Appellate

  • October 02, 2026

    5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will convene Monday to begin its 2026 October term, which includes several cases that could determine the future of climate change tort litigation, expand religious freedoms and parental rights, and grant states authority to require proof of citizenship when individuals register for presidential elections using state forms. 

  • October 02, 2026

    4 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch In October

    Former Intel workers' bid to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their suit alleging shoddy retirement plan investments tops the list of oral arguments slated for October that benefits attorneys may want to keep an eye on. Here's a look at that case and three others teed up for argument this month.

  • October 01, 2026

    Fate Of Patent Awards Over $1B Shows Hurdles In Apple Case

    Taction Technology Inc. has secured the largest patent damages verdict in history with a $5.7 billion win against Apple Inc., but it may face an uphill battle to collect, since nearly every previous patent judgment over $1 billion was later reduced or overturned.

  • October 01, 2026

    5th Circ. Rejects Jewish Man's Bias Suit Against Franchise

    The Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday that a Jewish man cannot become a franchisee of a Christian-only automotive franchise, saying the franchise does not discriminate against Jewish ethnicity and the law at issue does not bar religious discrimination.

  • October 01, 2026

    6th Circ. Backs Immunity In Search Of Empty Home

    Michigan state troopers who searched a vacationing couple's home while attempting to execute a bench warrant are protected by qualified immunity because existing case law has not established that such a search is a violation of constitutional rights, a Sixth Circuit panel said Wednesday.

  • October 01, 2026

    Mich. Panel Revives Child Sex Case Over Possible Entrapment

    The Michigan Court of Appeals has "conditionally reversed" a man's conviction for "child sexually abusive activity," with a panel finding that his counsel did not correctly challenge a police sting operation, causing him to be ineffectively represented at trial.

  • October 01, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink Vacating Contractor's $12.7M Award

    The Federal Circuit said Thursday it won't disturb a unanimous three-judge panel's decision vacating a roughly $12.7 million award a software developer won against the federal government over unauthorized software copies, denying a panel rehearing and rehearing en banc.

  • October 01, 2026

    7th Circ. Asks When Int'l Arbitration Pacts Are 'Null And Void'

    The Seventh Circuit for the first time is grappling with the grounds under which courts may determine if an international arbitration clause is null and void, with one judge questioning Thursday whether consumers should be forced to arbitrate their claims against online casino operators in Canada if Ontario law could ultimately invalidate any resulting award.

  • October 01, 2026

    $16B Ruling Faces High Court Sovereign Immunity Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to review an "egregiously wrong" Second Circuit decision that overturned a New York judge's $16 billion judgment against Argentina that arose from its nationalization of YPF SA, the country's largest oil and gas exploration company.

  • October 01, 2026

    Water Utilities Say EPA Rule Defines Them Too Broadly

    The fate of a federal plan to eliminate the nation's lead drinking-water pipes may come down to a debate over the definition of a public water system.

  • October 01, 2026

    Hospital Can't Privately Contact Ex-Docs, Wash. Justices Rule

    Washington's Supreme Court split 6-3 Thursday in ruling that Virginia Mason Medical Center improperly engaged in private communications with a malpractice plaintiff's treating doctors by failing to go through formal discovery or establish the patient's knowledge or consent.

  • October 01, 2026

    NFL Concussion Claims Constitute Separate Occurrences

    A New York appeals court held Thursday that concussion-related injury claims brought by former professional football players should be treated as separate occurrences under the NFL's insurance policies, thus implicating coverage under a primary policy but not a fifth-layer excess policy.

  • October 01, 2026

    Trump Says Copyright Chief Can't Stay In Office Amid Appeal

    The Trump administration is urging the D.C. Circuit to let it remove U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision protecting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook for now does not entitle Perlmutter to remain in office while her firing challenge proceeds.

  • October 01, 2026

    Pa. Justices Keep But Decry $250K Damages Cap In $7M Case

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has opted to preserve the $250,000 limit on damages claims against state agencies, with the majority of justices rejecting a constitutional challenge to the cap because it doesn't impede a plaintiff's right to a jury trial, only the amount of recovery.

  • October 01, 2026

    Aya Health Tells 9th Circ. It Needn't Seek Suits Against Itself

    Aya Healthcare urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to undo an order pausing its wage-and-hour arbitration bid, arguing that requiring the travel nursing agency to first notify 400,000 workers of the collective action before deciding whether arbitration is appropriate violates the Federal Arbitration Act and essentially forces Aya to solicit lawsuits against itself.

  • October 01, 2026

    Blue States Fight EPA Rollback Of Power Plant Climate Rules

    A New York-led coalition of mostly Democratic states and municipalities lodged a petition on Thursday before the D.C. Circuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent repeal of Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

  • October 01, 2026

    Colo. Judicial Branch Announces Death Of Former Justice

    The Colorado Judicial Branch late Thursday afternoon announced the death of former Justice Melissa Hart, who retired from the Colorado Supreme Court in December. 

  • October 01, 2026

    11th Circ. Told Maduro Owes $217M, Not Venezuelan Oil Co.

    Venezuela's state oil company told the Eleventh Circuit that it shouldn't be forced to pay a $217 million judgment owed to the family of a political opposition leader who was tortured and killed by his government, arguing Thursday that it was never an agent of former dictator Nicolás Maduro. 

  • October 01, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Galderma In Injection Training IP Case

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed an order clearing Galderma SA of a medical training startup's accusations that it misappropriated trade secrets related to an injection training system and derailed what could have been a lucrative deal with Allergan PLC.

  • October 01, 2026

    7th Circ. Won't Rehear Enbridge's Wis. Tribal Trespass Fight

    The Seventh Circuit has refused to rehear Enbridge Energy's petition seeking to overturn a decision that its Line 5 pipeline is trespassing on Wisconsin tribal lands, but also sent back to a lower court a $5.2 million restitution order for a portion of the pipeline's removal.

