Appellate

  • July 16, 2026

    NJ Panel Says Insurer, Not Driver, Owed Auto Damage Proof

    A New Jersey appellate panel held Thursday that the burden of proof was on an insurer, not a driver, in a coverage dispute stemming from a blown head gasket that rendered her vehicle inoperable, vacating the insurer's win and remanding for a new trial.

  • July 16, 2026

    3rd Circ. Partly Revives Hospitals' ERISA Suit Against Cigna

    The Third Circuit on Thursday revived some ERISA contract claims in a New Jersey hospital network's suit alleging Cigna underpaid out-of-network reimbursements by $114 million, but backed the dismissal of the network's fiduciary duty claims.

  • July 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Vacates $12.7M Copyright Award Against Gov't

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday vacated a $12.7 million copyright award against the federal government over unauthorized copies of software for a project on military health records, holding that the trial judge improperly relied on the project's later cancellation and awarded enhanced damages for willful infringement against the government.

  • July 16, 2026

    2nd Circ. Shields Switzerland From Credit Suisse Bond Suit

    In a published opinion Thursday, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a $372 million bondholder suit against Switzerland over the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse AG and the reduction in value of $17.3 billion of debt securities, agreeing with a New York judge that the country is immune from being sued in U.S. district court.

  • July 16, 2026

    Pa. Appeals Panel Reinstates Union's FMLA Arbitration Win

    A Pennsylvania appeals panel on Thursday said a lower court was wrong to scrap an arbitrator's conclusion that a school district violated a collective bargaining agreement by forcing a teacher recovering from surgery to use leave guaranteed by federal law to cover her absence.

  • July 16, 2026

    8th Circ. Rejects Rehearing Bid Over Spotty Murder Video

    The Eighth Circuit won't rethink an order that upheld the sentences of a mother and son convicted of the murder of a man on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, after the pair argued that footage of the incident shouldn't have been admitted because of gaps in the recording.

  • July 16, 2026

    Blue-Slip-Backed Trump Judge Selections Advance

    The first two judicial nominations of the second Trump administration to receive supportive blue slips from Democratic senators advanced to the Senate floor Thursday.

  • July 16, 2026

    Nonprofits Back Ex-Defender's High Court Sex Bias Petition

    The Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and the Legal Accountability Project have asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to file an amicus curiae brief in support of Caryn Devins Strickland and her effort to get the high court to review her sex harassment case against the judiciary.

  • July 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Canon PTAB Wins Over Inkjet Sensor Patents

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decisions to invalidate all claims Canon had challenged in three Slingshot Printing patents covering chips and temperature sensors in inkjet printers.

  • July 16, 2026

    Immigration Board Clarifies Burden To Argue Bad Counsel

    The Board of Immigration Appeals has clarified the requirements to reopen removal proceedings due to ineffective counsel, saying a copy of a bar complaint and proof of its filing are needed, or an explanation as to why one wasn't filed.

  • July 16, 2026

    Aramark Asks Full 5th Circ. To Nix Aetna ERISA Arbitration Bid

    Food services company Aramark urged the full Fifth Circuit to deny Aetna's request to arbitrate allegations that it cost Aramark millions by bungling health benefits claims, arguing that the insurer is attempting to twist U.S. Supreme Court precedent to kick the case out of court.

  • July 16, 2026

    3 Sitting Judges Eye Montoya-Lewis' Wash. High Court Spot

    Since Washington Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis announced in January she wouldn't seek a second term on the high court, three sitting judges have entered the race for her open seat: a Seattle state trial court judge, a member of Washington's Court of Appeals and a superior court judge in rural Mason County.

  • July 15, 2026

    Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To The US Supreme Court's Term

    Federal appeals courts had wide-ranging successes and struggles during the U.S. Supreme Court's recently completed term: One had its best showing in years following its worst showing in years; one felt déjà vu after recently starting to find favor with the justices; and one saw its reputation for independence occupy a rare role in the Supreme Court spotlight.

  • July 15, 2026

    Intel, Google Fight 'Free Rein' Given To USPTO Head

    Intel and Google have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a Federal Circuit ruling upholding the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's precedent allowing Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions to be denied based on related litigation, saying the ruling essentially gives the patent office director "free rein."

  • July 15, 2026

    Oil Giants Can't Move Chicago's Climate Suit, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday kept the city of Chicago's climate deception suit against BP, Shell and other oil giants in Illinois state court, saying the oil companies could not lean on their fuel production for the federal government to remove the case to federal court.

  • July 15, 2026

    Texas Appeals Court Flips $9M Misrepresentation Verdict

    A Texas appellate court reversed a $9 million verdict awarded to an energy engineering and construction company, saying the construction company failed to show economic harm beyond the loss of a contractual benefit and therefore its negligent misrepresentation claim was barred.

  • July 15, 2026

    Mich. Panel Backs No-Contact Order, Sets Constitutional Test

    A woman convicted of methamphetamine possession lost her appeal of a probation condition restricting contact with her husband after a Michigan appellate panel ruled the limitation was justified by her rehabilitation, while also establishing a new legal standard for reviewing probation conditions that affect constitutional rights. 

