Appellate

  • December 10, 2025

    Ex-Software CEO Asks Delaware Justices To Revive $20M Claim

    The former CEO of a software company asked a Delaware Supreme Court panel on Wednesday to revive his $20 million claim against London investment firm 3i Group PLC, arguing that a lower court misread Texas venue rulings and Delaware's tolling law.

  • December 10, 2025

    High Court Mulls IQ Standards In Death Penalty Cases

    Alabama on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to let the state execute a man whose IQ test scores placed him just above the state's cutoff for intellectual disability — a designation that would forbid his execution as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

  • December 10, 2025

    Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

    A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

  • December 10, 2025

    Miami Condo Owners Demand Developer Repair Damages

    The condominium owner holdouts who successfully got a Florida appeals court to block the redevelopment of their waterfront building asked a judge Wednesday to compel the developer that controls the majority of units to repair the building, which they said has been stripped while litigation was pending.

  • December 10, 2025

    2nd Circ. Seems Iffy On Salvation For 'Made In Heaven' IP Row

    A Second Circuit panel seemed skeptical Wednesday of an Italian prop and set designer's challenge to a lower court's dismissal of his infringement case against artist Jeff Koons over his "Made in Heaven" series, as the judges appeared to doubt arguments that he didn't bring the suit too late.

  • December 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Chides US For Lacking Merits In Distilling Ban Case

    A Sixth Circuit judge criticized the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday for refusing to address the merits of a suit challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. tax code's ban on home distilling, saying the government cannot decide what the appellate court reviews.

  • December 10, 2025

    Mich. Justices Ask If Tenant's Age Plays Into Fall Liability

    Michigan Supreme Court justices during Wednesday oral arguments questioned whether residences for elderly and disabled tenants may have a stricter obligation to maintain their common areas in a case where a woman says her complex and a contractor should be liable for her fall in a parking lot.

  • December 10, 2025

    Pennsylvania Panel Backs $931K Fine For Investment Adviser

    A Pennsylvania appellate panel upheld a $931,000 fine for a Gladwyne, Pennsylvania-based investment adviser for selling unregistered securities, agreeing with a Department of Banking and Securities finding that the investments in "merchant cash advance" businesses were not federal securities exempt from the state Securities Act.

  • December 10, 2025

    DOJ Seeks Fairness Review From High Court In Tax Dispute

    A property owner is appropriately compensated if given surplus proceeds from a government sale of their property for more than the owner owed, provided the sale was conducted fairly, the federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • December 10, 2025

    Teva Pulls 200 Patents From Orange Book Amid FTC Probe

    The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday an investigation it conducted into Teva Pharmaceuticals prompted the company to remove over 200 patents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book.

  • December 10, 2025

    4th Circ. Hints $166M Fight​​​​​​​ Could Create Circuit Split

    In questioning counsel for an insolvent Dutch insurance company trying to confirm a $166 million arbitral award against convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, two Fourth Circuit judges quipped the insurer likely wants to avoid a circuit split over interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act and keep the case out of the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • December 10, 2025

    Mont. Youths Say State, Gov. Violated High Court Enviro Ruling

    A group of young Montanans is asking the state Supreme Court to decide whether two laws that weaken environmental policies in the state violate their constitutional right to "clean and healthful" surroundings.

  • December 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Upholds Tax Conviction Of DHS Special Agent

    A jury relied on enough evidence to convict a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent of tax crimes related to his secret dealings with drug dealers, the Seventh Circuit said Wednesday, rejecting his claim that proof of his corruption was insufficient.

  • December 10, 2025

    Gov't Urges Combining Verizon, AT&T Cases Over FCC Fines

    The Federal Communications Commission has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pair Verizon's appeal of a $46 million FCC penalty with a similar case involving AT&T that centers on the FCC's ability to issue fines without a jury trial.

  • December 10, 2025

    Courts Let Military Ban Trans, HIV-Positive Troops For Now

    Two federal appellate courts have cleared the federal government to enforce a pair of controversial policies restricting transgender and HIV-positive people from serving in the military, with each lifting trial court blockades on the rules while litigation challenging them plays out.

  • December 10, 2025

    Apple Tells Fed. Circ. ITC Move Boosts Watch Case Appeal

    Apple Inc. has told the Federal Circuit that the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision last month to review whether a redesigned Apple Watch infringes Masimo Corp. patents "underscores the need" for the appeals court to reverse the ITC's original infringement finding.

  • December 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Locks In 'Made In USA' False Ad Ruling

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $2.1 million disgorgement award to a Maryland caulking-gun manufacturer that accused a New Jersey competitor of falsely advertising its products as American-made when they were imported from Taiwan, in violation of the Lanham Act and state law.

