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Appellate
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May 02, 2024
'We're Not All Innocent': 6th Circ. Tackles Whitmer Kidnap Case
A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday questioned prosecutors who convicted two men of plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor who argue they should have been able to show jurors more evidence to support their entrapment defense, with one judge saying there's a gray area between being "innocent" and being "predisposed" to commit a crime.
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May 02, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives Axed Suit Tied To Amazon Patent Program
The Federal Circuit ruled Thursday 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, rejecting a claim that the ruling will "open the floodgates" to such cases.
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May 02, 2024
TikTok, Users Push 9th Circ. To Keep Block On Montana Ban
TikTok and its users are hitting back at Montana's bid to convince the Ninth Circuit to unblock a new law that would ban the social media app in the state, arguing that the state's position that the statute is a consumer protection measure that regulates conduct and not constitutionally protected speech is "premised on fiction."
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May 02, 2024
Conn. Venue Did Not Taint Malware Conviction, 2nd Circ. Says
The Second Circuit on Thursday upheld a Russian citizen's conviction for his role in supporting hackers to infect hundreds of thousands of computers with malware, saying the government provided sufficient evidence while also rejecting his argument that the Connecticut federal district court was the wrong venue for the matter.
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May 02, 2024
Ethics, Military Orgs. Back Review Of Judge's Non-Recusal
An ethics institute at the University of Pennsylvania and a military justice organization told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that a D.C. Circuit judge deprived a former al-Qaida member of a fair hearing when the judge did not recuse himself from the Guantanamo detainee's appeal.
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May 02, 2024
Attys Due For Spam Suit Sanction, But Not $750K, Judges Say
Class counsel's misconduct in helping instigate a spam text suit against stock-trading app Robinhood Financial LLC warranted sanctions, a Washington state appeals court panel ruled Thursday, but the judges said the $750,000 penalty went over the top in deterring the bad behavior.
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May 02, 2024
No Damages For Native Americans In State Prison
A group of Native Americans is not entitled to millions in compensation for wrongful prosecution and incarceration in state prison, a Federal Circuit panel said, finding that the group's arguments that provisions of two 19th century self-government rights' treaties as "money-mandating" are unpersuasive.
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May 02, 2024
Patent Board Rulings Send $3.3M Judgment Up In Flames
The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating three networking patents that NetScout had been found to infringe, and then held that the holding wipes out a $3.3 million judgment against the company, because it was not yet final.
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May 02, 2024
Allstate Secures Win In Untimely Ga. Storm Damage Dispute
The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's grant of a directed verdict in favor of Allstate in a dispute brought by two homeowners who claimed the insurer owed over $430,000 after it failed to cover all sums they believed were owed for storm damage.
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May 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Shuts Down Pa.'s Challenge To EPA Ozone Plan
The Third Circuit on Thursday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air emissions plan for coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania, which the state and a company had argued was illegally imposed.
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May 02, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms Kirsch Research's Roofing Patent Loss
The Federal Circuit has backed a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that tossed all claims in a roofing patent owned by Kirsch Research and Development LLC, agreeing that it shouldn't have received patent protection in the first place.
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May 02, 2024
Ex-Yukos Shareholders Look To Nix $50B Enforcement Appeal
Former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co. on Wednesday urged the D.C. Circuit not to disturb a ruling nixing Russia's motion to toss a long-running case to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards against it, arguing that the Kremlin has already exhausted its options to try to dodge the awards.
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May 02, 2024
Kind Keeps Win At 2nd Circ. In MDL Over 'All Natural' Labeling
The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a summary judgment for Kind LLC against a group of buyers who said the company misled consumers by labeling products as "all natural," saying the plaintiffs failed to establish through evidence how a reasonable buyer would understand the term.
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May 02, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses NLRB Suit Against SpaceX Amid New Appeal
A Fifth Circuit panel on Thursday paused an ongoing National Labor Relations Board suit against SpaceX to consider the company's challenge to what it calls the "effective" denial of its bid to block a suit by an agency it claims is unconstitutional.
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May 02, 2024
6th Circ. Appears Reluctant To Kick 401(k) Suit To Arbitration
A Sixth Circuit panel seemed likely Thursday to deny two auto part companies' bid to compel arbitration of a lawsuit from workers who say their retirement savings were mismanaged, though the judges appeared divided on the broader question of whether retirement plans may force planwide claims into individual arbitration.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Lets Georgia Island Dock Lawsuit Proceed
A Georgia conservation group can resume its challenge to federal approval of a private pier on Cumberland Island after a divided Eleventh Circuit panel said regulators could conduct a more rigorous environmental review even though the dock was already built.
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May 02, 2024
Calif. Justices To Review Gilead's HIV Drug Negligence Fight
The California Supreme Court has granted Gilead Sciences Inc.'s request to review an appellate court's holding that the drugmaker must face claims it held back a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on an older medication.
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May 02, 2024
Immigrant Bond Co. Buyer Wants In On $811M Fine Appeal
Libre Immigration Services has moved to intervene at the Fourth Circuit to fight an $811 million judgment against companies it recently acquired that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued over abusive immigrant bonding practices.
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May 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Reopens Chinese Tech Worker's Promotion Bias Suit
The Third Circuit revived a Chinese software engineer's lawsuit Thursday alleging he was denied a promotion and fired by a tax technology company because he complained about racist comments he faced, ruling a lower court evaluated the worker's claims too narrowly.
