Appellate

  • May 28, 2024

    Wash. Justices Doubt Atty's Response In Disbarment Case

    Washington State justices were skeptical Tuesday of an appeal from an attorney facing disbarment who asserts that he did nothing wrong in response to misconduct allegations including that he embezzled from investors in a failed venture to build a cannabis industrial park.

  • May 28, 2024

    Agribiz Pushes Ninth Circ. To Reverse Land Swap Decision

    A global agribusiness with operations in Idaho has again asked the Ninth Circuit to reverse a lower court's "misguided" holding under the National Environmental Policy Act that favored the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in their challenge to a U.S. Department of the Interior land transfer.

  • May 28, 2024

    Frontier, Ex-CEO Settle $21.8M Life Insurance Benefits Feud

    Frontier Communications and Leonard Tow, its former CEO and the top executive of a predecessor, have privately settled a feud surrounding tens of millions in split-dollar life insurance policies, with both sides asking a Connecticut state court judge to withdraw a $21.8 million prejudgment remedy order issued last month.

  • May 28, 2024

    2nd Circ. Ready For Project Veritas' Free Speech Claims

    The Second Circuit seemed eager on Tuesday to get to the merits of a Project Veritas self-proclaimed journalist's assertion that the First Amendment bans the government from reviewing his communications with sources and colleagues surrounding the diary of Joe Biden's daughter Ashley Biden.

  • May 28, 2024

    Singer Tells Justices Jurors Should Hear His 'Rockstar' Song

    The frontman of a band called Snowblind is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that at least one appeals court judge seemingly decided for herself that his 2001 demo sounded nothing like the Nickelback hit record "Rockstar," something he thinks a jury should decide instead. 

  • May 28, 2024

    DC Circ. Revives Campaign Ad Fight At Mail Carriers Union

    The D.C. Circuit has revived claims that a mail carriers union violated the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act by refusing to publish an officer candidate's campaign ads in its magazine, ruling Tuesday that a Washington, D.C., federal judge prematurely dismissed the suit.

  • May 28, 2024

    27 States Urge Fed. Circ. To Back Idaho 'Patent Troll' Law

    Attorneys general from 27 states, along with tech industry lobbying groups, have thrown their support behind Micron Technology Inc.'s argument in its fight at the Federal Circuit that Idaho's law barring "bad faith" allegations of patent infringement is constitutional.

  • May 28, 2024

    Colo. Justices To Mull Atty Advice Defense In Securities Cases

    The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the advice a defendant's business attorney gave him is relevant to his state of mind in a securities fraud case, according to an order Tuesday granting the state's petition for appeal.

  • May 28, 2024

    5th Circ. Flips Cancer-Drug Maker's Defeat In Hair Loss MDL

    The Fifth Circuit has vacated a summary judgment ruling in favor of four women who say two drugmakers failed to warn consumers that their chemotherapy drug could cause hair loss, saying it was impossible for the companies to simultaneously comply with federal and state failure-to-warn laws.

  • May 28, 2024

    Anesthesia Machine Failure Not Med Mal Claim, Panel Rules

    An Indiana state appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a wrongful death suit against a hospital over a patient who allegedly died as a result of an anesthesia machine malfunction, saying it was wrongly deemed a medical malpractice case subject to the state's Medical Malpractice Act.

  • May 28, 2024

    HIV Drug Buyers Fight Bid To Combine 9th Circ. Appeal Briefs

    Drug buyers that allege Gilead Sciences Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals delayed generic versions of HIV medications told the Ninth Circuit it would be unfair to grant the companies' call for a single brief addressing the 17 appeals filed after a jury rejected the claims last year.

  • May 28, 2024

    Texas Judge Sends Suit Over CFPB Late Fee Rule Back To DC

    A Texas federal judge Tuesday ordered another cross-country trip for a banking industry lawsuit that challenges the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule, sending the case back to Washington, D.C., shortly after regaining control over it.

  • May 28, 2024

    Tribe Says Enbridge's Trespass Concern Wasted Court's Time

    A Wisconsin tribe has told the Seventh Circuit that Enbridge Energy wasted the court's time raising concerns that an old tribal trespass ordinance could cost the company millions in fines, saying it has nothing to do with the tribe's attempts to stop the Line 5 pipeline.

