Appellate

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Urged To Reject Bid Disputing IRS Crypto Summons

    The U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case of a bitcoin investor who claimed the IRS violated his privacy when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange, the government argued, saying the case is a poor vehicle for addressing concerns about digital-era transactions.

  • June 02, 2025

    Man Sentenced To 50-To-Life As Teen Wins Bid For Review

    A California appellate panel has revived a man's bid to be resentenced for a murder he committed as a teenager, ruling that his 50-years-to-life sentence is effectively the same as life without parole and qualifies for review under a state law aimed at juvenile offenders.

  • June 02, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Let Skier Enforce Pulled Settlement Offer

    The Second Circuit isn't letting an injured skier enforce a settlement he attempted to accept just before a jury sided with the ski resort he was suing, with the appellate court finding Friday that his positions are inconsistent and that allowing enforcement would be unfair.

  • June 02, 2025

    Minn. Justices Prod Humana On Pharmacy Benefit Sourcing

    Minnesota Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of a Humana subsidiary's arguments that sales of pharmacy benefit services attributed to the state should be sourced to a Humana unit based in Wisconsin.

  • June 02, 2025

    Judge Out Of Line In Undoing $1M LSD Verdict, 5th Circ. Told

    A man who became a quadriplegic after ingesting LSD told the Fifth Circuit that a Houston judge didn't have the authority to undo a jury's decision putting an insurance company on the hook for his $1 million injury settlement.

  • June 02, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Religious Bias Suit Over Fire Dept. Beard Ban

    The Third Circuit ruled that Atlantic City, New Jersey, may have been able to accommodate a fire department worker who wanted to grow a beard under his Christian beliefs, partially reinstating the worker's suit claiming he was illegally denied a carveout to the grooming policy.

  • June 02, 2025

    Report Finds Del. Court Jumbo Fees Rival Federal System

    Delaware's corporation law courts have overshadowed the entire federal court system for some class attorney fees based on multiples of usual rate benchmarks, according to two Stanford Law School researchers whose findings have already caught the attention of a top state lawmaker.

  • June 02, 2025

    Third Round Of Fixes Sought In Botched Calif. Bar Exam

    The California state bar's committee of bar examiners has approved two additional remedies in an effort to help applicants who failed the troubled February exam, including asking the state Supreme Court to approve a further scoring adjustment that would bring the passing rate up to about 63%.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Want Gov't View On Duke Energy Monopoly Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General on Monday to provide the government's view on a ruling that revived antitrust claims accusing Duke Energy of squeezing a rival out of the power market in North Carolina.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Appeals Court To Review Arbitration Of Firm Fee Fight

    The Georgia state court of appeals on Monday agreed to consider whether a law firm's lawsuit against its former client over legal fees should move forward in the trial court that ordered the case to arbitration, with both sides accusing the other of "gamesmanship."

  • June 02, 2025

    Judicial Clerk Boycott May Be Unethical, Circ. Judge Says

    A North Dakota federal judge's pledge not to hire law clerks from Columbia University because of the school's response to campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza may "cross an important line," the Eighth Circuit's chief judge said, even as he dismissed an ethics complaint stemming from the boycott.

  • June 02, 2025

    Womble Bond Atty Asks 4th Circ. To Undo Contempt Order

    A series of federal court errors led to a Womble Bond Dickinson partner being wrongly held in contempt over a $28 million trademark dispute between a Dutch technology company and its former U.S. partner, the lawyer told the Fourth Circuit in a brief Friday, urging the appeals panel to reverse the order.

  • June 02, 2025

    FERC 'Never' Considered Costs Of NW Pipeline, 5th Circ. Told

    The state of Washington told a Fifth Circuit panel Monday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission " never rationally considered what the true costs" were for a TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest.

  • June 02, 2025

    1st Circ. Partially Revives 'Varsity Blues' Conviction

    The First Circuit has reinstated one of the two convictions against a former University of Southern California coach in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case, saying a federal district court "did not explain" its decision to wipe out the entire verdict.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Take Ill. Rep.'s Case Over Extended Ballot Count

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a split Seventh Circuit panel's decision upholding the dismissal of an Illinois congressman's suit challenging the state's policy of counting ballots for up to 14 days after an election as long as they were postmarked or certified by Election Day.

