Justices Seem Poised To Greenlight Transgender Athlete Bans

By Alex Lawson

The conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court voiced skepticism of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's and girls' sports Tuesday, while also signaling a willingness to keep its ruling narrowly tailored.

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4th Circ. Combines DOJ Appeals Of Comey, James Dismissals

By Jack Karp

The Fourth Circuit has granted the Trump administration's request to combine its previously separate appeals of the dismissals of prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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9th Circ. Limits Unpreserved Challenge Reviews To Plain Error

By Brandon Lowrey

The en banc Ninth Circuit on Tuesday said it would no longer review unpreserved claims of legal error under a decades-old "pure question of law" exception to criminal rules of procedure, narrowing the court's purview to only plain error.

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10th Circ. OKs Murder Conviction Despite Gender Bias At Trial

By Marco Poggio

The Tenth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals correctly concluded that a woman sentenced to death for killing her husband received a fair trial, rejecting arguments that prosecutors' use of sexualized and gender-stereotyped evidence violated her constitutional rights.

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No Jury Yet In Goldstein Trial, But Celeb Witnesses Possible

By Jared Foretek

Day two of jury selection in Tom Goldstein's tax and mortgage fraud case wrapped without a jury being seated Tuesday, but did reveal that the government could call celebrities Tobey Maguire and Kevin Hart to the stand.

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Jack Smith To Testify Publicly Next Week

By Courtney Bublé

Former special counsel Jack Smith is slated to testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22 after, according to his attorney, having been "ready and willing" to do so for a while.

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Sen. Whitehouse Presses AG On Boasberg Complaint Results

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., ranking member of the courts panel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the results of the disciplinary complaint she filed against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia when the investigation wraps up.

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Tribal Groups Weigh In On High Court Miss. Ballot Dispute

By Crystal Owens

A group of Native American organizations is backing a U.S. Supreme Court petition that looks to reverse a Fifth Circuit determination on Mississippi's law regarding late-arriving mail-in ballots, arguing that not allowing states to extend receipt deadlines will lead to further disenfranchisement of Indigenous people.

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DC Circ. Upholds NLRB's Ruling Against Mont. Telco

By Braden Campbell

The D.C. Circuit Tuesday upheld the National Labor Relations Board's finding that a telecom company illegally withheld records of its use of non-union workers from a union, saying the company forfeited its argument that the union took too long to back up its demand. 

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'Sazerac Stitches' TM Too Similar To Sazerac, Fed. Circ. Says

By Ivan Moreno

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a trademark tribunal's refusal to register "Sazerac Stitches" for a variety of home goods and decor items because of potential confusion with the distilled spirits and cocktail accessories sold by Sazerac Brands LLC.

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Fed. Circ. Gives Apple New Shot At Axing Smart Mobile Patent

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived Apple's challenge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to a technology patent that Smart Mobile Technologies LLC accuses it of infringing.

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Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB's Axing Of UV Disinfectant Patent

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday issued a one-word order affirming a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision invalidating claims in a patent covering technology for using UV light for sanitation, declining to take on the inventor's challenge to the board's obviousness determinations.

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Comcast Decries Circuit Split After $177M IP Case Is Revived

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit split from several other circuits when reviving WhereverTV Inc.'s $177 million infringement suit against Comcast based on waived arguments, the telecommunications giant has warned the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Full Fed. Circ. Asked To Reconsider Car Seat Patent Case

By Adam Lidgett

Wonderland Switzerland AG wants the full Federal Circuit to take another look at a panel's December reversal of part of a ruling that Evenflo Co. Inc. infringed one of its car seat patents, saying the suit involves a regularly occurring question in patent law.

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Harvard Seeks 1st Circ. Backing For Student Visa Program

By Carolyn Muyskens

The federal government "has no persuasive defense" of its efforts to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard University, the school told the First Circuit in asking the court to uphold an order enjoining the move.

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2nd Circ. Hints Ex-Luxottica Worker Has ERISA Standing

By Brian Steele

Second Circuit judges sounded sympathetic Tuesday to the idea that a former Luxottica employee has standing to pursue changes to its defined benefit pension plan, expressing skepticism at the company's notion that her case is barred because she is seeking unavailable remedies.

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NC Tech Exec Urges 4th Circ. To Delay Sentence Amid Appeal

By Parker Quinlan

A North Carolina software executive convicted of failing to pay employment taxes has asked the Fourth Circuit to delay the start of his 366-day prison sentence while his appeal is pending before the court.

