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In Rarity, 1 Party's Judges Gain 100% Control Of Circuit Bench
At the First Circuit, the judges' robes are all black, but the judges are all blue. It's a new and unusual instance of one political party's judicial picks controlling each active seat on a federal appeals court, and the Democratic dominance could prove magnetic for ideologically charged litigation.
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June 11, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Wary Of Party Dissenters' 'Right' To Use Logo
A Sixth Circuit judge seemed skeptical on Tuesday that limiting a dissenting faction of the Libertarian Party of Michigan's use of the name and logo of the Libertarian National Committee infringes the group's speech rights, saying members can still voice their opinions.
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June 11, 2024
Abbott Taps General Counsel, Austin Partners For New Courts
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his first appointments to the statewide business court and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals on Tuesday, roughly three months before the state's newest courts are set to begin taking cases.
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June 11, 2024
NJ Supreme Court Rejects Bid For Roundup Mass Tort
The New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected a request for litigation against Monsanto Co. and Bayer AG to be designated as multicounty litigation because there are too few cases, according to a notice to the bar published Monday.
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June 11, 2024
Biz Groups Urge 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold
Industry groups want the Sixth Circuit to put the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules on hold while they are litigated and to reject an FCC bid to move numerous consolidated challenges to the D.C. Circuit.
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June 11, 2024
Deutsche Telekom Owed €1.8M In EU Fine Overcharge Interest
The European Union's executive branch is on the hook to Deutsche Telekom for €1.75 million in interest for an antitrust fine overcharge after the bloc's high court on Tuesday rejected an appeal contesting lower court findings that there is an "absolute, unconditional obligation" to pay that interest.
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June 11, 2024
FTC Gets Short Extension On Novant Deal Pause
A North Carolina federal court Tuesday extended an order preventing Novant Health from closing its $320 million deal for a pair of hospitals in the state by 10 days to give the Federal Trade Commission time to ask the Fourth Circuit to pause the transaction.
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June 11, 2024
No Tax Owed On Mailed Ads, Insurer Tells Mich. Appeals Court
Advertisements mailed for a Michigan insurance provider by an out-of-state direct-mail contractor should not incur the state's use tax, the insurer told a state appeals court Tuesday.
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June 11, 2024
Ga. Justices Say 1-Year Lawsuit Window Stands In Death Case
The Supreme Court of Georgia won't hold liable a home inspector sued by the family of a man who was killed when his home's retaining wall collapsed, ruling Tuesday that the inspector's one-year statute of limitations doesn't violate a state ban on hold harmless provisions in construction contracts.
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June 11, 2024
4th Circ. Unconvinced Migrant Siblings' Abuse Was Retaliatory
The Fourth Circuit has refused to revive an asylum application from two Salvadoran siblings fleeing an abusive uncle, unconvinced that the uncle had targeted the pair in retaliation for their mother's reporting him to the police.
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June 11, 2024
DOE Urges DC Circ. To Extinguish Furnace Rule Fight
The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday defended its tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that arguments that the new regulations unlawfully force a costly switch to new appliances are meritless.
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June 11, 2024
Pa. County Can't Give Voting Machine Data To Mich. Atty
A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked Fulton County commissioners from giving data copied from the county's Dominion Voting Systems equipment to an attorney and Donald Trump ally facing criminal charges for illegally accessing voter information in Michigan.
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June 11, 2024
Texas AG Urges DC Circ. To Revive Media Matters Probe
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the D.C. Circuit to revive his investigation into progressive media watchdog Media Matters' reporting on the social media platform X, saying the D.C. federal court had no authority to interfere with the probe.
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June 11, 2024
Justices Urged To Review Fee Denial In DOL Stock Plan Case
A construction design firm is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its fight for attorney fees after beating an enforcement case brought by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging the company and its founders mismanaged an employee stock ownership plan, with the firm arguing the Ninth Circuit erred in siding with the DOL.
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June 11, 2024
Ga. Justices Accept Fla. Atty's Voluntary Suspension
An attorney suspended by the Florida Bar for myriad failures — including a lack of communication with clients and the submission of illegible court filings — while practicing with Your Jacksonville Lawyer PA was reciprocally suspended Tuesday in Georgia and is currently ineligible to practice in either state.