  • December 10, 2025

    Court Asks If Morgan Stanley Liable In Alleged $250M Scheme

    A Texas appellate court pressed a company to explain how it seeks to hold Morgan Stanley accountable for an executive's alleged kickback scheme involving $250 million in mineral interests, asking Wednesday how the bank bears responsibility if it didn't take part in the underlying contract.

  • December 10, 2025

    Judge Denies Bid To Halt Discovery In Refugee Ban Suit

    A Washington federal judge has denied the Trump administration's request to halt discovery in a lawsuit challenging its suspension of refugee admissions and resettlement funding ahead of a forthcoming Ninth Circuit ruling on court orders that temporarily blocked its actions.

  • December 10, 2025

    UScellular Can't Call 'Checkmate' In Fraud Suit, Justices Told

    Two whistleblowers told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that UScellular cannot escape claims of spectrum auction fraud by arguing they had "pleaded themselves out of court" at an earlier stage of the False Claims Act suit.

  • December 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Mulls NLRB's Injunction Burden After Justices' Tweak

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday probed a judge's inference that Michigan hospital workers would suffer without an order making their employer resume dealing with their union in the circuit's first National Labor Relations Board injunction case since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the courts' test last year.

  • December 10, 2025

    2nd Circ. Urged To Nix Yacht, $37M Escrow From Guo Ch. 11

    The daughter of Chinese exile Miles Guo on Wednesday asked the Second Circuit to reverse bankruptcy and district court decisions awarding a yacht and a $37 million support account to her father's Chapter 11 estate, saying those courts improperly relied upon a state court decision when issuing quick wins.

  • December 10, 2025

    Skyworks Fights Challenge To USPTO Policies At Fed. Circ.

    Skyworks Solutions is pushing the Federal Circuit to ignore a Chinese company's challenge to new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies on when patent reviews can be denied, saying the dispute should be tossed the same as other similar challenges.

  • December 10, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Undo Atty Docs Disclosure In Peru Case

    Florida attorneys representing more than 1,000 Peruvian lead refinery workers in a toxic exposure action urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to overturn an order requiring the disclosure of documents related to former cocounsel in a foreign criminal proceeding, saying the files are protected by attorney-client privilege. 

  • December 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Wrestles With Future Of Title IX Compliance

    A case regarding women's sports at the University of Kentucky ballooned into a broader Title IX debate Wednesday as a Sixth Circuit panel examined whether to adjust how courts decide whether schools are complying with the landmark civil rights law.

Expert Analysis

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The third quarter of 2025 was another eventful quarter for total loss valuation class actions, with a new circuit split developing courtesy of the Sixth Circuit, while insurers continued to see negative results in cost-of-insurance class actions, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Strategic Use Of Motions In Limine In Employment Cases

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Because motions in limine can shape the course of employment litigation and ensure that juries decide cases on admissible, relevant evidence, understanding their strategic use is essential to effective advocacy and case management at trial, says Sara Lewenstein at Nilan Johnson.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Compassionate Release Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Fernandez v. U.S. next week about the overlap between motions to vacate and compassionate release, and its ultimate decision could ultimately limit or expand judicial discretion in sentencing, says Zachary Newland at Evergreen Attorneys.

  • 2nd Circ. Peloton Ruling Emphasizes Disclosure Context

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision to revive shareholders’ suit alleging that Peloton made materially misleading statements makes clear that public companies must continually review risk disclosures to determine if previous hypotheticals have materialized, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • Lessons From 7th Circ. Decision Affirming $183M FCA Verdict

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    The Seventh Circuit's decision to uphold a $183 million False Claims Act award against Eli Lilly engages substantively with recurring materiality and scienter questions and provides insights into appellate review of complex trial court judgments, say Ellen London at London & Naor, Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz and Kimberly Friday at Osborn Maledon.

  • How Calif. High Court Is Rethinking Forum Selection Clauses

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    Two recent cases before the California Supreme Court show that the state is shifting toward greater enforcement of freely negotiated forum selection clauses between sophisticated parties, so litigators need to revisit old assumptions about the breadth of California's public policy exception, says Josh Patashnik at Perkins Coie.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • How 9th Circ. Ruling Deepens SEC Disgorgement Circuit Split

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sripetch creates opposing disgorgement rules in the two circuits where the SEC brings a large proportion of enforcement actions — the Second and Ninth — and increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Calif. Justices Continued Anti-Arbitration Trend This Term

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    In the 2024-2025 term, the California Supreme Court justices continued to narrow arbitration's reach under state law, despite state courts' extreme caseload backlog and even as they embraced contractual autonomy in other contexts, says Josephine Petrick at The Norton Law Firm.

  • DC Circuit Charts Path On FERC Orders In Loper Bright Era

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Solar Energy Industries Association v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upholding the agency's assessment of a power production facility's output, laid out an approach for addressing statutory interpretation in FERC appeals in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's game-changing Loper Bright decision, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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