Appellate

  • June 03, 2025

    Calif. Panel Won't Restore Subclasses In Nurses' Wage Suit

    Two nurses failed to back up their assertions that a hospital system similarly refused to provide their colleagues with meal and rest breaks, a California state appeals court ruled, upholding an order that decertified two subclasses in their wage suit.

  • June 02, 2025

    5th Circ. Will Mull In-House Banking Cases In Jarkesy's Wake

    A Fifth Circuit panel is set to scrutinize in-house proceedings at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other banking agencies on Tuesday in a trio of appeals with the potential to upend the regulators' primary mode of enforcement.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Residents Urge Panel To Revive Sea Island Roads Fight

    A pair of Glynn County, Georgia, residents urged the state's Court of Appeals to revive their lawsuit seeking to prevent the Sea Island Co. from denying public access to roads on Sea Island that they say were never properly transferred to the company.

  • June 02, 2025

    Despite 11-1 Split Warning, 7th Circ. Limits Use Of Mandamus

    The Seventh Circuit shrugged off assertions that it has inexplicably adopted one-of-a-kind restrictions on change-of-venue challenges, refusing Monday to rethink its recent rejection of mandamus as a mechanism to fight forum selection decisions.

  • June 02, 2025

    Pa. Panel Grants New Trial In Death Suit Against ER Doctor

    A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday ordered a new trial in a suit accusing an emergency room physician of negligently treating a man's cardiac issues which proved fatal, saying a medical journal article written by the defense's medical expert should have been admitted as evidence.

  • June 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Professor's DEI Free Speech Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Monday of a professor's effort to revive his constitutional challenge of the California Community Colleges Board's diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility regulations, with one judge noting the board hasn't enforced the rules and another judge criticizing the professor for declining to amend his suit.

  • June 02, 2025

    PacificCorp Fights Wash.'s Carbon Limit Program At 9th Circ.

    PacificCorp urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to revive claims alleging Washington's carbon emissions cap-and-invest program unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state customers by imposing emissions allowances for power exported out of state, while Washington argued that the lawsuit seeks to create a "loophole" that would result in a "free pass" on emissions.

  • June 02, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Asks Whether Trade Secrets Were Secret Enough

    The Federal Circuit set out Monday to determine whether an Ohio federal judge was right or wrong to throw out a $64 million jury verdict finding that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. stole an inventor's ideas for self-inflating tires because the trade secrets were too vague to have gone to a jury.

  • June 02, 2025

    Retired Wash. High Court Justice Charles Wiggins Dies At 77

    Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles K. Wiggins, who served a decade on the state's high court, died last week from complications due to Parkinson's disease at the age of 77, according to a news release.

  • June 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Sends Express Scripts Opioid Case To State Court

    The Ninth Circuit sent California's public nuisance lawsuit against Express Scripts and OptumRx over opioid dispensing back to state court Monday and denied the pharmacy benefit managers' bid to stay the remand pending appeal, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 Nken decision controls, not its later Coinbase ruling.

  • June 02, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Skeptical Applicant-Admitted Art Requires Expert

    Shockwave Medical Inc. didn't find enthusiastic support at the Federal Circuit on Monday as its attorney argued that applicant admitted prior art had to be coupled with expert testimony at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • June 02, 2025

    A Jury Says Fortress Controls VLSI. What Now?

    A Texas federal jury has concluded that Fortress Investment Group controls VLSI Technology, which could be a game-changing step in the patent company's multibillion-dollar patent fight with Intel. Here's how the jury's narrow finding could play into the widespread litigation.

  • June 02, 2025

    Iowa Taking Fight Over E-Cigarette Law To 8th Circ.

    Iowa's Department of Revenue is taking a decision blocking it from enforcing a new law prohibiting the sale of many e-cigarettes to the Eighth Circuit, according to documents filed recently in Iowa federal court.

  • June 02, 2025

    1st Circ. Largely Backs Convictions For Cop Union Kickbacks

    The First Circuit on Monday mostly upheld the convictions of a former Massachusetts state police union president and a Beacon Hill lobbyist who were found guilty of running a kickback scheme, but ordered new sentencing hearings for them after vacating some of the guilty findings.

  • June 02, 2025

    Crypto Business Loses Bid To Arbitrate $1M Refund Fight

    A California state appeals court has affirmed an order denying arbitration between an investment firm and a Cayman Islands cryptocurrency business, ruling that the court, not an arbitrator, had to decide the dispute's proper venue since the parties disagreed over whether an arbitration agreement existed.

  • June 02, 2025

    Trump Renews Call For Justices To Lift Gov't Overhaul Pause

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to lift a California federal judge's order barring the implementation of layoffs and reorganization plans at various federal departments and agencies, arguing the order imposes nonexistent congressional limits on his presidential authority.

