Appellate

  • June 20, 2025

    Justices Say Fuel Groups Can Fight Emissions Waiver

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said that fuel industry groups can challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that has allowed California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • June 20, 2025

    4 ERISA Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2025

    The U.S. Department of Labor's challenge to a pair of injunctions blocking Biden-era regulations that broaden who qualifies as an investment advice fiduciary under federal benefits law tops the list of cases benefits attorneys will be watching in the latter half of the year.

  • June 18, 2025

    6th Circ. Vacates Removal, Judge Slams High Court's Ruling

    The Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that U.S. Supreme Court precedent required it to vacate a Mexican native's removal order after his U.S. citizenship was revoked for not disclosing a criminal charge, although one circuit judge said it was time justices reconsidered the precedent.

  • June 18, 2025

    Tesla Says Justices Shouldn't Wait On La. Auto Sales Law

    Tesla is asking the U.S. Supreme Court not to push off considering Louisiana regulators' petition seeking to appeal the revival of a lawsuit brought by the electric-car maker targeting the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, even though the state has asked the justices to wait.

  • June 18, 2025

    ACLU Asks 5th Circ. To Note Report Disputing Gang Invasion

    The American Civil Liberties Union advised the Fifth Circuit to consider a National Intelligence Council assessment that the Maduro regime likely does not cooperate with the Tren de Aragua gang in its bid to halt removals under the Alien Enemies Act in the Northern District of Texas.

  • June 18, 2025

    Feds Want Nuke Trust Earnings To Offset DOE Breach Awards

    The U.S. government asked the Federal Circuit to toss a ruling holding that trust fund earnings that reimbursed closed nuclear plant owners' spent fuel storage costs should not offset the damages awarded for the Energy Department's ongoing failure to accept fuels for disposal.

  • June 18, 2025

    Mississippi Social Media Law Blocked Again By Federal Judge

    A Mississippi federal judge reinstated a preliminary injunction Wednesday that blocks a state law requiring digital service providers to verify users' ages and social media platforms to acquire parental consent for a minor's account, preventing it from taking effect after the Fifth Circuit lifted the court's previous injunction.

  • June 18, 2025

    Caterpillar Must Face Jury Over Ex-Worker's Age Bias Claim

    The Seventh Circuit reversed Caterpillar's summary judgment win over a former employee's age discrimination claim on Wednesday, saying a jury should decide whether the company reasonably placed the worker on a performance action plan that included a deadline that had already passed.

  • June 18, 2025

    Ga. Panel Affirms Emory's Early Win In Neonatal Care Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said a trial court rightly freed Emory Healthcare from a suit alleging that a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit failed to spot an intravenous line infiltration that left a newborn with skin and tissue deformities.

  • June 18, 2025

    India Says Justices' Ruling Doesn't Change Its $156M Appeal

    India has told the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving personal jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not address whether it is entitled to constitutional due process protections as it fights a nearly $156 million judgment against it.

  • June 18, 2025

    Sotera Investors Urge 6th Circ. To Reopen Toxic Gas Suit

    Sotera Health investors are seeking to revive a lawsuit accusing the company of concealing the carcinogenic nature of a gas used at its sterilization plants, telling the Sixth Circuit that the company knew that its "outrageous and cynical" behavior would cost it hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • June 18, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Ban On Handgun Sales To Young Adults

    A Fourth Circuit panel upheld a set of federal laws barring licensed firearm dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds Wednesday, reversing lower court decisions in Virginia and West Virginia in a split decision.

  • June 18, 2025

    NC Panel Rejects HCA Unit's Appeal Over Rival Project Award

    A North Carolina appeals court on Wednesday rejected an HCA Healthcare subsidiary's challenge to an award of a certificate of need allowing a rival to build a new acute care facility, backing a decision in favor of the state health department behind the award.

  • June 18, 2025

    High Court Concurrences Signal Hard Battle For Trans Rights

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's two most conservative members Wednesday to suggest laws that differentiate based on transgender status should be subject to the lowest level of judicial review, providing guidance to lower courts that will likely make it harder for litigants to vindicate trans rights.

  • June 18, 2025

    11th Circ. Gives Longshoreman Another Shot At Crash Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday revived a Georgia longshoreman's suit over his being hit by another worker's truck at the Port of Savannah, ruling that contrary to a district court's finding, it was "anything but" certain that the driver hadn't been on the clock at the time of the crash.

  • June 18, 2025

    NY High Court Lifts Block On NYC Shifting Retiree Healthcare

    New York's highest court lifted an injunction Wednesday that had blocked New York City from switching retired city employees' health insurance provider, ruling that the city never promised its retirees that it would keep them on a Medicare supplemental plan.

