Appellate

  • February 04, 2026

    Calif. Panel Won't Publish Amazon Drivers Arbitration Ruling

    A California appeals court will not publish its decision that last-mile deliveries Amazon workers performed represented interstate commerce exempt from federal arbitration, turning down requests to publish the opinion.

  • February 03, 2026

    En Banc 5th Circ. Wipes Out Airline Fees Disclosure Rule

    The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday vacated a Biden-era rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, this time holding that the U.S. Department of Transportation's failure to properly consider public comments warrants doing away with the rule altogether.

  • February 03, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Questions Bid To Undo Google, Microsoft PTAB Win

    A Federal Circuit panel appeared unpersuaded Tuesday by an inventor's arguments that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should have ended reviews of computer-locating patents challenged by Google and Microsoft due to actions by LG in a related case, and that the board wrongly invalidated the patents.

  • February 03, 2026

    Goldstein Knew What Was On His Returns, Accountant Claims

    The top outside accountant handling tax returns for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein and his law firm said Tuesday that Goldstein wasn't forthcoming about his gambling records and that he firmly believed the former U.S. Supreme Court attorney knew what was in his allegedly false tax returns when they were filed.

  • February 03, 2026

    Boston IP Firm Sees Malpractice Claims Revived By 1st Circ.

    The First Circuit has revived legal malpractice claims from a Colorado tech company that alleged it was betrayed when its lawyers at a Boston intellectual property law firm filed patents for another client, finding that a lower court's ruling that the claims were time-barred assumed the three-person company comprised exclusively of engineers had an understanding of tricky legal concepts.

  • February 03, 2026

    7th Circ. Probes Due Process For Ill. ICE Detainees

    A Seventh Circuit judge Tuesday asked the Trump administration to square its position that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights with Supreme Court rulings that held otherwise, as the appellate court mulls the bid to block two orders addressing warrantless arrests of hundreds of immigrants.

  • February 03, 2026

    Calif. Cardholders Ask 2nd Circ. To Revive Swipe Fee Suit

    California cardholders accusing Visa, Mastercard and other major banks of conspiring to fix interchange fees have asked the Second Circuit to revive their claims after a district court judge denied their motion for reconsideration in a long-running multidistrict litigation.

  • February 03, 2026

    Wash. Justices To Review Restaurant's $1M COVID Penalty

    The Washington State Supreme Court has decided to take up a restaurant's appeal of nearly $1 million in fines that regulators imposed against the eatery for offering indoor dining services during the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of the governor's emergency proclamation.

  • February 03, 2026

    Guam Defends Bid To Appeal Loss Of Military Leave Suit

    A retirement fund for Guam government employees fired back at the federal government's attempt to prevent it from appealing an order finding the fund and Guam liable for shortchanging pension contributions for employees who take paid leave while serving in the military. 

  • February 03, 2026

    Trump Admin Can't Gut CFPB Off The Books, DC Circ. Told

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's employee union has urged the full D.C. Circuit to uphold a lower court order blocking sweeping cuts at the agency, arguing the Trump administration's legal theory for lifting the order would allow officials to dismantle an agency so long as they don't "put it in writing."

  • February 03, 2026

    5-Hour Energy Maker Tells 9th Circ. Not To Revive Pricing Suit

    The maker of 5-Hour Energy has urged the Ninth Circuit not to revisit a lower court ruling tossing claims from family-owned wholesalers that the energy drink company violated price discrimination law by providing Costco with disproportionate promotional support.

  • February 03, 2026

    Convicted Oil Trader To Remain Free On Bond During Appeal

    A Connecticut federal judge Tuesday ruled that an oil trader convicted of overseas bribery can remain free on bond while he appeals his Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering convictions, saying a new trial might be possible if the Second Circuit finds fault with her jury instructions.

  • February 03, 2026

    Using Phone For Drug Deal Attempt Is A Crime, Court Says

    A Pennsylvania appeals court Tuesday upheld a conviction for criminal use of a telephone, finding that the use of a phone to arrange the sale of drugs is enough to sustain the charge, even if the sale is only attempted and drugs are never actually obtained.

  • February 03, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Slams Bid Protester's 'Secret' Amended Complaint

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday admonished a security company that failed to secure a U.S. Postal Service contract, suggesting that it tried to litigate "in secret" by not filing a redacted version of its sealed bid protest in a timely manner.

  • February 03, 2026

    Coverage Barred For Mortgage Fee Dispute, 2nd Circ. Says

    Insurers for a bankrupt financial services company are not obligated to cover settlement payments and defense costs stemming from a pair of mortgage fee class actions, the Second Circuit affirmed Tuesday, finding the claims fall squarely within an exclusion for fee-related losses.

  • February 03, 2026

    Damages Caps Revival May Be 'Misguided,' Ga. Justice Says

    Georgia's highest court signaled reluctance on Tuesday to overturn a 15-year-old decision declaring that caps on medical malpractice damages violate the state's constitution, with one justice reversing course from a recent opinion where she all but invited a chance to strike down the precedent.

  • February 03, 2026

    Feds, Samsung Urge Justices To Reject PTAB Prior Art Case

    The federal government and Samsung have both urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a patent owner's challenge to the Federal Circuit's finding that the filing date of a patent dictates if it can be considered prior art.

