Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
May 13, 2024
FTC Can't Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal, DC Circ. Told
Meta Platforms Inc. told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the ability to unilaterally modify a $5 billion privacy settlement, contending that the courts are the ones responsible for enforcing the agreement.
-
May 13, 2024
SEC Tells 3rd Circ. Coinbase Can't Force Crypto Rulemaking
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told the Third Circuit that it already "reasonably explained" why it denied Coinbase's petition for crypto rulemaking and that it shouldn't have to retool its policy priorities just because crypto firms find it challenging to comply with existing laws.
-
May 13, 2024
Challenger Says Ga. Justice Is 'Working The Refs'
Georgia Supreme Court candidate John Barrow accused his incumbent opponent on Monday of "working the refs" and capitalizing on the prospect that Barrow could face discipline for running on a platform that is stridently in favor of abortion rights in his bid for a seat on the state's highest court.
-
May 13, 2024
Wall Fraud Conviction Affirmed Despite Juror-Prosecutor Tie
The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed the conviction of a Colorado man found to have siphoned online donations meant to fund a Southern border wall, saying the fact that a federal prosecutor had mentored a juror's daughter didn't warrant vacating the conviction.
-
May 13, 2024
'Grinch' Is Not A Protected Class, HHS Tells 4th Circ.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has urged the Fourth Circuit to reject a chemist's discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation claims, arguing that "Grinch" is not a protected class and federal law doesn't protect an individual "from not being well-liked in the workplace."
-
May 13, 2024
Fla. Court Upholds Apt. Complex's Win In Wrongful Death Suit
The mother of an autistic 6-year-old girl who drowned in a river near her Tampa, Florida, home can't sue the apartment complex for not putting up a fence, a state appeals court ruled, saying there was nothing unusually dangerous about that waterway.
-
May 13, 2024
6th Circ. Backs Toss Of Private Security Co.'s Stolen Info Suit
A Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has sided with a private security company accused of partnering with a similar business and stealing trade secrets so it could flourish while the other one wilted, saying the plaintiff failed to support its allegations.
-
May 13, 2024
Netflix Gets 10th Circ. To Take 2nd Look At 'Tiger King' Ruling
The Tenth Circuit on Monday agreed to revisit an appeal from Netflix Inc. regarding a copyright complaint about its docuseries "Tiger King," after filmmakers and others told the appeals court it had misapplied U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
-
May 13, 2024
Fed. Circ. Uses Rule 36 To Nix Centripetal Patent Appeals
A Federal Circuit panel decided Monday to quickly give a stamp of approval to a pair of administrative board rulings killing off two patents that were once at issue in a lawsuit involving cybersecurity software.
-
May 13, 2024
2nd Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Bystolic Antitrust Suit
The Second Circuit issued its first decision under the high court's Actavis "pay for delay" ruling on Monday, affirming the dismissal of a case alleging that an AbbVie predecessor delayed competition for its hypertension treatment Bystolic through deals with several generic makers.
-
May 13, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act An Overbroad Dragnet, 11th Circ. Told
Congress exceeded its authority in passing the Corporate Transparency Act, which prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to solicit personal information for law enforcement purposes from those that registered and owned state-registered entities, a small-business group told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.
-
May 13, 2024
New FCC Rules Preempt NY Broadband Price Cap, Prof Says
A Second Circuit ruling that revived New York's low-price broadband law in April should be reversed because the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision not to regulate rates for internet services preempts the Empire State's price cap, a law professor said Friday.
-
May 13, 2024
US Tells DC Circ. Ayahuasca Church's Settlement Inapt
Federal regulators are telling the D.C. Circuit to ignore a recent settlement that will allow a Phoenix-based church to continue using ayahuasca in its ceremonies, saying it has nothing to do with the Iowa-based ayahuasca church challenging the IRS's refusal to give it tax-exempt status.
-
May 13, 2024
E-Rate Requests Aren't FCA Claims, Law Group Tells Justices
The Washington Legal Foundation urged the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether reimbursement requests for the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are "claims" under the False Claims Act, arguing that a Seventh Circuit ruling that answered in the affirmative threatens wide-ranging consequences beyond the E-Rate program.
-
May 13, 2024
Airlines Ask 5th Circ. To Void DOT 'Junk Fees' Disclosure Rule
A lead lobbying group for major U.S. airlines has asked the Fifth Circuit to vacate a recent final rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying the agency overstepped with a needless rule that will only confuse consumers.
-
May 13, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Revive UBS Suit Over Disclosed Account Info
The Second Circuit declined Monday to revive a couple's suit accusing UBS of fraudulently flagging an account to the Internal Revenue Service, finding that any alleged harm resulting from an audit would have been caused by the agency itself.