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North Carolina County Tells 4th Circ. It Didn't Underpay EMTs

By Irene Spezzamonte

A North Carolina federal court correctly ruled that a North Carolina county didn't owe damages to EMS workers because their pay structure included both straight time and overtime, but erred in concluding the county violated federal wage law, the county told the Fourth Circuit.

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San Antonio Slams Tribal Church Rehearing Bid In 5th Circ.

By Joyce Hanson

San Antonio is fighting an attempt by two Native American church members to win a Fifth Circuit rehearing in a case over plans to restore a municipal park, saying a panel of the appeals court broke no new ground in its December opinion that would merit another look.

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5th Circ. Urged To Revive Southwest 737 Max Overcharge Suit

By Linda Chiem

Consumers have urged the Fifth Circuit to revive their claims alleging Southwest Airlines overcharged them for riskier flights on Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, saying they've asserted a classic benefit-of-the-bargain injury that gives them standing to sue.

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Detroit Judge Urges Immunity In 6th Circ. Teen Arrest Appeal

By Parker Quinlan

A Michigan state court judge has asked the Sixth Circuit to grant him judicial immunity from a civil rights lawsuit brought against him by a teenager who was handcuffed and put through a "judicial-like" proceeding for falling asleep during a school trip to his courtroom.

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Ark. Official Urges 7th Circ. Not To Revive Pharma Rule Fight

By Emily Brill

An Illinois federal judge correctly upheld an Arkansas insurance regulation designed to protect local pharmacies, the state's insurance commissioner told the Seventh Circuit on Monday, asking the court to toss a Teamsters healthcare plan's bid to renew its challenge to the regulation.

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Express Scripts Can't Impel FTC Atty Views On Insulin Makers

By Matthew Perlman

A Federal Trade Commission in-house judge has denied a bid from Express Scripts to force a commission attorney to sit for a deposition to discuss an investigation into insulin manufacturers as the pharmacy benefit manager defends against the agency's insulin pricing case.

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9th Circ. Says Loggers' Suit Does Not Show A Monopoly

By Elaine Briseño

The Ninth Circuit declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit by a coalition of logging groups that accused a U.S. Forest Service contractor of monopolizing the industry in the Pacific Northwest, finding the plaintiffs' antitrust claims lacked adequate details.

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Wash. Officials Challenge 9th Circ.'s X Corp. Standing Ruling

By Ben Adlin

A group of current and former Washington state officials urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a man's proposed class action accusing X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, of violating a state telephone privacy law, telling justices that allowing the Ninth Circuit's ruling in the case to stand would erode state sovereignty and potentially lead to a circuit split.

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Youths Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Trump Energy Orders Fight

By Elaine Briseño

A group of young people asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's energy-related emergency orders, arguing the lower court erred by saying it did not have jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

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CoStar, Quinn Emanuel Spar Over Litigation Representation

By Lauren Berg

CoStar urged a California federal judge Tuesday to disqualify Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from helping a rival commercial real estate platform pursue antitrust counterclaims in CoStar's copyright infringement suit, while the law firm moved to drop its representation of CoStar in separate litigation.

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Teva Can't Visit 11th Circ. Ahead Of 1st Paragard Bellwether

By Cara Salvatore

A Georgia federal judge refused to delay the first bellwether trial in the Paragard IUD MDL, rejecting Teva's request for an immediate Eleventh Circuit appeal regarding a ruling allowing plaintiffs to use injury data that the drugmaker located only after implantation.

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Battery Co. Urges 11th Circ. To Undo $20M Award In IP Feud

By David Minsky

A battery charger company told the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday that it should reverse a roughly $20 million award after a jury found it ran Amazon advertisements that infringed a rival's trademark, arguing it used a generic product description and didn't cause confusion among consumers. 

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Carnival Urges 11th Circ. To Undo $10M Sexual Assault Verdict

By David Minsky

Cruise line Carnival urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to reverse a decision awarding $10 million to a passenger who was sexually assaulted, arguing it was unfairly prejudiced when FBI evidence rebutting her testimony was admitted during trial after it was previously rejected by the lower court.

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Texas Appeals Panel Skeptical Pipeline Death Falls Under FAA

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appeals panel seemed hesitant to buy Energy Transfer's argument that it can compel arbitration in a suit brought by the family of a man killed in a pipeline explosion, asking Tuesday whether the employee's work qualifies as interstate commerce and therefore falls outside the Federal Arbitration Act.