  • October 01, 2026

    Kalshi Looks To Shield Sports Offerings At 2nd Circ.

    Prediction market giant Kalshi has asked the Second Circuit to shield its sports offerings from Connecticut gaming enforcers, drilling down on its position that those offerings ought to be immune from state scrutiny.

  • October 01, 2026

    High Court Will Hear Kentucky Religious Land Use Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has partially granted a review petition filed by a Roman Catholic nonprofit that's embroiled in a legal dispute with two Kentucky neighbors who don't want the nonprofit to build a Virgin Mary shrine on land that's next to the organization's church.

  • October 01, 2026

    Samsung Win Affirmed Over 'Scientifically Impossible' Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday found that wireless communications patent claims asserted against Samsung were invalid because they did not enable a skilled person to make and use the invention, ruling that "the claims explicitly cover a scientific impossibility that cannot be made or used by a skilled artisan."

  • October 01, 2026

    Developer Bound By Emailed Settlement Offer, Court Says

    A three-sentence email with the subject line "settlement communication," which proposed a meeting followed by dismissal of a lawsuit over a real estate development, was a binding agreement to end the case, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appellate court said Thursday.

  • October 01, 2026

    Pa. Justices Back Transit Prosecutor Law Challenged By DA

    The Pennsylvania Legislature's creation of a "special prosecutor" to address Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's allegedly unsatisfactory handling of crime in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority does not run afoul of the state constitution because of the city's special status, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court's Hikma Decision Reshapes 'Skinny Label' Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hikma v. Amarin marks a significant victory for generic drug manufacturers, but rather than putting an end to so-called skinny label inducement claims, it narrows and refocuses them, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    At High Court, Oil Cos.' Suncor Preemption Claims Fall Short

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    In Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, oil and gas companies argue that municipalities' climate deception claims are equivalent to emissions standards for their industry — but the suit is ultimately incapable of imposing such standards, say Thomas McGarity at the University of Texas School of Law and James Goodwin at the Center for Progressive Reform.

  • 3 Disgorgement Questions Linger After Justices' SEC Ruling

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission avoided placing new limits on the SEC’s disgorgement powers, it passed over several questions, including whether the commission can seek disgorgement when returning the money to investors isn't possible, says David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher.

  • Checking For AI Errors Is Now A Two-Way Street

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    A handful of recent federal and state cases demonstrate the importance of checking for errors generated by artificial intelligence not only in your own court submissions, but also your opponent's, as well as when catching opposing counsel's AI mistakes could result in an award for attorney fees, says Tamara Barago at Hollingsworth.

  • Opinion

    Federal Circuit Should Implement Mini En Banc Process

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    To fulfill its mission of uniformity in patent law while avoiding the challenges of en banc hearings, the Federal Circuit should institute mini en bancs — allowing regular three-judge panels to exercise en banc powers unless a majority of the court says otherwise, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • What's Next After Justices' Last-Mile Driver Arbitration Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Flowers Foods v. Brock, refusing to narrow the scope of a Federal Arbitration Act exemption for workers engaged in interstate commerce, gives previously unprotected workers access to litigation, but preserves two potentially powerful arguments for future proceedings, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Shoring Up Corporate Law In Maryland

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    Launched more than 20 years ago to improve complex corporate adjudication, Maryland's Business and Technology Case Management Program has been a solid success in some areas, but there always is room for improvement, says Bill Krulak at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • How End Of SEC 'Gag Rule' Affects Free Speech Certiorari Bid

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    The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of the so-called gag rule, which forbade defendants in settlements from denying the SEC’s allegations, may sway the outcome of a petition to the Supreme Court in a case challenging the rule on First Amendment grounds, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • 2nd Circ.'s Embedded Video Ruling May Protect Publishers

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Richardson v. Townsquare, dismissing an infringement claim arising from an embedding of a YouTube-hosted interview, reaffirms a potent defense for publishers who regularly use social media platforms' embed functionality, says Amanda Harris at Jassy Vick.

  • Federal Officer Removal After Justices' La. Pollution Ruling

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, companies seeking to use federal officer removal to move litigation out of state court should ask three questions, focusing on government contract language, federally directed activity and related conduct, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • Series

    Competing At Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing poker in male-dominated rooms taught me to treat skepticism as background noise when my opponents seem to underestimate me, to apply pressure when it matters and to adapt without losing strategic discipline — skills that are all indispensable in restructuring and insolvency matters, says Alexis Gambale at Pashman Stein.

  • Revisiting TransUnion's Underused Standing Rule, 5 Years On

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    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent use of the U.S. Supreme Court’s now five-year-old TransUnion v. Ramirez rule specifying that the "mere risk of future harm" isn't concrete enough to support a damages claim presents an opportunity to revisit this underutilized standing rule, say attorneys at Horvitz & Levy.

  • 5 Things Associates Must Ask About Their Firm's Merger Plan

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    The associates who navigate law firm mergers best ask the right questions early, such as inquiring about partners' plans, to assess how the merger could affect their workflow and career path, says Jackie Bokser-LeFebvre at Major Lindsey.

  • Uncertainty Looms After Justices' Withdrawal Liability Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in M&K Employee Solutions v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund increases the unpredictability of withdrawal liability assessments, so employers should prepare for a range of assessments and be equipped to challenge unreasonable ones, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.

  • CFTC Trading Rule Can't Police Prediction Markets Yet

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    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recent efforts to police insider trading in prediction markets through a post-Dodd-Frank anti-fraud rule exposes doctrinal gaps around misappropriation theory, leaving platforms to fill the void with win-rate-based surveillance, says attorney Tamara de Silva.

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