Appellate

  • July 31, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs Ex-Steward CEO's Contempt Charge

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld a U.S. Senate committee's criminal and civil contempt finding against former Steward Health Care System LLC Chief Executive Ralph de la Torre after he refused to appear before lawmakers despite a subpoena, calling his appellate arguments "wholly meritless."

  • July 31, 2026

    11th Circ. Revives TVA Claims In Alabama Boat Collision Suit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel has reinstated claims from fishermen against the Tennessee Valley Authority alleging the TVA negligently failed to mark or remove a duck blind they collided with in their boat, finding that the agency is not immune under its governing statute.

  • July 31, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Says Leica's Filtered Light Skirts U. Mich. Patent

    In a dispute centered on how laser light is used in fluorescence technology, a unanimous Federal Circuit panel said on Friday that Leica Microsystems did not infringe on a University of Michigan patent, affirming the decision of a federal court in California.

  • July 31, 2026

    Mass. Seeks Exit From Undercover License Plate Policy Suit

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security hasn't shown that immigration enforcement has slowed because Massachusetts won't give its agents undercover vehicle plates, the state said in a bid to dismiss a federal government lawsuit.

  • July 31, 2026

    Conn. Justices Revive Lawsuit Over Killer's Hospital Release

    The Connecticut Supreme Court for the first time Friday said mental health providers must try to protect identifiable victims from dangerous patients, ordering a Hartford HealthCare subsidiary to face ordinary negligence claims from the estate of a woman slain by her former boyfriend, a dentist who then killed himself.

  • July 31, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs FERC's Revised Grid Hookup Policy

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday endorsed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revised policy for hooking up new power projects to the grid, saying the agency clearly acted within its authority to address growing interconnection backlogs.

  • July 31, 2026

    End In Sight For Ovarian Cancer Patients With $5.5B+ J&J Deal

    The $5.5 billion global deal over talc ovarian cancer allows women to move past recent court setbacks requiring them to provide experts who can show a causal link between their disease and use of talc, and for defendant J&J to close a decade of litigation that included judicially criticized gambits to spin off liability through bankruptcy maneuvers.

  • July 31, 2026

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: Trump, Kash Patel, MSG

    In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights developments in a handful of suits involving President Donald Trump, as well as the dismissal of a case by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel over a man's social media posts accusing him of being a "Kremlin asset."

  • July 31, 2026

    Michigan Justices Nix Teen's 'Cruel' 50-Year Murder Sentence

    Michigan's highest court has ruled that a 50- to 75-year sentence for a teenager convicted of second-degree murder was unconstitutionally cruel or unusual, calling the prison term "grossly disproportionate" in its latest ruling limiting severe sentences for young offenders.

  • July 31, 2026

    DC Circ. Rules Ute Tribe Can't Reclaim 1.5M Utah Acres

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday rejected a Utah tribe's bid to undo a lower court's ruling that said it has no compensable title to 1.5 million acres in Utah, saying the lack of that title means the oil field lands are not eligible for restoration under the Indian Reorganization Act.

  • July 31, 2026

    Trump Appeals Judge's Block Of IRS Settlement To 11th Circ.

    President Donald Trump will ask the Eleventh Circuit to overturn a Florida federal judge's order blocking a settlement deal that would have given him and others broad protection from federal tax audits and investigations, according to a notice filed Friday.

  • July 31, 2026

    Mich. High Court Tosses Murder Conviction Over DNA Test

    A man convicted of first-degree murder will receive a new trial after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that police violated the state constitution by testing blood on his pants without a warrant or his consent. 

  • July 31, 2026

    J&J's $25M Talc Appeal Can Advance, Conn. Panel Rules

    A Connecticut appeals court has advanced Johnson & Johnson's challenge to a $25 million talc trial judgment, denying a Massachusetts real estate developer's attempt to dismiss the appeal based on what he argued was a late-filed brief.

  • July 31, 2026

    Teck Asks Justices To Ax Wash. Tribal Cultural Loss Claims

    A Canadian mining company is asking the Supreme Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit ruling that revived Washington tribes' natural resource damages claims for alleged pollution of the Columbia River, arguing the appellate court upended an environmental cleanup statute's tradeoff between broad liability and limited remedies.

  • July 31, 2026

    Ala. Localities Can't Tax Only Railroads, 11th Circ. Says

    A federal court correctly ruled that Alabama localities could not impose sales taxes on rail carriers' diesel fuel purchases, because a corresponding state-level tax was found to be discriminatory and the authority to tax at the local level is granted by the state, the Eleventh Circuit said Friday.