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Ill. Justices Mull COVID Screening Pay Under State Law

By Lauraann Wood

The Illinois Supreme Court should leave decades of understanding surrounding the statutory term "workweek" intact and rule that the state's minimum wage law incorporates federal limitations on compensable preliminary activities, as finding otherwise would revive a short-lived overtime regime Congress considered "disastrous," Amazon argued Tuesday.

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Illinois Justice Theis To Retire From Supreme Court Bench

By Celeste Bott

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis is retiring at the end of January after more than 40 years on the bench, with her seat to be filled through the end of her term by First District Appellate Court Justice Sanjay T. Tailor, the first Asian American to serve on the high court.

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J&J Wins Partial Reversal Of $1B Merger Milestone Loss

By Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Supreme Court has partially reversed a vice chancellor's September 2024 ruling that Johnson & Johnson owes more than $1 billion for failing to prioritize regulatory approvals linked to "earnout" payments for robotic surgical device technology that J&J acquired from a developer.

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Ga. Panel Doesn't Blink At $50M Bungled Root Canal Verdict

By Chart Riggall

The Georgia Court of Appeals appeared skeptical Tuesday of an Atlanta dentist's bid to overturn a $50 million malpractice verdict against him over a botched root canal, doubting that the award necessarily "shocks the conscience" merely because an earlier, smaller verdict was thrown out on that basis.

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Mass. Court Clears Title Insurer In Lender's Foreclosure Loss

By Julie Manganis

A title insurance company's successful effort to dissolve a previously missed $1.6 million attachment on a piece of property was all that was required to absolve it of liability to a second mortgage lender after the primary lender foreclosed, a panel of Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court concluded Tuesday.

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Former USPTO Solicitor Joins Orrick's Supreme Court Group

By Madison Arnold

A veteran U.S. Patent and Trademark Office attorney has come aboard Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Washington, D.C., as a partner in the firm's Supreme Court and appellate practice, Orrick announced Tuesday.

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Del. Dispatch: What Tesla Decision Means For Exec Comp

The recent Delaware Supreme Court decision granting Tesla CEO Elon Musk his full pay, now valued at $139 billion, following a yearslong battle appears to reject the view that supersized compensation may be inherently unfair to a corporation and its shareholders, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

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6 Issues That May Follow The 340B Rebate Pilot Challenge

Though the Health Resources and Services Administration withdrew a pending case to reconsider the controversial 340B rebate pilot program, a number of crucial considerations remain, including the likelihood of a rework and questions about what that rework might look like, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

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5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2026 And Beyond

2026 will likely be shaped by issues ranging from artificial intelligence regulatory turbulence to potential evidence rule changes, and e-discovery professionals will need to understand how to effectively guide the responsible and defensible adoption of emerging tools, while also ensuring effective safeguards, say attorneys at Littler.

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Ex-Duane Morris Tax Partner Charged With Murdering Wife

By Hailey Konnath

A former tax partner at Duane Morris LLP's Chicago office has been charged with killing his wife a little more than a year ago, according to an announcement made Tuesday by Illinois prosecutors.

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Beasley Allen Talc Work Sends 'Bad Signal,' J&J Says

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson's talc unit told a New Jersey appeals panel on Tuesday that a lower court's ruling permitting Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys to represent plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over its talc-based baby powder "sends a very bad signal" to the state bar.

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Ex-Atty, Others Charged In Staged New Orleans Crash Scheme

By Hope Patti

A disbarred attorney was hit with new charges claiming that he induced a witness to commit perjury and obstructed justice in the federal investigation of an insurance scam involving staged car crashes in the New Orleans area.

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Halligan Blasts Court's 'Inquisition' Over US Atty Status

By Ryan Boysen

Lindsey Halligan said Tuesday that she is still the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia despite a recent ruling to the contrary, dismissing a federal judge's questions about why she's still using the title as an "inquisition" and a "gross abuse of power."

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Approach The Bench: Judge Bough On Ethics

Years of experience as a plaintiff's attorney influenced U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough's disclosure rules for litigators appearing in his court.

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DLA Piper Can't Counsel Hudson Hotel In Ch. 11, Judge Says

By Alex Wittenberg

A Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday rejected a bid by two bankrupt entities tied to the former Hudson Hotel to retain DLA Piper LLP as special counsel in their Chapter 11 case, saying the law firm's work for the entities' lender presented a conflict of interest.

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