  • February 03, 2026

    Wash. Justices Won't Hear Medline's $2.4M Refund Request

    Medline cannot receive a $2.4 million remittance of sales tax paid toward the construction of a state warehouse, the Washington Supreme Court said, declining to review a state appeals court's decision.

  • February 03, 2026

    2nd Circ. Upholds NLRB Subpoena Enforcement Order

    A New York City businessman must turn over documents relevant to his companies' liability for years of back pay to a fired bus company tour guide after the Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld an order to comply with National Labor Relations Board subpoenas.

  • February 03, 2026

    3rd Circ. Says Law Silent On Duty To Pay For Tendered Shares

    In a precedential ruling Tuesday, the Third Circuit upheld a ruling in favor of a company that snubbed "sponsor" stockholders' tendered shares as invalid, ruling that the dismissal of the investors' suit over the rejection was proper since the law was silent on a tender offeror's duty to purchase shares.

  • February 03, 2026

    1st Circ. Mindful Of Justices In 3rd Country Removal Case

    A First Circuit panel suggested Tuesday that a U.S. Supreme Court emergency docket stay may constrain its review of a district judge's decision requiring due process for deportees facing removal to so-called third countries where they may face torture.

  • February 03, 2026

    5th Circ. Unsure Child Online Safety Law Tramples Speech

    A Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of a tech media trade group's stance that a Mississippi internet safety law is unconstitutional, suggesting that the challenged statute may not implicate speech. 

  • February 03, 2026

    Md. Cannabis Licensure Unconstitutional, 4th Circ. Told

    A California cannabis entrepreneur has urged the Fourth Circuit to revive her constitutional challenge to Maryland's social equity marijuana licensure program, saying the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause must apply to federally unlawful marijuana.

  • February 03, 2026

    NJ Justices Wary Witness Hiring Defendant's Atty Is A Conflict

    Justices on New Jersey's supreme court appeared skeptical on Tuesday of a claim from a man convicted of murder that his trial counsel was ineffective because his girlfriend, who was a witness for the state and the victim's cousin, hired and paid for his attorney.

  • February 03, 2026

    Coach Tells NC Justices To Skip Review Of Ex-Players' Case

    A women's college basketball coach wants North Carolina's highest court to not reexamine a claim that he threw several players off his university's team in retaliation, calling the case "the sequel" to a previously dismissed lawsuit against the school.

Expert Analysis

  • False Ad Suit Shows Need For Clear, Conspicuous Disclosure

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent false advertising decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Corpay reiterated the FTC's guidance imploring advertisers to ensure that any disclosures are clear and conspicuous to consumers, providing companies with numerous lessons about truthful advertising and highlighting some common disclosure pitfalls to avoid, says Michael Justus at Carlton Fields.

  • Justices' BDO Denial May Allow For Increased Auditor Liability

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    The Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in BDO v. New England Carpenters could lead to more actions filed against accounting firms, as it lets stand a 2024 Second Circuit ruling that provided a road map for pleading falsity with respect to audit certifications, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.

  • What To Expect From Justices' 401(k) Ruling, DOL Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, addressing alternative assets in defined contribution plans, coupled with the U.S. Department of Labor's recently proposed regulation on fiduciary duties in selecting alternative investments, could alleviate the litigation risk that has impeded wider consideration of such investments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions

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    Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.

  • Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Spur Huge Shift For Litigators

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the medical malpractice suit Berk v. Choy, holding that a Florida procedural requirement does not apply to medical malpractice claims filed in federal court, is likely to encourage eligible parties to file claims in federal court, speed the adjudicatory process and create both opportunities and challenges for litigators, says Thomas Kroeger at Colson Hicks.

  • Challenging Restitution Orders After Supreme Court Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Ellingburg v. U.S. decision from last week, holding that mandatory restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Sixth Amendment, means that all challenges to restitution are now fair game if the amount is not alleged in the indictment, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Doug Passon at Doug Passon Law.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling May Limit Charge-Stacking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Barrett v. U.S. that the double jeopardy clause bars separate convictions for the same act under two related firearms laws places meaningful limits on the broader practice of stacking charges, a reminder that overlapping statutes present prosecutors with a menu, not a buffet, says attorney David Tarras.

  • How 2025 Recalibrated Fair Use For The AI Era

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    Although the Second Circuit's decision last year in Romanova v. Amilus Inc. did not involve artificial intelligence, its formulation of relevant fair use factors provides a useful guide for lower courts examining AI cases in 2026, demanding close attention from legal practitioners on both sides of these disputes, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • 5 Drug Pricing Policy Developments To Watch In 2026

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    2026 may prove to be a critical year for drug pricing in the U.S., with potential major shifts including several legislative initiatives moving forward after being in the works for years, and more experimentation on the horizon concerning GLP-1s and Section 340B pricing, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Awards Against Sovereign States

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    The enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states is one of the most contentious and rapidly evolving areas in international arbitration, with three defining issues on the 2026 horizon: the scope of sovereign immunity, assignability of rights, and availability of fraud and corruption defenses, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

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