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May 02, 2024
Kushner-Owned Co. Owes $15M For Scrapped Apartment Deal
A New Jersey appeals panel has ordered a company owned by Kushner Cos. LLC to pay $15 million to real estate sellers in a $186 million deal that fell apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 02, 2024
2nd Circ. Skeptical About Ex-TD Bank Manager's Bias Suit
The Second Circuit appeared unwilling Thursday to wipe out TD Bank's win over a former manager's suit alleging he was ousted because he asked for parental leave and had anxiety, with an appellate panel seeming unconvinced that the bank's claim that unethical conduct got him fired was dishonest.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Rules Tribal Co. Is Not Immune In Trade Secrets Suit
The Eleventh Circuit has revived a tribal-owned defense contractor's suit against another tribal-owned competitor and a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets, finding the competitor agreed to federal court jurisdiction when it participated in the bidding process for work on a missile detection system.
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May 02, 2024
Colo. Panel Says COVID Can Trigger Workers' Compensation
A Colorado appellate court panel on Thursday ruled for the first time that COVID-19 can be considered an "occupational disease" under the state's workers' compensation law and affirmed the award of benefits to a woman whose husband died of the novel coronavirus while working at a skilled nursing facility.
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May 02, 2024
Split Conn. Supreme Court Says No To 'Ratio' Utility Bills
In a rare 4-3 opinion, the Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a corporate landlord cannot use a ratio utility billing system to divide monthly costs among units not equipped with precise individual meters, stressing a legislative policy of protecting tenants from fluctuating fees beyond their immediate control.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Urged To Clear Final Hurdle To Interstate Water Deal
As the finish line comes into view in Georgia and Alabama's decadeslong fight over water rights, the Peach State, the federal government and a host of local water providers are urging the Eleventh Circuit to reject a bid by environmental groups to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management proposal for the Apalachicola watershed.
Expert Analysis
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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UK Court Ruling Reinforces CMA's Info-Gathering Powers
An English appeals court's recent decision in the BMW and Volkswagen antitrust cases affirmed that the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority can request information from entities outside the U.K., reinstating an important implement in the CMA's investigative toolkit, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Fed. Circ. In Jan.: One Word Can Affect Claim Construction
The Federal Circuit's recent Pacific Biosciences v. Personal Genomics decision highlights how even construction of a simple term can be dispositive, and thus disputed, in view of the specific context provided by the surrounding claim language, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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1869 Case May Pave Off-Ramp For Justices In Trump DQ Fight
In deciding whether former President Donald Trump is disqualified from Colorado's Republican primary ballots, the U.S. Supreme Court could rely on due process principles articulated in a Reconstruction-era case to avert a chaotic or undemocratic outcome, says Gordon Renneisen at Cornerstone Law Group.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.
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New Strain Of Web Tracking Suits Pose Risks For Retailers
Amid an ongoing surge of California state and federal lawsuits that are using novel theories to allege companies used certain recording technologies to illegally track website users, retailers should take steps to develop a potential argument that customers consented to any alleged uses of these devices, say attorneys at Benesch.
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The Questions Around Prometheum's SEC-Compliant Strategy
While the rest of the crypto industry has been engaged in a long-running battle to escape the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's jurisdiction, a once-obscure startup called Prometheum has instead embraced the SEC's view to become the first crypto special-purpose broker-dealer, but it's unclear whether it can turn its favored status into a workable business, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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Strict Duty To Indemnify Ruling Bucks Recent Trend
A South Carolina federal court's recent decision that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide an insurer's duty to indemnify prior to the finding of insured liability sharply diverges from the more nuanced or multipronged standards established by multiple circuit courts, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.
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AI Takes Transformers Beyond Robots In Disguise
At the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law, the shape-shifting models known as transformers raise the question of whether using copyrighted materials to train such models constitutes a transformative use, says Sean Li at Benesch.
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Black-Led VC Fund Case Could Hinge On Nature Of Grants
Organizations whose missions involve any manner of race-conscious funding should closely monitor arguments this week in American Alliance v. Fearless Fund, a case filed against a grant program that seeks to address the gap in venture capital funding for Black women-led businesses, which will examine whether grants are charitable under Civil Rights Act Section 1981 liability, say Kali Schellenberg and John Stapleton at LeVan Stapleton, and Kenneth Trujillo at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.
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Ex-OpenSea Staffer Case May Clarify When Info Is Property
In considering the appeal of a former OpenSea manager’s wire fraud conviction in U.S. v. Chastain, the Second Circuit may soon provide guidance about whether economic information is traditional property in certain insider trading prosecutions — a theory of fraud that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly narrowed, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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NC TikTok Order Holds Lessons On Handling State AG Probes
Earlier this month, a North Carolina appeals court compelled TikTok to give the state attorney general information relating to 98,000 recorded Zoom meetings, reminding companies that successful civil litigation strategies may have the opposite effect in the state or regulatory investigation context, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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CFPB's Proposed Overdraft Rule Evokes A Dickensian Tale
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new proposed rule, declaring overdraft credit to be under Truth In Lending Act protection, creates tension between vigorous agency action and judicial concerns about administrative overreach that calls to mind Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," say Eric Mogilnicki and David Stein at Covington.