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Appellate
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October 02, 2025
9th Circ. Rebuffs Flagstar's Escrow Interest Preemption Bid
The Ninth Circuit said Thursday that Flagstar Bank still owes a class of mortgage borrowers more than $9 million for unpaid escrow interest under a California law, ruling that a recent U.S. Supreme Court preemption case didn't upset circuit precedent on the issue.
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October 02, 2025
NC Court Rejects McGuireWoods' Immunity In Defamation Suit
A North Carolina appellate court dismissed an interlocutory appeal by McGuireWoods and a former partner in a defamation case over statements about an investigation into the onetime CEO of a managed care organization during a press conference, reiterating its opinion that the statements were "too far afield" to be considered part of a judicial proceeding.
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October 02, 2025
Peach State Panel Tosses $500K Verdict In Peach Picking Spat
The Georgia Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in a case where a jury awarded $500,000 worth of punitive damages to a peach grower who said his crop was ruined by another farmer, ruling that inadmissible evidence about their settlement talks was "likely significant" in securing the verdict.
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October 02, 2025
8th Circ. Won't Rehear Worker's Wrongful THC Firing Case
The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday declined to review its decision affirming a win for Peco Foods Inc. against a worker who claims he was wrongfully fired after testing positive for THC, keeping in place a panel ruling that Arkansas' at-will employment doctrine allowed for the termination.
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October 02, 2025
9th Circ. Says DOL Benefits Board Must Redo Atty Fees
The Ninth Circuit Thursday vacated a U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board decision awarding a National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. worker $145,500 in fees and costs because his injury claims were still disputed when he settled, with a dissent saying apportioning the success of the settlement is impractical.
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October 02, 2025
University Asks Court To Shield Religious Hiring Practices
A private Christian university has urged a Seattle federal judge to find that a Washington antidiscrimination law infringes on its First Amendment rights to only hire job candidates who share its religious views, pursuing a pretrial win in its case against the state attorney general's office.
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October 02, 2025
Fla. Appeals Court Seeks Higher Guidance On Pot Smells
A man searched by police officers due to a marijuana odor emanating from a car he was sitting in cannot have the fact that drugs were found in his sock be suppressed, a Florida state appeals court affirmed while asking the state's highest court to clarify whether police could search him today under such circumstances.
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October 02, 2025
Mich. Panel Says Probationer's Text Barrage Wasn't Stalking
A Michigan appeals panel has ordered the acquittal of a man who was convicted of stalking for incessantly texting his probation officer's work cell phone at all hours of the day and night about probation-related matters, saying "rambling" messages are not a crime.
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October 02, 2025
7th Circ. Bucks SEC Request To Pause Cboe Case
The Seventh Circuit has rejected a bid by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Cboe Exchange Inc. to postpone upcoming oral arguments in a case challenging the SEC's ability to regulate certain Cboe software, telling the parties the arguments will go forward as planned while they discuss a possible deal to end the suit.
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October 02, 2025
Alito Pauses 5th Circ. Order On Child's Return To Venezuela
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily paused a split Fifth Circuit decision that said a Texas asylum seeker's 7-year-old daughter can be returned to Venezuela, which was set to take effect Friday.
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October 02, 2025
11th Circ. Vacates $17M Award In Venezuelan Artifacts Case
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday vacated a $17 million award for a man who sued Venezuela for taking his collection of Simón Bolívar artifacts, ruling that a motion for default judgment should have been entered against the country when it failed to appear at a bench trial.
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October 02, 2025
No Pay Owed To Flooring Co.'s Fired CEO, 11th Circ. Says
The Eleventh Circuit won't revive a suit from the former CEO of flooring manufacturer Interface Inc. claiming he was bilked out of a severance package after allegedly going on a drunken tirade at a company function, ruling Thursday that the executive's appeal impermissibly tried to advance a new reading of his contract.
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October 02, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Co. Can't Stop NY Property Sale In SEC Suit
The Second Circuit tossed a company's appeals Thursday over a Sag Harbor, New York, property linked to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $26 million investment fraud suit against an alternative investment principal.
