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Appellate
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May 08, 2024
Ind. Youth Center Rightly Denied Tax Exemption, Board Says
An Indiana youth center was correctly denied a religious tax exemption because the property is used to the benefit of the adopted children of the organization's founder, the state Board of Tax Review said in a decision published Wednesday.
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May 08, 2024
NJ Court Reverses Order Piercing School Board Atty Privilege
A New Jersey appellate court has reversed trial court orders compelling a school district to produce communications with its attorneys in a discrimination and malicious prosecution suit brought by a former administrator, finding that she had not established any Sixth Amendment right at stake to necessitate piercing attorney-client privilege.
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May 08, 2024
Conn. Justices To Hear McCarter & English Damages Demand
The Connecticut Supreme Court has accepted a certified question from a federal district court judge in McCarter & English LLP's yearslong fee feud with a former client, agreeing to decide whether the firm can recover punitive damages after years chasing Jarrow Formulas Inc. and winning a jury verdict last year.
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May 08, 2024
Proposal To Pick NJ Appeals Judges Ripped As 'Terrible Idea'
A chorus of legal voices from across New Jersey, including state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and the New Jersey State Bar Association, blasted a proposal to move the power to appoint state appeals court judges from the chief justice to the state Senate and the governor's office.
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May 08, 2024
Mass. Justices May Give Green Light To Tip Ballot Measure
Massachusetts' high court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday of arguments by a group of restaurant owners seeking to kill a ballot question that, if approved, would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to the state's $15-per-hour standard.
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May 08, 2024
Catholic School Defeats Gay Teacher's Bias Suit At 4th Circ.
The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday struck down a gay drama teacher's win in his suit alleging he was unlawfully fired by a Catholic school after announcing his wedding on Facebook, finding that his job entailed responsibilities that triggered a religious exception to anti-discrimination law.
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May 08, 2024
Ga. Appeals Court Will Review Trump DQ Bid In Election Case
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to review a judge's ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to continue prosecuting the election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump.
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May 08, 2024
Biden Picks US Magistrate Judge In Fla. For 11th Circ.
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his intent to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd to the Eleventh Circuit.
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May 07, 2024
Federal Courts Choosing To Stay Out Of Texas Grid Fights
The Fifth Circuit has again refused to wade into fights over actions taken by Texas' grid operator during a 2021 winter storm, further underscoring federal courts' reluctance to disturb the historic independence of the Lone Star State's electricity sector, attorneys say.
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May 07, 2024
10th Circ. Finds 'Religious Animus' In School's Vaccine Rules
The Tenth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the University of Colorado System's policies regarding COVID-19 vaccine exemptions violated constitutional religious liberty protections, saying its rules were motivated by "religious animus" and should have been blocked by a trial court.
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May 07, 2024
2nd Circ. Weighs Border Wall Fraud Juror's Tie To Prosecution
A Colorado man convicted of scheming to defraud donors to a campaign to build a southern border wall told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that his trial was tainted by a juror's family connection to the prosecution team.
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May 07, 2024
5th Circ. Urged To Reject Challenge To Board Diversity Rule
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund urged the Fifth Circuit not to upend a Nasdaq Stock Market rule meant to encourage corporate board diversity, saying in a brief Monday that the rule's opponents have staked out a "radical" position on the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution that threatens to "entrench ... barriers to opportunity."
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May 07, 2024
DC Circ. Examines Timing In ITC's Bid To Investigate Expert
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday scrutinized the U.S. International Trade Commission's bid to revive an investigation into a former expert witness retained by Qualcomm for allegedly breaching a protective order, questioning whether the expert's successful suit to stop the probe was premature, as the commission claims.
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May 07, 2024
Fed. Circ. Seems Wary Of Broad's CRISPR Inventorship Win
Federal Circuit Judge Todd Hughes on Tuesday suggested that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board cited the correct standard when reviewing who first invented a particular use of the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, but then applied an improper standard when ruling in favor of a Massachusetts research team.
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May 07, 2024
Duke Energy Rival Stresses Holistic View Of Monopoly Suit
Duke Energy's contract snub and price drops reveal a bid to monopolize the North Carolina market when the conduct is viewed holistically rather than in piecemeal fashion, a rival told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday in an attempt to revive antitrust claims.
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May 07, 2024
NYC Eatery Asks 2nd Circ. To Undo Revival Of Workers' Suit
A New York City restaurant operator urged the Second Circuit Tuesday to reject a lower court finding that its workers' federal wage claims may be cut from their class action but can also be reinstated if the appeals court were to vacate their state wage claims, insisting the decision is unfair.
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May 07, 2024
PNC Bank Entitled To Atty Fees In Defamation Suit, Court Says
The Georgia Court of Appeals granted an appeal by PNC Bank to receive attorney fees from a customer-launched defamation suit it defeated, finding that the award is mandatory under Georgia law while also ruling that the bank does not have to turn over documents requested by the suing customer.
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May 07, 2024
Remote Atty Is No Reason For Mistrial, 10th Circ. Says
In a published opinion Tuesday, a Tenth Circuit panel ruled that the remote court appearance of a plaintiff's attorney who contracted COVID-19 was not grounds to declare a mistrial after a Black utility worker lost his Title VII workplace discrimination case in Kansas, finding that the plaintiff could not show that he was prejudiced by his lead counsel's absence.
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May 07, 2024
Feds Tell 11th Circ. Justices' Ruling Saves DHS Parole Policies
The Biden administration has urged the Eleventh Circuit to vacate separate decisions from a Florida federal judge striking down two U.S. Department of Homeland Security parole policies, saying U.S. Supreme Court precedent mandates that outcome.
