Appellate

  • September 30, 2025

    Ga. Panel Won't Nix $4M Verdict In Toddler Death Suit

    A Georgia appeals court will not vacate a $4 million verdict awarded to parents who allege their 15-month-old child died because his physician did not consider that he might have swallowed a foreign object, rejecting the doctor's argument that the plaintiffs' expert was not reliable in his opinion.

  • September 30, 2025

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: Trump, Baker McKenzie

    In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 reports the latest updates in President Donald Trump's suits against major news organizations over their reporting on his presidency and relationships, as well as developments in a voting machine company's suit against MyPillow's CEO over election-rigging claims.

  • September 30, 2025

    Undercover Cop's Nonwhite 'Bitmoji' May Be Bias, Court Says

    A Massachusetts police department's use of a nonwhite "bitmoji" avatar while conducting gang surveillance on Snapchat could reasonably be viewed as selective enforcement, the state's high court said on Tuesday, in a case being watched by a coalition of criminal justice, civil liberties and privacy advocates.

  • September 29, 2025

    Supreme Court Considers 7 Patent Petitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court held its first conference Monday, presenting the justices with several petitions of interest to patent practitioners before the court's new term kicks off next week.

  • September 29, 2025

    Trump Can Cut Ed Dept.'s Civil Rights Staff, 1st Circ. Rules

    The Trump administration can proceed with plans to cut certain jobs at the U.S. Department of Education after the First Circuit on Monday halted a Massachusetts federal judge's injunction that the federal government had argued showed "disregard" to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

  • September 29, 2025

    CFPB Union Asks DC Circ. To Rehear Injunction Ruling

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's worker union on Monday urged the full D.C. Circuit to come to the rescue of an injunction that has blocked the Trump administration from enacting sweeping cuts at the agency, warning the regulator's continued existence is at stake.

  • September 29, 2025

    Colo. High Court Upholds Habitual Criminal Sentencing Law

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's habitual sentencing statute, which allows more severe penalties for repeat offenders, complies with 2024 U.S. high court precedent as long as a jury, not a judge, looks at the defendant's criminal history.

  • September 29, 2025

    NJ Court Backs Sentence Enhancement For Domestic Abuse

    A New Jersey appeals court panel on Monday ruled in a matter of first impression that applying a sentencing enhancement for repeat domestic violence offenders is not "double counting" the latest offense, rebuffing a man's attempt to reduce his sentence for assaulting his girlfriend.

  • September 29, 2025

    NJ Panel Rejects Suit Over Deadly Warehouse Fire

    A New Jersey appellate court on Monday backed the dismissal of a proposed class action that was filed over a deadly December 2021 fire in a Hoboken commercial warehouse that killed two people.

  • September 29, 2025

    4th Circ. Rejects NCAA's Bid To Expedite Eligibility Appeal

    The Fourth Circuit declined to fast track the briefing in an appeal of an injunction that paused the NCAA's eligibility rules and gave four West Virginia University athletes another year to play football.

  • September 29, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Insurer Not Liable For Fees In $1.5M Case

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said a trial court rightly refused to make Allstate pay attorney fees after rejecting a settlement offer from a man who was later awarded $1.5 million for crash injuries, saying the award "was not warranted" because the insurer wasn't a named party at trial.

  • September 29, 2025

    6 Copyright, TM Cases On Tap As Justices Begin New Term

    The new U.S. Supreme Court term could be an eventful one for intellectual property law, with a $1 billion copyright fight on deck between music publishers and Cox Communications that is expected to clarify the bounds of liability for internet companies over their customers’ illegal downloads. Here's a look at some of the IP cases under review as the justices begin their new term Oct. 6.

  • September 29, 2025

    Hain 'Channel-Stuffing' Securities Suit Revived By 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit on Monday reversed a district court's dismissal of a proposed class action accusing food and personal care company Hain Celestial of "channel-stuffing," or asking distributors to take more product than they can sell in order to cover up flagging demand, finding the class had adequately alleged actionable misrepresentations and false statements by the company.

  • September 29, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Revive Software Development IP Case

    The Sixth Circuit has declined to revive copyright infringement and trade secrets claims brought by a business communications company over a software development tool, saying the company waited too long to look into its concerns that a rival was distributing a modified version of the software.

