Appellate

  • June 22, 2026

    9th Circ. Doubts California City's Ban On Off-Site Pot Ads

    A Ninth Circuit panel expressed doubts Monday about an ordinance in Perris, California, banning off-site advertising by cannabis dispensaries, noting that the city collects taxes on cannabis sales and questioning the city's assertion that cannabis use is illegal under federal law.

  • June 22, 2026

    Xinuos Says Judge Wrongly Recast IBM Copyright Fight

    A software company told a Second Circuit panel Monday that a New York federal judge had wrongly used her own arguments to recharacterize its copyright infringement claim against IBM into a time-barred ownership claim and give IBM a win.

  • June 22, 2026

    Atty's Bid To Void Wrongful Firing Award Revived

    A Florida appellate court revived an attorney's attempt to invalidate a nearly $353,000 award handed to a former employee in her wrongful termination case, ruling that the lawyer was entitled to challenge the judgment without satisfying the stay requirements under the state's Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. 

  • June 22, 2026

    Mich. Court OKs Conviction Of Man Who Filmed Traffic Stop

    A self-described First Amendment auditor who filmed a traffic stop has had his obstruction conviction upheld by a Michigan appeals court, which ruled that the right to record police did not allow him to ignore officers' lawful commands to keep a safe distance.

  • June 22, 2026

    Board Says Asylum Was Properly Denied In Light Of DUIs

    The Board of Immigration Appeals said an immigration judge reasonably denied a Cameroon man's bid for asylum based on multiple driving under the influence convictions, despite granting his application for withholding of removal to the African country.

  • June 22, 2026

    Colo. Appellate Court Says A Fist Is Not A 'Bludgeon'

    The Colorado Court of Appeals held for the first time that a fist cannot be a "bludgeon" or "simulated bludgeon" under a state law on menacing, reversing a defendant's felony menacing conviction in a split decision.

  • June 22, 2026

    Plaintiffs Ask 11th Circ. To Unfreeze Cruise Voyeurism Suits

    A group of plaintiffs suing Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. with allegations that one of its crew members covertly filmed them for his own gratification asked the Eleventh Circuit on Monday to undo a stay on related cases and affirm an order denying Royal Caribbean's bid to bring the cases to arbitration.

  • June 22, 2026

    Justices To Hear Fight Over Reach Of Bivens Prison Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case over whether a federal inmate can use a 1971 high court precedent to pursue damages from prison officials for allegedly failing to provide adequate medical care after a 2021 prison fight.

  • June 22, 2026

    10th Circ. Says Fire Chief Immune From Termination Suit

    A district court erred in denying a Colorado fire chief qualified immunity in a former union president's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully terminated, the Tenth Circuit ruled Monday, finding that the former president failed to show the chief's actions violated "clearly established law."

  • June 22, 2026

    Yamaha Gets $7M Verdict Erased In Golf Cart Rollover Suit

    A Georgia appellate court panel on Monday ordered a new trial in a case in which a family won $7 million after their toddler was severely hurt in a Yamaha golf cart rollover, finding a lower court wrongly kept the motorized products maker from introducing warning label language at trial.

  • June 22, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Quest Over Claims Of Bad 401(k) Management

    The Third Circuit on Monday affirmed Quest Diagnostics Inc.'s victory over a proposed class action accusing the company of mismanaging its employee 401(k) plan, holding the company followed a prudent process in deciding to retain two challenged investment funds despite periods of underperformance.

  • June 22, 2026

    1st Circ. Backs Asylum Denial Due To Ability To Escape Abuse

    The First Circuit has upheld the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of a Brazilian family's asylum case after the mother said she was repeatedly abused by her former partner, pointing to evidence that she was never unable to leave him.

  • June 22, 2026

    Philly Cops Can't Axe Daycare Owner's $4.1M Trial Verdict

    A Pennsylvania appeals panel on Monday rejected a bid from two Philadelphia police officers seeking to undo a $4.1 million verdict in favor of a daycare owner who said they beat her during the unrest following the fatal shooting of Walter Wallace, saying there's no reason to disturb the jury's findings.

  • June 22, 2026

    Feds Appeal Toss Of Ábrego García Charges

    The Trump administration said it is appealing a Tennessee federal judge's decision to throw out the human smuggling charges that it brought against Kilmar Ábrego García.

  • June 22, 2026

    Fla. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Over Sex Offender Error

    A Florida appellate court panel revived a man's malpractice lawsuit alleging his public defender failed to investigate whether he was required to register as a sex offender, finding the attorney hadn't shown he was entitled to summary judgment. 

