Appellate

  • January 26, 2026

    Medtronic Investors Ask 8th Circ. To Revive Insulin Pump Suit

    Investors have asked the Eighth Circuit to revive a securities class action against medical device manufacturer Medtronic, arguing that a Minnesota federal court wrongly dismissed the case in October for failure to state a claim.

  • January 26, 2026

    10th Circ. Affirms $17M Atty Fee In Gas Well Royalty Case

    On the third go around in the Tenth Circuit, a class led by Chieftain Royalty Co. on Monday had its $17.3 million attorney fee award unanimously affirmed for a settlement resolving a gas well royalty dispute, despite objections from two class members.

  • January 26, 2026

    Long Island Town Says Cannabis Law Doesn't Preempt Zoning

    A Long Island town has told a New York intermediate appellate court that the state's cannabis law cannot preempt localities from enforcing their zoning policies when it comes to allowing where marijuana stores can be located.

  • January 26, 2026

    Chamber Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Eye Venue In Comcast Case

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing the full Federal Circuit to grant Comcast's request for review of a panel's denial of its attempt to transfer a patent infringement suit from Texas to Pennsylvania, while the patent owner says the panel decision should stay intact.

  • January 26, 2026

    2 GOP Lawmakers Urge Justices To End Birthright Citizenship

    A pair of Republican lawmakers is backing President Donald Trump's push for the U.S. Supreme Court to end birthright citizenship, filing an amicus brief Friday claiming that the Fourteenth Amendment doesn't automatically grant citizenship to all children born on U.S. soil.

  • January 26, 2026

    IP Notebook: Nutcracker Suit, Copyright Termination, Playboy

    This edition of Law360's overview of emerging copyright and trademark trends delves into a Fifth Circuit decision that tests the territorial boundaries of copyright law, and a dispute over "stream-ripping" on YouTube that has artificial intelligence companies weighing in.

  • January 26, 2026

    Colo. High Court Says Xcel's Immunity Bid Went Too Far

    A Colorado regulatory agency lacked the authority to approve a tariff limiting Xcel Energy's liability from a man's personal injury claim, the Colorado Supreme Court held Monday in a ruling that also rejected an appellate court's finding that the tariff does not extend to non-Xcel customers.

  • January 26, 2026

    8th Circ. Rejects DOJ Bid For Minn. Church Protest Warrants

    An Eighth Circuit panel denied the Trump administration's push to secure arrest warrants for five people it accused of unlawfully disrupting a church service to protest immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis after a federal judge refused to issue them.

  • January 26, 2026

    Colorado High Court Narrows Involuntary Intoxication Defense

    A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that if a defendant requests an involuntary intoxication defense in a criminal case, the trial court does not need to consider the possible presence of multiple intoxicants — such as a joint laced with another substance — to deny the defense, only that a defendant knowingly ingested one.

  • January 26, 2026

    Minnesota Appeals Court Won't Toss Climate Change Suit

    A Minnesota appeals court on Monday affirmed a lower court's decision not to toss the state's lawsuit alleging that Exxon Mobil Corp., Koch Industries Inc. and the American Petroleum Institute concealed the climate change risks of fossil fuels.

  • January 26, 2026

    Justices' FCC Review Could Reshape IRS Penalty Disputes

    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming review of a pair of cases questioning the validity of the Federal Communications Commission's penalty authority could have ripple effects that further delineate the Internal Revenue Service's authority to impose penalties.

  • January 26, 2026

    T-Mobile, Sprint Lose Bid To Revive FCC Fines Challenge

    T-Mobile and Sprint have failed to persuade the D.C. Circuit to reconsider their challenge to $92 million in Federal Communications Commission fines over the carriers' past sale of consumers' location data. 

  • January 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Pauses Discovery Order In UFC Wage Suits

    A Ninth Circuit panel temporarily paused a Nevada federal court's discovery order in wage suppression lawsuits against UFC after the mixed martial arts organization said the order violated attorney-client privilege and the First Amendment.

  • January 26, 2026

    3rd Circ. Finds NJ Officials Shielded From COVID Deaths Suit

    A proposed class action on behalf of the families of roughly 10,000 nursing home residents who died early in the COVID-19 pandemic cannot proceed against New Jersey officials over their response, the Third Circuit has ruled, finding the officials are protected through qualified immunity.

  • January 26, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs MetLife's Death Benefits Denial

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld MetLife's denial of accidental death benefits to a federal government worker who died days after she broke her leg and ankle exiting a vehicle, finding the insurer's exercise of an exclusion for contributing underlying physical illnesses wasn't arbitrary or capricious.

