Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
April 15, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court Must Consider Pay In Navajo Benefits Bid
The Ninth Circuit has vacated a ruling that a Navajo Nation member failed to prove he was wrongfully denied relocation benefits after the U.S. gave his ancestral lands to the Hopi Tribe, with a split panel remanding the case to federal district court with instructions to consider evidence of his income.
-
April 15, 2024
Power Seller Presses 5th Circ. To Uphold $25M Contract Win
An electricity seller on Friday told the Fifth Circuit that a lower court got it right when it awarded more than $25 million in a contract fight with a power trader over electricity price-hedging deals that sustained heavy losses during 2021's Winter Storm Uri.
-
April 15, 2024
Detroit Fire Safety 'Tax' Case Heads To Mich. Justices
The Michigan Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Detroit's fire safety inspection fees, taking up an appeal from a pipe fitter's proposed class action alleging that the charges amounted to unlawful taxes.
-
April 15, 2024
Versace Mansion Workers Lose Bid To Revive Wage Claims
Workers at the former Versace Mansion can't revive their minimum wage claims because a service fee charge is not a discretionary tip and was lawfully used to top off the workers' base hourly pay, the Eleventh Circuit said Monday.
-
April 15, 2024
Meta, FTC Pause Constitutionality Fight For High Court Ruling
Meta and the Federal Trade Commission agreed Monday to pause Meta's challenge of FTC changes to a 2020 settlement over user privacy until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling on a similar case involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
-
April 15, 2024
4th Circ. Upholds W.Va.'s Win In Coal Mine Cleanup Suit
The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed a West Virginia federal court's order ending developers' allegations that the state's environmental regulators' reclamation efforts at an old coal mining site constituted illegal dumping, finding the lower court correctly concluded the efforts are exempt from regulations prohibiting open dumps.
-
April 15, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms Timberland Boots' Trade Dress Bid Denial
The Fourth Circuit decided Monday that a Virginia federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland's Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers' minds.
-
April 15, 2024
Ohio IP Firm Beats Appeal In $42K Billing Fight
An Ohio state appeals court has left intact a nearly $42,000 judgment Amin Turocy & Watson LLP won in a billing dispute with a client, reasoning that the materials Just Funky provided to fight the firm's summary judgment bid lacked the necessary detail.
-
April 15, 2024
Calif. AG Backs Unfair Competition Claims Against State Farm
California policyholders should be able to assert claims under the state's unfair competition law independent of a one-year claim filing deadline under their insurance policy, state Attorney General Rob Bonta told the California Supreme Court, backing a San Francisco homeowner's unfair competition claims against a State Farm unit.
-
April 15, 2024
Republican AGs Ask 5th Circ. To Knock Out DOL Rule For ESG
A group of Republican-led states have urged the Fifth Circuit to scrap a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement advisers to consider social and political issues when choosing investments, arguing that the agency is flouting protections set in stone by federal benefits law.
-
April 15, 2024
2nd Circ. Affirms Telecom Co.'s $13M Union Pension Bill
The Second Circuit upheld a New York federal court's determination that a telecommunications company owed $13 million in withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension plan for electrical and contract workers, agreeing Monday with an arbitrator's finding that a construction industry exception didn't apply to the disputed work.
-
April 15, 2024
9th Circ. To Hear Hunter Biden Appeal In Criminal Tax Case
The Ninth Circuit will hear Hunter Biden's argument that a California federal judge wrongly rejected requests by his defense team to toss a criminal tax case that Biden has claimed is politically motivated and vindictive, according to a notice filed Monday.
-
April 15, 2024
Feds Tells Justices US Citizen Lacks Interest In Spouse's Visa
The U.S. State Department told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that U.S. citizens don't have a constitutional right to know why consular officers deny their spouses' visas, saying that any requirement to provide an explanation would raise national security concerns.
-
April 15, 2024
Sotomayor, Jackson Dissent As Court Rejects Capital Cases
In a pair of dissents, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor on Monday broke with a majority of their colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court who declined to hear two death penalty cases.
-
April 15, 2024
Retired Atty Censured For Using Disbarred NJ Lawyer's Biz
The New Jersey Supreme Court has censured a retired attorney for retaining a litigation support company run by an attorney who had been disbarred following his theft conviction, according to an order filed Monday.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Nix FDA Labeling Preemption For State Claims
The Supreme Court on Monday let stand lower court findings that the unique authority of the federal Food and Drug Administration preempted and, therefore, justified dismissing a proposed class action that alleged a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary broke Massachusetts law by misbranding Lactaid drug products as dietary supplements.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Revive 7 Immigration Appeals After Hardship Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in seven cases and remanded all of them in light of its recent ruling that circuit courts have the authority to review hardship determinations in immigration appeals.
-
April 15, 2024
High Court Turns Away Fired Male Doctor's Sex Bias Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a cardiologist's unsuccessful gender bias suit alleging he was fired after being falsely accused of mistreating female colleagues, despite his argument that the Second Circuit used the wrong legal standard when it backed the case's dismissal.
