Appellate

  • August 10, 2026

    Michel, Startups Back Injunction Bid In Samsung Patent Case

    Former Chief Federal Circuit Judge Paul Michel, patent law professors and a group of startup companies on Monday backed Collision Communications Inc.'s bid for a permanent injunction on Samsung products found to infringe its patents, saying courts have misread U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • August 10, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Wash. In PacifiCorp Carbon Law Regs Fight

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel declined on Friday to reinstate PacifiCorp's claims that Washington's carbon emissions cap-and-invest program unconstitutionally increases electricity prices for its out-of-state customers, concluding that the power company has not plausibly alleged the targeted regulations discriminate against interstate commerce.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mexico Urges Justices To Take Up $47M Award Suit

    Mexico has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take another look at the D.C. Circuit's opinion refusing to vacate a $47 million arbitral award issued to a Canadian lender, saying the justices need to establish a uniform standard to determine when a tribunal exceeded its powers.

  • August 10, 2026

    Okla. Co. Says Rig Seizure Claims Don't Need Redo

    An Oklahoma-based oil drilling company urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a D.C. Circuit ruling ordering Venezuela's state-owned oil company to face long-pending expropriation allegations, saying an underlying circuit split is too narrow to warrant the high court's attention.

  • August 10, 2026

    IBM Defeats Software Co. In Copyright Fight At 2nd Circ.

    A software company failed to persuade the Second Circuit to undo a federal judge's decision allowing IBM to dodge a copyright suit, with the appellate court on Monday agreeing the case was time-barred.

  • August 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Axing Of Digital Chart Patents Under Alice

    The Federal Circuit on Monday said a California federal court was right to find that patents covering digital interactive charts are invalid under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision, saying the patents "provide no meaningful limitation to the abstract idea" of creating charts.

  • August 10, 2026

    Ex-Altria Worker Gets Partial 4th Circ. Win In 401(k) Fight

    The Fourth Circuit revived part of an ex-Altria worker's suit claiming the company didn't move quick enough to liquidate his 401(k) assets so he could invest the cash in anticipation of a stock market bump, finding Monday he was improperly denied a contract document for the plan's record keeper.

  • August 10, 2026

    School Board Wins Appeal Over Football Game Fatal Shooting

    A New Jersey appellate court on Monday held that the Pleasantville Board of Education can't be held civilly liable for the death of a 10-year-old boy who was shot at a high school football game, ruling that the boy's estate was unable to demonstrate that the school board acted with deliberate indifference to any foreseeable danger.

  • August 10, 2026

    Meta Loses Appeal Days Before Social Media Trial Begins

    The Ninth Circuit said Monday it lacks jurisdictional authority over Meta's appeal in a social-media-addiction multidistrict litigation at this stage, saying Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act can provide a defense to liability but not immunity from a lawsuit.

  • August 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Hit Refresh On Patent Claims Against Netflix

    The Federal Circuit on Monday refused to restore a content streaming patent Netflix was accused of infringing, agreeing with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that an earlier patent rendered the claims of the patent invalid.

  • August 10, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs Unions In Members' Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a win Monday for a pipe fitters union in a lawsuit alleging it routinely passing over Black journeyman pipe fitters for work assignments in favor of white workers, finding the claims failed to show that the unions had established discriminatory referral practices.

  • August 10, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Ga. University System's Win In Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a win for the University System of Georgia in a disability discrimination case brought by a former respiratory therapy student who alleged he was improperly found to be endangering patients' safety and given a failing grade as punishment.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mich. Transit Authority Can Call County Atty In Board Dispute

    The Bay Area Transportation Authority may call a Grand Traverse County attorney as a witness in a dispute over appointments to its board, a Michigan appellate panel ruled, finding the attorney's late addition to the witness list would not prejudice the county.

  • August 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Reverses PTAB On Prior Art Issue Over Dental IP

    The Federal Circuit on Monday reversed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that invalidated a group of claims in a Dental Monitoring SAS dental imaging patent, finding that a previous provisional patent application was missing a written description and thus can't be used as prior art.

  • August 10, 2026

    8th Circ. Nixes Native American Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Monday upheld a clinical research institute's defeat of a lawsuit from a former manager who said she was laid off because she's Native American, siding with the institute's assertion that she was let go for budgetary reasons because her position was funded with internal money.

  • August 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Reverses Ax Of Commerce Duty Review Deadline

    The U.S. Department of Commerce's 15-day preliminary deadline for indicating interest in a sunset review of duty orders is within the department's statutory authority, a Federal Circuit panel ruled, reversing a U.S. Court of International Trade ruling spiking the deadline.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mich. Panel Revives Sewage Damage Suits Over Service Fight

    Minor procedural variations in service do not warrant dismissal of a case as long as defendants are adequately informed of the pending litigation, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel said in a published opinion Thursday.