  • July 15, 2026

    NC's WakeMed Hit With $18.2M Verdict Over Birth Injury Claim

    A North Carolina hospital system was hit with an $18.2 million jury verdict over claims its doctor botched a delivery, causing a newborn to lose all ability to use his left arm for life.

  • July 15, 2026

    Acorda Can't Add $66M To Award In Ampyra Royalty Fight

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday refused to alter an arbitral award issued to Acorda Therapeutics to include nearly $66 million beyond the $16.6 million it won in a multiple sclerosis drug dispute, saying the company "slept on its rights" and couldn't change the result now.

  • July 15, 2026

    DOJ Asks DC Circ. To Stay USDA Grant Revival Order

    The Trump administration is asking the D.C. Circuit to pause a district judge's injunction ordering the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate more than $100 million in land access program grants aimed at assisting "underserved" farmers, arguing that the case belongs in the Court of Federal Claims.

  • July 15, 2026

    10th Circ. Judge Urges Inmate Sex Consent Precedent Review

    A federal appeals court judge in the Tenth Circuit said that underlying case law in the circuit surrounding sexual relationships between incarcerated people and their jailers should be revisited, and that the circuit should stop assuming these relationships can be consensual.

  • July 15, 2026

    Mich. Panel Says Missed Fee Doesn't Bar Jury Trial

    The Michigan Court of Appeals said in a published opinion that a trial court should not have denied a jury trial in a civil case where, two years into proceedings, it was discovered that the plaintiff never paid the fee required by Michigan statute to have a jury trial.

  • July 15, 2026

    4th Circ. Rejects Golden Corral's COVID-19 Coverage Do-Over

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday declined to walk back a North Carolina federal judge's five-year-old decision denying Golden Corral insurance coverage for pandemic-era business interruption losses, finding a belated state Supreme Court victory for policyholders in another case doesn't merit a redo.

  • July 15, 2026

    2nd Circ. Revives NY Provider's BCBS Underpayment Suit

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday revived a New York healthcare provider's suit accusing out-of-state Blue Cross Blue Shield licensees of underpaying insurance claims, saying the carriers' long-standing business relationship with a New York licensee to obtain preferential prices in the state supports jurisdiction there.

  • July 15, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives PPP Fraud Suit Against Calif. Mortgage Co.

    The Ninth Circuit Wednesday revived whistleblower entity Relator LLC's lawsuit accusing a California mortgage lender and its founder of making false statements in a federal loan application, saying in a published opinion that information backing Relator's allegations was not already publicly available so as to bar its claims.

Expert Analysis

  • Anticipating The Justices' Potential Ruling On Tax Takings

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    Recent oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case Pung v. Isabella focused on rules for valuation, timing and administrability of tax auction proceeds and whichever method the court adopts for determining just compensation, it will have far-reaching impacts on tax collection, homeowners' equity and the secondary market for tax-foreclosed property, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 5 Welcome Changes To Texas' Summary Judgment Rule

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    Following recent amendments to the Texas rule for summary judgment motions,​​​​​​ practitioners adjusting to the new framework will likely benefit from a more streamlined process that focuses attention on substantive legal arguments rather than procedural uncertainty, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Reinforces Securities Act Limits Post-Slack

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision to limit treatment of mandatory reverse splits as actionable sales in Knapp v. Barclays is narrow but important, offering issuers a stronger basis to challenge expansive Securities Act theories and reinforcing the post-Slack v. Pirani discipline of tracing, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Opinion

    BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

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    If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Opinion

    CBP's $166B Tariff Refund Portal Needs 4 Safeguards

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    Before launching its automated web portal to process tariff-refund disbursements on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection should apply the expensive lessons learned from the pandemic-era employee retention credit, says Peter Gariepy at RubinBrown.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Tracing Paths To Award Recovery

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    Recent subpoenas to Adidas and Hilton deployed in Blasket Renewables v. Spain, pending in D.C. federal court, show arbitration award recovery to be a disciplined exercise in constructing visibility, applying pressure and sequencing procedural advantage, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • 5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

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    Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: April Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from three recent rulings involving allegations of racial discrimination in mortgage applications, health insurance networks and actual cash value losses.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Assessing EcoFactor's Impact On Damages Experts' Opinions

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    Though the Federal Circuit's ruling in EcoFactor v. Google gave rise to concerns that damages experts would be forced to rely on undisputed facts, recent case law suggests that those concerns are unwarranted, says Christopher Loh at Venable.

  • High Court Cert Case Would Test Sovereign Award Immunity

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    The D.C. Circuit's July 2025 Amaplat Mauritius v. Zimbabwe Mining Development decision appears to create a circuit split while elevating form over substance in a manner that, if left unreviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, could bar the courthouse doors for creditors holding arbitration awards against recalcitrant foreign sovereigns, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • 2nd Circ. Clarifies When Prior Good Acts May Be Admissible

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in U.S. v. Cardenas, vacating a drug conspiracy conviction over improperly excluded evidence, indicates that evidence of prior good acts may be admissible to corroborate a defendant's testimony about their understanding of events and intent, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

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