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Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Touch Insurer's Win In 401(k) Exit Fee Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a dental office's case accusing an insurance company of unlawfully charging fees to 401(k) plans that left its platform, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found the insurer was under no obligation to waive the charges.
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May 13, 2024
Supreme Court Won't Hear 'Original Patents' Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition from Ikorongo Texas LLC challenging how a Texas federal judge interpreted a rarely invoked requirement for reissue patents when he invalidated the company's patents in litigation with the dating app company Bumble.
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May 13, 2024
High Court Won't Consider Ex-Tufts Prof's Retaliation Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a lawsuit brought by a former Tufts University dental professor who said the First Circuit ignored crucial evidence and relied on false information when it shut down claims that she lost a promotion for reporting sexual harassment.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Skip Website's Bid To Review Copyright Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Tenth Circuit decision that revived a copyright complaint accusing controversial web forum Kiwi Farms and its owner of infringing the works of self-published author Russell Greer, who wrote about his court battle with pop star Taylor Swift.
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May 13, 2024
High Court Won't Take Up Wyoming Wildfire Suit
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a suit by survivors of the 2018 Roosevelt wildfire in Wyoming against the U.S. Forest Service over the government's decisions in fighting the fires.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Inmate's Atty Abandonment Claim
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case of a Texas death row inmate who says that his court-appointed lawyer deprived him of a fair chance at challenging his conviction in a 2005 double homicide.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last Ditch Apple Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Atty's Discipline For Accusing Judges
The U.S. Supreme Court won't weigh in on whether the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania improperly suspended an attorney based on alleged violations of disciplinary rules that had been seven years old at the time, the court announced Monday.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Ch. 11 Stay In Asbestos Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court won't review lower courts' decisions allowing the paper-products company Georgia-Pacific to remain shielded from mass tort litigation by way of a subsidiary's Chapter 11 case.
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May 11, 2024
Alito Warns Freedoms Of Speech, Religion Are In Danger
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned Saturday that support for freedom of speech on college campuses is "dangerously" low, and that freedom of religion is in peril nationwide.
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May 10, 2024
Patent Owners Face Risks In Amazon Program After Ruling
The Federal Circuit ruled earlier this month that a company alleging patent infringement through Amazon's patent evaluation program must face a declaratory judgment suit in the accused infringer's home state. The holding creates a risk for patent owners who may rethink using the program, attorneys told Law360.
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May 10, 2024
Mich. Justices Find State Law Bars Firing Friend As Reprisal
The Michigan Supreme Court held Friday that the state's civil rights law prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee by targeting a coworker who is a friend or family member, reviving two former prison workers' lawsuit against the state.
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May 10, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs ITC Decision Clearing Computer Gear Imports
The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld the U.S. International Trade Commission's holding that CommScope, Hewlett Packard, Netgear and others didn't infringe Q3 Networking's computer gear patents with their imports of things like routers.
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May 10, 2024
Okla. Tells Justices 10th Circ. Wrong On PBM Law
Oklahoma's insurance department Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its petition seeking review of a Tenth Circuit decision overturning portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing that high court intervention is needed to resolve disagreement among the circuits on federal preemption.
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May 10, 2024
Pa. Commission Had Right To Deny Grid Project, 3rd Circ. Told
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission called on the Third Circuit on Friday to reinstate its rejection of a transmission power project approved by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, arguing a federal district court wrongly deemed the decision unconstitutional.
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May 10, 2024
Full 4th Circ. Urged To Settle Key 'Texas Two-Step' Questions
A Fourth Circuit panel left critical issues open when it denied permission to an appeal challenging the so-called Texas two-step Chapter 11 of industrial equipment maker Aldrich Pump, asbestos claimants in two separate bankruptcy cases said, asking the full appeals court to reconsider hearing the case and settle questions that have plagued their own bankruptcies in the Western District of North Carolina.
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May 10, 2024
4th Circ. Judge Suspects 'Abuse' In Land Donor Tax Case
The Fourth Circuit appeared poised Friday to rule that a couple owes taxes and penalties after claiming an inflated $5.1 million valuation on donated land for deductions, with one judge positing he believed the couple had engaged in "abuse" of a conservation donation.
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May 10, 2024
Walmart Must Pay $1M Injury Verdict, Ga. Appeals Court Says
The Georgia Court of Appeals won't give Walmart a way out of a $1 million verdict owed to a woman injured in a store in 2018, dispatching Friday with the retail chain's argument that the verdict was blatantly excessive.
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May 10, 2024
US Bancorp Seeks Quick Appeal In 401(k) Fee Suit
U.S. Bancorp asked Friday for approval to immediately appeal an order allowing a proposed class action over record-keeping fees for the bank's 401(k) plan to move forward, telling a Minnesota federal court that getting the Eighth Circuit's take could provide clarity to other cases nationwide.
