6th Circ. Says Ky. Social Media Law Needs Closer Look

By Melanie Dorsey

The Sixth Circuit on Monday determined that a trial court should not have blocked a Kentucky law requiring sex offenders to use their legal names on social media, ruling a lawsuit alleging the law amounts to a violation of freedom of speech needs a more "demanding, comprehensive" review.

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8th Circ. Won't Reinstate ICE Injunction In Minneapolis

By Tom Lotshaw

An Eighth Circuit panel has refused to reinstate a lower court's injunction barring federal immigration agents from retaliating against peaceful protesters in Minneapolis, ruling that it is unlikely to survive an appeal from the Trump administration.

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Divisions Emerge At 2nd Circ. Over Reproductive Rights Law

By Mark Payne

A Second Circuit panel appeared split Tuesday on whether an anti-abortion group challenging a New York state law that bars employers from penalizing workers based on their reproductive health decisions has standing to challenge the law as unconstitutional.

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Fed. Circ. Snubs Google's 'Settled Expectations' Challenge

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday turned down Google's challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's policy of denying patent reviews based on the owner's "settled expectations," marking the latest failed case disputing the agency's changes to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

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Judiciary Panel Gets Earful On Legal Financing, Subpoenas

By Jeff Overley

Plans to overhaul federal rules involving recusal and subpoenas fueled spirited debate Tuesday before a judiciary panel, as prominent lawyers outlined forceful views on transparency in third-party litigation funding as well as relaxed policies for serving court documents and obtaining trial testimony.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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BigLaw Firms Seek Partial Exec Order Appeal Consolidation

By Emily Sawicki

The four BigLaw firms that sued the White House and Justice Department over executive orders against them related to the clients they represent have asked the D.C. Circuit that the cases be "partially consolidated" amid the government's appeals of its losses, while maintaining the ability to file individual response briefs.

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Venezuela Highlights 'Unique Issues' In $1B Exxon Award Suit

By Caroline Simson

Venezuela on Monday urged the D.C. Circuit not to summarily toss its challenge to the enforcement of a $1 billion arbitral award issued to three Exxon Mobil subsidiaries, arguing that an issue left open by the circuit court in a previous, parallel decision warrants taking a closer look.

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EPA Says Enviro Groups Lack Standing To Fight Review Rule

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the environmental groups challenging the agency's "project accounting" method for triggering air pollution review at industrial facilities lack the standing to pursue their fight, claiming that the challengers identified no harm at all from the agency's denial of their reconsideration bid.

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Iowa Church Says DEA Has Delayed Ayahuasca Application

By Sam Reisman

An Iowa church seeking approval for the religious use of a psychedelic has told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration continues to drag its feet on the organization's application for a religious exemption to the Controlled Substances Act.

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Comcast Hit With $240M Verdict In Voice Recognition IP Trial

By Adam Lidgett

Comcast is on the hook for $240 million after a federal jury in Pennsylvania found that the telecommunications giant infringed one patent on voice recognition technology, but cleared it on another patent.

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Feds Urge 1st Circ. To Nix 3rd-Country Removals Injunction

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration told the First Circuit a Massachusetts federal judge overstepped by granting a "sweeping injunction" that required it to provide due process to a certified class of noncitizens facing removal to third countries they have no ties to.

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Nuke Discharge Law Isn't Preempted, NY Tells 2nd Circ.

By Keith Goldberg

New York has told the Second Circuit that a federal judge wrongly concluded that a state law barring the release of radioactive materials into the Hudson River was federally preempted.

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Clinic Workers' Vax Bias Suit Needs 2nd Look, 3rd Circ. Says

By Grace Elletson

A split Third Circuit panel reinstated a religious bias suit claiming Geisinger Medical Center illegally required workers who opposed its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to undergo nasal testing, saying the employees should have been allowed to explore whether a chemical in the nasal swabs made that accommodation unreasonable.

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NCAA Warns Of Broad Impacts In WVU Players' Eligibility Row

By Abigail Harrison

If a West Virginia federal court's decision to give four football players another year of eligibility is left standing, scores of student-athletes will be emboldened to use last-minute litigation to skirt National Collegiate Athletic Association rules and secure more playing time, the NCAA's counsel told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday.

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Ex-Wells Fargo Director Urges 4th Circ. To Keep $22M Verdict

By Hayley Fowler

A former Wells Fargo director has asked the Fourth Circuit not to scrap his $22.1 million Americans with Disabilities Act verdict, arguing the bank failed to address one of his state law claims on appeal and can't rewrite how the jury weighed conflicting evidence and testimony.

