Appellate

  • June 11, 2026

    RJ Reynolds-Led ITC Vape Probe To Continue, Fed. Circ. Says

    A U.S. International Trade Commission investigation into R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s claims that importers are skirting restrictions on vapes will continue after a Federal Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a petition to kill the probe, finding it lacked appropriate backing.

  • June 11, 2026

    NJ Justices Rule Private Emails Can't Shield Public Business

    The New Jersey Supreme Court held on Thursday that school board members cannot shield public business by conducting it through their private email accounts, ruling that logs of government‑related emails housed in personal accounts qualify as government records under the state's Open Public Records Act.

  • June 11, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs $158M Healthcare Fraud Scheme Convictions

    The Fifth Circuit affirmed convictions for two men found guilty in a $158 million healthcare scheme where false claims were submitted for illegitimate compound medications, ruling Wednesday there was sufficient evidence for jurors to find they conspired to defraud federal workers' compensation programs and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

  • June 11, 2026

    3rd Circ. Again Rejects $3.7M Atty Fee For BMW Defect Class

    In a precedential opinion Thursday, the Third Circuit once again overturned a $3.7 million fee award for attorneys representing BMW owners in an engine failure class action, after having previously sent the award back for recalculation.

  • June 11, 2026

    Columbia Student Asks 1st Circ. To Reverse Deportation Order

    A graduate student who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University is appealing a Board of Immigration Appeals decision that led an immigration judge to order him deported to Jordan, his lawyers said.

  • June 11, 2026

    Conn. Justices Order New Trial In $13.2M Estate Tax Fight

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a new trial over the state's $13.2 million tax assessment against the estate of a health insurance executive who died in Florida, saying a trial judge should have applied a lower standard of proof when determining the executive's state of residence.

  • June 11, 2026

    Ex-Trump Atty Chesebro Gets Fla. Law License Back

    The Florida Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of former Trump campaign attorney Kenneth Chesebro after his conviction in Georgia's election interference racketeering case was eventually cleared by a court order invalidating the charge.

  • June 11, 2026

    2nd Circ. Asks If Ex-UConn Dept. Head Broke School Rules

    A Second Circuit panel sounded skeptical Thursday about a former University of Connecticut department head's claim that racial animus led to his forced resignation, appearing to lean more toward the argument that he misused state funds while carrying on an inappropriate relationship with his secretary.

  • June 11, 2026

    Moderna Says New COVID Vax Doesn't Infringe BioNTech IP

    Moderna has pushed back at BioNTech's patent infringement lawsuit accusing its newer COVID-19 vaccine of exploiting BioNTech's own technology, saying that it never infringed and that the patent was invalid to begin with.

  • June 11, 2026

    7th Circ. Rejects Firms' Bid For More Flea Collar MDL Fees

    The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed an Illinois federal court's refusal to order a redistribution of attorney fees from a $15 million settlement resolving multidistrict litigation against Bayer and other manufacturers of Seresto flea and tick collars, saying two law firms arguing they were cut out of their fair share failed to timely challenge the fee-allocation process.

  • June 11, 2026

    3rd Circ. Asks How Legal Tech AI Tool Differed From Westlaw

    A Third Circuit panel grilled ROSS Intelligence's attorney Thursday over whether the defunct legal tech startup's use of Westlaw headnotes to train an artificial intelligence-powered legal research tool was truly transformative, repeatedly asking counsel to explain how the product differed from Westlaw.

  • June 11, 2026

    BofA Prevails In Authentication Patent Case At Fed. Circ.

    A user authentication patent owner that sued Bank of America for infringement lost its challenge to how a Texas federal court interpreted a key patent term, after the Federal Circuit on Thursday backed the lower court's claim construction.

  • June 11, 2026

    Fla. Court Says State Can't Litigate Tribal Ordinance Violations

    A man who was found guilty of disorderly intoxication after being arrested at the Miccosukee Casino and Resort on the Miccosukee Indian Reservation had his conviction and sentence reversed after a Florida appeals court found the state lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him for violating a local ordinance on tribal land.

  • June 11, 2026

    Trump Admin Appeals Ruling Striking Down $100K Visa Fee

    The Trump administration said Thursday it is appealing a judge's finding that President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unlawful tax.

  • June 11, 2026

    7th Circ. Affirms Grunt Style's $739K Army Motto TM Award

    The Seventh Circuit has upheld a jury verdict that awarded Chicago T-shirt company Grunt Style LLC $739,000 against another company for infringing its trademark of the U.S. Army slogan "This We'll Defend," saying that when it comes down to it, the case is about which company started using the mark first.

  • June 11, 2026

    Trial Lawyers For Justice Starts Supreme Court Group In DC

    Trial Lawyers for Justice, a national law firm that represents families and victims of catastrophic injuries, medical malpractice clients and others, has hired two lawyers in Washington, D.C., to launch a practice focused on U.S. Supreme Court and appellate work, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revisit Delta Pilots' Military Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to rethink the dismissal of a suit alleging Delta forced out two pilots because they took military leave, leaving in place a panel's conclusion that they resigned over investigations into whether they misused their sick leave.

