Analysis

USPTO Eyes Change To Patent Applicants' Disclaimer Practice

By Andrew Karpan

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to add a requirement for patent applicants filing so-called terminal disclaimers in order to overcome rejections by patent examiners over obviousness-type double patenting, a move that lawyers and a former USPTO official say could change the agency's approach considerably, especially for patents covering brand-name drugs.

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FERC Powers Up Major Rewrite Of Grid Planning Policy

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday finalized a long-awaited overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for, with the agency's Republican commissioner claiming his Democratic colleagues are unlawfully favoring clean energy at the expense of state electricity authority.

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11th Circ. Says Ga. County's Trans Health Ban Violates Title VII

By Kellie Mejdrich

A split Eleventh Circuit panel upheld a win Monday for a transgender sheriff's deputy who challenged a Georgia county health plan's refusal to pay for gender-affirmation surgery, ruling the coverage exclusion violated federal anti-discrimination law.

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Cohen Says Trump Knew Hush Money Records Were False

By Frank G. Runyeon and Stewart Bishop

Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen took the witness stand Monday in the ex-president's New York criminal case, testifying that his longtime "boss" directed him to make hush money payments to alleged paramours and that Trump later agreed to the "legal services" label for a six-figure reimbursement despite seeing paperwork that showed otherwise.

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Nancy Pelosi's Would-Be Kidnapper Merits 40 Years, Feds Say

By Henrik Nilsson

Federal prosecutors are urging a California federal judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence on the man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and of assaulting her husband, while the would-be kidnapper is asking for 14 years.

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NC Agency Atty Guilty Of Permitting 'Coercive' Custody Deals

By Travis Bland

The former attorney for a North Carolina county's social services department was convicted of obstruction of justice in connection with the agency forcing parents to sign "coercive" child custody agreements that put children into abusive homes and violated constitutional rights, Attorney General Josh Stein announced Monday.

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Challenger Says Ga. Justice Is 'Working The Refs'

By Chart Riggall

Georgia Supreme Court candidate John Barrow accused his incumbent opponent on Monday of "working the refs" and capitalizing on the prospect that Barrow could face discipline for running on a platform that is stridently in favor of abortion rights in his bid for a seat on the state's highest court.

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Mich. Played 'Word Games' With Mail Ballot Rules, Judge Says

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan claims court judge on Monday seemed to be leaning toward striking mail-in ballot guidance issued to the state's election clerks, suggesting there wasn't support in the state's constitution or election laws for presuming voters' signatures are valid.

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SEC Tells 3rd Circ. Coinbase Can't Force Crypto Rulemaking

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told the Third Circuit that it already "reasonably explained" why it denied Coinbase's petition for crypto rulemaking and that it shouldn't have to retool its policy priorities just because crypto firms find it challenging to comply with existing laws.

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SEC Says Biotech Co., Atty Should Pay $14M For Investor Lies

By Thy Vo

Federal securities regulators have said a Colorado biotech startup and two of its founders should pay more than $14 million in ill-gotten profits, including interest, for lying to investors about the company's financial position, arguing that the founders showed a "total disregard" for investors.

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Sens. Slam DOJ's Money Transmitting Biz Interpretation

By Katryna Perera

A pair of U.S. senators say they have "significant concerns" about how the U.S. Department of Justice is interpreting the definition of "money transmission" in two recent criminal actions over crypto mixers, warning that such an interpretation "threatens to criminalize core elements of Bitcoin and other crypto networks."

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Banking Groups Oppose FDIC Position On Interstate Lending

By Katryna Perera

Two banking associations have argued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is trying to create a new regulation through its support of a Colorado state law aimed at reining in high-cost lending by claiming for the first time, in an amicus brief, that interstate loans are made in both the lender's and borrower's states.

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Corp. Transparency Act An Overbroad Dragnet, 11th Circ. Told

By Kat Lucero

Congress exceeded its authority in passing the Corporate Transparency Act, which prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to solicit personal information for law enforcement purposes from those that registered and owned state-registered entities, a small-business group told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.

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Bank Lobbies Rattle Sabers At Fed Over Debit Swipe Fees

By Jon Hill

Some of the same banking industry groups that sued over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's credit card late fee rule have urged the Federal Reserve to refrain from lowering a separate cap on debit card swipe fees, signaling it could be the next bank fee regulation to face a legal challenge if finalized.

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Utah, Oil Co. Can Enter BLM Oil Lease Challenge, Judge Says

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Anschutz Exploration Corp. and Utah will get the chance to fight environmentalists' lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management's decision to sell oil and gas leases on more than 200,000 acres of public land, a Utah federal judge has ruled.

