Appellate

  • August 28, 2026

    'Troubled' 7th Circ. Finds No Harm From Benesch Atty Conflict

    While "troubled" by an ex-Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP partner's decision to take on a client's trade secrets suit while negotiating a move from Benesch to the defendant company's outside counsel, the Seventh Circuit agreed Friday that the displeased client cannot pursue her legal malpractice claim.

  • August 28, 2026

    Patent Marking Case Will Shape License Talks And Damages

    A Federal Circuit ruling that patent owners must ensure that all licensees mark their products with patent information in order to recover presuit damages will complicate licensing talks and give defendants a route to limit or escape damages in some cases, attorneys say.

  • August 28, 2026

    25K Workers 'Out Of Luck': Feds Defend Layoffs At 9th Circ.

    The federal government Friday urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a finding that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management wrongfully fired 25,000 probationary workers shortly after President Donald Trump took office, arguing that the OPM was operating well within its statutory authority, the district court lacked jurisdiction, and the workers are "simply out of luck."

  • August 28, 2026

    Uber Text Doesn't Bind Guest Rider To Arbitrate, DC Circ. Says

    Uber cannot force into arbitration a passenger who sued over a crash in which he was severely injured when the ride was requested by his wife since he never created an account or agreed to the ride-hailing company's terms of service, the D.C. Circuit said in a published opinion Friday.

  • August 28, 2026

    Rapper's Lyrics Rhymed With The Crimes, 8th Circ. Says

    An Eighth Circuit panel upheld the marijuana and firearms convictions of Arkansas rapper Bankroll Freddie, saying Friday his lyrics were properly allowed as evidence against him because they showed he knew drug and gun terminology.

  • August 28, 2026

    Ind. Panel Affirms $3.5M Med Mal Verdict Over Amputated Leg

    An Indiana appellate panel on Friday upheld a $3.5 million verdict — later reduced to $1.25 million — in a suit accusing a doctor of negligently causing a patient's leg amputation, rejecting the doctor's argument that an alleged juror-tampering incident led to an unfair trial.

  • August 28, 2026

    Industries, States Take Soot Rule Fight To Supreme Court

    A coalition of industry groups and 25 states led by Kentucky and West Virginia have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld a challenged rule imposing tighter nationwide limits on soot pollution.

  • August 28, 2026

    Calif. Panel Upholds Win For Dentist In Fatal Trip-And-Fall Suit

    The deletion of surveillance footage showing a woman's fatal trip and fall outside a California dentist's office was not spoliation, a state appeals court ruled Friday, calling the erasure unintentional while upholding a lower court's order ending the wrongful death lawsuit.

  • August 28, 2026

    2nd Circ. Revives FCA Overpayment Suit Against Pharmacy

    A Second Circuit panel on Friday undid a whistleblower's loss on False Claims Act allegations that AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s pharmacy business owes the government money for overpayments from federal healthcare programs for drug purchases and other services.

  • August 28, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks High Court To Uphold Trans Troop Ban

    The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court Friday to allow its ban on transgender members of the military to take full effect, arguing the policy is constitutional under the high court's developing transgender case law.

  • August 28, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Nix Royal Caribbean Arbitration Appeal

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday denied a bid to summarily affirm an order denying Royal Caribbean's motion to arbitration claims by passengers suing the cruise line over numerous incidents of voyeurism involving a former employee.

  • August 28, 2026

    DC Circ. Won't Revisit Threshold Issues In Spain Cases

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday denied Spain's bid to reconsider threshold issues raised in five consolidated appeals seeking to enforce arbitral awards collectively worth more than $400 million, including a question on the legal concept that a dispute might be better heard elsewhere.

  • August 28, 2026

    8th Circ. Says Alleged Parole Lies Aren't Unconstitutional

    An Eighth Circuit panel has upheld the dismissal of an Arkansas sex offender's lawsuit alleging his parole officer used a fake daycare to reject his housing plans, saying parole is not a constitutionally protected right.

  • August 28, 2026

    4th Circ. Reverses $42M Abu Ghraib Verdict Against CACI

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday reversed a $42 million jury verdict finding CACI conspired to torture Iraq War detainees, ruling on rehearing the detainees' claims must be dismissed following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that courts can't create a private right of action under the Alien Tort Statute.

  • August 28, 2026

    Schwab Vendor Exempt From Ill. Biometric Law, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit agreed Friday that a vendor Charles Schwab uses to authenticate customers' voiceprints is exempt from Illinois' biometric privacy law as it refused to revive claims that the vendor illegally collected callers' data.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Shifts T-Mobile Patent Settlement Fight To 5th Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Friday sent an appeal from T-Mobile stemming from a patent litigation settlement to the Fifth Circuit, ruling that is proper because the Eastern District of Texas had jurisdiction when the appeal was filed.

  • August 28, 2026

    9th Circ. Rules Against Kalshi In Sports Wager Circuit Split

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed a Nevada federal court decision that cleared the way for the state's gambling regulators to pursue Kalshi's sports offerings, creating a circuit split in the sprawling litigation over prediction market regulation.

  • August 28, 2026

    Feds Gain Ground In Energy Permit Turf War With States

    A federal judge's endorsement earlier this month of the Trump administration's restart of a pipeline over California's objections will likely embolden the federal government to override state opposition to energy project development, but the ruling won't be the last word on the legality of such moves.

