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Appellate
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Atty's Discipline For Accusing Judges
The U.S. Supreme Court won't weigh in on whether the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania improperly suspended an attorney based on alleged violations of disciplinary rules that had been seven years old at the time, the court announced Monday.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Ch. 11 Stay In Asbestos Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court won't review lower courts' decisions allowing the paper-products company Georgia-Pacific to remain shielded from mass tort litigation by way of a subsidiary's Chapter 11 case.
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May 11, 2024
Alito Warns Freedoms Of Speech, Religion Are In Danger
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned Saturday that support for freedom of speech on college campuses is "dangerously" low, and that freedom of religion is in peril nationwide.
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May 10, 2024
Patent Owners Face Risks In Amazon Program After Ruling
The Federal Circuit ruled earlier this month that a company alleging patent infringement through Amazon's patent evaluation program must face a declaratory judgment suit in the accused infringer's home state. The holding creates a risk for patent owners who may rethink using the program, attorneys told Law360.
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May 10, 2024
Mich. Justices Find State Law Bars Firing Friend As Reprisal
The Michigan Supreme Court held Friday that the state's civil rights law prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee by targeting a coworker who is a friend or family member, reviving two former prison workers' lawsuit against the state.
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May 10, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs ITC Decision Clearing Computer Gear Imports
The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld the U.S. International Trade Commission's holding that CommScope, Hewlett Packard, Netgear and others didn't infringe Q3 Networking's computer gear patents with their imports of things like routers.
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May 10, 2024
Okla. Tells Justices 10th Circ. Wrong On PBM Law
Oklahoma's insurance department Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its petition seeking review of a Tenth Circuit decision overturning portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing that high court intervention is needed to resolve disagreement among the circuits on federal preemption.
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May 10, 2024
Pa. Commission Had Right To Deny Grid Project, 3rd Circ. Told
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission called on the Third Circuit on Friday to reinstate its rejection of a transmission power project approved by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, arguing a federal district court wrongly deemed the decision unconstitutional.
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May 10, 2024
Full 4th Circ. Urged To Settle Key 'Texas Two-Step' Questions
A Fourth Circuit panel left critical issues open when it denied permission to an appeal challenging the so-called Texas two-step Chapter 11 of industrial equipment maker Aldrich Pump, asbestos claimants in two separate bankruptcy cases said, asking the full appeals court to reconsider hearing the case and settle questions that have plagued their own bankruptcies in the Western District of North Carolina.
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May 10, 2024
4th Circ. Judge Suspects 'Abuse' In Land Donor Tax Case
The Fourth Circuit appeared poised Friday to rule that a couple owes taxes and penalties after claiming an inflated $5.1 million valuation on donated land for deductions, with one judge positing he believed the couple had engaged in "abuse" of a conservation donation.
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May 10, 2024
Walmart Must Pay $1M Injury Verdict, Ga. Appeals Court Says
The Georgia Court of Appeals won't give Walmart a way out of a $1 million verdict owed to a woman injured in a store in 2018, dispatching Friday with the retail chain's argument that the verdict was blatantly excessive.
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May 10, 2024
US Bancorp Seeks Quick Appeal In 401(k) Fee Suit
U.S. Bancorp asked Friday for approval to immediately appeal an order allowing a proposed class action over record-keeping fees for the bank's 401(k) plan to move forward, telling a Minnesota federal court that getting the Eighth Circuit's take could provide clarity to other cases nationwide.
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May 10, 2024
Mich. Lawmakers Introduce Judicial Privacy Bill
A group of Michigan state senators has introduced a bill that would allow judges to seal personal information about themselves and their immediate family members in government agency files, including blocking the government from disclosing the information in response to public records requests, with some narrow exceptions.
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May 10, 2024
1st Circ. Fast-Tracks DraftKings Noncompete Feud
The First Circuit on Friday granted a former DraftKings executive's request to expedite his appeal of a Boston federal judge's ruling that blocked him from doing similar work in the U.S. for rival Fanatics.
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May 10, 2024
Michigan Dept. Gets Snowmobile Crash Claims Tossed
A Michigan appeals panel has thrown out a man's claims alleging one of the state's Department of Natural Resources rangers was negligent in a suit over a crash that claimed that ranger's life, saying the lack of evidence renders the plaintiff's theory of negligence hypothetical and speculative.
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May 10, 2024
CFPB's Credit Card Late Fee Rule Halted By Texas Judge
A Texas federal judge on Friday stayed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee standard, granting a preliminary injunction sought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups that are challenging the legality of the agency rule.
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May 10, 2024
UPMC Inks $38M Deal To End Neurosurgery FCA Suit
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has agreed to pay $38 million to put an end to a False Claims Act suit brought by three medical workers from its neurological surgery department who said the medical center fraudulently billed federal healthcare programs.
