Appellate

  • July 14, 2026

    Trump Lawyer Matthew Schwartz Confirmed To 2nd Circ.

    The Senate voted 50-45, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Matthew Schwartz, one of President Donald Trump's personal attorneys and a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

  • July 14, 2026

    2nd Circ. Grants Bail To Critically Ill Detainee Pending Appeal

    A split Second Circuit panel ordered a detained Jamaican man facing deportation to be released on bail, and criticized a dissenting judge's conclusion that the man's life-threatening kidney disease and need for regular dialysis treatments were not an "extraordinary circumstance."

  • July 14, 2026

    1st Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Dartmouth Prof's Muslim Bias Suit

    The First Circuit upheld Dartmouth College's defeat of a former associate professor's lawsuit alleging he was denied tenure because he's Muslim and Arab, ruling he hadn't provided evidence demonstrating the Ivy League school manipulated its policies to his disadvantage.

  • July 14, 2026

    8th Circ. Won't Undo Pot User's Gun Conviction

    The Eighth Circuit won't vacate a man's conviction for possession of a firearm while being an unlawful drug user, finding that the government produced enough evidence to show that he fit historical laws disarming those who created "terror of the people."

  • July 14, 2026

    Trial, Appellate Judges Duel For Wash. Supreme Court Seat

    In one of the most-watched races for the five Washington State Supreme Court seats on the ballot this election season, a state appellate judge and a Seattle-area superior court judge are competing to succeed the high court's longest-sitting justice.

  • July 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Block On FinCEN Border Cash Reporting Reqs

    The Ninth Circuit Monday affirmed a temporary block on a Trump administration rule that singles out cash-moving businesses along the southwest border for heightened anti-money laundering reporting, agreeing that a plaintiff money service business will likely suffer irreparable harm.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Backs NYC Law Blocking Broker Fees For Tenants

    The Second Circuit held Monday that a lower court was correct to refuse to preliminarily block a New York City law prohibiting certain landlord broker fees, ruling that the city has pointed to legitimate government interests that warrant the law.

  • July 13, 2026

    7th Circ. Nixes Clearview AI Privacy Deal Over Class Rift

    The Seventh Circuit has vacated a novel biometric privacy settlement between Clearview AI and classes of individuals who claim the company misused their public photos, saying a nationwide class representative should have signaled their agreement before the district court approved a deal containing such comparatively "meager" benefits.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says Tylenol Maker Must Face Autism, ADHD Suits

    The Second Circuit said Monday that a lower court had wrongly excluded plaintiffs experts from testifying about an alleged relationship between using Tylenol during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, although the panel cautioned that the decision was not political or scientific.

  • July 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Reiterates 'Prevailing Party' In Family Dollar ADA Suit

    A woman who won an order forcing a Family Dollar store to improve its accessibility is a "prevailing party" under the Americans with Disabilities Act and may recover attorney fees, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the lower court misunderstood precedent regarding whether a plaintiff has prevailed in the litigation.

  • July 13, 2026

    After Favorable Ruling, Maxell Files New Samsung ITC Suit

    Japan's Maxell Ltd. alleged in a U.S. International Trade Commission suit Friday that South Korea-based Samsung's smartphones and tablets infringe six patents, days after an ITC judge backed Maxell in a separate case and recommended an import ban on infringing Samsung devices.

  • July 13, 2026

    10th Circ. Revives Gay Bias Harassment Suit Against Walmart

    A gay New Mexico man's bias suit against Walmart was partially revived by the Tenth Circuit on Monday after the panel found the lower court incorrectly granted the company summary judgment on a hostile work environment claim after finding the alleged harassment based on the employee's sexual orientation wasn't pervasive.

  • July 13, 2026

    Trump Cuts 3M Acres From Utah Monument Protections

    President Donald Trump on Monday rolled back federal protections on the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments in Utah, a move that environmental groups said they will fight to block in court.

  • July 13, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Manual Cellphone Searches At Border Are Legal

    The Fourth Circuit has ruled that manual searches of a cellphone at the border are legal because they are considered routine and do not require individualized suspicion by a border agent about whether a crime has occurred.

  • July 13, 2026

    Judge Newman Won't Reopen High Court Suspension Battle

    Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman did not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider her bid to save a suit against her fellow judges for suspending her from the bench over her refusal to undergo medical tests.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Orders New Trial In NYPD Search, Prosecution Suit

    A Second Circuit panel on Monday ordered a new civil trial for four New York Police Department officers found liable for busting into an apartment without a warrant and arresting one of its occupants without cause, saying the district court erroneously refused to allow jurors to hear recordings of phone calls that cast doubt on the plaintiff's credibility.

