Appellate

  • September 11, 2026

    Attys Must Arbitrate $8 Oil To Fight $625K Sanction: 9th Circ.

    Class action lawyers slapped with six-figure sanctions for suing Walmart Inc. based on erroneous purchase information can't yet challenge the discipline, the Ninth Circuit ruled, suggesting they may first need to arbitrate grievances over an $8 bottle of avocado oil.

  • September 11, 2026

    Tesla Investors Press Del. High Court To Keep Cases In State

    Tesla Inc. investors have asked the Delaware Supreme Court to keep in the state a trio of lawsuits accusing the carmaker and its CEO, Elon Musk, of breaching their fiduciary duty, after a Chancery Court judge ruled earlier this year that the cases belong in Texas.

  • September 11, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Workers' $7.8M BART Vax Exemption Verdict

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to disturb a $7.8 million verdict for six former San Francisco public rail employees who were let go after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on faith-based grounds, finding that the transit system did not show that it couldn't have safely accommodated the workers.

  • September 11, 2026

    Prediction Markets Ask Justices To Settle Sports Wager Split

    Crypto.com on Friday became the third party to call on the U.S. Supreme Court to address the closely-watched circuit split on prediction market regulation, challenging a Ninth Circuit decision that allowed Nevada regulators to police certain sports event contracts since their "substance" appeared to be gambling.

  • September 11, 2026

    'Creative' Settlement Path For EPRs Shows Wording Risks

    T-Mobile's use of a contingency payment to end patent litigation with Kaifi LLC highlights the difficulty of alleged infringers challenging patents through ex parte reexaminations, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceeding where they have no control, attorneys say.

  • September 11, 2026

    Calif. Panel Upholds Probation Therapy Terms

    A California state appeals court Friday affirmed probation terms requiring a man with substance abuse and personality disorders to attend therapy sessions at his probation officer's direction, finding trial courts have broad discretion in such matters.

  • September 11, 2026

    Kalshi Can Appeal Tribe's Sports Betting Claims, Judge Says

    A Wisconsin federal judge Friday said Kalshi can appeal a ruling allowing claims brought by the Ho-Chunk Nation to proceed, saying that since the issues involved will "certainly" make their way to the U.S. Supreme Court eventually, the Seventh Circuit should consider them now.

  • September 11, 2026

    11th Circ. Ruling Won't Prevent Qui Tam Constitutional Tests

    The Eleventh Circuit's holding that the False Claims Act's provisions letting private individuals sue on the federal government's behalf pass muster under the U.S. Constitution may do little to halt the growing wave of challenges seeking to knock down those provisions.

  • September 11, 2026

    5th Circ. Says Enviro Groups Timely In Prairie-Chicken Fight

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday allowed two environmental groups to join a lawsuit over the endangered designation of the lesser prairie-chicken, saying their second request to intervene was timely filed after the Trump administration made it clear it would stop defending the designation.

  • September 11, 2026

    Tatneft Says Ukraine Is Politicizing $173M Award Appeal

    The Russian oil company Tatneft pressed the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to restart litigation aimed at enforcing a confirmed $173 million arbitral award against Ukraine, accusing the country of relying on "unsupported assertions and innuendo" to keep the case on pause indefinitely.

  • September 11, 2026

    9th Circ. Leaves VA On Hook For Homeless Vet Housing

    The full Ninth Circuit Friday refused to revisit a ruling requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build supportive housing for homeless disabled veterans, sparking dissents that accused judges of swapping their robes for hard hats and "bulldozing" established disability law.

  • September 11, 2026

    Abbott Can Move Baby Formula Death Suit Out Of Illinois

    An Illinois state appeals court on Friday ordered the dismissal of a product liability suit alleging Abbott Laboratories' Similac formula caused a premature Florida infant's fatal case of necrotizing enterocolitis, finding the case belongs in Florida rather than Chicago's Cook County.

  • September 11, 2026

    7th Circ. Probes Ill. Nonprofit Demographic Disclosure Law

    A Seventh Circuit panel wrestled Friday with whether Illinois' law requiring nonprofits to publicize their demographic data merely encourages diversity or unconstitutionally compels speech, with one judge questioning whether its "nudging effects" establish an injury while another highlighted legislators' statements indicating a push to influence leadership or donor decisions.

  • September 11, 2026

    Academic Publishers Tell 2nd Circ. Antitrust Case Fell Short

    Major publishers of academic journals urged the Second Circuit to reject an appeal from researchers accusing them of colluding to eliminate pay for peer reviewers and impose other restrictions, saying the case is based on ethical guidelines that do not reflect a conspiracy at all.

  • September 11, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs $620K Award In Radiology Contract Fight

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a $620,000 arbitration award in favor of an Indian teleradiology company against a radiology provider, finding the arbitrator did not exceed his authority by interpreting the parties' long-standing services agreement.

  • September 11, 2026

    DC Circ. Probes DOT Authority To Withhold Calif. Funds

    A panel of D.C. Circuit judges grilled a Trump administration attorney Friday over the U.S. Department of Transportation's move to slash California's federal highway funding because of the state's commercial driver's licensing rules for nondomiciled drivers, wondering whether the agency had any authority to take the drastic measure.

  • September 11, 2026

    Prediction Markets' High Court Clash Looks More Imminent

    The widespread clash over whether the regulation of prediction markets falls under federal or state jurisdiction was bound to land in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a new circuit split and urgent policy questions may force the justices' hands to take up the issue.