  • July 31, 2026

    Corporate Settlors Can Owe Inheritance Tax, UK Tribunal Says

    The U.K.'s inheritance tax can apply to a corporate settlor of a trust when the trustees aren't domestic residents, the Upper Tribunal said Friday in a decision involving a company challenging its liability for the tax in relation to a Jersey trust.

  • July 31, 2026

    Split 3rd Circ. Says Pa. Town Wrongly Limited Jewish Worship

    A Northeast Pennsylvania town's zoning code placed unacceptable burdens on the religious exercises of an Orthodox Jewish congregation using two properties for worship, instruction and communal living, a split Third Circuit panel said in an opinion ordering the properties to be reopened.

  • July 31, 2026

    Pa. Panel Again Says 'Clickwrap' Arbitration Unenforceable

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court has reiterated that "clickwrap" arbitration agreements are unenforceable, holding in the case of an amusement park patron dissatisfied over a roller coaster closure that the inconspicuous digital disclaimers weren't enough to deny a litigant's right to a jury trial.

  • July 31, 2026

    Dad's Role In Smuggling Son Blocks Bid To Cancel Removal

    The Board of Immigration Appeals on Friday denied a Guatemalan man's efforts to stop his deportation, saying his alleged use of a smuggler to bring his child to the United States showed he was not a person of "good moral character."

  • July 31, 2026

    Fla. Tells 11th Circ. Migrant Transport Law Isn't Preempted

    Florida urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse an injunction blocking a state law that criminalizes the transportation of immigrants living in the country illegally, arguing that the law's challengers are reading the state law too broadly.

  • July 31, 2026

    UK Estate Loses Inheritance Tax Break For London Offices

    The executors of a deceased man's estate are not eligible for a 100% inheritance tax break on his London-based serviced offices because they were an investment rather than a trade, the Upper Tribunal said in a judgment.

  • July 31, 2026

    Justices Asked To Clarify Arbitrator Bias Vacatur Rule

    The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to clarify the standards under which an arbitral award can be vacated, in a petition that seeks to nix an award favoring a nursing home issued by an arbitrator who failed to disclose a previous censure over improper campaign contributions.

  • July 31, 2026

    Insulet Urges Full Fed. Circ. To Revive $59M Trade Secret Win

    Insulin product developer Insulet Corp. has asked the full Federal Circuit to hear its arguments for reinstating a jury's $59.4 million trade secret theft verdict against EOFlow Co. Ltd., saying a split panel decision overturning the award reached a timeliness issue that was not mentioned by either party.

  • July 31, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Says Sapphire-Backed Watches Must Face Duties

    Imported Richard Mille luxury watches with synthetic sapphire crystal case-backs cannot qualify for duty-free treatment, the Federal Circuit affirmed.

  • July 31, 2026

    1st Circ. Says Boston Outdoor Dining Rules Not Biased

    The First Circuit rejected claims by a group of restaurant owners in Boston's Little Italy that Mayor Michelle Wu singled them out for stricter enforcement and impact fees related to outdoor dining because they are predominantly white and of Italian descent.

Expert Analysis

  • Nielsen Appeal Tests Antitrust Limits Of Pricing And Bundling

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    In Cumulus v. Nielsen, the Second Circuit is considering a structural pattern in which a monopolist exploits upstream market power to foreclose downstream competition, which could potentially offer broad insight into how courts will assess exclusionary bundling and pricing defenses under antitrust law, says Luke Hasskamp at Bona Law.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Will Rewrite Class Action Litigation Strategies

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union is the first from a federal circuit court to hold that motions to strike are inappropriate vehicles for challenging class allegations at the pleading stage, invalidating a tactic that had been used for decades, says Jim Francis at Francis Mailman.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Salt-N-Pepa Suit May Shake Up Music Copyright Issue

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    James v. UMG Recordings is a copyright termination rights case that provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to make concrete choices about grant language, authorship, work-for-hire status and survival of derivative works, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

  • Opinion

    5th Circ.'s Abortion Pill Order Is Shaky On Multiple Grounds

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent order in Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone, seems to turn federalism upside-down, and is also questionable for several other reasons, says Gregory Curtner at Curtner Law.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 5 Takeaways From Justices' Subpoena Fight Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in First Choice v. Davenport fortifies a line of First Amendment associational privacy cases stretching back nearly 70 years, and ensures that organizations subject to government demands for donor information have a meaningful federal forum in which to defend their constitutional rights, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • Md. Justices' State Climate Tort Ban May Shape National Path

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    The Maryland Supreme Court’s recent ruling that federal law preempted state-level deceptive marketing tort claims brought by several municipalities could offer the U.S. Supreme Court a road map to use in the pending Suncor Energy v. Boulder County case to exclude states from the business of regulating global emissions, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

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