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May 07, 2024
Insurer Seeks Hearing Cancellation In Arbitrator Bias Dispute
An insurer seeking the removal of an arbitrator in a Bermuda reinsurance coverage dispute told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that a hearing on the issue should be canceled as an award was issued in the arbitration, rendering the dispute moot.
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May 07, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Removal Fight Over Justices' Notice Ruling
A Honduran woman who received a notice to appear in immigration court without a time specified can resume fighting her deportation after the Ninth Circuit leaned on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring all court hearing information to be on a single document.
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May 07, 2024
Ex-Tugboat CEO Can't Reinstate $75M Defamation Verdict
A Washington state appeals panel won't let the former CEO of boating company Harley Marine Services Inc. reinstate a $75 million defamation verdict against his former business partners, finding that the comments that formed the basis for the verdict are covered under the state's "absolute" litigation privilege.
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May 07, 2024
DOJ Tells High Court To Undo 4th Circ. OT Carveout Ruling
Employers need only adhere to a less stringent standard in proving whether a worker is overtime-exempt, the U.S. Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday in support of the reversal of a Fourth Circuit ruling that sales workers didn't fit the carveout's guidelines.
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May 07, 2024
Contract's 1-Year Limit Doesn't Block NC Mold Claims
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a couple's suit against a contractor they say failed to remediate water and mold damage in their house, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the contract's one-year limitation on claims applied to the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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May 07, 2024
Fla. Schools And Hospitals Fight To Save Opioid Claims
Five public hospital districts and two school districts told a Florida appeals court Tuesday that their claims for damages from the opioid crisis should not be eclipsed by the attorney general's settlements with opioid makers and distributors, arguing that she did not have the authority to bring claims on their behalf.
Expert Analysis
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7th Circ. Mootness Fee Case May Curb Frivolous Merger Suits
On April 15, the Seventh Circuit in Jorge Alcarez v. Akorn Inc. mapped out a framework for courts to consider mootness fees paid to individual shareholders after the voluntary dismissal of a challenge to a public company merger, which could encourage objections to mootness fees and reduce the number of frivolous merger challenges filed, say attorneys at Skadden.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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What 3rd Circ. Trust Ruling Means For Securitization Market
Mercedes Tunstall and Michael Gambro at Cadwalader break down the Third Circuit's March decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust, as well as predict next steps in the litigation and the implications of the decision for servicers and the securitization industry as a whole.
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9th Circ. Ruling Puts Teeth Into Mental Health Parity Claims
In its recent finding that UnitedHealth applied an excessively strict review process for substance use disorder treatment claims, the Ninth Circuit provided guidance on how to plead a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violation and took a step toward achieving mental health parity in healthcare, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Using Rule 23(f) To Review Class Certification Orders
Since plaintiffs on average are prevailing in certifying a class more often than not, the best-positioned class action defendants are those prepared to pursue relief under Rule 23(f) well before the district court issues its certification decision, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Perspectives
Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.
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Opinion
SC's Courts Have It Wrong On Amazon Marketplace Sales Tax
The South Carolina Supreme Court should step in and correct the misguided change in tax law effectuated by lower court rulings that found Amazon owes state sales tax for marketplace sales made prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair v. South Dakota decision in 2018, says Hayes Holderness at the University of Richmond.
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What Have We Learned In The Year Since Warhol?
In the almost year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which was widely seen as potentially chilling to creative endeavors, seven subsequent decisions — while illuminating to some extent — do not indicate any trend toward a radical departure from prior precedents in fair use cases, says Jose Sariego at Bilzin Sumberg.
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The Practical Effects Of Justices' Arbitration Exemption Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries, that a transportation worker need not work in the transportation industry to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, may negatively affect employers' efforts to mitigate class action risk via arbitration agreement enforcement, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.
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Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.
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Practical Pointers After Fed. Circ. Double-Patenting Decision
With the Federal Circuit recently denying a full court review of In re: Cellect, a decision regarding obviousness-type double-patenting, affected patent family holders should evaluate their rights through both patent prosecution and future litigation lenses to minimize risks, say Austin Lorch and Jeff Wolfson at Haynes Boone.
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Sorting Circuit Split On Foreign Arbitration Treaty's Authority
A circuit court split over whether the New York Convention supersedes state law barring arbitration in certain disputes — a frequent issue in insurance matters — has left lower courts to rely on conflicting decisions, but the doctrine of self-executing treaties makes it clear that the convention overrules state law, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.
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Corp. Transparency Act Could Survive 11th Circ. Several Ways
If the Eleventh Circuit upholds an Alabama federal court’s injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, the anti-money laundering law could persist as a narrower version that could moot some constitutional challenges, but these remedies would likely generate additional regulatory or statutory ambiguities that would result in further litigation, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Del. Match.com Ruling Maintains Precedent In Time Of Change
Despite speculation that the Delaware Supreme Court could drive away corporations if it lowered the bar for business judgment review in its Match.com stockholder ruling, the court broke its recent run of controversial precedent-busting decisions by upholding, and arguably strengthening, minority stockholder protections against controller coercion, say Renee Zaytsev and Marc Ayala at Boies Schiller.
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The Future Of BIPA Insurance Litigation After Visual Pak
A recent Illinois appellate court decision, National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak, may have altered the future of insurance litigation under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by diametrically opposing a prominent Seventh Circuit ruling that found insurance coverage for violations of the act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.