  • June 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Changes Process For Some Full-Panel Reviews

    The Federal Circuit now requires the authoring judge to notify all panel members about nonprocedural motions, including motions for extensions of time and withdrawal of counsel, according to internal documents.

  • June 11, 2026

    Justices Reject Feds' Venue Theory In Twitter Spying Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a former Twitter employee convicted of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia must be prosecuted in Washington state, where he sent false documents to federal agents, and not in California, where the agents who investigated him are based.

  • June 11, 2026

    Justices Reject 5th Circ. Estoppel Ruling In Ch. 13 Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday vacated and remanded a Fifth Circuit ruling that let judicial estoppel bar a Chapter 13 debtor from pursuing tort litigation after he failed to disclose the claim to a bankruptcy court, deciding that the circuit court did not consider the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case.

  • June 11, 2026

    Justices Curb Private Lawsuits Against Investment Funds

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said that private parties do not have the right to void contracts that allegedly violate the Investment Company Act absent some other legal dispute, issuing a ruling that limits the types of lawsuits that can be brought under the ICA.

  • June 10, 2026

    Royal Caribbean Says Stay Bars Voyeur Suits' Consolidation

    Royal Caribbean urged a Florida federal judge to reject a recommendation to combine 11 lawsuits alleging a former crew member planted hidden cameras in passengers' staterooms, arguing that a stay in a similar proposed class action bars consolidation until the Eleventh Circuit rules on whether claims can be arbitrated. 

  • June 10, 2026

    Variety Makes Offer It Says Panel Can't Refuse In Coppola Suit

    An attorney for entertainment trade publication Variety urged a California appellate panel Wednesday to end Francis Ford Coppola's libel suit over a story suggesting he sexually harassed actresses on the set of his "Megalopolis" movie, saying a trial judge erred when he declined to toss the suit on First Amendment grounds.

  • June 10, 2026

    Estate Says E-Filing Glitch Wrongly Doomed Med Mal Suit

    A Michigan appeals court was urged Wednesday to revive a medical malpractice suit that involves the state's Pandemic Healthcare Immunity Act by counsel for a deceased woman's estate who argued a clerical error kept them from receiving motions for summary judgment in the trial court until it was too late to respond.

  • June 10, 2026

    Fla. Panel Says Policy Breach Verdict Didn't Bar Bad Faith Suit

    A Florida appellate panel on Wednesday revived a restaurant owner's claims that its insurer acted in bad faith in not resolving a claim over losses from a roof collapse before the contract dispute went to trial, finding the extra-contractual damages the company sought had not yet been litigated.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

    Author Photo

    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

    Author Photo

    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

    Author Photo

    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

    Author Photo

    Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

    Author Photo

    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

    Author Photo

    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: IPR And The Limits Of Retroactivity

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit recently ruled in Implicit v. Sonos that even though the clever retroactive correction of two invalidated patents theoretically should have changed the outcome of the inter partes review, the patentee had forfeited the right to rely on the correction — which is interesting for several reasons, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

    Author Photo

    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • Managing Tort Risk After Justices' War Zone Immunity Ruling

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hencely v. Fluor changes the tort landscape for battlefield contractors, whose liability for employee injury will now turn on compliance with battlefield directives — a question that will require discovery into highly sensitive details of combat operations and military decision-making, says Warren Bianchi at Fluet.

  • What Mass. Ruling Clarifies About Whistleblower Protections

    Author Photo

    A Massachusetts appellate court's recent decision in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College, finding that an employee retained whistleblower protections despite his reporting responsibilities and possible contribution to the compliance failure, requires employers to distinguish between performance-based decisions and their response to protected reporting, say attorneys at Smith Kane.

  • AG Watch: Texas Charts A Course On Investigative Authority

    Author Photo

    The Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Texas v. PFLAG affirmed, and arguably expanded, the Texas attorney general's civil investigative demand authority, providing a road map that other courts evaluating state attorney general CIDs may find instructive, amid a lack of precedent, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Pennsylvania

    Author Photo

    From causation standards in first-party property claims, to the scope of statutory bad faith liability, to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in underinsured motorist disputes, three recent cases illustrate how Pennsylvania courts continued to refine the boundaries of coverage and dispute resolution, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Building A Persecution Case After Justices' Asylum Ruling

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi raises the bar for overturning agency findings in federal court, changing how practitioners handling asylum and removal defense cases need to think about building a factual record and formulating arguments on appeal, say attorneys at Lai & Turner and Farzaneh Law.

  • High Court 'Skinny Label' Case Will Matter To Tech Litigators

    Author Photo

    Hikma v. Amarin, set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, has potential to affect not just generic drug label-based evidence in patent cases, but also how technology inducement cases are presented and proven, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.