  • June 18, 2025

    Seychelles Co. Brings $22M Guinea Award To DC Circ.

    A consulting company is asking the D.C. Circuit to revive its bid to enforce a $22 million arbitration award against the Republic of Guinea, contending that the lower court was wrong to toss the case on jurisdictional grounds.

  • June 18, 2025

    Punitive Damages Allowed In Mother's Hotel Fire Death Suit

    A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday allowed a mother to amend her complaint to seek punitive damages against a hotel over her blind adult son's death in a fire, finding her evidence proffer is sufficient to support the claim.

  • June 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses NLRB Order On Union Jurisdiction Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday axed a National Labor Relations Board order barring a longshore union from going after maintenance work in the Port of Seattle that was awarded to the Machinists, with one judge inviting en banc review of appeals court precedent about work preservation defenses.

  • June 18, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Blocks ITC Sanctions Appeal Without Import Tie

    The Federal Circuit does not have jurisdiction to review whether the U.S. International Trade Commission properly denied Realtek's request for sanctions based on a third-party licensing agreement, as it has no bearing on the question of illegal imports, the court concluded Wednesday.

  • June 18, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Partly Undoes Walmart Copyright Verdict

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed part of a jury's verdict that found Walmart had violated a sculptor's copyrights by selling knockoffs of her lamps, allowing the retail giant to escape paying her attorney fees for now.

  • June 18, 2025

    Ga. Court Backs Dismissal Of Hemp Farm's Drug Raid Suit

    A Georgia appellate panel has said that state law enforcement cannot be held liable for allegedly damaging tens of thousands of dollars worth of product at a hemp farm, ruling that the Georgia Department of Public Safety was wholly shielded by sovereign immunity.

  • June 18, 2025

    Online Bookstore Investors Seek Del. Sale Suit Revival

    Stockholders of an online "virtual" bookstore that lost money for years urged Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday to reverse a Court of Chancery decision upholding a $12.5 million sale to the company's preferred shareholders under a disputed liquidation preference.

  • June 18, 2025

    Mich. Panel Revives Contract Carpenter's Racial Bias Suit

    A Michigan appellate panel has reopened a Black man's employment discrimination lawsuit against a carpentry company where he claimed to have been called racial slurs by coworkers, saying a trial court was wrong to toss the suit solely because the worker was an independent contractor.

  • June 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Papa John's Win Against Wiretapping Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a customer's proposed class action accusing Papa John's of recording website visitors' activities in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, ruling Wednesday the pizza chain, as a party to the communications, can't be liable for spying on its own conversation. 

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail CFPB

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide

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    If upheld on appeal, Vetter v. Resnik, a recent ruling from a Louisiana federal court, could extend the geographical scope of U.S. copyright termination rights to foreign territories, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards

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    Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Provides Guidance On 363 Asset Sales

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    HE v. Avadim Holdings, a recent ruling from the District of Delaware, underscores the principle that rejection of executory contracts does not unwind completed transfers of property and the importance of clear and precise language in sale orders and asset purchase agreements in bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • FLSA Ruling Shows Split Over Court Approval Of Settlements

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    A Kentucky federal court's recent ruling in Bazemore v. Papa John's highlights a growing trend of courts finding they are not required, or even authorized, to approve private settlements releasing Fair Labor Standards Act claims, underscoring a jurisdictional split and open questions that practitioners need to grapple with, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dewberry v. Dewberry hones in on the question of how a defendant's affiliates' profits should be treated under the Lanham Act, and should remind trademark litigants and practitioners that issues involving monetary relief should be treated seriously, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court

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    The Trump administration is likely to drop the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas after its review of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rule, but any outcome will be significant for institutions participating in programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • When Reincorporation Out Of Del. Isn't A Good Idea

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    While recent high-profile corporate moves out of Delaware have prompted discussion about the benefits of incorporation elsewhere, for many, remaining in the First State may be the right decision due to its deep body of business law, tradition of nonjury trials and other factors, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Perspectives

    11th Circ. Ruling Shows How AEDPA Limits Habeas Relief

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision to uphold an Alabama man's death sentence reveals how the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act can prevent meaningful review and has eroded the power of habeas corpus petitions by forcing federal courts to pay extraordinary deference to state-level rulings, says Paul Shechtman at Yale Law School.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Future Of The Superfund PFAS Rule

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent grant of a pause in litigation while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the Biden-era designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous" under the Superfund law creates new uncertainty for companies — but more lawsuits are likely as long as the rule remains in effect, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

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