  • June 02, 2025

    Florida Court Tosses $28M Verdict Over Ignored Mandate

    A Florida appeals court has vacated a $28 million verdict and ordered a new, bifurcated damages trial in a suit over a car accident, saying the trial court ignored a previous appeals court's mandate to keep evidence that the at-fault driver was drunk out of the compensatory-damages phase.

  • June 02, 2025

    White House Asks DC Circ. To Halt Tariff Injunction

    The White House on Monday asked the D.C. Circuit to hit pause on a lower court ruling that found President Donald Trump's tariffs unlawful, arguing the "legally indefensible preliminary injunction" would impede sensitive trade negotiations if left unchecked.

  • June 02, 2025

    Chinese Rival Shouldn't Get Code Docs, Micron Tells Justices

    Micron Technology Inc. is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Chinese semiconductor competitor from accessing paper copies of sensitive source code during patent infringement litigation, asserting in a petition that a lower court "ignored completely the national-security concerns tied up" in the dispute.

  • June 02, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Court Backs Police In Pot Smell Search Dispute

    A Florida state appeals court has found that the smell of fresh cannabis can be enough to support probable cause for a car search in an area known for crime and drug trafficking, reversing a trial court order that suppressed evidence obtained in such a search.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Panel Urged To Back $17M Honda Seatbelt Verdict

    A Georgia man whose wife was killed after being ejected from her Honda SUV asked a Georgia appellate panel Monday to uphold a $17 million verdict against the automaker, urging the court to reject Honda's arguments that it was wrongly denied the chance to defend itself after its attorneys introduced prohibited materials at the trial's opening.

  • June 02, 2025

    SAP Seeks High Court Review Of Revived Tying Claims

    German software giant SAP on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a Ninth Circuit decision that resuscitated tying claims brought by U.S. rival Teradata, saying the issue of antitrust liability badly needs the court's attention in matters relating to modern, technologically integrated products.

  • June 02, 2025

    8th Circ. OKs Nix Of Suit On Iowa's Quitting Of COVID Benefits

    The Eighth Circuit backed the dismissal of a proposed class action claiming Iowa violated workers' rights by prematurely pulling out of federal pandemic unemployment assistance programs, ruling Monday that the benefits they sought weren't protected by the U.S. Constitution.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices' Rail Order Irrelevant To Merger Row, DC Circ. Told

    Chicago suburbs challenging federal approval of Canadian Pacific's merger with Kansas City Southern urged the D.C. Circuit on Monday to pay no heed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting government environmental reviews, arguing their own case challenges "other" deficiencies in addition to a failed consideration of broader climate impacts.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Urged To Reject Bid Disputing IRS Crypto Summons

    The U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case of a bitcoin investor who claimed the IRS violated his privacy when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange, the government argued, saying the case is a poor vehicle for addressing concerns about digital-era transactions.

Expert Analysis

  • An Update On IPR Issue Preclusion In District Court Litigation

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    Two recent Federal Circuit rulings have resolved a district court split regarding issue preclusion based on Patent Trial and Appeal Board outcomes, potentially counseling petitioners in favor of challenging not only all the claims of an asserted patent, but also related patents that have not yet been raised in district court, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Listing Elements Separately Is Key

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Regeneron v. Mylan reaffirms a critical principle in patent law: When a claim lists elements separately, the clear implication is that they are distinct elements, say attorneys at Taft.

  • Nev. Fraud Ruling Raises Stakes For Proxy Battles

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    Though a Nevada federal court’s recent U.S. v. Boruchowitz decision involved unusual facts, the court's ruling that board members can be defrauded of their seat through misrepresentations increases fraud risks in more typical circumstances involving board elections, especially proxy fights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

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    Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • SDNY Sentencing Ruling Is Boon For White Collar Defendants

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    Defense attorneys should consider how to maximize the impact of a New York federal court’s recent groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Tavberidze, which held that a sentencing guidelines provision unconstitutionally penalizes the right to a jury trial, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • What Del. Corporate Law Rework Means For Founder-Led Cos.

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    Although the amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law have proven somewhat divisive, they will provide greater clarity and predictability in the rules that apply to founder-led companies navigating transactions concerning controlling stockholders and responding to books-and-records requests, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

  • Patent Drafting Pointers From Fed. Circ. COVID Test Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in DNA Genotek v. Spectrum Solutions provides several best practice pointers for drafting and prosecuting patent applications, highlighting how nuances in wording can potentially limit the scope of claims or otherwise affect claim constructions, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • How Justices Rule On Straight Bias May Shift Worker Suits

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    Following oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, in which a heterosexual woman sued her employer for sexual orientation discrimination, the forthcoming decision may create a perfect storm for employers amid recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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