Appellate

  • May 24, 2024

    Petition Watch: Forum Shopping, Monopolies & Gun Safety

    Law360 looks at four U.S. Supreme Court petitions filed in the past two weeks, including the FDA's request that the justices curb an increase in forum shopping at the Fifth Circuit, and two veterinarians who want the justices to allow plaintiffs to pursue antitrust claims for actions allegedly leading to the creation of a monopoly.

  • May 24, 2024

    Ohio Justices Say Regulator Must Take Freezing Death Case

    An Ohio trial court cannot hear a lawsuit seeking to hold Dominion Energy liable for a woman's freezing death after her natural gas was shut off, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, reasoning the matter belongs before the state's utilities regulator because the shutoff was an act authorized by the utility.

  • May 24, 2024

    NJ Panel Won't Revive Atty's Turnpike Authority Harassment Suit

    A New Jersey state appeals court panel stood by an attorney's loss Friday in his suit claiming the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and its officials held him back from promotions and raises and harassed him based on his military service in the U.S. National Guard.

  • May 24, 2024

    Florida Urges Quick Appeal Of Wetlands Permitting Decision

    The state of Florida has pushed to expedite its appeal of a lower court ruling that stripped the state of its federally delegated authority to permit wetlands development after the D.C. Circuit declined to pause the ruling's implementation earlier this week.

  • May 24, 2024

    Green Groups Lose In California Fish Protection Lawsuit

    The federal government properly considered the needs of fish protected under the Endangered Species Act when it approved water supply contracts for California's Central Valley Project, the Ninth Circuit said in a ruling rejecting environmental groups' claims to the contrary.

  • May 24, 2024

    5th Circ. Again Upholds Engineers' OT Win

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Friday backed for the second time a lower court's ruling that two engineers receiving a weekly minimum salary as part of their compensation package were not overtime-exempt and sent the case back to the district court to determine damages awards.

  • May 24, 2024

    Mich. Trampoline Park Defeats Jumper's Quadriplegia Suit

    Michigan appellate judges have reversed a lower court's refusal to end a negligence suit by a patron who became quadriplegic after landing on his neck at an indoor trampoline park while performing a flip, finding no dispute the patron was at least half responsible since he was intoxicated. 

  • May 24, 2024

    Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List

    President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.

  • May 24, 2024

    US Cos. Call On Fed. Circ. To Restore Chinese Plywood Duties

    A U.S. plywood group is urging the Federal Circuit to unwind five U.S. Court of International Trade remands that shrank a Chinese competitor's anti-dumping duties from 183.36% to nothing, saying the court forced the government to accept unreliable data.

  • May 24, 2024

    Wrong Circuit Law Used To Deport Moroccan, Board Says

    The Board of Immigration Appeals faulted an immigration court for applying incorrect circuit law to deport a Moroccan national, saying Friday that the case was ruled by Sixth Circuit law, even though the case record was sent to the Third Circuit.

  • May 24, 2024

    4th Circ. Urged To Keep Suit Against Credit Co. In Fed. Court

    A Maryland credit card customer pressed the Fourth Circuit to affirm a district court's decision to keep in federal court a proposed class action alleging subprime credit card company Mercury Financial did business without a license, arguing arbitration cannot be fairly enforced, and that Mercury is trying to raise new arguments on appeal.

  • May 24, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Bainbridge Can't Have Argentina's Building

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday denied an appeal from Bainbridge Fund Ltd. in a property dispute with Argentina, saying the company can't take possession of the property in an effort to satisfy a $95 million judgment over defaulted bonds.

  • May 24, 2024

    3rd Circ. Backs US Immunity Over Marine Recruit's Death

    The Third Circuit has said that "tragedy does not trump sovereign immunity" in a precedential ruling finding that the federal government is immune from a wrongful death suit brought by a U.S. Marine Corps recruit's family after he crashed his car and died on the way to an event for the corps.