  • August 10, 2026

    Conn. Justices Order New Murder Trial Over Cell Data Flub

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday said a lower court was correct to vacate a felony murder conviction based on a defense lawyer's failure to question a police expert about an animation that purported to pinpoint a defendant's cellphone movements based on tower location data.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mass. Court Says Insurer Must Defend Doctor In Stalking Case

    Massachusetts' highest court has ruled that an insurance company must defend a doctor in disciplinary proceedings for allegedly stalking and harassing a patient to whom he prescribed an addictive medication for several years.

  • August 10, 2026

    NJ Justices Rule No Purpose Needed In Takings Ordinances

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday held that municipalities do not need to state the public purpose for which private property is being taken within the measure authorizing condemnation, backing a lower court's finding that a borough properly used eminent domain to take over a 50-room motel where it plans to provide parking and electric vehicle charging.

  • August 10, 2026

    3rd Circ. Shuts Down Driver's CBS, Teamsters Retaliation Suit

    The Third Circuit declined Monday to reinstate a driver's suit claiming he was blocked from working on CBS film sets out of age bias and for complaining that Teamsters leaders were handing jobs to their friends, ruling that his case fell apart because the union didn't make hiring decisions.

  • August 10, 2026

    Biz Owners Appeal Morgan Lewis Win In Tax Shelter Suit

    A pair of business owners asked the Florida Supreme Court to reverse a decision affirming judgment in favor of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in a dispute over whether the law firm had routed income through illegal tax shelters.

  • August 10, 2026

    ND Says High Court Ruling Sinks Tribes' VRA Claims

    North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe is asking for a judgment on the pleadings on two tribal nations' challenge to the state's 2021 legislative map following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, saying it's "manifestly obvious" that there's no longer a viable claim.

  • August 10, 2026

    Electrolux Seeks DC Circ. Review Of IAM Pension's $32M Win

    Appliance manufacturer Electrolux is turning to the D.C. Circuit to challenge a $32 million arbitration award in favor of an International Association of Machinists pension fund after a trial court upheld the award last month over the company's objections.

  • August 07, 2026

    Senate Confirms Todd Blanche To Be AG

    The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 in the early hours of Saturday to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent position.

Expert Analysis

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • How Justices Stayed Off The Geofence In Location Data Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Chatrie v. United States decision reaffirms Fourth Amendment protections for location data but avoids more complicated questions about geofence warrants, say attorneys at Adams Duerk.

  • Remote Work Rulings Show ADA Fights Hinge On Process

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    Two opposite outcomes in recent Fifth Circuit and D.C. federal court cases underscore that the legality of denying employees' disability accommodation requests for remote work depends less on broad policy and more on how it's applied, says Paul Sweeney at Ice Miller.

  • Fed Autonomy Rests On Narrow Exception After Justices Rule

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter expand presidential removal power while temporarily preserving the Federal Reserve’s independence, but there is uncertainty about which of the Fed’s authorities fall within the court’s narrow monetary-policy exception, says Keith Bradley at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • How Litigants Are Testing Conversion Therapy Ruling's Scope

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    Litigants are already using the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chiles v. Salazar ruling, which applied strict scrutiny to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, to challenge laws limiting algorithmic rental pricing, artificial intelligence-based discrimination and anti-union employer speech, and courts must soon decide Chiles’ First Amendment limits, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • How Justices' TPS Ruling Affects Workforce Planning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Mullin v. Doe that courts lack jurisdiction to review temporary protected status determinations greenlights the end of TPS for thousands of Syrian and Haitian nationals, and means employers must reevaluate TPS-designees' employability while avoiding discriminatory document practices, says attorney Richard Herman.

  • How Pfizer Won Fed. Circ. Patent Dispute By 1 Carbon Atom

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    The Federal Circuit's recent refusal to revive a patent in Enanta Pharmaceuticals v. Pfizer over an alleged typo creating a one-atom difference in a COVID-19 treatment application hands defendants a template for potentially converting a triable fact question into an early dispositive ruling, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • What To Know Before Justices Rule In Title IX Employee Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Title IX protections extend to employees alleging sex discrimination in Crowther v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, which could have significant implications for higher education institutions and their employees, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Highlights The Cost Of Incorrect Inventorship

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Fortress Iron v. Digger Specialties, affirming that a fencing company's patents were invalid due to a missing co-inventor, is a reminder that confirming correct inventorship should be a critical part of every patent invalidity workup, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.

  • Future Of Fed Independence Shaky After Justices' Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Cook preserved the Federal Reserve's formal independence but could invite the president to remove board members with just modest protections, leaving the central bank's autonomy uncertain and potentially setting up fresh clashes over other agencies, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Chicago.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter brought several notable financial services law developments to Michigan, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on state tax foreclosures, progress on a money transmission modernization bill package, and continued legislative momentum on cryptocurrency and mortgage lending, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Justices' Ruling Alters Playing Field For State Subpoena Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport will spark more federal court challenges to state subpoenas, but procedural defenses will block some merits decisions, so plaintiffs must carefully time and manage parallel federal and state proceedings, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Looking At Drake's Diss Track Appeal Through An IP Lens

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    Though Drake's pending Second Circuit appeal over UMG's promotion of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" is formally about defamation, it shows that IP considerations can help identify records showing how a work traveled, which may guide courts when deciding context, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

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