Appellate

  • September 24, 2025

    Comcast Loses Challenge To Labor Dept. ALJs' Authority

    Comcast Corp. can't force a pair of former executives and the U.S. Department of Labor to sue in federal court, after a Virginia federal judge found that handing a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower case to an administrative law judge did not violate the company's Seventh Amendment rights.

  • September 24, 2025

    'Star Trek' Jury Instruction Not Fatal To Trial, Fla. Court Says

    A Florida appeals court ruled that a jury was not biased when a trial court drew out an extended metaphor while delivering jury instructions that included references to a Harry Potter invisibility cloak and a transporter on the Starship Enterprise.

  • September 24, 2025

    Pa. Court Will Reconsider Opinion In Probation Violation Case

    A Pennsylvania state appeals court has thrown out its ruling that a man on probation for a bar fight couldn't be found in violation of release conditions for harassing his attorney and judge without being criminally charged and will reconsider the case.

  • September 24, 2025

    Minn. Justices Reject Humana's Pharmacy Sourcing Appeal

    The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected arguments by a Humana subsidiary that its sales of pharmacy benefit services attributed to Minnesota should instead be sourced to a Humana unit in Wisconsin, denying the company a $834,000 refund Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    Minn. Court Says Landlords Waive Evictions By Taking Rent

    The Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday that landlords in the state can't evict public or private housing tenants for breaching their leases if the landlords knew about the specific lease violations when they accepted the tenants' rent payments, ruling against a Minneapolis property owner that had filed an eviction suit against a tenant.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ill. Justices Won't Hear Pepsi's $2.1M Tax Penalty Case

    An Illinois appeals court decision allowing $2.1 million in penalties against PepsiCo for categorizing Frito-Lay expatriates' compensation as foreign payroll will stand, as the state's highest court declined to review the dispute Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Allows One More Go-Round In Kleenex Ad Fight

    The Ninth Circuit Wednesday determined it does not have jurisdictional authority to revive a proposed class action alleging Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s Kleenex Germ Removal Wet Wipes mislead consumers about the product's ability to kill germs, saying the consumers were not able to establish subject matter jurisdiction.

  • September 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Vacates $181M Patent Verdict Against AT&T, Nokia

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday wiped out Finesse Wireless' $181 million verdict against AT&T and Nokia, finding issues in "confusing and unclear" expert testimony that had supported the case accusing the wireless carriers of infringing a pair of radio interference patents.

  • September 24, 2025

    Del. Justices Uphold $10.5B Zendesk Take-Private Deal

    Delaware's Supreme Court early Wednesday upheld the Court of Chancery's Sept. 10 dismissal of a stockholder challenge to the $10.5 billion take-private deal for software as a service business Zendesk Inc., closing the book on the case in two sentences issued two weeks after appeal arguments.

  • September 24, 2025

    Calif. Panel Won't Upend $1M Motorcycle Crash Verdict

    A California appeals panel won't order a new trial or disturb a $1 million verdict awarded to a man who fractured his pelvis and arm in a motorcycle accident, with the justices rejecting the other driver's arguments that evidence was wrongly excluded from the trial.

  • September 24, 2025

    Trans Youth Care Ban Discriminatory, Mo. High Court Hears

    The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on a law that bans gender-affirming care for minors and restricts Medicaid coverage for transgender care at any age, but the justices gave little indication of how they might rule.

  • September 24, 2025

    4th Circ. Kicks Trans Care Exclusion Suits Back To Trial Court

    A pair of suits challenging health plan coverage exclusions on gender-affirming care for minors are headed to district court after the Fourth Circuit vacated decisions finding those policies discriminatory, in line with a U.S. Supreme Court directive to revisit the cases in light of new precedent.

  • September 24, 2025

    Innoscience Claims ITC Ban Over Invalidated Patent Is 'Unjust'

    Innoscience is urging the Federal Circuit to free it from a U.S. International Trade Commission import ban, saying the Efficient Power Conversion Corp. semiconductor patent it allegedly infringes isn't valid.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ga. Panel Reverses Trial Court's Same-Sex Motherhood Ruling

    The Georgia Court of Appeals Wednesday reversed a trial court order that refused to recognize the legitimacy of a woman's parental relationship to a child conceived by artificial insemination during her marriage to another woman.

