Appellate

  • September 23, 2026

    Del. Justices Weigh If Corporations Can Vote In Beach Town

    The ACLU of Delaware urged the state's high court Wednesday to revive its challenge to Fenwick Island's practice of allowing property-owning corporations and other artificial entities to vote in municipal elections, arguing the system unlawfully dilutes residents' votes.

  • September 23, 2026

    Fla. Panel Won't Hear City's Immunity Bid In Partnership Suit

    A Florida state appellate panel issued a split decision on Wednesday dismissing a bid by a city to overturn an order striking its motion to argue for immunity in a lawsuit over a public-private partnership to build a green waste facility near protected wetlands, saying it lacks jurisdiction. 

  • September 23, 2026

    3rd Circ. Bars Early Probation Termination Bids Before 1 Year

    In a precedential opinion Wednesday, the Third Circuit held that a defendant seeking early termination of supervised release must serve at least one year of the current supervised release term before petitioning the court.

  • September 23, 2026

    Ute Tribe Says Split-Estate Lands Remain Indian Country

    The Ute Indian Tribe has urged the Tenth Circuit to overturn a Utah federal judge's ruling that the surface of split-estate lands within its reservation's original boundaries is not Indian Country, arguing the appellate court settled the issue decades ago.

  • September 23, 2026

    'Hanging In There' Doesn't Ax Disability Claim, 9th Circ. Says

    "Hanging in there" and working through the pain of a worsening disability is not a reason to reject the testimony of someone seeking Social Security benefits, the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

  • September 23, 2026

    Board Eases Burden Over Migrant Drug Use Admission

    The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld an immigration judge's decision finding a Mexican national ineligible for status adjustment because he had admitted to possessing and using cocaine, finding no obligation to first inform him of the offense's particular legal elements.

  • September 23, 2026

    Legal Groups Back Firm In NC High Court Malpractice Appeal

    Legal advocacy groups are standing behind the law firm Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP in asking North Carolina's highest court to find that the state's four-year statute of repose on legal malpractice claims creates an immovable end-date to liability.

  • September 23, 2026

    KCSR Appeals STB's BNSF Terminal Trackage Rights Ruling

    Canadian Pacific Kansas City subsidiary Kansas City Southern Railway is asking the D.C. Circuit to overturn a Surface Transportation Board ruling that set the price BNSF Railway will pay to use a nine-mile conduit for petroleum and chemical shipping in Louisiana, in an appeal filed this week.

  • September 23, 2026

    Fed. Grants Bind Railways To Fed. Labor Law, NMB Argues

    The Eleventh Circuit should affirm a Florida federal judge's finding that a high-speed rail operator is subject to the Railway Labor Act, the National Mediation Board argued, saying the operator can't wriggle its way out of complying because it runs an intercity rather than interstate rail line.

  • September 23, 2026

    Ga. Appeals Court Says Atlanta Can't Escape Injury Verdict

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday said a trial court rightly refused to set aside a $140,000 verdict against the city of Atlanta in a woman's lawsuit over a broken wrist she said she suffered when she tripped over the metal remnants of a traffic sign on the sidewalk. 

  • September 23, 2026

    Judge Won't Overturn $5M American Axle Win In Patent Case

    Neapco Holdings LLC has lost its bid to dodge paying a $5.2 million award in a patent suit from American Axle after a Delaware federal judge found that there was enough evidence to back the jury's finding and that the monetary amount wasn't excessive.

  • September 23, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Pre-2013 Life Policies Needn't Get Lapse Forms

    Life insurers are not required to send designation forms to California policyholders whose policies were issued before 2013, when a state law requiring carriers to provide applicants with a form to designate another individual to receive notice of a lapse or termination went into effect, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

  • September 23, 2026

    State Pols Urge Justices To Rein In Kalshi's Sports Offerings

    A coalition of state lawmakers has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Third Circuit decision allowing Kalshi to keep its sports offerings online in New Jersey, emphasizing that sports betting oversight must be left to the states.

  • September 22, 2026

    Feds' Latest Permit For Calif. Pipeline Challenged At 9th Circ.

    Environmental groups are urging the Ninth Circuit to review Trump administration's recent decision approving operations of two coastal California oil pipeline segments, including one that was shut down for years following a 2015 oil spill, saying on Tuesday that the new permit waives key safety requirements.

  • September 22, 2026

    Hydropower Plant Needs More Monitoring, Wash. Panel Says

    A Washington appeals panel broadly upheld the state's certification of a hydroelectric power project near the Columbia River on Monday, although the court said officials need to impose additional monitoring and reporting requirements to address potential leakage into the surrounding watershed.

  • September 22, 2026

    Big Tech Backs Samsung At Fed. Circ. Over Patent Injunctions

    Top technology companies and various industry groups have urged the Federal Circuit to deny Collision Communications an injunction after the patent owner's $445.5 million infringement verdict against Samsung, saying an injunction would undermine U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • September 22, 2026

    9th Circ. Wipes Out $140M Class Verdict Against CenturyLink

    The Ninth Circuit overturned a $140 million class verdict against CenturyLink on Tuesday, holding that the company's reasonable interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act shielded it from liability for willful violations when it pulled consumers' credit reports during online orders for internet service.

  • September 22, 2026

    Panel Hints Hill Wallack May Face Revived Malpractice Suit

    A New Jersey state appeals court panel on Tuesday appeared troubled by a trial judge's decision to toss a malpractice suit accusing Hill Wallack LLP of mishandling the defense of a family facing labor trafficking allegations, repeatedly asking counsel whether the lower court made the factual findings required before imposing the system's harshest sanction.