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October 02, 2025
Apple IP Suit Stayed As Appeal In Samsung Case Plays Out
A California federal judge on Thursday stayed litigation claiming certain Apple touchscreen products infringe a Michigan company's patent, while the same company appeals a separate case against Samsung, but the judge tipped his hand by saying the Samsung judge's opinion tossing that dispute "made perfect sense to me."
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October 02, 2025
Fed. Circ. Affirms Cutting $10M Med Device IP Verdict To $1
The Federal Circuit on Thursday said a lower court had properly reduced to $1 what had been a $10 million patent infringement verdict against Intuitive Surgical Inc., saying any amount between the two figures "would require improper guesswork," given the lack of evidence on damages.
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October 02, 2025
McDonald's Operator Pushes To Unravel Class In Break Suit
A Colorado trial court failed to consider evidence showing that the operator of several McDonald's locations in Aurora, Colorado, did not violate the state's rest break laws, the entity told the state Supreme Court, urging the justices to undo the class.
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October 02, 2025
Ill. Panel Backs Whistleblower's $3.5M Retaliation Verdict
An Illinois appellate panel on Wednesday affirmed a $3.5 million verdict for a man who claimed he was unlawfully fired from a southern Illinois hospital system for reporting Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse, saying jurors saw evidence he and others faced retaliation when they "called attention to what they believed to be unlawful conduct."
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October 02, 2025
Honeywell, Rival End 4th Circ. Barcode Royalty Clash
A Japanese laser technology company and rival Honeywell International Inc. together concluded one chapter in a long-running patent and royalty battle over barcodes, just weeks before the case was slated for oral arguments at the Fourth Circuit.
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October 02, 2025
Ill. Panel Rejects Challenge To Abortion Coverage Mandate
Illinois' mandate that health policies issued in the state cover abortion care does not violate an Illinois religious freedom law, a state appeals court ruled, rejecting a Baptist organization's claims that the mandate "substantially burdened" its religious beliefs per the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
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October 02, 2025
Justices To Hear Clash Over State Med Mal Laws In Fed. Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday on whether a Delaware medical malpractice statute can be applied in federal court, in a case that is expected to offer legal guidelines for similar laws in 28 other states.
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October 02, 2025
Ex-Firm Can't Revive Malicious Prosecution Suit In 11th Circ.
The Eleventh Circuit has refused to overturn lower court rulings nixing a malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a now-defunct law firm against a surgical center, as well as a sanctions ruling against the firm's counsel.
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October 02, 2025
Wis. E-Cig Law Treads On FDA's Turf, Vape Cos. Tell 7th Circ.
A group of vaping interests is urging the Seventh Circuit to issue an order blocking enforcement of a new Wisconsin law prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes not approved by federal regulators, saying the district court was wrong in finding that the law is not preempted by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
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October 02, 2025
Gov't Shutdown Halts Fed. Circ. Response In Newman Case
The Federal Circuit has asked the D.C. Circuit for permission to extend a deadline to respond to U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's petition for an en banc rehearing to reconsider her suspension, citing the ongoing government shutdown.
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October 02, 2025
National Security Vets, App-Devs Back Google In Epic Fight
A group of former national security officials and scholars is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the district court injunction requiring Google to distribute third-party app stores and allow app developers to provide alternate payment links directly to users, saying the order creates serious national and cybersecurity risks.
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October 02, 2025
Tenn. 'Gag Order' Ruling Against Atty Axed After Rule Change
The Sixth Circuit has vacated a decision that a Nashville attorney lacked standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule restricting lawyers' so-called extrajudicial statements.
Expert Analysis
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Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules
The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.
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ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'
The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development
Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.
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How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US
In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.
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What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.
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Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions
Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.
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Series
My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer
Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.
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High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.
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Opinion
Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption
Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.
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8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work
Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.
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Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits
Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.
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Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients
Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.
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One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims
A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.