Appellate

  • October 31, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

  • October 31, 2024

    11th Circ. Nixes ERISA Claim To John Hancock's $100M Credit

    John Hancock Life Insurance Co. had no fiduciary duty to pass on to retirement plans $100 million in foreign tax credits that it had taken from taxes paid on foreign investments, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit said in upholding a lower court ruling.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms Fight Bid To Revive Malpractice Suit Over Liability Case

    Two firms are asking the Delaware Supreme Court to affirm the dismissal of a malpractice suit filed by parents over damages sought for their child's "catastrophic injuries," allegedly caused by contamination from a chicken plant.

  • October 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Keeps Most No Surprises Act Provisions Intact

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld several provisions for calculating qualifying payments under a federal law aimed at protecting Americans from surprise medical bills, saying in a published opinion that the provisions were neither inconsistent with the law nor arbitrary and capricious.

  • October 30, 2024

    Class Asks Court To Revive Claims Against Florida Blue

    A proposed class of Florida state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan asked an appeals court Wednesday to revive their suit claiming the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.

  • October 30, 2024

    Del. Justices Probe Implications Of Tripadvisor Nevada Move

    Delaware's justices closely questioned on Wednesday an attorney defending shopping and travel giant Tripadvisor Inc.'s bid to reincorporate in Nevada, pressing for frameworks that protect the interests of current stockholders as well as fiduciaries and investors seeking more business-friendly pastures.

  • October 30, 2024

    Texas Trying To 'Cloak' Uvalde Records Forever, Justices Hear

    Justices on a Texas appeals court questioned why the state should get to keep almost three terabytes worth of data relating to the Uvalde school massacre away from the public eye, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that Texas was seemingly claiming it could hold onto all of its records.

  • October 30, 2024

    Calif. Panel Axes $10.6M Abex Asbestos Verdict

    A California appellate panel has thrown out a $10.6 million asbestos verdict against Pneumo Abex LLC and ordered a new trial, finding that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict that rejected the now-bankrupt braking lining manufacturer's sophisticated user defense.

  • October 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Calif. City Can't Sue State Over Housing Laws

    The Ninth Circuit refused to revive the city of Huntington Beach, California's challenge to Golden State laws requiring it to build a certain number of housing units to keep up with population growth, writing in an order Wednesday that the city lacked standing to sue the state in federal court.

  • October 30, 2024

    'Less-Is-More' Ill. Justice Preps For Next Decade On The Court

    With voters set to hand Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White her first full term on the high court bench next week, the justice said she is ready to tackle the next decade of cutting-edge legal issues. But don't expect florid phrasing in her future opinions.

  • October 30, 2024

    Fla. Vax Critic Urges Panel To Revive Advance Auto Injury Suit

    A Florida woman Wednesday urged a state appellate panel to revive her personal injury lawsuit against Advance Auto Parts, saying a lower court wrongly tossed it after determining she misrepresented medical problems from a vehicle collision with a company driver based on her internet comments regarding COVID-19 vaccine reactions.

  • October 30, 2024

    'Politically Charged' Bid To Unseat Justice Alarms Colo. Bar

    The Colorado Bar Association said Tuesday it was concerned about a campaign to unseat the Colorado Supreme Court's chief justice because of her vote to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the state's ballot, calling them "politically charged efforts that target the judiciary's independence."

  • October 30, 2024

    Texas Hospital Can't Escape $3.5M Blood Clot Verdict

    A Texas appellate court largely affirmed a jury's $3.5 million verdict in a suit accusing a hospital of negligently treating a patient's blood clots and causing serious injuries, saying awards for future lost earnings and medical expenses were supported by the evidence.

  • October 30, 2024

    Google's Bid To Depose AG Has Texas Appeals Judge 'Extremely Troubled'

    A Texas appeals court raised concerns about Google's claim that it had the right to depose the Texas Office of the Attorney General, with a justice saying during oral arguments Wednesday that giving Google a green light to interview lawyers representing the state could open a legal can of worms.

  • October 30, 2024

    Pa. Says GOP Regret Doesn't Merit Freeze On Mail-In Vote Fix

    Pennsylvania told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday the federal justices have no authority to freeze a ruling from the state's top court allowing voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected as defective to submit provisional ballots as replacements, adding that the Republican Party's alleged regret over its litigation strategy doesn't require action either.

  • October 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Keeps NC Voter Registration Suit In Fed. Court

    The Fourth Circuit has ruled that a district court was wrong to send part of a Republicans' lawsuit challenging the legality of 225,000 voters' registrations in North Carolina back to state court.

