Appellate

  • May 01, 2024

    Kramer Levin Boosts Appellate, Litigation Team With DOJ Atty

    Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has hired an appellate attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice, who joins the firm's litigation department as partner and will also serve as deputy chair of the firm's U.S. Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    Federal Prosecutor Confirmed As Illinois District Judge

    The Senate voted 54-44 on Wednesday to confirm Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgia N. Alexakis as a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

  • May 01, 2024

    Army Corps Says Taking Over Fla. CWA Permits Is No Problem

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday told the D.C. Circuit that, following a lower court's decision to strip Florida of its authority to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program, it has already taken over the work and expects no serious issues.

  • May 01, 2024

    5th Circ. Wants Texas Injunction Ruling In CFPB Late Fee Case

    In a late Tuesday twist, the Fifth Circuit has sent a banking industry lawsuit over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule back to Texas federal court, saying it doesn't want to be the first to decide whether the rule should be blocked from taking effect later this month.

  • April 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Nixes Software Co.'s $1.6B Win In IBM Contract Row

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a Texas federal court's $1.6 billion ruling against IBM, finding that Houston-based software company BMC lost out to IBM "fair and square" when IBM fulfilled a request by their mutual client AT&T to replace BMC's software in AT&T's mainframe with IBM's.

  • April 30, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Commerzbank RMBS Suit Against US Bank

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived part of a nearly decade-old Commerzbank AG lawsuit brought against U.S. Bank NA over its role as a trustee on a slew of pre-2008 crisis RMBS trusts, sending some of the German bank's previously dismissed claims back to district court for a "closer inspection."

  • April 30, 2024

    Tech. Orgs Deny Being 'Apple's Puppets' In Watch Ban Fight

    A group of technology industry groups claimed they are "not Apple's puppets" as they seek to back the company in its Federal Circuit appeal of the U.S. International Trade Commission's ban on imports of Apple Watch models capable of monitoring blood oxygen levels.

  • April 30, 2024

    Justices Told Error Admission Merits Respect In Capital Case

    Attorneys general from across the country implored the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to give the "utmost" deference to Oklahoma's confession that prosecutorial misconduct led to the wrongful conviction of a death row inmate and to overturn a state court ruling that rebuffed the admission and upheld the conviction.

  • April 30, 2024

    TracFone Must Pay Wash. City's Utility Tax

    Prepaid phone businesses are utilities and can be taxed as such under Washington state law, according to a state appeals court that had been posed such a question as part of a dispute between TracFone and a Seattle suburb.

  • April 30, 2024

    Texas Appeals Panel Keeps Court Reporter's AI Case Alive

    An Austin, Texas, appeals panel on Tuesday kept alive a court reporter's attempt to pursue an administrative complaint against an artificial intelligence-powered "digital reporting firm," rejecting a state agency's argument that jurisdictional issues block the court reporter from seeking a writ of mandamus compelling the agency to consider her claims.

  • April 30, 2024

    Atty Tells Trump Jury That Hush Money Deal Almost Tanked

    An attorney who previously represented adult film star Stormy Daniels told jurors Tuesday in the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump about how the $130,000 hush money agreement at the heart of the case was nearly derailed after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen would not close the deal.

  • April 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Questions Texas' Standing In SEC Proxy Rule Battle

    The Fifth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday of a Texas-led challenge to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulation that will require fund managers to make it easier for investors to identify ESG issues on corporate ballots, with the judges wondering whether the Lone Star State and others had standing to bring the lawsuit.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Fights GEO's Bid For Final End To ICE Detention Law

    The state of Washington pushed back against GEO Group's effort to scrap its law allowing surprise inspections and raising hygiene standards at immigration detention facilities, saying the private prison operator is already partly shielded from enforcement of the law while a Washington federal court considers its constitutional challenge.

  • April 30, 2024

    Where VLSI-Intel's High-Stakes Patent Battle Stands Now

    Intel has managed to turn the tide on litigation where it had faced the daunting possibility of owing VLSI Technology more than $3 billion for infringing microchip patents, with the tech company winning patent invalidations and a large verdict do-over. Here's a look at where the multifaceted litigation between the companies stands.

  • April 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Calif. Bar Didn't Violate Student's Fed. Rights

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of an octogenarian law school student's claims that the State Bar of California violated his 14th Amendment protected rights when it refused to excuse his delay in taking a first-year exam, saying the California Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over admission matters.

  • April 30, 2024

    Texas Doctor Can't Get Expert Report Tossed In Suicide Suit

    A Texas appeals court on Tuesday refused to dismiss a mother's suit alleging a doctor and medical center failed to properly treat her son's depression, saying the expert report is sufficient in laying out how the doctor's alleged negligence led to the son's suicide.

  • April 30, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Costco's Win In Gas Price-Matching Feud

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Costco's victory against a dozen Wisconsin gas stations that claimed the warehouse giant sold regular unleaded fuel below a statutory minimum markup price that allegedly caused a decline in revenue, finding no evidence showing that Costco's pricing practices caused the stations a single lost sale.

  • April 30, 2024

    Drug Company Can't Escape Texas Counties' Opioid MDL

     A Texas appeals court on Tuesday declined to cut loose a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical manufacturer from Texas multidistrict litigation over opioid addiction in the state, finding that the counties of Dallas and Bexar have demonstrated that it's made deliberate moves toward the Texas market.

  • April 30, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Finds San Jose Nuisance Laws Constitutional

    A split Ninth Circuit panel held Tuesday that San Jose, California, did not violate the First Amendment rights of a nightclub operator by suspending its license following a shooting, affirming that the public nuisance provisions and licensing scheme for entertainment venues used by the city are not unlawful prior restraints.

  • April 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Kavanaugh Classmate Takes On HuffPost

    The Third Circuit's May lineup will find the court weighing HuffPost's battle with an allegedly libeled former classmate of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and claims by consumers alleging they bought defective Bayer antifungal medicine.

  • April 30, 2024

    Colo. Justice Says Judges Need To Squash Lawyers' Sniping

    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Gabriel said Tuesday that more judges should call out lawyers' unprofessional behavior in their courtrooms to help restore civility in the profession, aiming to stamp out those behaving like "kids fighting in the sandbox." 

  • April 30, 2024

    Ex-Enforcers Back CoStar At 9th Circ. Against Antitrust Claims

    Several former antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court was right to toss a rival's claims that CoStar monopolizes commercial real estate information markets despite concerns from the Federal Trade Commission about the allegations.

  • April 30, 2024

    $626M Fee Award In BCBS Deal Is Unjust, High Court Told

    A member of the class that settled multidistrict litigation with Blue Cross Blue Shield for $2.67 billion over anti-competitive practices has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to the $626 million attorney fees award in the settlement, arguing the Eleventh Circuit's approval of the award runs counter to high court precedent.

  • April 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Biden Can Raise Contractors' Minimum Wage

    President Joe Biden's minimum hourly wage increase for federal contractors to $15 is intertwined with furthering the economy and is therefore supported by the Procurement Act, a split Tenth Circuit panel ruled Tuesday, agreeing with a Colorado federal court to keep the wage bump.

  • April 30, 2024

    Customers Can't Get Ill. ComEd Bribery Suit Restored

    An Illinois state appellate panel refused Monday to reinstate a putative class action accusing Commonwealth Edison of fraud in the wake of the utility's admission that it bribed the former Illinois House speaker to secure his support for favorable energy policy, saying the passage of the relevant legislation wasn't directly related to the bribes.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    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.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

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    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​​​​​​​.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    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.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    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.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    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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