  • September 11, 2026

    FCC Can't Avoid Final Order On Fox Philly Issue, Court Told

    A media advocacy group told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that the Federal Communications Commission cannot sidestep its duty to issue a final order on whether to dismiss a petition over Fox TV's character fitness for a broadcast license in Philadelphia.

  • September 11, 2026

    Split Fed. Circ. Backs Amazon's Win Over Network Patent Suit

    A split Federal Circuit panel Friday upheld Amazon's escape from an infringement case over an AlterWAN Inc. network patent, with the dissenting judge saying the panel needlessly went "down the rabbit hole" and arrived at a "flat wrong" claim construction.

  • September 11, 2026

    Mass. Justices Eye Hardship Factor In Pension Loss Cases

    Massachusetts' highest court seemed open Friday to taking financial circumstances into account in deciding whether two former public employees should lose their pensions for committing overtime fraud, although one justice worried doing so would "invite chaos."

  • September 11, 2026

    Mich. Township Seeks To Pause Winery Events Fight

    A northern Michigan township asked a federal judge to dismiss or stay a lawsuit brought by several local wineries that claim the township is attempting to bypass a previous court ruling to block them from hosting special events, saying the township's appeal of that earlier ruling remains pending in the Sixth Circuit.

  • September 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Questions Medical Training Co.'s $100M Deal Theory

    A medical training startup urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to revive claims accusing Galderma of a "classic catch-and-kill strategy" to derail what it says could have been a $100 million deal with Allergan, but a three-judge panel questioned whether that theory had been properly presented below.

  • September 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Agrees Globus Didn't Infringe Spinal Surgery IP

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a Pennsylvania federal judge's decisions clearing Globus Medical Inc. of infringing Moskowitz Family LLC spinal surgery tool patents, agreeing that language used in the patents' opening statement, or preamble, limited their scope.

  • September 11, 2026

    Corp. Transparency Law Unconstitutional, Justices Told

    The Supreme Court should find that the Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional to prevent a future administration from reviving its application to domestic entities, the National Small Business Association told the justices.

  • September 11, 2026

    'Quiet On Set' Makers Beat Producer's Libel Fight On Appeal

    A California appellate court Thursday reversed a lower court ruling and threw out Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider's defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery and the makers of the "Quiet on Set" docuseries, finding that the series constitutes speech protected by the anti-SLAPP statute and Schneider isn't likely to win his claims.

Expert Analysis

  • Vanda Ruling Offers New Guide To Generic Labeling Disputes

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration is significant for its guidance on when generic-drug labeling remains sufficiently similar to brand labeling and when a difference requires a statutory exception, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

  • 9th Circ. Comet Ruling Spotlights Trade Secret Proof Burdens

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision to vacate a $40 million verdict awarded to Comet Technologies in its trade secret dispute with XP Power underscores how the burden of proof differs between federal and state law, giving litigants a fresh perspective on several issues, including how a jury should be instructed, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Minn. Ruling Expands Insureds' Right To Independent Counsel

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    If upheld on appeal, a recent decision by a Minnesota appellate court — Fabyanske Westra Hart & Thomson v. Western National Mutual Insurance — will give Minnesota policyholders a stronger basis to demand independent counsel when an insurer accepts a defense under a reservation of rights, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • The Future Of DOL Judge Removal Challenges After Slaughter

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Slaughter calls into question whether U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges exercising significant governmental authority remain insulated from presidential removal, but the answer depends on the governing statute, its severability provisions and other factors, says Mark Ishu at Conn Maciel.

  • DOJ Executive Privilege Opinion Portends 3rd-Party Dilemmas

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    The recent opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concluding that executive privilege can shield the president's communications with private advisers may lead to interbranch disputes, and companies must come up with a response plan now before they’re caught in the middle, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Lays Out Administrative Right-Of-Access Blueprint

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    In Civil Rights Corps v. LaSalle, the Second Circuit recently held that the First Amendment dictates a presumptive right of access to sealed attorney grievance proceedings, providing a framework for challenging other administrative regimes that operate behind closed doors, says Jonathan Ginsberg at Carlton Fields.

  • How 'Swap' Fight Underpins Prediction Market Enforcement

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    As courts around the country grapple with whether, and under what circumstances, event contracts qualify as swaps, federal enforcement authority hangs in the balance, with implications for companies that need to manage compliance risks during this period of legal uncertainty, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Fed. Circ. Dental IP Ruling Reinforces Prior Art Framework

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Dental Monitoring v. Align Technology reaffirms the necessity of substantive written description support for establishing an earlier effective prior art date under the America Invents Act, and aligns Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice with district court litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Justices' Hikma Reasoning May Extend Well Beyond Pharma

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    The active steps framework announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Hikma v. Amarin decision, finding that Amarin failed to plausibly allege inducement of infringement, has the potential to reshape how courts evaluate inducement claims across patent, copyright and other doctrines, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • 10th Circ. Ruling Propels Emerging 'Occurrence' Consensus

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    The Tenth Circuit recently revived the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' bid for insurance coverage in a sexual abuse case, continuing a trend as the second circuit court to find that, where ambiguous, the definition of "occurrence" must be interpreted in favor of coverage, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • The State Of Prediction Market Litigation After 9th Circ. Ruling

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalshi v. Assad gives state regulators significant appellate backing to enforce state gaming laws over prediction markets, creating a direct split with the Third Circuit that will likely lead to Supreme Court review of the question, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • 11th Circ. FCA Qui Tam Revival Queues Up Next Challenges

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    Though the Eleventh Circuit on Sept. 1 upheld the constitutionality of the False Claims Act's qui tam provision, it will probably face continued litigation since the appellate court declined to rule on other constitutional challenges and the decision will likely be petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

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