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Butterball Worker Wants Full 4th Circ. To Rehear Wage Case

By Irene Spezzamonte

Fourth Circuit precedent establishes that state wage and hour laws are not preempted by federal law, a Butterball turkey catcher argued, urging the full appeals court to revisit a panel's decision denying his bid to revive his wage suit.

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Progressive Urges 4th Circ. To Decertify Car Valuation Class

By Hayley Fowler

Progressive told the Fourth Circuit to undo class certification of auto insurance customers in North Carolina challenging how it calculates adjustments for total loss claims, citing the court's decision last year in a "materially identical case" in which certification was reversed.

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Ohio PBM Suit Belongs In Federal Court, 6th Circ. Rules

By Rae Ann Varona

The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that Ohio's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers of driving up prescription prices through rebate schemes belongs in federal court, saying in an opinion recommended for publication that the suit imposes liability on conduct undertaken at the direction of a federal officer.

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6th Circ. Revives Rocket's Arbitration Bid In Spam Call Suit

By Sydney Price

The Sixth Circuit determined that a homeowner using online resources to research his mortgage refinancing options consented to a mandatory arbitration provision with Rocket Mortgage LLC when he navigated to its site through a third-party affiliate, reversing a decision from a Michigan district court that denied arbitration.

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6th Circ. Frees Kellanova From Arbitrating Promotion Fight

By Katherine Smith

Snack-maker Kellanova doesn't have to arbitrate a promotion dispute with a Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union local, the Sixth Circuit ruled, finding the dispute isn't arbitrable under an expired collective bargaining agreement.

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7th Circ. Probes Firm's Oral Agreement To Fees From Fund

By Celeste Bott

Two Seventh Circuit judges on Tuesday pressed a Ballard Spahr LLP attorney to address why his firm didn't secure in writing that an investment fund would foot the legal bills of one of its officers, as the law firm is arguing to the appellate court that it has a valid claim to legal fees in the fund's bankruptcy proceedings based on an oral agreement.

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Wis. Homeowners Challenge Tribal Tax Ruling At 7th Circ.

By Maria Koklanaris

A group of Wisconsin homeowners is asking the Seventh Circuit to revive its claims that local political jurisdictions of the Menominee Indian Tribe joined forces to increase the homeowners' tax burden, arguing a lower court was wrong to dismiss the case.

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9th Circ. Affirms Ripple's Early Win On Registration Claim

By Emilie Ruscoe

The Ninth Circuit won't revive class action claims alleging cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs sold the digital token XRP in an unregistered securities offering, upholding in its decision Tuesday a lower court's finding that the claims are time-barred.

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Split 9th Circ. Backs Blue Shield Win In Residential Care Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

A split Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday held Blue Shield of California did not abuse its discretion in declining to cover an adolescent's stay at a mental health treatment facility, rejecting arguments on appeal that the insurer wrongly went against the recommendations of treating physicians.

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11th Circ. Scrutinizes Royal Caribbean's Defeat Of 401(k) Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Eleventh Circuit zeroed in Tuesday on whether a lower court had enough evidence to hand Royal Caribbean a pretrial win in a suit brought by cruise ship workers who alleged they lost 401(k) savings because of shoddy target-date investment funds.

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11th Circ. May Scuttle Appeal Amid Trafficking Coverage Spat

By Chart Riggall

An Eleventh Circuit panel suggested Tuesday that procedural hurdles could stymie an insurance company's bid to get out of defending an Atlanta-area motel from sex trafficking claims that led to the motel being hit with a $40 million verdict last summer.

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Full 11th Circ. Will Rehear Seafood Co. Workers' ESOP Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The full Eleventh Circuit will rehear a proposed class of seafood company workers' bid to revive mismanagement allegations against their employer and an employee stock ownership plan trustee, the court said Tuesday, after a three-judge panel affirmed dismissal of the case in October.

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11th Circ. Told Tennis Org. Wasn't Required To Report Abuse

By David Minsky

The U.S. Tennis Association urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to reverse a $9 million jury award handed to a player who said she was sexually assaulted by her coach, arguing there's no evidence a USTA manager was required to report a prior incident. 

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Ill. Panel Upholds Life Sentence Despite 'Juvenile Mind' Claim

By Parker Quinlan

An Illinois state appeals court has refused to overturn a sentence of life without parole for a man who claims his attorney failed to present an expert at trial to prove that he had "the mind of a juvenile" when he murdered two people.

