Appellate

  • June 12, 2024

    Feds Urge 5th Circ. Against Fast-Tracking Parole Suit

    The Biden administration rebuked a Texas-led coalition's efforts to fast-track its challenge to an immigration program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, telling the Fifth Circuit the states won't suffer financial injury from the program while the case is underway.

  • June 12, 2024

    Atty Fights For Reinstatement In NC After Conviction

    Disbarred attorney Gregory Bartko pressed the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday to give him a shot at reinstatement, arguing that his 2010 conviction for fraud and money laundering doesn't allow the state bar organization to outright reject his request for being licensed again.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Seat Winner Accused Of Fraud Over Residency

    An unsuccessful candidate for a Georgia Court of Appeals seat has launched a bid challenging the victory of a former state bar leader, arguing that he committed election fraud when he lied about living in Atlanta when he qualified as a candidate.

  • June 12, 2024

    Dershowitz Wants Jury To Decide Defamation Suit Against CNN

    An attorney for law scholar Alan Dershowitz told an Eleventh Circuit panel Wednesday the court should revive a $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, arguing that a jury should decide whether the news network is liable for intentionally omitting Dershowitz's statements in broadcasts over former President Donald Trump's 2020 impeachment trial.

  • June 12, 2024

    Pleading Flaw Sinks $1.5M Malpractice Award In Miami

    A Miami appeals court on Wednesday vacated a $1.5 million legal malpractice arbitration award against The Ferraro Law Firm, finding the arbitrator had not followed pleading guidelines fairly in awarding the seven-figure award to the firm's ex-client, Royal Merchant Holdings LLC.

  • June 12, 2024

    Kelly Hart Atty, North Texas Judge Picked For Biz Court Seats

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced four more appointments to the statewide business court on Wednesday, a day after announcing his first picks for the state's newest appellate courts.

  • June 12, 2024

    Massachusetts Pot Shop To Take Union Fight To 1st Circ.

    A Massachusetts cannabis retailer found to have engaged in union busting is appealing a district court order that directed it to bargain with a United Food and Commercial Workers local and to offer to rehire two fired union supporters.

  • June 12, 2024

    Bannon Looks To Avoid Prison Amid Contempt Appeals

    Donald Trump ally Stephen Bannon wants the D.C. Circuit to put off his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress while he continues to challenge the conviction, contending that the case is likely to pique the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 12, 2024

    EPA Urges DC Circ. To Uphold Chemical Rule Deadline

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday asked the D.C. Circuit to reject a Louisiana-based neoprene manufacturer's bid to immediately block the EPA from enforcing a chemical emissions rule that will directly affect the company.

  • June 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Partially Nixes Injunction Over Amazon Firing

    The Second Circuit vacated on Wednesday a New York federal judge's order barring Amazon from firing workers for engaging in union activity, saying the judge did not explain why she imposed the broad prohibition while at the same time finding the company did not have to rehire a fired union activist.

  • June 12, 2024

    Biden Names Prosecutors, Judge For 3 District Courts

    President Joe Biden announced nominees Wednesday for district courts in Minnesota, California and Pennsylvania.

  • June 11, 2024

    Psychiatrist Can't Ax Verdict Over ADHD Drug Death

    A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday refused to let a psychiatrist off the hook for a $5 million jury verdict — later reduced to less than $1 million — that found that he had negligently prescribed amphetamines to a patient with a history of abusing them, ultimately resulting in a brain hemorrhage that killed her.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ohio Justices Will Review Bid To Toss Neck Injury Suit

    The Ohio Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would review an appellate court decision that pulled Mid-Ohio Physicians LLP and one of its doctors back into a medical malpractice lawsuit after they had escaped liability by leaning on the statute of limitations.

  • June 11, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Doubts Clinic's Standing To Block Bias Law

    During Sixth Circuit arguments Tuesday probing whether a Christian medical clinic can block Michigan from targeting it for refusing to facilitate gender transitions, one judge searched for evidence that the clinic is actually at risk of being prosecuted under the state's civil rights law.

  • June 11, 2024

    2nd Circ. Cites Macquarie In Booting Suit Over Go-Private Deal

    The Second Circuit refused to revive a proposed class action accusing a real estate services provider of artificially depressing share prices, applying apparently for the first time the U.S. Supreme Court's Macquarie decision on alleged failures to disclose certain information.

  • June 11, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Petrobras' Immunity Denial In Fraud Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the denial of Petrobras' immunity defense against an investor fraud lawsuit filed after the petroleum company was implicated in a sprawling bribery scheme, ruling that the alleged fraud caused a direct impact on the United States sufficient to pull Petrobras into the court's jurisdiction.

  • June 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Reinstates Parts Of Blood Analyzer Secrets Verdict

    The Federal Circuit decided Tuesday that a Rhode Island jury was right to find that an Italian company's blood analyzer computer code was stolen by a U.S. rival, but another jury will have to determine any damages.

  • June 11, 2024

    9th Circ. Judge On Theranos Appeal: 'Good Story' For Holmes

    Two Ninth Circuit judges on a three-judge panel expressed concerns Tuesday that the district judge presiding over convicted former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' criminal trial erred by allowing a layperson witness to offer expert testimony at trial, with one judge saying, "There's a pretty good story here for Ms. Holmes."

  • June 11, 2024

    Miss. Urges 5th Circ. To Approve Ban On Medical Pot Ads

    The state of Mississippi has told the Fifth Circuit that it should uphold state restrictions barring advertising for medical marijuana, saying that the First Amendment cannot protect such speech because marijuana is federally illegal.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ga. Justices Affirm Toss Of Adult Shop's Ordinance Challenge

    Georgia's justices on Tuesday affirmed a trial court's dismissal of an adult novelty chain's challenge of a Gwinnett County ordinance that restricts adult entertainment stores to certain locations and requires them to obtain an adult establishment license to operate, concluding that the suit was barred as an already-adjudicated matter.

  • June 11, 2024

    Senate Dems To Bring Supreme Court Ethics Bill Up For Vote

    U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., plans to bring his U.S. Supreme Court ethics reform bill up for a vote Wednesday in a move Republican lawmakers have already vowed to block.

  • June 11, 2024

    Moelis-Inspired Del. Corporate Law Bill Clears Senate Panel

    A string of law professors turned out Tuesday to oppose a Delaware Senate bill that would let boards cede some governance rights to big stockholders and some Delaware Court oversight to other jurisdictions, with the measure nevertheless cleared for a full Senate vote.

  • June 11, 2024

    Smoking Habit Can't Nix Retired Miner's Black Lung Benefits

    The Seventh Circuit on Monday backed a review board's decision to uphold black lung benefits for a retired coal worker who smoked cigarettes through his entire career in the mines, saying it wouldn't second-guess medical findings made at the administrative level.

  • June 11, 2024

    Co. Wants Instant Effect For Revival Of USPS Contract Dispute

    A canine screening company has urged the Federal Circuit to immediately issue a formal mandate after it revived the company's eligibility for disputed U.S. Postal Service mail screening contracts, seeking to block the USPS from transferring work away from the company.

  • June 11, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Wary Of Party Dissenters' 'Right' To Use Logo

    A Sixth Circuit judge seemed skeptical on Tuesday that limiting a dissenting faction of the Libertarian Party of Michigan's use of the name and logo of the Libertarian National Committee infringes the group's speech rights, saying members can still voice their opinions.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • 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.

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