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May 10, 2024
Mich. Lawmakers Introduce Judicial Privacy Bill
A group of Michigan state senators has introduced a bill that would allow judges to seal personal information about themselves and their immediate family members in government agency files, including blocking the government from disclosing the information in response to public records requests, with some narrow exceptions.
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May 10, 2024
1st Circ. Fast-Tracks DraftKings Noncompete Feud
The First Circuit on Friday granted a former DraftKings executive's request to expedite his appeal of a Boston federal judge's ruling that blocked him from doing similar work in the U.S. for rival Fanatics.
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May 10, 2024
Michigan Dept. Gets Snowmobile Crash Claims Tossed
A Michigan appeals panel has thrown out a man's claims alleging one of the state's Department of Natural Resources rangers was negligent in a suit over a crash that claimed that ranger's life, saying the lack of evidence renders the plaintiff's theory of negligence hypothetical and speculative.
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May 10, 2024
CFPB's Credit Card Late Fee Rule Halted By Texas Judge
A Texas federal judge on Friday stayed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee standard, granting a preliminary injunction sought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups that are challenging the legality of the agency rule.
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May 10, 2024
UPMC Inks $38M Deal To End Neurosurgery FCA Suit
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has agreed to pay $38 million to put an end to a False Claims Act suit brought by three medical workers from its neurological surgery department who said the medical center fraudulently billed federal healthcare programs.
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May 10, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Subway Texts Don't Trigger Autodial Law
A divided Second Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of a suit claiming that the sandwich chain Subway illegally spammed consumers' phones with automated texts, finding that a Connecticut federal judge was right in ruling that the marketing campaign didn't use an autodialer as defined by federal law.
Editor's Picks
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Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
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DC Circuit Cases To Watch In 2024
As the D.C. Circuit heads into 2024, its judges are poised to answer hotly anticipated political questions about former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as a number of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cases that could determine the future of certain natural gas projects.
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Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
UPDATED May 9, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
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Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures
The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Key Antitrust Class Certification Questions Remain Unclear
The U.S. Supreme Court, by recently rejecting certiorari in Visa v. National ATM, turned down the opportunity to clarify how to analyze disputed evidence bearing on the certification of antitrust class actions, leaving the applicable standards unclear instead of resolving this split of authority, says Jonathan Berman at Jones Day.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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What's Notable In JAMS' New Mass Arbitration Rules
The Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services’ recently released guidelines, coming on the heels of similar American Arbitration Association amendments, suggests that mass arbitrations will remain an efficient means for consumers to vindicate their rights against companies, say Jonathan Waisnor and Brandon Heitmann at Labaton Keller.
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Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape
Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.
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'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Justices Clarify FAA But Leave Behind Important Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Bissonnette v. LePage firmly shuts the door on any argument that the Federal Arbitration Act's Section 1 exemption is limited to transportation workers whose employers transport goods on behalf of others, but two major issues remain unresolved, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.
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Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?
Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.
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Rebuttal
Double-Patenting Ruling Shows Terminal Disclaimers' Value
While a recent Law360 guest article seems to argue that the Federal Circuit’s Cellect decision last year robs patent owners of lawful patent term, the ruling actually identifies how terminal disclaimers are the solution to the problem of obviousness-type double patenting, say Jane Love and Robert Trenchard at Gibson Dunn.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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How Courts Are Interpreting Fed. Circ. IPR Estoppel Ruling
In the year since the Federal Circuit’s Ironburg ruling, which clarified the scope of inter partes and post-grant review estoppel, district court decisions show that application of IPR or PGR estoppel may become a resource-intensive inquiry, say Whitney Meier Howard and Michelle Lavrichenko at Venable.
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Mid-2024 FCA Enforcement And Litigation Trends To Watch
Reviewing notable False Claims Act trends and enforcement efforts in the last year and a half reveals that healthcare is a key enforcement priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the road ahead may bring clarification on Anti-Kickback Statute causation and willfulness standards, along with increased focus on private equity, cybersecurity and self-disclosure, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.
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2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.
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Opinion
SEC Doesn't Have Legal Authority For Climate Disclosure Rule
Instead of making the required legal argument to establish its authority, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosure rule hides behind more than 1,000 references to materiality to give the appearance that its rule is legally defensible, says Bernard Sharfman at RealClearFoundation.
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Breaking Down 4th Circ. Pendent Appellate Jurisdiction Ruling
As illustrated by the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Elegant Massage v. State Farm, denying class certification and granting a motion to dismiss, federal appellate courts continue to struggle with defining the scope of pendent appellate jurisdiction — or jurisdiction over nonfinal orders below, says Joan Steinman at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.