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Offit Kurman Beats Appeal In $40M Malpractice Suit

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that a lower court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Offit Kurman and two of its lawyers in a legal malpractice case.

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Hearsay Evidence OK Amid $2.5M Med Mal Verdict, Panel Says

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $2.5 million verdict in a medical malpractice suit accusing a doctor of causing a woman's death from a blood clot in her lungs, saying certain hearsay evidence didn't taint the jury's verdict.

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Jersey Shore Motels Fight Prom Season Rental Limits

By George Woolston

Jersey Shore motel owners told a Garden State appellate panel on Tuesday that it should apply strict scrutiny to their argument that a municipal ordinance prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 from booking a motel room during prom season is unconstitutional.

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Del. Supreme Court Backs Harman In $28M Coverage Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court ruling requiring insurers to cover a $28 million settlement paid by Harman International Industries Inc. to resolve stockholder litigation over its $8 billion sale to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., rejecting arguments that the payment amounted to a prohibited postdeal "bump-up" in merger consideration.

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'Assumed Risk' Bars Construction Death Suit, Ga. Panel Says

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia Court of Appeals panel backed early wins Tuesday for SK Battery America Inc. and its contractors on a Peach State battery plant in a suit over a construction worker's fatal fall on the job, holding that the worker "assumed the risk of his injuries" by not tying himself to a safety line.

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Colo. Developer Challenges Court's PUD Reversal Decision

By Zach Dupont

A developer in Park County asked a Colorado Court of Appeals panel Tuesday to overturn a district court ruling prohibiting the company from building a waste transfer station despite approval from the county commissioners.

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Reporting Duty Doesn't Nix Whistleblower Status, Court Finds

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts' top appellate court ruled Tuesday that a former employee of a Boston community college was entitled to whistleblower protections for reporting that the college had not told the U.S. Department of Education about an alleged sexual assault, even though he shared in the reporting responsibility.

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Ohio Psychiatrist Freed From Patient Wrongful Death Suit

By Mike Curley

An Ohio appeals court on Monday declined to reinstate claims against a psychiatrist alleging he misdiagnosed a patient, leading to his death following a standoff with police, finding he has immunity under state law.

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IP Litigator Joins Holland & Hart's Denver Office

By Elliot Weld

Former Venable LLP partner Elizabeth Manno has joined Holland & Hart's intellectual property litigation practice in the firm's Denver office, bringing her experience in patent litigation and complex technology cases.

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Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Spur Huge Shift For Litigators

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the medical malpractice suit Berk v. Choy, holding that a Florida procedural requirement does not apply to medical malpractice claims filed in federal court, is likely to encourage eligible parties to file claims in federal court, speed the adjudicatory process and create both opportunities and challenges for litigators, says Thomas Kroeger at Colson Hicks.

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Challenging Restitution Orders After Supreme Court Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Ellingburg v. U.S. decision from last week, holding that mandatory restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Sixth Amendment, means that all challenges to restitution are now fair game if the amount is not alleged in the indictment, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Doug Passon at Doug Passon Law.

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Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions

Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.

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State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania

Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

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Minneapolis Law Firms Give Support To Staff And Community

By Aebra Coe

Minneapolis law firm leaders are looking to support their staffs, embrace their community and continue to offer pro bono legal aid to immigrants in the aftermath of federal agents killing an intensive care unit nurse this past weekend.

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2 Attys Sanctioned For AI Citations In Pa. Copyright Suit Filing

By Matt Perez

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has reprimanded two attorneys in a copyright infringement suit for filing a motion to dismiss that contained at least eight false case citations generated by artificial intelligence.

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Ill. Judge Removed For Column Stating Pro-Trump Opinions

By Ryan Boysen

A retired Illinois state judge's temporary reappointment to the bench has been canceled after he penned a MAGA-tinged column railing against "draconian Covid lockdowns," "Fauci lies" and "lawfare" against President Donald Trump, which a local bar association called "wildly inappropriate."

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TikTok Cuts Deal As 1st Social Media Bellwether Trial Begins

By Dorothy Atkins

TikTok reached an eleventh-hour settlement late Monday in the first bellwether trial over claims that social media harms young users' mental health, cutting the deal days after Snap settled and leaving Meta and YouTube as the sole defendants as jury selection began Tuesday.

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SEC Blunts Some Shareholder Activists With Policy Reversal

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reversed course on allowing shareholders with less than $5 million in holdings to publicize information about their proxy ballot proposals through the agency, saying it will object to such voluntary submissions going forward.

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