  • January 26, 2026

    DOJ Urges 6th Circ. To Uphold IRS Jet Fee Excise Tax

    A fractional aircraft ownership company is liable for federal excise taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice told the Sixth Circuit, arguing that the company failed to establish any statutory or equitable defense while urging the appellate judges to affirm a lower court's ruling.

  • January 26, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revisit 'More Than An Athlete' TM Suit

    The Federal Circuit on Monday declined to reconsider its decision affirming a trademark tribunal's finding that NBA star LeBron James and his company own the rights to the phrase "More Than An Athlete."

  • January 26, 2026

    Fla. Panel Sides With State Over Signatures For Pot Initiative

    A Florida state appeals court sided with officials over invalidating more than 70,000 signatures collected for a potential ballot initiative that would legalize recreational cannabis in the Sunshine State, saying emailed directives handed down to county election supervisors regarding petition verification weren't unlawful. 

  • January 26, 2026

    NJ Court Says Security Co.'s Harassment Suit Needs 2nd Look

    A New Jersey state appeals panel ruled Monday that despite a valid arbitration pact, a worker who said security logistics company Brink's failed to take action when colleagues called her gendered slurs may still be entitled to her day in court.

  • January 26, 2026

    Bankrupt Biz Can't Avoid Pension Obligations, 4th Circ. Says

    A defunct construction business owes the International Painters and Allied Trades Industry Pension Fund about $1.6 million, a Fourth Circuit panel said Monday, affirming a lower court's decision that the fund's lawsuit seeking payment was filed on time.

  • January 26, 2026

    Disarming Cannabis Users Is Unconstitutional, Justices Told

    A Texas man charged with illegally possessing a gun as a regular cannabis user told the U.S. Supreme Court that the government had no more right to disarm him than it had to restrict the gun use of people who drank on the weekends.

  • January 26, 2026

    Full 3rd Circ. Passes On Alina Habba DQ Challenge

    The Third Circuit on Monday declined to reconsider its decision blocking Alina Habba from serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, denying the Justice Department's petition for rehearing and leaving intact a decision that sharply curtailed the government's use of creative maneuvers to install interim federal prosecutors.

  • January 26, 2026

    3rd Circ. Won't Revive Challenge To Fund For Bilked Clients

    A suspended attorney who was previously disbarred and jailed for a job-selling scheme within the Pennsylvania auditor general's office in the 1980s can't sue a state fund for compensating his clients after he allegedly siphoned money from their trust account, the Third Circuit ruled Monday.

  • January 26, 2026

    AI Image Is Not Copyrightable, Gov't Tells High Court

    The U.S. government has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal from a computer scientist over whether an image created by an artificial intelligence system he developed can qualify for copyright protection, arguing that existing law clearly limits copyrights to human authors.

  • January 26, 2026

    Radio Co. Says Letting Nielsen Resume Data Tying Hurts Biz

    Cumulus Media has urged the Second Circuit not to lift a New York federal judge's order blocking Nielsen from conditioning access to its nationwide radio ratings data on the purchase of local market data while the ratings company appeals the ruling.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know As Rulings Limit NLRB's Expanded Remedies

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    Two recent appellate decisions strongly rebuke the National Labor Relations Board's expansion of remedies beyond reinstatement and back pay under Thryv, which compensated employees for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms, signaling increased judicial skepticism toward the board's broadened remedial authority, says Shay Billington at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

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    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Workers' Comp Ruling May Expand Ohio Employer Liability

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    The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in State ex rel. Berry v. Industrial Commission marks a shift in Ohio workers' compensation law by reducing judicial deference to the Industrial Commission's interpretations of the state's specific safety requirements and potentially expanding employer exposure, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • 10th Circ. Debtor Ruling May Expand Wire Fraud Law Scope

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Baker decision, holding that federal fraud law can reach deceptive schemes designed to prevent a creditor from collecting on a debt, may represent an expansive new theory of wire fraud — even as the ruling reaffirmed the requirements of the interstate commerce element, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

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    Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

  • Series

    My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

  • Justices' Ruling Will Ease Foreign Arbitral Award Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization suggests that U.S. courts can constitutionally decide whether to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards in accordance with U.S. treaty obligations, regardless of the award debtor's connections to the U.S., says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

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    A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How To Prepare If Justices Curb Gov't Contractor Immunity

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    Given the very real possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will determine in GEO v. Menocal that government contractors do not have collateral immunity, contractors should prepare by building the costs of potential litigation, from discovery through trial, into their contracts and considering other pathways to interlocutory appeals, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • What To Mull After 9th Circ. Ruling On NLRB Constitutionality

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    The Ninth Circuit recently rejected three constitutional attacks on the National Labor Relations Board in NLRB v. North Mountain Foothills Apartments, leaving open a debate about what remedies the NLRB can award employees and creating a circuit split that could foretell a U.S. Supreme Court resolution, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

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    Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

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