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16 States Sue To Block Calif.'s 'Clean Fleets' Rule For Trucks

By Gina Kim

Over a dozen U.S. states filed a constitutional challenge in California federal court Monday against a Golden State regulation requiring commercial truck operators to move to zero-emission electric-vehicle fleets, arguing it would disrupt the global supply chain, raise costs, and illegally enforce emission control standards, in violation of federal laws. 

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FEMA Wrongly Denied Atlanta $1.2M In Funds, City Says

By Madeline Lyskawa

Atlanta has slapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a complaint in Georgia federal court accusing the agency of wrongly denying the city's challenge of its rejected request for more than $1.2 million in public assistance to repair damage to a wastewater treatment plant.

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Enviro. Group Sues Feds To Stop Wash. Logging Project

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued the U.S. Forest Service in Washington federal court on Monday in an effort to upend the agency's final decisions to proceed with the Sxwuytn-Kaniksu Connections Trail Project for failing to take a "hard look" at the project's impacts.

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Hunting Groups Want In On Gray Wolf Protections' Lawsuit

By Joyce Hanson

Several hunting groups have asked a Montana federal court to let them intervene in a gray wolf protection lawsuit brought by environmentalists against the U.S. Department of the Interior, saying they should get involved because their interests aren't adequately represented by the government.

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EPA Wrongly Approved New Chevron Chemicals, Group Says

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

A Mississippi community group has asked the D.C. Circuit to revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization for Chevron Corp. to produce 18 new chemicals derived from plastic waste "despite their extreme health risks."

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Rail Worker Wage Case Won't Get High Court Review

By Julie Manganis

The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a pending Massachusetts lawsuit against the operator of a freight rail line over whether its employees are covered by the state's Prevailing Wage Act, declining Monday to review the case.

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Mass. Tax Board Rejects Plea To Cut Home Valuation

By Michael Nunes

A Massachusetts homeowner's argument that his property was overvalued because its assessment increased by a higher percentage than those of neighboring properties was rejected by the state's tax appeals board in a decision released Monday.

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Boston Federal Judge To Be Witness In City Harassment Case

By Julie Manganis

A former Boston city employee will be allowed to call a senior federal judge to testify about a conversation the two had months before she reported being sexually harassed by a former city health director, a state court has ruled.

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Chamber Asks Texas Judge To Stop FTC Noncompete Ban

By Ali Sullivan

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked a Texas federal judge to issue a court order stopping the Federal Trade Commission's new noncompete rule from going into effect while litigation challenging the ban plays out, arguing the rule's enforcement would irreparably harm businesses and their employees.

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'Grinch' Is Not A Protected Class, HHS Tells 4th Circ.

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has urged the Fourth Circuit to reject a chemist's discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation claims, arguing that "Grinch" is not a protected class and federal law doesn't protect an individual "from not being well-liked in the workplace."

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Uber, Lyft Put Driver Work Fight In Reverse As Trial Begins

By Brian Dowling

A high-stakes battle over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Lyft kicked off in Massachusetts on Monday, as the companies sought to flip the government allegations by arguing that the ride-hailing giants work for their drivers, not the other way around.

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Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last-Ditch Apple Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.

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Schumer Urges FTC To Block Hess-Chevron Deal, Jabs Trump

By Al Barbarino

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "sounding the alarm" against Chevron Corp.'s planned $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. in a post on social media platform X, urging the Federal Trade Commission to halt the deal while criticizing former President Donald Trump for a reported meeting with oil executives.

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Kroger Says Wash. AG's Merger Suit Ignores Costco's Impact

By Rachel Riley

The Washington state attorney general's challenge to Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of rival grocery giant Albertsons ignores key economic realities, the companies argued in recent state court filings, including fierce competition from Costco and other big-box retailers.

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FTC Can't Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal, DC Circ. Told

By Matthew Perlman

Meta Platforms Inc. told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the ability to unilaterally modify a $5 billion privacy settlement, contending that the courts are the ones responsible for enforcing the agreement.

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Wash. Hospital Scores Exit In Facebook Privacy Suit, For Now

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing a Seattle-area hospital of sharing patients' confidential health information by using Facebook browser tracking tools, ruling on Monday the plaintiff has failed to show that her own private information was input into the website and shared with a third party.