-
April 15, 2024
Justice Thomas Misses Monday's Supreme Court Arguments
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was absent Monday for oral arguments examining disputes over whether accepting illegal gratuities without a quid pro quo is prohibited under a federal bribery statute and what test courts should apply when determining whether malicious prosecution claims can proceed.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Brokerage's Arbitration Claim In Fees Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear HomeServices of America's argument that certain class members in a lawsuit over real estate agents' commissions should have been compelled to arbitrate their antitrust claims rather than taking them to a jury.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Skip Appeal Over $36M Sanction In TM Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider the appeal of a man who argued the Ninth Circuit was wrong to impose $36 million in sanctions against him and several companies in a trademark dispute, the justices said Monday.
-
April 15, 2024
1st Circ. Reopens Fired Whole Foods Worker's BLM Mask Suit
The First Circuit reinstated a lawsuit accusing Whole Foods of unlawfully disciplining and then firing an employee who wore a Black Lives Matter mask at work, overturning the Amazon-owned supermarket chain's pretrial win.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Allow Class Action Over ATM Fees To Proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a D.C. Circuit decision affirming class certifications in a long-running ATM fee dispute, which Visa and Mastercard claimed created a circuit split over the correct standard of review courts should use when considering certification motions.
-
April 15, 2024
High Court Won't Hear California Tribal Casino Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by an anti-casino advocacy group seeking to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision that dismissed their case after determining that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians is eligible to go forward with its project in California.
-
April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Review Ex-NYC Union Head's Bribery Rap
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the appeal of a former New York City union president who was convicted of taking bribes from now-defunct hedge fund Platinum Partners, rejecting a petition that argued his attorney failed to tell him about the trial judge's conflicts of interest.
Expert Analysis
-
9th Circ. Scienter Ruling May Strengthen FDA's Leverage
A recent Ninth Circuit decision in U.S. v. Marschall — regarding scienter and violations of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act — appears to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration another arrow in its quiver to lob in the direction of any repeat offender, with potentially very broad applications, say Elena Quattrone and Zachary Taylor at Epstein Becker.
-
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
-
Lessons Learned From 2023's Top ADA Decisions
This year saw the courts delving into the complexities of employee accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act in the post-pandemic workplace, going beyond bright-line rules with fact-intensive inquiries that are likely to create uncertainty for employers, says Linda Dwoskin at Dechert.
-
A Year Of Transition At The Agenda-Setting 5th Circ.
Under the spotlight of hot issues this year, the Fifth Circuit has appeared to be an ideological court generating controversial decisions and attracting certiorari-grants — but in the shadows and liminal spaces of the everyday issues, the court and its members operate in a much more nuanced and less-divisive way, says Tad Bartlett at Fishman Haygood.
-
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
-
Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal and state courts made 2023 another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and retaliation developments, including the SEC’s massive whistleblower awards, which are likely to continue into 2024 and further incentivize individuals to submit tips, say attorneys at Proskauer.
-
A Look At FedNow Liability Allocation And A 4th Circ. Toss-Up
Dsu-Wei Yuen and Andrew Lorentz at Davis Wright break down the current legal requirements that are directly applicable to common electronic payment systems like FedNow and Automated Clearing House and how they could be affected by a decision in Studco v. 1st Advantage Credit Union, currently on appeal in the Fourth Circuit.
-
A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.
-
5 Trends To Watch In Property And Casualty Class Actions
In 2023, class action decisions have altered the landscape for five major types of claims affecting property and casualty insurers — total loss vehicle valuation, labor depreciation, other structural loss estimating theories, total loss vehicle tax and regulatory fees, and New Mexico's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage sale requirements, say Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.
-
Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
-
How The PTAB Landscape Shifted In 2023
Attorneys at Finnegan consider the impact of noteworthy Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments in 2023, including rulemaking, litigation, precedential decisions and director reviews that affected PTAB practice, and offer a reference for examining future proceedings and strategies.
-
Opinion
What Happens If High Court Rejects Releases In Purdue Ch. 11
Reading the tea leaves following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, it appears likely that the justices will decide that bankruptcy courts lack the power to release third-party claims against nondebtors, which would result in one of three scenarios, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
-
A Review Of 2023's Most Notable Securities Litigation
There is much to be learned from the most prominent private securities cases of 2023, specifically the Tesla trial, the U.S. Supreme Court's Slack decision and the resolution of Goldman Sachs litigation, but one lesson running through all of them is that there can be rewards at the end of the line for defendants willing to go the distance, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
-
FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.
-
Why Courts Are Nixing Insurer Defense Recoupment Claims
Following a recent trend, the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Bodell Construction Co. provides a concise explanation of the argument that an insurer generally may not recoup costs for defending claims, based on three considerations, says Bradley Nash at Hoguet Newman.