Appellate

  • July 14, 2025

    Microsoft, OpenAI Ask 9th Circ. To Toss Coders' DMCA Claims

    Microsoft and OpenAI have asked the Ninth Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a suit brought by coders who claim that the companies' large language models spit out code almost identical to code they wrote, saying the coders have only alleged hypothetical injuries.

  • July 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Law Banning Strip Club Workers Under Age 21

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday said that a Texas law barring people under 21 from working at strip clubs and other adult businesses passes a First Amendment test, saying Monday the law helps prevent sexual trafficking and furthers a significant government interest.

  • July 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds PTAB Ax Of J&J Unit's Catheter Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of a Johnson & Johnson unit's patent on a device for clearing blocked arteries, saying an Abbott Laboratories unit's challenge was not improperly based on what the patent admitted was an earlier invention.

  • July 14, 2025

    Fla. Says High Court Rulings Back Trans Care Medicaid Ban

    Florida told the Eleventh Circuit that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirm the legality of a state law banning Medicaid payments for gender-affirming medical care, arguing its restrictions mirror a similar Tennessee law upheld by the justices because it centers on gender dysphoria diagnoses, not one's sex.

  • July 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Biotech Founder's Win In Trading Suit

    The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed an early win for the founder of biotech Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc. in a suit alleging he realized more than $2.5 million in short-swing profits after he exchanged his shares for those of another company, agreeing with the lower court that the move didn't constitute a "purchase."

  • July 14, 2025

    11th. Circ. Rules Ga. Strip Search Was Illegal, Nixes Immunity

    A full Eleventh Circuit ruled that Georgia Department of Corrections officers are not entitled to immunity in the case of a woman who was strip-searched while visiting her husband in prison, saying the search was unreasonable and violated her Fourth Amendment rights.

  • July 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Revives Suit Accusing UT Of Race-Based Admissions

    A Fifth Circuit panel partially revived a lawsuit accusing the University of Texas at Austin of continuing to consider race in admissions decisions despite the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision ending affirmative action programs.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tevra Asks 9th Circ. To Revive Bayer Flea, Tick Meds Suit

    Tevra Brands LLC called on the Ninth Circuit to order a new trial after it said a lower court made several errors that prevented it from showing a jury that Bayer HealthCare LLC used exclusive contracts to lock up the market for a flea and tick treatment for dogs and cats.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ga. Judge Calls Atty 'Unworthy Of Belief' As Ethics Case Ends

    A Georgia superior court judge facing ethics charges on Monday urged the state's judicial watchdog to either privately reprimand or suspend her for no more than 30 days if it decides punishment is needed in the case brought against her by the state's Judicial Qualifications Commission. 

  • July 14, 2025

    TV Reporter Fights Town's Appeal After Broken Leg Trial Win

    A television reporter whose leg was broken when he was allegedly hit by a public power employee's truck in the parking lot of a town hall has urged North Carolina's highest court to uphold a jury verdict finding that his injury was a result of the town worker's negligence.

  • July 14, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Reexamine Sentence Of Convicted Fla. Atty

    The Eleventh Circuit has rejected a Florida lawyer's request to reconsider her 75-month prison sentence for a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.

  • July 14, 2025

    Mich. Justices Say GOP Can Challege Poll Worker Imbalance

    The Michigan Republican Party can sue to enforce a rule about the political makeup of poll workers, the Michigan Supreme Court said Monday, reversing a lower court's ruling.

  • July 14, 2025

    Supreme Court Clears Way For Education Dept. Layoffs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with firing nearly 1,400 employees.

  • July 14, 2025

    End Of NJ Municipal Court Official's Harassment Suit Upheld

    A former New Jersey municipal court administrator cannot sue the state Administrative Office of the Courts in a sexual harassment case because she was never an employee of the office, the state Appellate Division said Monday in a published opinion.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ex-NFL Player Asks 5th Circ. To Keep $1.86M Fee Award Intact

    The National Football League's retirement plan had a chance to appeal a $1.86 million award of attorney fees to former running back Michael Cloud three years ago in his disability benefits suit, but it chose not to do so, Cloud told the Fifth Circuit in his pushback against the plan's latest appeal.

  • July 14, 2025

    Calif. Panel Keeps Charter PAGA Case Out Of Arbitration

    Charter Communications can't arbitrate an employee's Private Attorneys General Act suit because parts of the arbitration agreement are "unconscionable," a California appeals panel ruled, relying on the state Supreme Court's decisions addressing the same pact.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ex-Seward & Kissel Partner Joins EDNY As 1st Asst. US Atty

    U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. announced Monday he has selected a former federal prosecutor and Seward & Kissel LLP partner to serve as first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

  • July 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Let UBS Arbitrate Fund Mismanagement Suit

    The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed a New York federal judge's decision rejecting UBS' bid to send a charitable trust's mismanaged funds suit to arbitration, finding that the bank knowingly relinquished the right to arbitrate "by acting inconsistently with that right."

  • July 14, 2025

    Calif. Panel Upends Arbitration Pact In Worker's Firing Suit

    A Charter Communications worker's wrongful termination suit should not have been sent to arbitration, a California appeals court said, after finding the company's alternative dispute resolution pact held one-sided provisions and made it difficult for employees to opt out.

  • July 11, 2025

    Meta Asks 9th Circ. To Bar Zuckerberg Depo In Privacy Suit

    Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is turning to the Ninth Circuit to free him from having to give a limited deposition in privacy litigation over a Facebook tool's alleged collection of patient health information, arguing that district courts are "deeply divided" on how to decide whether to allow executive depositions.

  • July 11, 2025

    Fla. Disinfectant Co. Seeks Stay From $5M Canada Judgment

    A Florida disinfectant company asked a state civil court to stay enforcement of a $5.1 million Canadian judgment over breaching a contract for electronic parts supplied during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing the order was appealed and that the contract was obtained without approval. 

  • July 11, 2025

    4th Circ. Tosses Ex-Baltimore Prosecutor's Fraud Conviction

    A split Fourth Circuit on Friday tossed the mortgage fraud conviction of former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, finding that the jury was improperly instructed on where the crime occurred, but upheld her perjury conviction.

  • July 11, 2025

    DC Circ. Allows Gov't To Undo 9/11 Plea Deals

    A D.C. Circuit panel ruled on Friday that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acted within the bounds of his legal authority when he yanked back plea deals from a trio of 9/11 co-conspirators that had already been signed.

  • July 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Tosses Arbitration Denial In FCA Minivan Fire MDL

    A Michigan federal judge flubbed it when he denied Fiat Chrysler's bid to push into arbitration some of the plug-in hybrid minivan drivers who claim in multidistrict litigation that their vehicles could spontaneously explode, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying the judge tipped the scales against the automaker by raising arguments the drivers hadn't mentioned.

  • July 11, 2025

    5th Circ. Cites Expert Errors In Rejecting BP Spill Sinus Claims

    The Fifth Circuit has ended a cleanup worker's toxic tort lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. claiming he suffered sinus issues from cleaning up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, saying his experts' testimony, some of which was riddled with errors, was properly ejected by the trial court.

Expert Analysis

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

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    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption

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    Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Rocket Mortgage Appeal May Push Justices To Curb Classes

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    Should the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear Alig v. Rocket Mortgage, the resulting decision could limit class sizes based on commonality under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Evidence as opposed to standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, say attorneys at Carr Maloney.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

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