  • August 28, 2026

    Mom Not Responsible For Son's Alleged Assault, Court Finds

    A Georgia appeals court ruled Friday that a now-deceased woman was rightly freed from a woman's lawsuit accusing her son of assaulting her in his mother's home, upholding a lower court's finding that the injured party had chosen to put herself in a situation she knew was dangerous. 

  • August 28, 2026

    DOJ Cites National Security In $173M Ukraine Award Suit

    The Trump administration Thursday backed Ukraine as it fights efforts by one of Russia's largest oil companies to unpause litigation aimed at enforcing a confirmed $173 million arbitral award, pointing to Russia's increasing reputation as a "surveillance state with severely eroded rule-of-law protections."

  • August 28, 2026

    Ariz. Tribe Seeks To Pause Border Wall Work During Appeal

    The Tohono O'odham Nation is asking a district court to pause an order that denied its bid to block construction of a border wall near its Arizona reservation while it appeals the ruling to the D.C. Circuit, saying the federal government "plainly feels emboldened" by the decision.

  • August 28, 2026

    Financial Firm's $1.4M Asset Hold Against Adviser Upheld

    A Connecticut appeals court Friday said a financial services firm properly secured a nearly $1.4 million asset hold against an adviser, agreeing the company showed a likelihood of proving during underlying Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration that the adviser siphoned customers when transitioning to a new broker-dealer.

  • August 28, 2026

    Circuit Split Raises Stakes For Timing Of Detention Review

    An emerging circuit split on whether district courts can hear habeas claims from noncitizens who say the government wants to deport them for their political speech raises questions about how quickly they can challenge the constitutionality of their detention before an independent judge.

  • August 28, 2026

    6th Circ. Frees School Officials From Teen Suicide Suit

    The Sixth Circuit ruled in a published decision that a Michigan school resource officer and a principal who used "scared straight" tactics to discipline a student cannot be held liable for his suicide, reasoning that the grieving family didn't meet the bar for holding the public officials accountable for a noncustodial act.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Retailers' Win Over E-Commerce Patent Suits

    The Federal Circuit on Friday refused to reinstate litigation accusing Bath & Body Works and fashion retailer The Buckle of infringing an e-commerce patent, affirming a Texas federal district court's decision to dismiss the legal fight on two separate grounds.

Expert Analysis

  • Fed. Circ. In July: Meeting The Enablement Requirement

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Wyeth v. AstraZeneca last month exemplifies when a generalized conception of an invention is insufficient to enable the full scope of asserted patent infringement claims, and may lead to more enablement challenges, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Calif. Ruling Opens Del. Cos. Up To Stockholder Inspection

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Salamon v. Orchid Global underscores that despite last year's amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware companies with principal operations in California remain subject to California's broader and more stockholder-protective inspection regime, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • What 9th Circ. Devas Ruling Means For AI Infrastructure Deals

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent confirmation of a $2 billion arbitration award in Devas Multimedia's arbitration against a state-owned commercial arm of India’s space agency creates a cross-border enforcement road map for disputes that are bound to arise from the current generation of artificial intelligence infrastructure deals, says Fernanda Merouco at Davis Wright.

  • 9th Circ. Wage Ruling Shows Arbitration Pacts Are Still Useful

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    After years of uncertainty for California employers, the Ninth Circuit’s recent Cocom v. ABM Aviation decision signals that workplace arbitration agreements remain a powerful and enforceable tool — if thoughtfully drafted and employment-focused, says Benjamin Runge at Thompson Coburn.

  • Series

    Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven recent rulings from cases involving Class Action Fairness Act jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, attorney fees and employment rights.

  • 3rd Circ. Hotel Ruling Flags Key Issues In Dynamic Pricing

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment relies on allegations that competitors used nonpublic data to set real-time rates considered exorbitant, highlighting both the potential risks and substantial benefits of utilizing emerging technologies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 4th Circ. Class Cert. Ruling Offers Tips For Damages Experts

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision reversing class certification in litigation against Boeing raises the cost of a bare-bones damages model proposal for plaintiffs, but it also clarifies what a defensible proposal should contain, say Alok Khare and Erica Rose at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    'Plain Meaning' Requires Plainer Meaning In IP Litigation

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Socket Solutions v. Import Global highlights the frequent ambiguity surrounding courts' references to "plain meaning" in patent claim construction — an ambiguity that should be resolved by courts, not litigants, say attorneys at Klarquist Sparkman.

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • Patent Ruling Shows Concrete Tech Solution Key To Eligibility

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent Ceiva Opco v. Amazon.com decision offers an important reminder that software-related inventions can remain patent eligible when they claim a concrete technological solution to a specific problem, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Solar Fraud Case Affects Lender Oversight Of Dealers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review the Third Circuit's ruling in Migliore v. Sunlight Financial means that residential solar finance companies are protected from vicarious liability for deceptive acts by independent solar dealers — but lenders must still take steps to guard against dealer misconduct, says Rand Manasse at Green Lane Partners.

  • Fed. Circ. Rulings Emphasize Adjudicative Access And Review

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    Decisions from the Federal Circuit's 2026 docket indicate that the court is increasingly paying attention to whether tribunals possess authority to act, meaning practitioners will need to properly address procedural hurdles before they can argue the merits of a case, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • Amazon v. Perplexity Ruling Limits CFAA Reach Over AI Tools

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Amazon v. Perplexity provides important early guidance on how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to agentic artificial intelligence, and is the latest in a line of rulings in which courts have declined to stretch existing statutes to broadly regulate AI, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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