  • October 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Mulls Shipping Honeywell Royalty Fight To Fed. Circ.

    The Fourth Circuit grappled Wednesday with whether a fight over royalty payments between technology conglomerate Honeywell and its Japan-based rival had its roots in patent or contract law, which could dictate whether the appeal stays put or gets kicked over to the Federal Circuit.

  • October 30, 2024

    11th Circ. Says Daughter's B-Day Dooms Dad's Removal Relief

    A Mexican father's hopes to remain in the country and not cause undue hardship for his American daughter were foiled when he didn't object to his final removal hearing getting scheduled for after her 21st birthday, a divided Eleventh Circuit panel ruled.

  • October 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Soldier's Loss Against Fluor Over Bombing

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a soldier's lawsuit against Fluor Corp. over injuries he sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, holding the suit's state tort claims are preempted by a "combatant activities" exception in federal law.

  • October 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Upholds Sanctions Against Northwestern Law Prof

    A panel of the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Colorado district court's sanctions against a Northwestern University law professor for his frivolous attempt to remove a probate dispute with his sister to federal court, finding in a brief, unpublished opinion that the sanctions were not an abuse of discretion.

  • October 30, 2024

    Conn. Justices Doubt Fertility Doc Suit Is For 'Wrongful Life'

    Some justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court were skeptical Wednesday that a lawsuit accusing a fertility doctor of impregnating patients with his own sperm is a barred claim for wrongful life, pressing defense counsel on the now-grown children's allegations that they suffered psychological harm when they discovered the truth.

  • October 30, 2024

    Insurer Can't Cap Interest In Birth Injury Case, Patient Says

    A patient suing his doctor over injuries he suffered at birth urged the Colorado Supreme Court not to limit interest on his medical malpractice damages to $1 million, arguing in a brief the doctor's insurer had chances to settle the case years ago and refused.

  • October 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Texas A&M's Defeat Of Hiring Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday backed Texas A&M University's win over a professor's lawsuit claiming its hiring practices prevent white and Asian men's applications from being properly considered, finding his failure to actually seek a job at the school doomed his case.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ex-Ford Models CEO Can't Arbitrate Sex Misconduct Suit

    A California appeals court won't let the former CEO of Ford Models send a woman's suit brought under a state sex trafficking law to arbitration, saying her allegations don't fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement she signed.

Expert Analysis

  • Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing

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    Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics

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    Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry

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    The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.

  • What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.

  • Takeaways From Virginia's $2B Trade Secrets Verdict Reversal

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    The Virginia Court of Appeals' recent reversal of the $2 billion damages award in Pegasystems v. Appian underscores the claimant's burden to show damages causation and highlights how an evidentiary ruling could lead to reversible error, say John Lanham and Kamran Jamil at Morrison Foerster.

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Employers Face Uncertainty After Calif. Justices' Slur Ruling

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    In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that a singular use of a racial slur may be sufficiently severe to support a hostile work environment claim, leaving employers to speculate about what sort of comments or conduct will meet this new standard going forward, says Stephanie Roeser at Manatt.

  • How Corner Post Affects Enviro Laws' Statutes Of Limitations

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board has helped to alter the fundamental underpinnings of administrative law — and its plaintiff-centric approach may have implications for some specific environmental laws' statutes of limitations, say Chris Leason and Liam Martin at Gallagher and Kennedy.

  • Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Ohio's New Citation Rules Could Cure 'The Bluebook Blues'

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    The Ohio Supreme Court recently revised its writing manual to streamline citation format in legal briefs and opinions, deviating from Bluebook style, and encouraging lawyers and judges to draft cleaner documents that will give the substance of their legal arguments more persuasive power, say L. Bradfield Hughes and Chance Conaway at Porter Wright.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media

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    The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.

  • Trump's Best Hush Money Appeal Options Still Likely To Fail

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    The two strongest potential arguments former President Donald Trump could raise in appealing his New York hush money conviction seem promising at first, but precedent strongly suggests they will still ultimately fail — though, of course, Trump's unique position could lead to surprising results, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.

  • Tips For Tax Equity-Tax Credit Transfers That Pass IRS Muster

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    Although the Internal Revenue Service has increased its scrutiny of complex partnership structures, which must demonstrate their economic substance and business purpose, recent cases and IRS guidance together provide a reliable road map for creating legitimate tax equity structures, say Ian Boccaccio and Michael Messina at Ryan Tax.

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