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Vt. On Brink Of Enacting Privacy Bill With Lawsuit Mechanism

By Allison Grande

The Vermont legislature has sent to the governor's desk a comprehensive data privacy bill that would not only require companies to scale back their data collection efforts and ramp up safeguards for children, but also give consumers the rare opportunity to sue large businesses that violate the law in certain circumstances. 

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Airlines Ask 5th Circ. To Void DOT 'Junk Fees' Disclosure Rule

By Linda Chiem

A lead lobbying group for major U.S. airlines has asked the Fifth Circuit to vacate a recent final rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying the agency overstepped with a needless rule that will only confuse consumers.

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Kabbage Inks 2 FCA Deals With Feds Totaling $120M

By Henrik Nilsson

Bankrupt online lender Kabbage Inc. has agreed to pay $120 million in two separate deals to resolve allegations it submitted thousands of false claims for loan forgiveness and operated without adequate fraud controls in place, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

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Trade Court Judge Objects To Nippon's New Duty Arguments

By Jennifer Doherty

Nippon Steel Corp. struggled Friday to convince the U.S. Court of International Trade that national security tariffs should not have factored into its anti-dumping duty rate, as Judge Stephen Vaden criticizing its counsel for introducing new arguments in court.

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Vietnamese Fish Exporter Sues Over 'Vague' Duty Instructions

By Rae Ann Varona

A Vietnamese frozen fish fillet producer filed suit at the U.S. Court of International Trade, claiming the U.S. Department of Commerce erroneously calculated an anti-dumping duty rate for its products and then issued instructions subjecting it to a higher rate.

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House Bill Seeks More Commerce Dept. Control Of AI Exports

By Katherine Smith

Technology companies may soon be required to implement security checks before collaborating with Chinese artificial intelligence labs with military ties, under a bipartisan bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Texas, Mo. Say Border Contractors Lack Interests To Defend

By Alyssa Aquino

Texas and Missouri have slammed contractors' attempts to defend the Biden administration's plans to use border wall construction funds to remediate existing barriers, telling a Texas federal court that the group lacks a direct interest in the case's outcome.

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'Gamesmanship' Lecture Launches Menendez Bribery Trial

By Carla Baranauckas

The corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez started Monday with a stern admonition from U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein after the government and defense lawyers squabbled over pretrial disclosures, and a message that the jury may be in for a long haul. 

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Wall Fraud Conviction Affirmed Despite Juror-Prosecutor Tie

By Rae Ann Varona

The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed the conviction of a Colorado man found to have siphoned online donations meant to fund a Southern border wall, saying the fact that a federal prosecutor had mentored a juror's daughter didn't warrant vacating the conviction.

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SEC, FinCEN Propose Money Manager Customer ID Rule

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Monday proposed a rule that would require money managers such as hedge funds and private equity firms to document and maintain customer identification programs.

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FCC Looks To Declaw 'Royal Tiger' Global Robocall Network

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission says that a gateway provider known for helping funnel illegal robocalls into the United States is once again back to its old tricks and operating under yet another name, this time Royal Tiger.

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Charter, Altice Drop Some Areas From Rural Funding Plans

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission said Charter and Altice had withdrawn from their plans to use FCC rural deployment funding to build out high-speed internet in several areas, incurring federal penalties.

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FCC Defends 'Lead Generator' Robocall Rule To GOP Sens.

By Jared Foretek

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is defending the agency's new "single seller" rule meant to limit robocalls and texts from comparison shopping sites, telling lawmakers that it will protect consumers from unwanted marketing.

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Feds' Fiber First Policy Slows Deployment, Report Says

By Jared Foretek

Most states' plans to deploy broadband with funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's BEAD Program have room for improvement, according to a new report from a technology think tank.

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New FCC Rules Preempt NY Broadband Price Cap, Prof Says

By Christopher Cole

A Second Circuit ruling that revived New York's low-price broadband law in April should be reversed because the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision not to regulate rates for internet services preempts the Empire State's price cap, a law professor said Friday.

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Alaska House Passes Bill To Levy 7% Marijuana Retail Tax

By Michael Nunes

Alaska would update its marijuana tax regime by levying a 7% tax on sales and phasing out the current $50 per ounce excise tax as part of a bill passed by the state House of Representatives.

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Roundup

Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Kleinbard Bill Battle Starts May

By Matthew Santoni

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will weigh the spending powers of district attorneys in a Kleinbard LLC bill battle and whether an appeals court overstepped by greenlighting a hospital closure when the May argument lineup begins Tuesday.