  • June 22, 2026

    FERC Says Texas LNG Project Is 'Environmentally Acceptable'

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its continued approval of a liquefied natural gas project in South Texas, telling the D.C. Circuit it had addressed the court's previous concerns by expanding its analysis of the project's polluting effects.

  • June 22, 2026

    Fla. Court Vacates US Rep.'s Contempt For Flipping The Bird

    A Florida appeals court has vacated a contempt finding for Rep. Randy Fine, R-Florida, after he allegedly flipped off an opposing party during a virtual hearing, finding that the trial court should have let Fine's attorney have a break to prepare a written motion to disqualify the judge.

  • June 22, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving executive compensation, take-private transactions, books and records demands, tender offers and alleged insider misconduct.

  • June 22, 2026

    Justices Won't Review Dispute Over Tax Fraud Deadline

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a woman's challenge against the Internal Revenue Service over the period in which the agency can assess taxes on a taxpayer when a fraudulent third party triggers the liability.

  • June 22, 2026

    Gov't Says It Should Face Vax IP Claims, Not Moderna

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Federal Circuit that multibillion-dollar patent infringement litigation should be directed at the government, instead of Moderna, for the drugmaker's development and supply of COVID vaccines during the pandemic.

  • June 22, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel 'Star' Atty Named Appellate Co-Chair

    A Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner who has handled appeals of high-profile clients including Elon Musk and Jay-Z has been named national appellate practice co-chair, the firm announced Monday.

  • June 22, 2026

    Pa. Landowner Not Entitled To Approval Of Factory On Spec

    The developer of a proposed industrial facility in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, was not entitled to zoning approval if it could not identify a future tenant, a state appellate court ruled Monday.

  • June 22, 2026

    6th Circ. Ties Pot Biz Delays To Bureaucracy, Not A Violation

    The Sixth Circuit has thrown out a real estate developer's suit against the city of Pontiac, Michigan, and its clerk alleging they violated constitutional rights by delaying approvals of a proposed cannabis operation until it was no longer viable, saying the delays were an instance of discretionary actions in bureaucracy, not constitutional violations.

  • June 22, 2026

    Mass. Justices Approve Ballot Question On Open Primary

    A ballot question proposing to replace Massachusetts' party-based primary election system with an open primary may go to voters in November, the state's highest court said Monday.

  • June 22, 2026

    Justices Say Conviction In Patz Case Was Wrongly Overturned

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reversed a Second Circuit decision that wiped out a murder conviction stemming from the 1979 disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz due to allegedly inaccurate jury instructions.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Welcome Changes To Texas' Summary Judgment Rule

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    Following recent amendments to the Texas rule for summary judgment motions,​​​​​​ practitioners adjusting to the new framework will likely benefit from a more streamlined process that focuses attention on substantive legal arguments rather than procedural uncertainty, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Reinforces Securities Act Limits Post-Slack

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision to limit treatment of mandatory reverse splits as actionable sales in Knapp v. Barclays is narrow but important, offering issuers a stronger basis to challenge expansive Securities Act theories and reinforcing the post-Slack v. Pirani discipline of tracing, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Opinion

    BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

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    If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Opinion

    CBP's $166B Tariff Refund Portal Needs 4 Safeguards

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    Before launching its automated web portal to process tariff-refund disbursements on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection should apply the expensive lessons learned from the pandemic-era employee retention credit, says Peter Gariepy at RubinBrown.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Tracing Paths To Award Recovery

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    Recent subpoenas to Adidas and Hilton deployed in Blasket Renewables v. Spain, pending in D.C. federal court, show arbitration award recovery to be a disciplined exercise in constructing visibility, applying pressure and sequencing procedural advantage, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • 5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

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    Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: April Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from three recent rulings involving allegations of racial discrimination in mortgage applications, health insurance networks and actual cash value losses.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Assessing EcoFactor's Impact On Damages Experts' Opinions

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    Though the Federal Circuit's ruling in EcoFactor v. Google gave rise to concerns that damages experts would be forced to rely on undisputed facts, recent case law suggests that those concerns are unwarranted, says Christopher Loh at Venable.

  • High Court Cert Case Would Test Sovereign Award Immunity

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    The D.C. Circuit's July 2025 Amaplat Mauritius v. Zimbabwe Mining Development decision appears to create a circuit split while elevating form over substance in a manner that, if left unreviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, could bar the courthouse doors for creditors holding arbitration awards against recalcitrant foreign sovereigns, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • 2nd Circ. Clarifies When Prior Good Acts May Be Admissible

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in U.S. v. Cardenas, vacating a drug conspiracy conviction over improperly excluded evidence, indicates that evidence of prior good acts may be admissible to corroborate a defendant's testimony about their understanding of events and intent, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

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    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

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