  • September 29, 2025

    USPTO, Tech Cos. Tell Justices To OK Expired Patent Reviews

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and technology companies have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a patent owner's argument that expired patents cannot be reviewed by the patent office, saying a previous high court ruling means such reviews are permitted.

  • September 29, 2025

    First Step Act Isn't All Retroactive, Gov't Tells High Court

    The federal government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to find that Congress never intended certain sentencing reduction provisions within the 2018 First Step Act to be applied retroactively, and to resolve a 6-4 circuit split.

  • September 29, 2025

    NC County Illegally Spent Occupancy Taxes, Justices Told

    A North Carolina county unlawfully spent occupancy tax revenue on general government services instead of tourism-related initiatives, a group of local property owners told the state's high court, urging it to uphold an appeals court ruling.

  • September 29, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs DOJ's Prosecution Of Okla. Cannabis Atty

    The Tenth Circuit has decided that the federal prosecution of an Oklahoma attorney accused of helping clients bypass the state's medical marijuana laws could proceed despite a federal policy that bars the U.S. Department of Justice from using funds to target state legal medical cannabis activity.

  • September 29, 2025

    Court Affirms Philly Policy Against Minor Traffic Stops

    A divided Pennsylvania appeals court upheld a local ordinance and executive order issued by the Philadelphia mayor ordering police in the city not to enforce minor traffic violations, ruling that the orders are not preempted by the state's vehicle code.

  • September 29, 2025

    Pa. Justices Affirm Duty To Inform Voters Of Tossed Ballots

    Pennsylvania county election offices must use the state's voter registration and tracking system to correctly notify mail-in voters if their ballots are rejected for technical reasons, so those voters can exercise their right to cast a replacement ballot, a split state Supreme Court has ruled.

  • September 29, 2025

    Tribal Members Push For Say In Supreme Court Tariff Review

    Members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe told the U.S. Supreme Court Monday their inclusion in the justices' review of suits challenging the legality of President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs is crucial to protect Native American rights under federal law.

  • September 29, 2025

    3rd Circ. Denies Pilots' Bid To Revive Military Leave Class

    The Third Circuit will not review a Pennsylvania federal judge's order decertifying a class of American Airlines pilots who claim they were denied pay and profit-sharing benefits during their time off on military leave, the court announced Monday.

  • September 29, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs Somatics' Win In Man's Brain Damage Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday sided with Somatics LLC in a suit from a man who alleged that he suffered brain damage from treatments using one of its electroshock therapy devices, finding that the trial court was within its discretion when it dismissed and consolidated some of his claims for trial.

  • September 29, 2025

    Mass. Appellate Court Revives Hospital Worker's Vaccine Suit

    A former surgical technician at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital who was fired after her request for a religious exemption from a mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy was deemed to be based on "demonstrably false" information will get another chance to prove her discrimination claim, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court ruled Monday.

  • September 29, 2025

    Immigration Board Reaffirms Social Group Limits For Asylum

    The Board of Immigration Appeals issued a new decision reaffirming earlier limits on perceived social groups, ruling that such asylum claims can only succeed when the underlying group is legally recognized on its own.

Expert Analysis

  • A Word On Ensuring Precision In Patent Claim Construction

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Express Mobile v. Meta Platforms, overruling the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation of the term "style," highlights the importance of articulating claim constructions that are as clear as possible, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • How Latest High Court Rulings Refine Employment Law

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    The 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court term did not radically rewrite employment law, but sharpened focus on textual fidelity, procedural rigor and the boundaries of statutory relief, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Diversity, Equity, Indictment? Contractor Risks After Kousisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to sustain wire fraud charges related to fraudulent inducement, may extend criminal liability to government contractors that make false diversity, equity and inclusion certifications, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. Customs Ruling A Limited Win For FCA Plaintiffs

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    While the decision last month in Island Industries v. Sigma may be welcome news for False Claims Act relators, under binding precedent courts within the Ninth Circuit still do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate customs-based FCA claims pursued by the government, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Quantifying Trading-Based Damages Using Price Impact

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increasingly rely on price impact analyses to demonstrate pecuniary harm from trading-related misconduct, meaning measuring price impact will be helpful in challenging SEC disgorgement, determining appropriate remedies, and assessing loss causation and damages in private litigation, says Vyacheslav Fos at Boston College and Erin Smith at Compass Lexecon.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

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