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Former HUD Secretary Fudge To Chair Taft Public Policy Team

By Jack Rodgers

Marcia L. Fudge, the second Black woman in U.S. history to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as a partner and as firm wide chair of public policy, the firm announced Monday.

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Protecting IP May Be Tricky Without Noncompetes

Contrary to the Federal Trade Commission's view, trade secret law cannot replace noncompetes' protection of proprietary information because intellectual property includes far more than just trade secrets, so businesses need to closely examine their IP protection options, say Aimee Fagan and Ching-Lee Fukuda at Sidley.

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Liquidity Risk Management Tops NCUA Exam Priorities

As credit unions map their regulatory initiatives and audit plans, they should look to the National Credit Union Administration’s annual supervisory priorities, which include five important examination areas, including liquidity management and interest rate risk, say Juan Arciniegas and Judy Chen at Chapman and Cutler.

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4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

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A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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What Lies Behind Diverging US And UK Insolvency Trends

Contrasting U.K. and U.S. insolvency trends highlight the importance of policy interventions in shaping consumer financial outcomes and economic recovery, and while the U.K.'s approach seems to have mitigated issues, the U.S. faces challenges exacerbated by economic conditions and policy transitions, says Thomas Curran at Thomas H. Curran Associates.

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7 Effects Of DOL Retirement Asset Manager Exemption Rule

The recent U.S. Department of Labor amendment to the retirement asset manager exemption delivers several key practical impacts, including the need for managers, as opposed to funds, to register with the DOL, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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Kansas Workers' Comp. Updates Can Benefit Labor, Business

While the most significant shake-up from the April amendment to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act will likely be the increase in potential lifetime payouts for workers totally disabled on the job, other changes that streamline the hearing process will benefit both employees and companies, says Weston Mills at Gilson Daub.

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Analysis

What's Behind 'Nuclear' Verdicts? Skeptical Juries, Attys Say

By Spencer Brewer

Jurors becoming more skeptical of corporations are handing down sky-high verdicts, and trial attorneys say it's forcing a shift in the strategies they employ as they aim to score — or prevent — so-called nuclear verdicts.

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Analysis

Keep It Short, And Other Advice From Fed. Circ. Judges

By Dani Kass

Six Federal Circuit judges counseled a packed room of attorneys on Tuesday about the most common ways to ruin their own cases, such as talking too much at oral argument, adding additional citations and attacking judges or opposing counsel.

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BigLaw Attys Fight Sanctions Over Alleged Judge Shopping

By Jack Karp

Attorneys from Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Cooley LLP, Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC and prominent LGBTQ rights organizations did not engage in judge-shopping when walking away from cases challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth, the lawyers have told an Alabama federal court.

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Morgan Lewis NY Corporate Partner, Family Man Dies

By Tracey Read

Jonathan D. Morris, a deputy leader of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's global corporate and business transactions practice, passed away Monday morning at 50, the firm said Tuesday.

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DLA Piper Expands To Brazil With New São Paulo Office

By Adrian Cruz

DLA Piper announced that it is growing its Latin American operations with a newly opened location in Brazil's largest city, São Paulo.

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Ex-Husch Blackwell, Dykema Atty Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion

By Jack Rodgers

A former Husch Blackwell LLP partner who helped launch Dykema Gossett's PLLC's Milwaukee office two years ago has agreed to plead guilty in Wisconsin federal court to willfully evading paying income tax, which could land him in prison for over a year and will force him to pay almost $4 million in restitution to the IRS.

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Trump Can't Overturn Gag Order In NY Criminal Trial

By Cara Salvatore

A New York state appeals court on Tuesday denied Donald Trump's bid to overturn a gag order intended to stop him from criticizing witnesses and others involved in his ongoing criminal fraud trial.

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Coverage Recap: Day 13 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Frank G. Runyeon

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from Tuesday, day 13 of the trial.

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White House Continues To Back Adeel Mangi For 3rd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The White House is standing by Adeel Mangi's nomination for the Third Circuit despite the path to confirmation being unclear and the vast opposition he's been facing.

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Trial Averted In Boston Health Agency Harassment Case

By Julie Manganis

A former Boston health department employee on Tuesday reported that she had settled her claims against the city and a former boss who she says sexually harassed her, scuttling a trial that would have featured several high-profile witnesses, including a federal judge.

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Law Firm Must Face Ex-HR Manager's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Emmy Freedman

A Florida federal judge refused Tuesday to allow a law firm to escape a former human resources manager's pregnancy discrimination suit, saying a jury should decide the dispute given the "peculiar" timing of her firing.

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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

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