Appellate

  • May 01, 2024

    Texas 'Gave Away The Game' In ATF Suit, 5th Circ. Judge Says

    A Fifth Circuit judge told Texas it "just gave away the game" by stating that the application for obtaining a firearm suppressor counts as the injury, asking how the state could contend it had experienced such an injury without having applied for a license to own a suppressor during oral arguments Wednesday in a suit challenging federal firearm regulations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Median Patent Damages Awards Are Shrinking

    A New York accounting firm that provides damages experts for intellectual property cases has found in a new study that median damages awards in patent cases have declined over the last 15 years.

  • May 01, 2024

    Judges Say Homeowners' Fight Over Airport Not Grounded Yet

    A Washington couple violated their homeowners' association covenants by running a wing-walking flight school out of their home, but it is unclear if they ran afoul of community rules by using an association-owned airstrip for their business, according to a state appeals court opinion reversing a restriction on the couple's use of the airstrip.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ala., Fla. Trans Patients Urge 11th Circ. To Heed Bias Ruling

    Attorneys representing transgender clients in Florida and Alabama have urged the Eleventh Circuit to heed a recent Fourth Circuit ruling striking down bans on state-funded coverage for gender-affirming medical care, saying the court ruled that the state policies violate federal law because their exclusions were based on gender identity and sex.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ariz. AG Warns Repeal Of 1864 Abortion Ban May Be Too Late

    Legislation narrowly adopted Wednesday to repeal Arizona's 1864 abortion law won't be enough on its own to keep the near-total ban from taking effect this summer, the state attorney general warned, because the bill lacks an emergency clause.

  • May 01, 2024

    5 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In May

    The Second Circuit will be asked to revive a 401(k) mismanagement suit against Deloitte, the Sixth Circuit will consider whether to force arbitration of a 401(k) fee suit against two automotive companies, and the Seventh Circuit will review the U.S. Department of Labor's court-ordered takeover of a multiemployer benefit fund. Here, Law360 looks at five appellate arguments benefits attorneys will want to keep an eye on this month.

  • May 01, 2024

    6th Circ. Says Precedent Revives Salvadoran's Removal Fight

    The Board of Immigration Appeals misread precedent in finding that a Salvadoran man convicted of a misdemeanor under a Tennessee domestic violence law is barred from canceling his removal based on a disqualifying crime of violence, the Sixth Circuit has ruled.

  • May 01, 2024

    DC Circ. Scrutinizes Social Welfare In Tribe's Land Trust Bid

    The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday grappled with whether a Native American tribe's bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture would promote tribe members' social welfare, as one judge sounded wary of such a move's repercussions.

  • May 01, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives WDTX Patent Suit Tossed Over Standing

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a decision by Western District of Texas Judge Alan Albright that a company suing Zebra Technologies Corp. for patent infringement lacked constitutional standing, holding instead that the plaintiff retained patent rights under a loan agreement.

  • May 01, 2024

    Pa. Court Upholds University Cop's Firing Over Racist Posts

    A Pennsylvania appeals court scrapped the reinstatement Wednesday of a Kutztown University police officer who was fired for sharing racist and offensive posts on his personal Facebook page, ruling that the arbitrator who gave him his job back improperly ignored anti-bias laws.

  • May 01, 2024

    No Relief For Fla. Adviser Convicted In $80M Trading Scam

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of a Florida investment adviser who bilked more than $80 million from the hundreds of people he persuaded to invest in a fraudulent company, after concluding he was not in custody when he made statements to the police.

  • May 01, 2024

    9th Circ. Slams Door On Kids' Climate Case

    The Ninth Circuit ordered an Oregon federal judge Wednesday to immediately dismiss a closely watched suit by young adults against the federal government over the effects of climate change, saying its earlier order to end the matter could not be brushed off.