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June 11, 2024
Spat Over Texas Trial, Vacation Plans Ends With New Date
A Texas appeals court has dismissed a tech company's mandamus petition stating that a Harris County court scheduled a trial in its case despite several attorney vacation letters after the parties said the trial court moved the date.
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June 11, 2024
Ga. Justices Disbar Atty For Unlawful Disbursement Of $2M
The Georgia Supreme Court disbarred an attorney Tuesday after she disbursed approximately $2 million of a digital asset trading company's funds, which had been intended for a bitcoin sale that never went through, into personal accounts controlled by her and her sister.
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June 11, 2024
Ga. Justices OK Remote Work For Attys Not Licensed In State
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously put its stamp of approval Tuesday on an opinion stating that attorneys who reside in the Peach State but are not licensed there may provide legal services by remote means under certain circumstances.
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June 11, 2024
Mich. Court Says Insurer Can Yank Benefits For Litigation Lies
The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously reversed an appeals court decision, ruling Tuesday that misrepresentations made during discovery could prevent the family of a deceased car accident victim from recovering benefits from an insurer assigned to his claim by a state safety net program.
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June 11, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Adopt Rule On AI-Drafted Docs
The Fifth Circuit has decided this week not to adopt a proposed rule requiring attorneys to verify that documents were not written using generative artificial intelligence, or if they were, that they were checked for accuracy by humans.
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June 11, 2024
FDA Urges 11th Circ. To Back E-Cig Ban Over High Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging the Eleventh Circuit to not let Bidi Vapor market an e-cigarette product that the agency claimed would expose users to nearly twice as much nicotine as a typical combustible cigarette.
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June 10, 2024
Calif. Targets Oil Giants' Profits In Amended Climate Suit
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday tweaked the state's climate deception suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP to also target the oil and gas companies' "illegally obtained" profits under a recently enacted state law.
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June 10, 2024
New State Appeals Court Is Constitutional, Texas Says
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked the state's high court to reject a petition by Dallas County seeking a declaration that the newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals is unconstitutional, saying the legislature indeed can create an appeals court with subject-matter jurisdiction.
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June 10, 2024
Weinstein Calls Accuser 'Brazen Liar' In Calif. Criminal Appeal
Harvey Weinstein told a California appellate court that prejudicial rulings deprived him of a fair trial in the Golden State, arguing in his opening brief that the jury wrongfully heard evidence of uncharged sex assault offenses but never heard evidence that would have exposed his accuser as a "brazen liar."
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June 10, 2024
9th Circ. Partially Revives Puget Sound Pollution Row
The Ninth Circuit sided with an environmental group Monday in a regulation enforcement case against the Port of Tacoma, Washington, partially overturning a lower court to find previous iterations of state stormwater permitting rules do extend across marine cargo terminals and other transportation facilities.
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June 10, 2024
6th Circ. Won't Rethink Drop Of Suit Over Doped Derby Horse
A Sixth Circuit panel on Monday declined to rehear arguments from a group of gamblers who claim they should have been paid for their 2021 Kentucky Derby winning bets after the first-place horse was eventually disqualified for doping.
Editor's Picks
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Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
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DC Circuit Cases To Watch In 2024
As the D.C. Circuit heads into 2024, its judges are poised to answer hotly anticipated political questions about former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as a number of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cases that could determine the future of certain natural gas projects.
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Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
UPDATED June 11, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
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What To Know As CFPB Late Fee Rule Hangs In Limbo
Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final credit card late fee rule faces an uncertain future due to litigation involving injunctions, emergency petitions and now a venue dispute, card issuers must understand how to navigate the interim period and what to do if the rule takes effect, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain
The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.
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What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims
In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.
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9th Circ. Ruling Broadens Sweep Of Securities 'Solicitation'
The Ninth Circuit's recent revival of a putative securities fraud class action against Genius Brands for hiring a stock promoter to write favorable articles about it shows that companies should view "solicitation" broadly in considering whether they may have paid someone to urge an investor to purchase a security, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Fed. Circ. Rulings Crystallize Polymorph Patent 'Obviousness'
A comparison of two recent Federal Circuit obviousness challenge decisions regarding polymorph patents provides helpful insight into the assessment of screening arguments, particularly the issue of reasonable expectation of success, say Michael Green and John Molenda at Steptoe.