Appellate

  • May 06, 2024

    Trump Attys Again Ask 6th Circ. To Reconsider Sanctions

    Attorneys who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan have once again asked the Sixth Circuit to rethink its decision leaving intact a district court's sanctions against them, arguing that new facts and U.S. Supreme Court precedent warrant recalling the appellate court's mandate.

  • May 06, 2024

    13 Judges Boycott Columbia Clerks Over Protest Response

    A group of 13 federal judges told Columbia University's president Monday they won't hire students who attend the university or its law school as clerks, calling it an "incubator of bigotry" for its handling of student protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a copy of their letter that U.S. District Judge Alan Albright shared with Law360.

  • May 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB Invalidation Of Voice Command IP

    The Federal Circuit on Monday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision declaring that Mycroft AI had shown that several claims of a Voice Tech Corp. voice command patent for mobile devices were not valid.

  • May 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Dubious Of DMCA Speech-Rights Fight

    Opponents of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provision met a skeptical D.C. Circuit panel on Monday as judges grappled with whether the provision hinders First Amendment activity.

  • May 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Hints At Reviving Suit Against 'Insider' Hedge Fund

    The Second Circuit on Monday appeared ready to revive a derivative lawsuit against a hedge fund alleged to have profited from its status as a corporate insider of 1-800-Flowers, with a majority of the court casting doubt on the fund's argument that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision defeats the case on standing.

  • May 06, 2024

    Colo. Court Order Smashes Atty-Client Privilege, Insurer Says

    The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal of a Denver trial court order in a construction insurance case that an insurer warns would "eviscerate privilege protection for the vast majority of attorney-client privileged communications in society."

  • May 06, 2024

    Colo. Justices To Hear College COVID Refund Case

    The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday it will consider whether students at Colorado State University campuses can still pursue a class action seeking fee refunds after a state appeals court found the public university system was justified in closing campuses because of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • May 06, 2024

    GM Tells Mich. Justices Not To Heap On More Auto Regulation

    General Motors urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject a call to expand the reach of a state consumer protection law to the automotive industry and others, saying federal and state oversight already protects car buyers.

  • May 06, 2024

    Tribes, Groups Seek 9th Circ. Stay In Power Line Ruling

    Two Native American tribes and conservation groups are asking the Ninth Circuit for a stay on an order that allows work to continue on a $10 billion power line, saying that without an emergency injunction, SunZia Transmission LLC will race to finish erecting its remaining towers before an appeal can be resolved.

  • May 06, 2024

    University Policy Is Enforceable Promise, Colo. Justices Find

    The University of Denver must face breach-of-contract claims by a former student who alleges school officials botched a sexual misconduct probe used to support his expulsion, with the Colorado Supreme Court concluding on Monday that the promise in university policy to conduct "thorough, impartial and fair" investigations is enforceable under contract law.

  • May 06, 2024

    Employer's Good Faith Axes Paystub Fine, Calif. Justices Rule

    The California Supreme Court on Monday held that if an employer had a good faith belief it was providing complete and accurate wage statements to its employees, it has not knowingly and intentionally violated state labor law, meaning workers cannot recover civil penalties offered for intentional violations of wage statement requirements.

  • May 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Airline Workers' Hearing-Loss Suit

    A pair of flight attendants seeking to hold Boeing liable over hearing loss they suffered due to an aircraft's allegedly faulty smoke alarm have successfully convinced a Fifth Circuit panel to allow them to refile their case, bringing their claims back from the brink almost three years after the appeals court tossed them.

  • May 06, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Ford In Black Ex-Plumber's Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Monday upheld Ford Motor Co.'s defeat of a former plumber's lawsuit alleging she was punished for reporting she'd been treated harshly by her supervisor because she's a Black Muslim woman, finding nothing wrong with a lower court tossing the case.

  • May 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Urged Not To Limit Use Of Patents Apps At PTAB

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Samsung, and tech industry groups have urged the Federal Circuit to reject an argument that patent applications can only be used to invalidate patents in inter partes reviews based on their publication date, saying the filing date is what counts.

  • May 06, 2024

    9th Circ. Hints Walmart Can't Avoid Jury In Disability Bias Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel indicated Monday that it doubted Walmart Inc. was being honest when it told a vision-impaired employee seeking to come back from a leave of absence that no jobs were available, with one judge suggesting a jury should decide if the retail giant lied to the worker.