  • May 01, 2024

    Split 2nd Circ. Backs Arbitration Denial In ERISA Suit

    A divided Second Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that a group of financial services companies can't compel individual arbitration of a proposed class action accusing them of overcharging an employee stock ownership plan, saying that doing so would prevent a plan participant from seeking planwide remedies authorized by federal benefits law.

  • May 01, 2024

    Meta's Privacy Fight With FTC Paused For High Court Ruling

    The D.C. Circuit has pressed pause on Meta's bid to block the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing modifications to the parties' $5 billion privacy settlement to await the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house courts.

  • May 01, 2024

    3rd Circ. Flags Bayer's Knowledge Of Tainted Fungal Spray

    A proposed class of consumers who bought tainted Bayer antifungal sprays said they should have standing to sue because they didn't get the "benefit of the bargain" — and a Third Circuit panel questioned Wednesday if Bayer's separate suit blaming a supplier made the consumers' case for them.

  • May 01, 2024

    Oil Drilling Workers Urge High Court Not To Review PPE Suit

    The Third Circuit's view that time putting on and taking off personal protective equipment becomes compensable if the gear is integral and indispensable to employees' work actually aligns with a Second Circuit's standard, oil rig workers told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    Del. Justices Reverse Toss Of $7.3B Inovalon Deal Challenge

    Delaware's top court on Wednesday reversed a Chancery Court dismissal of stockholder challenges to the $7.3 billion go-private sale of Inovalon Holdings Inc. to Nordic Capital, saying that the lower court wrongly concluded that minority investors were adequately informed about the deal and special committee conflicts of interest.

  • May 01, 2024

    Eateries Note 'Fatal' Concession By Insurer In NC COVID Row

    Cincinnati Insurance Co. made a "fatal" concession when it argued that "physical loss" merely requires "some sort of dispossession," a group of 16 restaurants told the North Carolina Supreme Court, urging it to reinstate their COVID-19 coverage win that got reversed on appeal. 

  • May 01, 2024

    6th Circ. May Unbuckle Supplier From Seat Belt Parts Contract

    One Sixth Circuit judge seemed prepared Wednesday to free a supplier from a court order to continue fulfilling a seat belt system manufacturer's orders, indicating that he didn't think the terms of the companies' contract obligated them to each other long-term.   

  • May 01, 2024

    Georgia Co. Says City Must Pay $5M For Road Project Delays

    A Georgia paving company that sued the city of Smyrna for $5 million in damages after it allegedly pushed a multimillion-dollar road construction project past its completion deadline urged the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday to overturn a trial court ruling that freed the city from its claims.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ohio Justices Say Workers' Comp Appeal Didn't Expire

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed an injured Whirlpool Corp. worker to continue his appeal of an order denying him additional workers' compensation coverage, saying the state Industrial Commission's five-year limit on jurisdiction doesn't apply to his appeal in state court.

  • May 01, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of Medicare Drug 'Price-Setting'

    A Fifth Circuit judge on Wednesday sharply criticized the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, characterizing it as government "price-setting" and questioning "what possible procompetitive justification" there can be for penalizing companies that don't participate.

  • May 01, 2024

    Tribe Fires Back At Feds' Brief In Enbridge Pipeline Row

    The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians has called on the Seventh Circuit to reject in part the federal government's position in an appeal over the future of Enbridge Energy's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline.

  • May 01, 2024

    DC Circ. Torn Over FERC's San Francisco Power Order

    D.C. Circuit judges were undecided as to what Congress intended when it grandfathered certain consumers into a power-carrying agreement between San Francisco and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in 1992, with the company arguing Wednesday that a recent regulatory order would allow far more consumers into the deal than it was meant for.

  • May 01, 2024

    NBA Vet Eyes Bail As Healthcare Rap Passed To 2nd Circ.

    A former Detroit Pistons point guard is seeking to delay the start of his 18-month prison sentence for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud the NBA's healthcare plan while he argues to the Second Circuit that improper jury instructions tainted his trial.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

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