    The federal government on Monday told the D.C. Circuit it needs more time to decide whether it is going to appeal a lower court's decision to strip Florida of the power to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program.

  • June 03, 2024

    DOL Fights Injunction Bid In Data-For-Insurance Fight

    The U.S. Department of Labor pushed back against two companies' permanent injunction bid in a lawsuit that had challenged a now-vacated finding from the agency that a data-for-insurance health plan offering wasn't covered by federal benefits law, arguing a Texas federal court should instead end proceedings in the case.

  • June 03, 2024

    Las Vegas Newspaper Fights Rival's Bid To Set Trial Date

    The Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun are at each other's throats over setting a trial date in a yearsold dispute accusing the Review-Journal, formerly owned by the now-deceased conservative and billionaire Sheldon Adelson, of trying to drive its more liberal rival out of business.

  • June 03, 2024

    Denver Oil Refinery Air Permit Is Valid, EPA Tells 10th Circ.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defended its refusal to object to the renewal of a Denver oil refinery's air pollution permit, telling the Tenth Circuit that the Center for Biological Diversity failed to show the permit would allow the refinery to emit harmful amounts of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

  • June 03, 2024

    Tax Convictions Withstand Poor Counsel Claim, 4th Circ. Says

    A North Carolina man's claim of ineffective counsel is not sufficient reason to vacate his convictions for filing false tax returns and obstructing an official proceeding in a case involving $2.1 million in unreported income sent from Bermuda entities, the Fourth Circuit ruled.

  • June 03, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery pushed out tons of decisions last week, along with a second round of new rules and letters of concern over pending changes to the state's corporate law code. The court's docket was as busy as ever, with new cases involving Tesla CEO Elon Musk, FTX cryptocurrency claims, and more. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • June 03, 2024

    FERC Tells Justices Not To Review Rule Passed By Deadlock

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a Third Circuit decision upholding an electricity market rule change that took effect despite a commissioner deadlock, arguing the lower court got it right and that any market upheaval concerns are unfounded.

  • June 03, 2024

    Printing Co. Loses Bid To Revive Tesla Screen Defect Suit

    The Fourth Circuit has thrown out a printing company's lawsuit alleging Tesla refused to permanently fix a defective touch screen, with a panel ruling the defect wasn't present when the vehicle was sold, as required by the standards of a breach of warranty lawsuit.

  • June 03, 2024

    States Say Biden Admin's LNG Export Pause Is Actually A Ban

    A coalition of Republican-led states is urging a Louisiana federal court not to toss its lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's pause on reviewing applications to export liquefied natural gas to countries without free trade agreements, saying the pause effectively amounts to a ban because no timeline is provided.

  • June 03, 2024

    Mich. Justices Take Up 'Sidewalk Exception' In Trip Case

    The Michigan Supreme Court has said it will consider whether the city of Detroit may be liable for a man's injuries suffered when he tripped over a metal post embedded in a sidewalk, in an appeal focused on the scope of an exception to governmental immunity.

  • June 03, 2024

    'Unflappable' Chicago DOJ Appeals Chief Joins Federal Bench

    The top appellate lawyer for federal prosecutors in Chicago, now a newly confirmed federal judge, has an overriding sense of public duty and a deep knowledge of Seventh Circuit case law that will set her up for success on the bench, former colleagues told Law360. 

  • June 03, 2024

    6th Circ. Says $10.5M Ascension Hospitals Vax Deal Too Broad

    The Sixth Circuit scrapped a settlement Monday in a class action claiming that Ascension Health Alliance illegally fired or suspended religious workers who rejected the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling the Michigan-based employees backing the suit lack standing to expand the deal nationwide.

  • June 03, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court May Hear Trump-Willis DQ Fight On Oct. 4

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has set a tentative date of Oct. 4 to hear arguments from former President Donald Trump's lawyers that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election interference case over her personal relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case.

  • June 03, 2024

    Split Fed. Circ. Backs EcoFactor's $20M Trial Win Over Google

    The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed that Google should pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing its smart thermostat patent, but one judge took issue with allowing the damages to stand, saying her colleagues' ruling "at best muddles our precedent and at worst contradicts it."

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 11th Circ. FMLA Ruling Deepens Divide Over Causation

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling in Lapham v. Walgreen distinguishes the circuit as the loudest advocate for the but-for causation standard for assessing Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation claims, though employers in other jurisdictions may encounter less favorable standards and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have to address the circuit split eventually, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • 3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions

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    In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Why Preemption Args Wouldn't Stall Trump Hush-Money Case

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    With former President Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal trial weeks away, some speculate that he may soon move to stay the case on preemption grounds, but under the Anti-Injunction Act and well-settled case law, that motion would likely be quickly denied, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.

  • Golf Course Copyright Bill Implications Go Beyond The Green

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    A new federal bill, the BIRDIE Act, introduced in February would extend intellectual property protections to golf course designers but could undercut existing IP case law and raise broader questions about the scope of copyright protection for works that involve living elements or nonhuman authorship, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • BIPA's Statutory Exemptions Post-Healthcare Ruling

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's November opinion in Mosby v. Ingalls Memorial Hospital, which held that the Biometric Information Privacy Act's healthcare exemption also applies when information is collected from healthcare workers, is a major win for healthcare defendants that resolves an important question of statutory interpretation, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • 2nd Circ.'s Nine West Ruling Clarifies Safe Harbor Confusion

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    The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Nine West’s Chapter 11 suit clarifies that courts in the circuit will apply a transfer-by-transfer analysis to determine the applicability of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, and that to be safe harbored, a financial institution must act as an agent with respect to the specific transfer at issue, says Leonardo Trivigno at Carter Ledyard.

  • Opinion

    9th Circ. Nazi Art Theft Ruling Is Bad For Repatriation Cases

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, holding that a Spanish museum doesn't have to return a Nazi-stolen painting to the original Jewish owners, spells trouble for future heirloom repatriation cases, which hinge on similar archaic laws, say Andrea Perez and Josh Sherman at Carrington Coleman.

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