  • May 24, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Seat Winner Faces Challenge Over Residency

    A Georgia attorney is looking to pause the certification of Tuesday's election win by a onetime state bar leader for a Georgia Court of Appeals seat, arguing that he lied about his Atlanta residence when he qualified to run for the judgeship since he allegedly lived in Tennessee.

  • May 24, 2024

    Alito Flag Displays 'Improper' And 'Dumb,' District Judge Says

    A Massachusetts federal judge is calling out U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for controversial flags reportedly seen flying outside his homes, saying such actions erode public trust in the courts.

  • May 24, 2024

    No Private Suits Under State Enviro Law, Ill. Justices Say

    The daughter of a woman badly burned in a condominium complex explosion cannot bring bodily injury claims against Marathon Petroleum Co. and others under Illinois' environmental protection laws because they do not provide private statutory rights of action, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled.

  • May 24, 2024

    CFPB Will Ask DC Circ. To Rescue Rule Challenged By PayPal

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it will appeal a Washington, D.C., federal judge's recent decision that sided with payments giant PayPal in its lawsuit challenging the agency's extension of certain prepaid card regulations to digital wallets.

  • May 24, 2024

    Any Coloradan Can Enforce Open Meetings Law, Panel Says

    The Colorado Court of Appeals has sided with an attorney who has filed dozens of open meetings law claims against government bodies in the state, finding that the attorney has standing to sue a school board even though he lives hundreds of miles away.

  • May 24, 2024

    Biden Urges 1st Circ. To Find Debt Cap Challenge Moot

    The Biden administration asked the First Circuit to affirm a finding that a government workers' union lacks standing to challenge the debt ceiling's constitutionality and that its case was further rendered moot by passage of a deal to suspend the spending limit until January.

  • May 24, 2024

    Fulton DA Appeals Nixing Of Six Counts In Ga. Elections Case

    The Fulton County District Attorney's Office said it is appealing a ruling that dismissed six counts from the Georgia election interference indictment of former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

  • May 24, 2024

    DraftKings' Noncompete Win Shuns Calif. Law, 1st Circ. Told

    A former DraftKings Inc. executive who was blocked from taking a job in Los Angeles at rival sportsbook Fanatics told the First Circuit that a Massachusetts federal judge should have applied a worker-friendly California law to the trade secrets spat.

  • May 23, 2024

    Sonos Gets Fed. Circ. To Affirm Axed Google Patent Claims

    Google failed on Thursday to persuade Federal Circuit judges to breathe new life into patent claims the tech giant has asserted in its legal fight with the Sonos speaker brand.

  • May 23, 2024

    FCC Defends Nielsen Data In Low-Power TV Licensing Suit

    The Federal Communications Commission is defending its use of Nielsen statistics to determine if a low-power TV station should receive protections provided under a 2022 law aimed at safeguarding local and rural broadcasting.

  • May 23, 2024

    Calif. High Court Deals Loss To Policyholder In COVID-19 Suit

    The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the coronavirus generally doesn't cause the kind of damage to property that would trigger coverage under an insurance policy, handing a win to a Chubb insurance company in one of the last major venues for pandemic coverage litigation.

  • May 23, 2024

    NC Top Court Finds Credit Union's Arbitration Add-On Is Valid

    The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday said a credit union can enforce an arbitration clause tacked on to a customer's contract at a later date, confirming a ruling by a lower appellate panel and requiring the customer suing the nonprofit over allegedly illegal overdraft fees to arbitrate her claims.

Expert Analysis

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

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    In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law​​​​​​​.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • A 5th Circ. Lesson On Preserving Indemnification Rights

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Raymond James & Associates v. Jalbert offers an important lesson for creditors and parties to indemnification agreements: If a debtor has indemnified a creditor, the creditor should consider participating in the bankruptcy case to avoid being deemed to have forfeited its indemnification rights, say Dania Slim and Alana Lyman at Pillsbury.

  • ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws

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    A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.

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