  • May 06, 2024

    FCC Calls High Court Telecom Subsidy Challenge Premature

    The Federal Communications Commission has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to forgo review in two constitutional challenges to the agency's Universal Services Fund brought by free-enterprise groups, arguing that the appeals were filed too early and are based on a speculative circuit split that hasn't formed yet.

  • May 06, 2024

    NJ Justices Erase Gov't Workplace Probe Confidentiality Rule

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of a state statute that directs investigators to request, but not require, confidentiality in discrimination or harassment investigations involving state workers, ruling the provision still reached too far and chilled protected speech.

  • May 06, 2024

    Mass. Justices Wary Of Spiking Uber, Lyft Ballot Questions

    Justices on Massachusetts' highest court appeared unlikely Monday to strike down ballot proposals to reinvent app-based drivers' relationships with Uber, Lyft and the like, commenting that the scattershot ideas for voters in March all carry the underlying theme of creating a carveout from the state's worker-friendly employee classification law.

  • May 06, 2024

    4th Circ. Clinches NBA Star Win In Legal Saga With Ex-Agent ​​​​​​​

    NBA star forward Zion Williamson secured a Fourth Circuit victory on Monday in a prolonged legal battle with his would-be agent, with a unanimous panel ruling his contract with the Florida marketing agency was void under a North Carolina law governing student-athlete representation.

  • May 06, 2024

    DeSantis, Ousted Fla. Atty Clash Over Reinstatement Powers

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and ousted prosecutor Andrew Warren have offered dueling takes over whether federal courts have jurisdiction to reinstate suspended state officers in competing briefs filed with the Eleventh Circuit.

  • May 06, 2024

    Calif. Doctors Can't Escape Med Mal Atty's Defamation Suit

    A California appeals court has said two California doctors cannot escape a defamation suit over an allegedly defamatory website they created about a malpractice attorney whom they'd had a fee dispute with, denying an anti-SLAPP motion because the language the lawyer identified in his amended complaint was not protected activity.

  • May 06, 2024

    Margolis Edelstein Wants Redo Of Malpractice Ruling In Del.

    Margolis Edelstein wants the Delaware Supreme Court to reconsider its decision reviving an insurer's malpractice suit claiming its incompetence caused the insurer to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, and is asking the full court to rehear the matter.

  • May 06, 2024

    Ritz-Carlton Defeats Post-Hurricane Layoff Claims At 1st Circ.

    The First Circuit has said a Puerto Rico federal judge was right to rule in favor of a Ritz-Carlton hotel in a suit by a proposed class of employees who claimed they were wrongfully laid off after the island was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.

  • May 06, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Pa. Agency Atty's Firing Suit

    The Third Circuit on Monday declined to revive a former Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development attorney's suit alleging his firing violated his 14th Amendment rights, reasoning that the lawyer failed to show how his termination constitutes a deprivation of property.

  • May 06, 2024

    New Jersey High Court Disbars Twice Suspended Atty

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has disbarred a Morris County attorney, agreeing with a state disciplinary review board that said his failure to cooperate with their investigations and continued misconduct warrants a ban from practicing in the state.

Expert Analysis

  • What Bankruptcy Deadline Appeal May Mean For Claimants

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    If the Third Circuit reverses a recent appeal made in In re: Promise Healthcare, litigation claimants within the circuit will not be able to rely on the proof of claim process to preserve the claim — but if the court affirms, the U.S. Supreme Court may need to step in to resolve the circuit split on this issue, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Why Fed. Circ. Should Resolve District Split On Patent Statute

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    A split exists among district courts in their analysis of when marking cannot be done on a patented article due to its character, and the Federal Circuit should consider clarifying the analysis of Section 287(a), a consequential statute with important implications for patent damages, say Nicholas Nowak and Jamie Dohopolski at Sterne Kessler.

  • Employers Beware Of NLRB Changes On Bad Faith Bargaining

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    Recent National Labor Relations Board decisions show a trend of the agency imposing harsher remedies on employers for bad faith bargaining over union contracts, a position upheld in the Ninth Circuit's recent NLRB v. Grill Concepts Services decision, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.

  • Strategies For Defense Attys To Subpoena A Nonparty Witness

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    Federal criminal defendants seeking to subpoena potentially exculpatory information from nonparty witnesses must satisfy a stringent standard and should consider several often overlooked arguments to assure courts they’re not engaging in a fishing expedition, says James Roberts at Schlam Stone.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule

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    The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

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