  • June 02, 2025

    Schumer Pledges To Fight GOP's Limits On Court Power

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed to challenge a provision in House Republicans' budget reconciliation package that would curtail courts' ability to issue contempt citations.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Seek US Opinion In Jewish Texts Expropriation Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday requested the federal government to weigh in on a petition challenging a D.C. Circuit ruling concluding that federal courts do not have jurisdiction over a Jewish group's decades-old allegations that Russia is illegally holding on to its long-lost sacred texts.

  • June 02, 2025

    Jackson, Sotomayor Bristle As High Court Skips Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday to pass on a Black dancer's race discrimination case sparked objections from Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, who said the Fifth Circuit's conclusion that the performer filed suit too late was "patently erroneous."

  • June 02, 2025

    Supreme Court Asks US To Weigh In On Hertz's Ch. 11 Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court invited the solicitor general Monday to file a brief in car rental giant Hertz's challenge to a Third Circuit ruling that as a solvent debtor it owed noteholders $272 million in interest and fees when it emerged from Chapter 11.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Turn Away Constitutional Challenge To FINRA Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case calling into question the constitutionality of the in-house disciplinary process used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, rejecting an appeal by a broker-dealer facing expulsion from the industry.

  • June 02, 2025

    High Court To Review Soldier's Injury Claims Against Fluor

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a veteran's lawsuit against defense contractor Fluor Corp. over injuries sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, after a divided Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the former Army specialist's claims.

  • June 02, 2025

    High Court Skips AR-15 Ban Constitutionality For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to weigh in on the debate over whether AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles are protected under the Second Amendment or potentially subject to state bans because of their military-like capabilities.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices To Probe GEO's Immunity Claim In Forced Labor Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up GEO Group Inc.'s bid for review of a Tenth Circuit decision dismissing the private prison company's immediate appeal of an adverse immunity determination in a forced labor class action.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Ex-Temple Biz Dean's Fraud Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the fraud conviction of Moshe Porat, the former dean of the Temple University Fox School of Business, who was accused of falsely inflating the school's stats to boost its rankings in U.S. News & World Report.

  • June 02, 2025

    High Court Rejects Bard Patent Misuse Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it won't consider the Ninth Circuit's decision to revive a $53 million breach of contract suit C.R. Bard Inc. filed against Atrium Medical Corp. over patent royalties and patent misuse.

Expert Analysis

  • Corp. Transparency Act's Future Under Treasury's Bessent

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    The Corporate Transparency Act’s ultimate fate faced uncertain terms at the end of 2024, but new U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statements and actions so far demonstrate that he does not intend to ignore the law, though he may attempt to make modifications, say attorneys at Taylor English.

  • Serta Ruling Further Narrows Equitable Mootness In 5th Circ.

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    The Fifth's Circuit recent Serta bankruptcy decision represents a further hardening of its view of the equitable mootness doctrine, and may set up a U.S. Supreme Court review of the doctrine in the near future, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • Takeaways From Oral Argument In High Court Trademark Case

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    Unpacking oral arguments from Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers, which the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on this year, sheds light on the ways in which the decision could significantly affect trademark infringement plaintiffs' ability to receive monetary damages, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • 4 Potential Effects Of 3rd Circ.'s Coinbase Ruling

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    The Third Circuit's recent landmark decision in Coinbase v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the SEC's refusal to engage in rulemaking to clarify its stance on crypto enforcement was "insufficiently reasoned" could have wide-ranging impacts, including on other cases, legislation and even the SEC's reputation itself, says Daniel Payne at Cole-Frieman.

  • Disability Ruling Guides On Cases With Uncertain Causation

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    In Dime v. MetLife, a Washington federal court’s recent ruling in favor of a disability claimant instructs both claimants and insurers on the appropriate standard for establishing and making a disability determination when there is limited medical evidence explaining the disability’s cause, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis

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    Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Opinion

    New DOJ Leaders Should Curb Ill-Conceived Prosecutions

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    First-of-their-kind cases have seemingly led to a string of overly aggressive prosecutions in recent years, so newly sworn-in leaders of the U.S. Department of Justice should consider creating reporting channels to stop unwise prosecutions before they snowball, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • What Justices' FLSA Ruling Means For 2-Step Collective Cert.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in EMD Sales v. Carrera may have sounded the death knell for the decades-old two-step process to certify collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which could lead more circuits to require a preponderance of the evidence showing that members are similarly situated, says Steven Katz at Constangy.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach

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    Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

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