Appellate

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Revives Puget Sound Pollution Row

    The Ninth Circuit sided with an environmental group Monday in a regulation enforcement case against the Port of Tacoma, Washington, partially overturning a lower court to find previous iterations of state stormwater permitting rules do extend across marine cargo terminals and other transportation facilities.

  • June 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Won't Rethink Drop Of Suit Over Doped Derby Horse

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Monday declined to rehear arguments from a group of gamblers who claim they should have been paid for their 2021 Kentucky Derby winning bets after the first-place horse was eventually disqualified for doping.

  • June 10, 2024

    Home Flooding Was Unavoidable, Agency Tells Appeals Court

    A Texas river management agency has told a state appeals court that a group of Houston residents' properties would have flooded regardless of its actions to mitigate Hurricane Harvey's effects, urging the appellate court to overturn a trial court order denying its bid for release from the residents' suit.

  • June 10, 2024

    IHS Urges Budget Shift After High Court Healthcare Ruling

    The Indian Health Service, following a divided U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that the federal government is liable for the reimbursement of millions in administrative healthcare costs for two Native American tribes, is urging Congress to shift its budget appropriations for fiscal year 2026 to protect the agency's overall health.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-City Worker's Accommodation Suit

    The Ninth Circuit declined Monday to revive an employee's suit alleging the city he worked for used an argument he had with police officers as a cover-up to fire him because he requested leave to treat a knee injury, ruling that the worker lacked proof of prejudice.

  • June 10, 2024

    'Wicked Smart' Justice Sworn In To Mass. High Court

    If there's one thing that makes Supreme Judicial Court Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian uncomfortable, it's praise, former WilmerHale partner Peter Macdonald told an audience of hundreds of the jurist's colleagues, friends and family during a ceremonial swearing-in Monday evening.

  • June 10, 2024

    Injured Teen Athlete Drops Michigan Supreme Court Appeal

    A high school athlete who claimed a car crash ended his hopes of a college baseball career settled his lawsuit Friday, weeks after Michigan's top court had expressed interest in his appeal, which turned on who decides the seriousness of a crash victim's injury.

  • June 10, 2024

    Colo. Justice Blasts Majority Decision In Judge DQ Case

    The Colorado Supreme Court reinstated a man's motor vehicle theft conviction Monday after he convinced a lower court to overturn it because the judge who presided over his trial should have been disqualified, with a dissenting justice arguing the ruling upends "long-settled law" as to when the right to seek such disqualification can be deemed to have been waived.

  • June 10, 2024

    Baltimore Lands $45M Deal With Allergan In Opioid Litigation

    Baltimore has put to rest its claims that Allergan played a part in the opioid crisis, reaching a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical company, an amount the city called "unprecedented" in an announcement on Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Choctaw's Dispute With CVS Must Be Arbitrated

    A Ninth Circuit panel forced the Choctaw Nation to arbitrate a dispute over prescription drug reimbursement with CVS Health Corp. subsidiaries, affirming an Arizona federal judge's order in a published opinion Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Colo. Justices Say Toxic Tort Plaintiffs Didn't Waive Privilege

    Colorado's justices on Monday said plaintiffs suing a medical sterilization plant over exposure to a carcinogen cannot be forced to turn over communications with their lawyers related to an expert report, rejecting the plant's argument that the disclosure of a spreadsheet to an expert waived attorney-client privilege.

  • June 10, 2024

    Ga. Panel Revives Woman's Crash Injury Suit Against Sheriff

    A Georgia Court of Appeals panel revived a crash lawsuit against a Georgia sheriff and deputy Monday, ruling that the plaintiffs' serving of the suit upon county government officials instead of the sheriff himself did not doom her case after all.

  • June 10, 2024

    Unclaimed Property Group Backs Disney At Mich. High Court

    An unclaimed property holder trade organization urged the Michigan Supreme Court to affirm that the state waited too long to demand that Disney and a restaurant company remit unclaimed property, arguing that third-party auditors' lax oversight allowed examinations to languish beyond the statute of limitations.

  • June 10, 2024

    Split 4th Circ. Tosses Suit Over 'Forever Chemicals' In NC

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that environmental groups couldn't challenge in district court the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's selection of particular so-called forever chemicals for testing after the agency agreed, at the groups' request, to research the chemicals' effects in North Carolina.

  • June 10, 2024

    Colo. Justices Say Doc-Patient Privilege Mirrors Atty-Client

    The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that doctor-patient privilege does persist after a patient dies but that a "testamentary exception" exists for when a late patient's medical records become necessary information to execute their estate, similar to how attorney-client privilege works.

  • June 10, 2024

    Split Mich. Panel Says Attorney-Free Confession OK For Court

    A split Michigan appellate panel said a judge should have admitted a video of a defendant confessing to hitting someone with his truck because the defendant signed multiple documents waiving his right to have counsel present, although a dissenting judge said police "misled" the defendant and took advantage of his confusion.