  • September 24, 2025

    Dems Probing Skadden, Kirkland, Paul Weiss' Work For Trump

    Top Democratic legislators are investigating whether pro bono work reportedly being performed by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP for the U.S. Department of Commerce is in violation of federal law, according to letters the lawmakers sent the firms Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    Tribal Groups Back 9th Circ. Bid To Block Ariz. Land Transfer

    Two tribal advocacy groups are backing a Ninth Circuit bid to block a 2,400-acre federal land exchange in Arizona to make way for a billion-dollar copper mining project they say will destroy an ancient worship site, arguing that federal policies are systematically stripping Indigenous nations of their homelands.

  • September 24, 2025

    Rikers Detainees File Class Action Over Solitary Confinement

    A group of detainees are accusing the New York City Department of Correction of systematically violating the state's landmark law restricting solitary confinement, saying in a state court in a proposed class complaint they have been locked in their cells for up to 24 hours a day at Rikers Island despite the ban, a lawyer told Law360 on Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    Md. County Backs Landowners In 4th Circ. Power Line Dispute

    A county board of commissioners in Maryland told the Fourth Circuit that a Public Service Energy Group unit trying to build a 67-mile transmission line has no right to conduct testing on private landowners' properties, saying a lower court erred in granting the company access.

  • September 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Sex Harassment Suit Against Wash. Sheriff

    The Ninth Circuit reopened a lawsuit alleging that a Washington sheriff's department failed to stop a deputy sheriff who coerced a woman he had previously arrested into a seven-year sexual relationship, ruling that each alleged instance of sexual misconduct restarted the statute-of-limitations clock.

  • September 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Tosses Takings Claim Over Texas Bridge Contract

    The Fifth Circuit has ruled local governments can act like any other party to a contract after the city of Mesquite, Texas, refused to extend a development agreement and shut down an attempt by a group of real estate owners to claim a refund on costs for building a multipurpose bridge.

  • September 24, 2025

    Mich. Hospital Must Bargain With SEIU Amid 6th Circ. Appeal

    A Michigan hospital must keep bargaining with a Service Employees International Union affiliate while it appeals an injunction that forced it to resume working with the union, a Sixth Circuit panel said, finding the hospital is unlikely to show it acted lawfully when it withdrew recognition in 2023.

  • September 24, 2025

    Sen. Ossoff Pushes Fed. Courts To Uphold Access To Counsel

    Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has urged the Judicial Conference to take further action to ensure that all defendants, particularly low-income ones, have access to counsel for their initial appearance in federal court.

  • September 23, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Disturb EPA's Denial Of Texas Ozone Plan

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday refused to upend a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision denying Texas' Clean Air Act implementation plans, finding that the EPA's procedure complied with the law and its reasoning for denying the plans "was sound."

  • September 23, 2025

    DC Circ. Says FMC's Late-Fee Rule Makes No Sense

    The Federal Maritime Commission's "demurrage and detention" fees rule does not make sense, the D.C. Circuit has ruled, partially striking down the rule after finding that the agency had not given a good reason for allowing some entities to be fined for shipping delays while blocking others.

  • September 23, 2025

    Towing Cos. Can Bill For Special Rigs, Conn. Justices Say

    Upending three lower decisions to the contrary, the Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday said tow truck operators can charge extra fees on top of hourly labor rates when using specialized equipment to clear highway wrecks, saying a limited interpretation of a state motor vehicle regulation could hinder accident cleanup efforts.

Expert Analysis

  • How Latest High Court Rulings Refine Employment Law

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    The 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court term did not radically rewrite employment law, but sharpened focus on textual fidelity, procedural rigor and the boundaries of statutory relief, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Diversity, Equity, Indictment? Contractor Risks After Kousisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to sustain wire fraud charges related to fraudulent inducement, may extend criminal liability to government contractors that make false diversity, equity and inclusion certifications, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. Customs Ruling A Limited Win For FCA Plaintiffs

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    While the decision last month in Island Industries v. Sigma may be welcome news for False Claims Act relators, under binding precedent courts within the Ninth Circuit still do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate customs-based FCA claims pursued by the government, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Quantifying Trading-Based Damages Using Price Impact

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increasingly rely on price impact analyses to demonstrate pecuniary harm from trading-related misconduct, meaning measuring price impact will be helpful in challenging SEC disgorgement, determining appropriate remedies, and assessing loss causation and damages in private litigation, says Vyacheslav Fos at Boston College and Erin Smith at Compass Lexecon.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

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