  • July 13, 2026

    Custodia Urges Justices To Take Up Fed Master Account Fight

    Crypto-focused Custodia Bank is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a Tenth Circuit ruling that backed Federal Reserve banks' discretion to deny master accounts to otherwise eligible banks, arguing the decision empowers unappointed regional bank presidents to deny "disfavored" banks access to critical payment services.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Upholds Cumulus' Data-Tying Order Against Nielsen

    Nielsen cannot condition media company Cumulus' access to national radio ratings data on buying its local offerings, under a Second Circuit panel decision Monday upholding, and unpausing, a district court preliminary injunction, concluding that a 10-fold price increase for the standalone product likely amounted to anticompetitive coercion.

  • July 13, 2026

    SC City Urges Justices To Skip Beach-Gear Rental Case

    The city of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is opposing a bid from a beach equipment rental company asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its challenge to city ordinances it says violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

  • July 13, 2026

    7th Circ. Won't Reopen White Infosys Workers' Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit refused Monday to revive a lawsuit alleging Infosys Technologies exhibited systemic bias against workers who weren't of South Asian descent, finding no issue with the trial court's rejection of an expert who admitted he lacked experience with the name-recognition methodology he used.

  • July 13, 2026

    NJ Justices Revamp Test For Certain Zoning Variances

    The New Jersey Supreme Court revised a decades-old legal test governing use variances for "inherently beneficial" projects, ruling Monday that applicants must show that a proposed development will not substantially impair a municipality's zoning plan before a zoning board balances the project's public benefits against its downsides.

  • July 13, 2026

    GOP States Back Bid To Restore Voter Database Expansion

    A group of Republican-led states is calling on the D.C. Circuit to stay a lower court decision vacating the Trump administration's changes to a database used to verify voters' citizenship or immigration statuses, saying that a number of state laws cannot be executed if Social Security number searches are not allowed.

  • July 13, 2026

    Software Co.'s Lack Of 'Diligence' Dooms Late TM Suit Update

    A North Carolina federal judge has faulted a software company's "lack of diligence" in submitting proper paperwork to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and notifying the court its trademark was canceled as the judge denied the company's request to amend its lawsuit against a European rival.

  • July 13, 2026

    J&J Asks 3rd Circ. To Block Return Of Ex-Worker's Fee Claims

    Johnson & Johnson has asked the Third Circuit to keep dismissed excessive fee claims out of a proposed class action alleging the company charged employees too much for a prescription drug benefits program, arguing that the lower court correctly tossed that portion of the suit for lack of standing.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Rejects Bid To End NYC's Congestion Pricing

    The Second Circuit on Monday upheld New York City's congestion pricing, rejecting two suburban counties' claims that Manhattan's congestion pricing tolls are discriminatory and unconstitutionally restrict motorists' right to travel.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

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    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

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    Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: IPR And The Limits Of Retroactivity

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    The Federal Circuit recently ruled in Implicit v. Sonos that even though the clever retroactive correction of two invalidated patents theoretically should have changed the outcome of the inter partes review, the patentee had forfeited the right to rely on the correction — which is interesting for several reasons, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • Managing Tort Risk After Justices' War Zone Immunity Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hencely v. Fluor changes the tort landscape for battlefield contractors, whose liability for employee injury will now turn on compliance with battlefield directives — a question that will require discovery into highly sensitive details of combat operations and military decision-making, says Warren Bianchi at Fluet.

  • What Mass. Ruling Clarifies About Whistleblower Protections

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    A Massachusetts appellate court's recent decision in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College, finding that an employee retained whistleblower protections despite his reporting responsibilities and possible contribution to the compliance failure, requires employers to distinguish between performance-based decisions and their response to protected reporting, say attorneys at Smith Kane.

  • AG Watch: Texas Charts A Course On Investigative Authority

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    The Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Texas v. PFLAG affirmed, and arguably expanded, the Texas attorney general's civil investigative demand authority, providing a road map that other courts evaluating state attorney general CIDs may find instructive, amid a lack of precedent, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    From causation standards in first-party property claims, to the scope of statutory bad faith liability, to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in underinsured motorist disputes, three recent cases illustrate how Pennsylvania courts continued to refine the boundaries of coverage and dispute resolution, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Building A Persecution Case After Justices' Asylum Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi raises the bar for overturning agency findings in federal court, changing how practitioners handling asylum and removal defense cases need to think about building a factual record and formulating arguments on appeal, say attorneys at Lai & Turner and Farzaneh Law.

  • High Court 'Skinny Label' Case Will Matter To Tech Litigators

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    Hikma v. Amarin, set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, has potential to affect not just generic drug label-based evidence in patent cases, but also how technology inducement cases are presented and proven, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

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