  • June 10, 2024

    3 Takeaways From Cigna's Win In 9th Circ. Rehab Claim Fight

    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision finding Cigna is off the hook for $8.6 million in out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims against employee benefit plans administered by the insurer could discourage similar litigation, benefits attorneys say. Here are three key takeaways from the decision.

  • June 10, 2024

    EPA Air Compliance Rule Trumps State Powers, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency usurped state authority when it issued a final rule changing the deadline for states to submit Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants and other existing facilities within their borders, 25 Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Doubts Suit Challenging US Military Aid To Israel

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Monday of reviving a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's support for Israel's military efforts in Gaza, with two judges saying the injunctive relief requests are "extraordinary" and broad, and a third judge saying reviving the case would essentially have courts running the U.S. military.

  • June 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Upends Dallas School District Win In Age Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit from a Dallas school district worker who said she was passed over for promotions and fired because she was in her mid-50s, saying a trial court held her to too high a standard when it threw out her lawsuit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Supreme Court Rejects WWII Oil Refinery Cleanup Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court left intact on Monday a Sixth Circuit decision that the federal government can't be held liable for environmental contamination left behind by oil refineries during World War II, rejecting a petition for certiorari filed by Valero Energy Corp.

  • June 10, 2024

    2nd Circ. Remands Malpractice Suit Against DLA Piper

    The Second Circuit on Monday sent back to state court a Chinese smart car technology company's malpractice suit against DLA Piper that accused the firm of mishandling a shareholder suit, with the appeals court panel saying federal court does not have jurisdiction over the suit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Kan. Court Rejects Valuation Based On Overturned Precedent

    The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals incorrectly relied on overturned precedent when it lowered a Home Depot's property value by almost $2 million, the Kansas Appeals Court ruled.

  • June 10, 2024

    Rutgers GC, Former NJ AG Tapped For State Supreme Court

    John Jay Hoffman, general counsel at Rutgers University since 2016 and acting New Jersey attorney general under former Gov. Chris Christie, is Gov. Phil Murphy's latest pick for the state Supreme Court, the governor announced Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Full 9th Circ. Rules AB5 And Its Exemptions Are Lawful

    The California Legislature had a plausible reason for creating certain carveouts from a state law governing whether workers are employees or independent contractors, the full Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, departing from a panel's decision that Assembly Bill 5 disfavors companies such as Uber.

Expert Analysis

  • What Have We Learned In The Year Since Warhol?

    Author Photo

    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.

  • The Practical Effects Of Justices' Arbitration Exemption Ruling

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Practical Pointers After Fed. Circ. Double-Patenting Decision

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Sorting Circuit Split On Foreign Arbitration Treaty's Authority

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Corp. Transparency Act Could Survive 11th Circ. Several Ways

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Del. Match.com Ruling Maintains Precedent In Time Of Change

    Author Photo

    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.

  • The Future Of BIPA Insurance Litigation After Visual Pak

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Macquarie Ruling Raises The Bar For Securities Fraud Claims

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week in Macquarie Infrastructure v. Moab Partners — holding that a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule does not forbid omissions in company disclosures unless they render other statements false — is a major setback for plaintiffs pursuing securities fraud claims against corporations, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Patent Lessons From 8 Federal Circuit Reversals In March

    Author Photo

    A number of Federal Circuit patent decisions last month reversed or vacated underlying rulings, providing guidance regarding the definiteness of a claim that include multiple limitations of different scopes, the importance of adequate jury instruction, the proper scope of the precedent, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • NC Rulings Show Bankruptcy Isn't Only For Insolvent Debtors

    Author Photo

    Two recent rulings from a North Carolina bankruptcy court show that lack of financial distress is not a requirement for bankruptcy protection, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, but these types of cases can still be dismissed for other reasons, say Stuart Gordon and Alexandria Vath at Rivkin Radler.

  • A Look At Ex Parte Seizures 8 Years Post-DTSA

    Author Photo

    In the eight years since the Defend Trade Secrets Act was enacted, not much has changed for jurisprudence on ex parte seizures, but a few seminal rulings show that there still isn’t a bright line on what qualifies as extraordinary circumstances warranting a seizure, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Series

    Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.

  • 10 Years After Alice, Predictability Debate Lingers

    Author Photo

    A decade after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice ruling, critics continue to argue that the subject matter eligibility framework it established yields inconsistent results, but that contention is disproved by affirmance data from the Federal Circuit, district courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, say Dennis Abdelnour and David Thomas at Honigman.

  • Cannabis Ruling Lights Path For Bankruptcy Protection

    Author Photo

    A recent Massachusetts bankruptcy appellate court ruling in Blumsack v. Harrington leaves the door open for those employed in the cannabis industry to seek bankruptcy relief where certain conditions are met, but rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug may complicate matters, say Jane Haviland and Kathryn Droumbakis at Mintz.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!