  • September 22, 2026

    Colo. Justices Mull Trial Court's Authority In Water Rights Suit

    The Colorado Supreme Court grappled Tuesday with ranchers' bid for the justices to overturn a water court's order allowing a change of water right for a right they say was not at issue, questioning counsel on the water court's authority to impose certain conditions in the neighbors' 10-year legal battle.

  • September 22, 2026

    High Court Told Sony Win In $500M Patent Case Flouted Law

    The owner of a patent that Sony's PlayStation controllers were cleared of infringing has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit's decision applied a rule found nowhere in the statute governing functional patent claims or in high court precedent.

  • September 22, 2026

    Lender's $8.1M In Losses Were 'Self-Inflicted,' 11th Circ. Told

    The former CEO of a lender that financed independent insurance marketers has urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse an $8.1 million trial judgment for breaching his work terms, arguing that the damages sustained by his previous employer were "self-inflicted." 

  • September 22, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Revives VA Fellow's AI Whistleblower Claim

    A Federal Circuit panel on Tuesday revived a former technology fellow's challenge to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' decision removing him from his position after he raised concerns over the agency's artificial intelligence tool used for processing disability benefits claims.

  • September 22, 2026

    Wash. Appeals Court Revives Colo. Tax Payment Dispute

    Whether intercompany payments count as profit, royalties or taxable management fees is a disputed question of fact, a Washington state appellate panel said Tuesday, ordering back to a trial court a dispute over whether a Colorado company and its affiliates owe Washington's business and occupation tax.

  • September 22, 2026

    Pa. Gov., Legislators Must Face Public-Defense Funding Suit

    A divided Pennsylvania appeals court has allowed a petition filed against the commonwealth's top political leaders to proceed, granting a path forward for the claims that chronic underfunding of public defender offices has led to indigent criminal defendants receiving ineffective legal assistance.

  • September 22, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Curb Noncitizen Habeas Relief

    The Trump administration implored the U.S. Supreme Court to cure a circuit split over noncitizens filing habeas petitions to challenge their detention during pending removal proceedings, warning of "intolerable disuniformity" in how the Immigration and Nationality Act is administered.

Expert Analysis

  • 3rd Circ. Hotel Ruling Flags Key Issues In Dynamic Pricing

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment relies on allegations that competitors used nonpublic data to set real-time rates considered exorbitant, highlighting both the potential risks and substantial benefits of utilizing emerging technologies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 4th Circ. Class Cert. Ruling Offers Tips For Damages Experts

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision reversing class certification in litigation against Boeing raises the cost of a bare-bones damages model proposal for plaintiffs, but it also clarifies what a defensible proposal should contain, say Alok Khare and Erica Rose at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    'Plain Meaning' Requires Plainer Meaning In IP Litigation

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Socket Solutions v. Import Global highlights the frequent ambiguity surrounding courts' references to "plain meaning" in patent claim construction — an ambiguity that should be resolved by courts, not litigants, say attorneys at Klarquist Sparkman.

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • Patent Ruling Shows Concrete Tech Solution Key To Eligibility

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent Ceiva Opco v. Amazon.com decision offers an important reminder that software-related inventions can remain patent eligible when they claim a concrete technological solution to a specific problem, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Solar Fraud Case Affects Lender Oversight Of Dealers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review the Third Circuit's ruling in Migliore v. Sunlight Financial means that residential solar finance companies are protected from vicarious liability for deceptive acts by independent solar dealers — but lenders must still take steps to guard against dealer misconduct, says Rand Manasse at Green Lane Partners.

  • Fed. Circ. Rulings Emphasize Adjudicative Access And Review

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    Decisions from the Federal Circuit's 2026 docket indicate that the court is increasingly paying attention to whether tribunals possess authority to act, meaning practitioners will need to properly address procedural hurdles before they can argue the merits of a case, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • Amazon v. Perplexity Ruling Limits CFAA Reach Over AI Tools

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Amazon v. Perplexity provides important early guidance on how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to agentic artificial intelligence, and is the latest in a line of rulings in which courts have declined to stretch existing statutes to broadly regulate AI, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Managing OSHA Mental Illness Logs After 5th Circ. Vacatur

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    Employers with facilities in multiple states need to carefully weigh their recordkeeping procedures following the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cannot require employers to log work-related mental illness, as inconsistent logs across facilities may raise other issues, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Expect More Probes After 3rd Circ. Algorithmic Pricing Ruling

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment, allowing algorithmic price-fixing claims to proceed past motions to dismiss, may serve as a road map for how to contend with increased litigation risk in this developing area of antitrust law, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Being In A Band Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing shows in storied New York City venues and rehearsing with my bandmates in poorly ventilated rooms helped develop the professional qualities I rely on as a litigator, including an ability to collaborate with strong-minded equals and the determination to treat each client with singular focus, says Eliad Shapiro at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    After 2026's second quarter, there is more authority rejecting class certification on total loss valuation theories from courts at the federal circuit, federal district and state appellate level — along with a resolution of a novel issue of depreciation on a wildfire claim, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • 10th Circ. Ruling Undermines False Ad 'Two Clicks' Rule

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in KetoNatural Pet Foods v. Hill's Pet Nutrition substantially challenges a long-standing assumption that a company can avoid responsibility for promotional claims simply because the consumer encountered them by clicking a hyperlink to a third-party website, say attorneys at Venable.

  • How Drug Trial Prediction Markets Pose Insider Trading Risks

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    Multiple prediction market platforms have recently announced plans to offer event contracts related to clinical trial outcomes and regulatory decisions, creating new insider trading risks by expanding the group of people possessing related material nonpublic information far beyond traditional corporate insiders, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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