  • May 28, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive 'Checking Financial History' Patents

    The Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday that a judge in Georgia made the right call in deciding that a prolific patent lawyer should have never been issued a handful of patents covering "the idea of checking financial history before completing a transaction."

  • May 28, 2024

    High Court Passes On Collection Firm's CFPB Funding Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that it won't take up a now-shuttered debt collection law firm's fight against an investigative demand by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, turning down a case that covered the same constitutional ground as one that the justices recently decided in the agency's favor.

  • May 28, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Pause New TSA Airport Screening Mandate

    The D.C. Circuit declined to pause a new requirement Tuesday that airports enhance random screenings of workers with access to secure terminals and facilities, as the court considers a consolidated legal challenge alleging the Transportation Security Administration is improperly shifting its federal obligations to local airport operators.

  • May 28, 2024

    Guinness Brewer Beats Appeal In Whiskey Bottle TM Dispute

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld a post-trial order requiring a spirits maker to redesign its bottles after a jury found they dilute Guinness beer maker Diageo's trademark rights for its own whiskey brand.

  • May 28, 2024

    Conn. Judge Asks If 'Sham' Exception Saves Stadium Fight

    A Connecticut appellate judge asked Tuesday if a "sham" exception to limits on government contracting lawsuits can restore claims that the city of Hartford ran a fake bidding process for the redevelopment of Dillon Stadium, but counsel for several defendants pushed back and said it would not apply to the facts of the case.

  • May 28, 2024

    Biz Groups Back BofA In Merger Interest Tax Fight At 4th Circ.

    Business groups told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday that they supported Bank of America in its fight against a North Carolina federal court ruling that found the bank wasn't entitled to net the interest on the tax liabilities of Merrill Lynch after the two companies merged.

  • May 28, 2024

    Apple Denied Appeal Of Cert. In App Store Monopoly Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected Apple's interlocutory appeal of an order certifying a class of millions of App Store users who allege antitrust violations, paving the way for discovery to proceed as the case heads toward a trial currently set for February 2026.

  • May 28, 2024

    FERC Wrong To Backtrack On Grid Project Plan, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unlawfully reversed course on a regional grid operator's plan to spread out the costs of transmission upgrade projects, unfairly saddling customers within certain areas with higher bills, two Kansas electricity cooperatives have told the D.C. Circuit.

  • May 28, 2024

    Beauty School Deserved Review Of License Loss, Panel Says

    A Massachusetts esthetics and massage trade school that shut down earlier this year was entitled to a hearing before the state's Division of Occupational Licensure pulled its license over concerns about its financial stability, an intermediate level state appeals court found on Tuesday, reinstating several claims by Elizabeth Grady Face First against state regulators.

  • May 28, 2024

    Int'l Judge Pushes Back Against Russia Amicus Allegations

    Prominent arbitrator and international Judge Charles Brower is pushing back against claims from the Kremlin that conflicts of interest should bar his amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit in support of Yukos Oil Co. shareholders' $50 billion arbitration enforcement.

  • May 28, 2024

    Del. Justices Say Interest Includes Prejudgment Interest

    Delaware's top court ruled Tuesday that accrued interest on judgments must include prejudgment interest, in a ruling on a $36 million Delaware Superior Court jury verdict in February 2023 favoring institutional broker-adviser LCT Capital in a merger services dispute with NGL Energy Partners.

  • May 28, 2024

    Workplace Civil Rights Suit Gets Full Mich. High Court Hearing

    The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to again consider whether employers can use contracts to limit the ability of aggrieved workers to sue, after hearing mini oral arguments last year, though two justices said they would not have advanced the case. 

Expert Analysis

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.

  • Strategies For Defense Attys To Subpoena A Nonparty Witness

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    Federal criminal defendants seeking to subpoena potentially exculpatory information from nonparty witnesses must satisfy a stringent standard and should consider several often overlooked arguments to assure courts they’re not engaging in a fishing expedition, says James Roberts at Schlam Stone.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule

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    The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • 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.

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