-
May 13, 2024
Calif. Jury Awards Ex-UCLA Doctor $14M In 2nd Bias Trial
A California state jury awarded $14 million to a former UCLA oncologist and professor who said she was discriminated against and constructively discharged from her job due to her gender, four years after the state appeals court threw out a $13 million jury verdict from the first trial.
-
May 13, 2024
Assault Exclusion Dooms Restaurant's Coverage For Murder
An insurer doesn't have to indemnify a Detroit restaurant accused of contributing to the 2019 shooting death of a potential patron by failing to provide adequate security, the Sixth Circuit said.
-
May 13, 2024
NJ Justices Hold Contract Supersedes Real Estate Wage Law
The contract a real estate agent signed deeming him an independent contractor is enough to resolve his claims of improper wage deductions, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying that a state three-prong test doesn't need to apply.
-
May 13, 2024
EPA Wrongly Approved New Chevron Chemicals, Group Says
A Mississippi community group has asked the D.C. Circuit to revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization for Chevron Corp. to produce 18 new chemicals derived from plastic waste "despite their extreme health risks."
-
May 13, 2024
11th Circ. Says Ga. County's Trans Health Ban Violates Title VII
A split Eleventh Circuit panel upheld a win Monday for a transgender sheriff's deputy who challenged a Georgia county health plan's refusal to pay for gender-affirmation surgery, ruling the coverage exclusion violated federal anti-discrimination law.
-
May 13, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Kleinbard Bill Battle Starts May
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will weigh the spending powers of district attorneys in a Kleinbard LLC bill battle and whether an appeals court overstepped by greenlighting a hospital closure when the May argument lineup begins Tuesday.
-
May 13, 2024
Ex-Banker Tied To Murdaugh Says Juror Issue Merits Retrial
A former banker who was convicted of helping ex-attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh steal clients' money has urged the Fourth Circuit to give him a new trial, arguing two jurors were unconstitutionally removed.
-
May 13, 2024
Fla. Law Firms Get Settlement Share Dispute Revived
Two Florida law firms may have another shot at collecting some of the settlement proceeds in a former client's construction dispute after a Florida state appeals court reversed a lower court's dismissal of the firms' claims for improper venue.
-
May 13, 2024
Chevron Says $268K Fine For Fake News Clips Must Stand
Chevron on Friday urged the Ninth Circuit to summarily toss a Seattle attorney's appeal challenging an order that he pay $268,000 for filing a fake newspaper article as a court exhibit, saying the attorney is raising arguments that have already been rejected.
Expert Analysis
-
Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
-
What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Perspectives
Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision
In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law.
-
Opinion
The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.
-
Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
-
Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights
While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.
-
A 5th Circ. Lesson On Preserving Indemnification Rights
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Raymond James & Associates v. Jalbert offers an important lesson for creditors and parties to indemnification agreements: If a debtor has indemnified a creditor, the creditor should consider participating in the bankruptcy case to avoid being deemed to have forfeited its indemnification rights, say Dania Slim and Alana Lyman at Pillsbury.
-
ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws
A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
-
2nd Circ. Adviser Liability Ruling May Shape SEC Enforcement
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rashid, applying basic negligence principles to reverse a finding of investment adviser liability, provides a road map for future fraud enforcement proceedings, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
-
In Bribery Case, High Court's Past Is Probably Prologue
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Snyder v. U.S. on the issue of whether federal law criminalizes gratuities that are not tied to an explicit quid pro quo, and precedent strongly indicates the court will limit an expansive reading of the bribery statute, say attorneys Sami Azhari and Don Davidson.
-
Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
-
Direct Claims Ruling May Alter Gov't Ties To Software Firms
A recent Federal Circuit decision allowing a software developer to pursue legal action under the Contract Disputes Act could change the government's relationship with commercial software providers by permitting direct claims, even in third-party purchase situations, say Dan Ramish and Zach Prince at Haynes Boone.
-
Payment Provision Lessons From NJ Construction Ruling
A New Jersey appellate court's decision in Bil-Jim v. Wyncrest, holding that an American Institute of Architects contract was not an installment contract, highlights both the complexities of statute of limitations calculations and the significant consequences that can arise from minor differences in contract language, say Mitchell Taraschi and Zac Brower at Connell Foley.
-
The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28
Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.
-
SC Ruling Reinforces All Sums Coverage Trend
A South Carolina state court's recent ruling in Covil v. Pennsylvania National is the latest in a series of decisions, dating back to the 2016 New York Court of Appeals ruling in Viking Pump, that reject insurers' pro rata allocation argument, further supporting that all sums coverage is required whenever a loss could be covered under a policy in any other year, say Raymond Mascia and Thomas Dupont at Anderson Kill.