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May 10, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Subway Texts Don't Trigger Autodial Law
A divided Second Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of a suit claiming that the sandwich chain Subway illegally spammed consumers' phones with automated texts, finding that a Connecticut federal judge was right in ruling that the marketing campaign didn't use an autodialer as defined by federal law.
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May 10, 2024
Conn. Court Upholds Diplomat's $582M Win Against Ex-Wife
Connecticut's ban on lawsuits arising out of adultery does not invalidate a Kuwaiti diplomat's $582 million win in a case against his ex-wife, whom he accused of lying about the paternity of their children as part of a complex fraud, the state's intermediate-level appeals court ruled Friday.
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May 10, 2024
9th Circ. Splits PAGA Claims In Macy's Arbitration Fight
Macy's can't compel arbitration of nonindividual claims in a worker's wage suit brought under California's Private Attorneys General Act, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, saying language in an arbitration pact prevents blending together different types of claims.
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May 10, 2024
Fed. Circ. Questions Claim Construction In Google Ad Row
Federal Circuit judges took issue with a district court's claim construction in digital advertising company Impact Engine's infringement summary judgment loss to Google, but questioned why the ad startup didn't raise its objections earlier.
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May 10, 2024
Texas Justices Limit Damages In Unwanted Pregnancy Case
The Texas Supreme Court said Friday that a woman who sued her doctor for failing to perform a sterilization procedure can't collect damages for emotional and physical pain in connection with her wrongful pregnancy claim, holding that the birth of a healthy child isn't a compensable injury but "a life with inherent dignity and profound, immeasurable value."
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May 10, 2024
DC Circ. Mulls Jeffrey Clark's Removal Bid In Ethics Case
Embattled former Trump administration lawyer Jeffrey Clark brought the fight to save his law license to oral arguments before a federal appeals court on Friday, though members of the D.C. Circuit panel hearing the case said they were struggling at times to follow his attorney's arguments.
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May 10, 2024
Atty's Remarks On Race And Gender Sink $12M Texas Verdict
The Supreme Court of Texas on Friday threw out a $12.45 million jury verdict awarded to a couple who were rear-ended on a highway, citing the plaintiffs' counsel's "inflammatory" and "unprovoked" accusation that the defendants wanted a lower award because one of the plaintiffs is a Black woman.
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May 10, 2024
Off The Bench: Ohtani Translator's Plea, NBA Star Tops Agent
In this week's Off The Bench, Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter will plead guilty, an NBA star wins in his clash with the agent who sought to represent him, and a tennis player who was abused by her former coach is awarded $9 million.
Expert Analysis
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What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Perspectives
Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision
In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law.
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Opinion
The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights
While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.
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A 5th Circ. Lesson On Preserving Indemnification Rights
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Raymond James & Associates v. Jalbert offers an important lesson for creditors and parties to indemnification agreements: If a debtor has indemnified a creditor, the creditor should consider participating in the bankruptcy case to avoid being deemed to have forfeited its indemnification rights, say Dania Slim and Alana Lyman at Pillsbury.
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ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws
A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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2nd Circ. Adviser Liability Ruling May Shape SEC Enforcement
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rashid, applying basic negligence principles to reverse a finding of investment adviser liability, provides a road map for future fraud enforcement proceedings, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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In Bribery Case, High Court's Past Is Probably Prologue
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Snyder v. U.S. on the issue of whether federal law criminalizes gratuities that are not tied to an explicit quid pro quo, and precedent strongly indicates the court will limit an expansive reading of the bribery statute, say attorneys Sami Azhari and Don Davidson.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Direct Claims Ruling May Alter Gov't Ties To Software Firms
A recent Federal Circuit decision allowing a software developer to pursue legal action under the Contract Disputes Act could change the government's relationship with commercial software providers by permitting direct claims, even in third-party purchase situations, say Dan Ramish and Zach Prince at Haynes Boone.
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Payment Provision Lessons From NJ Construction Ruling
A New Jersey appellate court's decision in Bil-Jim v. Wyncrest, holding that an American Institute of Architects contract was not an installment contract, highlights both the complexities of statute of limitations calculations and the significant consequences that can arise from minor differences in contract language, say Mitchell Taraschi and Zac Brower at Connell Foley.
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The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28
Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.
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SC Ruling Reinforces All Sums Coverage Trend
A South Carolina state court's recent ruling in Covil v. Pennsylvania National is the latest in a series of decisions, dating back to the 2016 New York Court of Appeals ruling in Viking Pump, that reject insurers' pro rata allocation argument, further supporting that all sums coverage is required whenever a loss could be covered under a policy in any other year, say Raymond Mascia and Thomas Dupont at Anderson Kill.
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A Defense Strategy For Addressing Copyright Fee-Shifting
Permissive fee-shifting under Section 505 of the Copyright Act poses unique challenges for copyright defendants, carrying an outsize impact on the economic incentive structure in copyright litigation, but relying on a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure may offer a potential solution by allowing defendants to recover attorney fees, say Hugh Marbury and Molly Shaffer at Cozen O'Connor.