Appellate

  • October 11, 2024

    Xcel, Colo. Co-Op Reach Deal To End Power Plant Appeal

    Xcel Energy and a Colorado electric cooperative have told an intermediate state appellate court that they've reached a settlement in principle to avoid further appeals of a $26 million jury verdict against Xcel in a fight over the closure of a power plant.

  • October 11, 2024

    Nelson Mullins Can't Beat DQ In Foreign Exchange Fraud Suit

    A Florida state appeals court panel unanimously sided with a trial court Friday in deciding that Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP can't represent the defendant in a lawsuit accusing him of duping the plaintiff into doing business with online foreign exchange platform FxWinning Ltd. because the firm previously represented the plaintiff in a "substantially related" suit against the company.

  • October 11, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA's NIL Deal Advances, QB Settles Again

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA and the athletes suing it over name, image and likeness money satisfy a judge with their proposed settlement revisions, an NFL quarterback settles yet another sexual assault accusation, and a legal battle between the NFL and one of its former reporters ends amicably.

  • October 11, 2024

    California High Court Rejects Bar Exam Alternative Program

    The California Supreme Court has rejected a proposal that would have allowed bar applicants to submit a portfolio of work they did with real clients under supervision instead of taking the bar exam.

  • October 10, 2024

    Chutkan OKs Redacted Immunity Evidence In Trump Case

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing the case that charges Donald Trump with scheming to subvert the 2020 election results will allow the public disclosure of some evidence related to the issue of his potential immunity, but will give the former president time to challenge the disclosure.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Sanctions Attempt Is 'Intimidation Tactic,' Nonprofit Says

    A Houston civil rights nonprofit focusing on immigration is calling a sanctions motion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton an "intimidation tactic," telling a state appeals court that it shouldn't have to just accept whatever legal interpretation the state spits out or face sanctions.

  • October 10, 2024

    Trade Group, Enviros Clash Over EPA Methylene Chloride Rule

    American Chemistry Council and the Sierra Club are taking aim at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methylene chloride rule, with the industry group telling the Fifth Circuit the agency overstepped when it outright banned most applications of the chemical for no valid reason and the conservation organization arguing it didn't go far enough.

  • October 10, 2024

    Wash. Judge Condemns Monsanto's Bid To Delay PCB Trial

    A Washington state judge grew frustrated on Thursday with Monsanto's eleventh-hour attempt to shelve a PCB poisoning tort headed to trial next week until the state Supreme Court weighs in on a similar case, calling out the chemical giant for taking stances on "both sides of the fence" about the stakes on appeal.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Digs Into Patent Applications' Place In Prior Art

    A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to work out whether published patent applications meet the requirements to serve as prior art, in order to evaluate whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightfully invalidated claims of a Lynk Labs LED patent.

  • October 10, 2024

    Vape Co. Missed Cutoff To Toss $892K Arb. Loss, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday affirmed a Washington distributor's $892,000 arbitration award in a dispute with vape company Avid Holdings, in an order siding with a district court judge who determined Avid waited too long to dispute the arbitrator's decision.

  • October 10, 2024

    DOJ Defends Federal Marijuana Ban At 1st Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday urged the First Circuit to reject cannabis companies' constitutional challenge to the drug's ongoing prohibition under federal law, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that Congress has the power to regulate the interstate and intrastate markets for controlled substances.

  • October 10, 2024

    Why So Hard To Say 'Denied'? Mich. Justices Ask Insurers

    Michigan Supreme Court justices pushed insurers Wednesday to explain why they take issue with appellate rulings requiring them to explicitly say they have "denied" insureds' claims, asking what about including that word or evaluating claims as they normally do would create new obligations on the insurers.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Software IP Case Against Salesforce

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday threw out a Nevada federal court's finding that Salesforce didn't infringe claims in a pair of patents for database software reprogramming and that the claims weren't valid to begin with, saying key language in the patents has to be looked at differently.

  • October 10, 2024

    Boulder Says Exxon Can't Twist Law To Avoid Climate Fight

    Boulder, Colorado, accused Exxon on Wednesday of twisting preemption standards to avoid a suit over the impacts of climate change, telling the Colorado Supreme Court that it doesn't need explicit permission from the Clean Air Act to bring its state law claims. 

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Hints Justices' 'Sea Change' May Help DACA

    A Fifth Circuit judge grilled Texas on Thursday over whether it still has standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, suggesting recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent might spell trouble for the Lone Star State's bid to kill the program.

  • October 10, 2024

    Homebuyers Tell 8th Circ. Broker Deal Gives Them Nothing

    Homebuyers are urging the Eighth Circuit to undo the approval of $208.5 million in settlements struck by real estate brokerages in the sprawling litigation over industry rules covering broker fees, saying the deals only provide money for sellers.

  • October 10, 2024

    Eli Lilly Tells Mich. Justices It's 'Wrong Time' For Insulin Case

    A lawyer for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject a call to shake up the state's consumer protection precedent, saying during oral arguments Thursday that the attorney general is asking the court to do "by fiat" what Michigan lawmakers could soon accomplish with a bill package that got a hearing earlier this week. 

  • October 10, 2024

    SEC Urges 1st Circ. To Uphold $93M Win Over Financial Firm

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged the First Circuit on Thursday to affirm its $93 million win against Commonwealth Financial Network for allegedly failing to disclose that it profited from clients using higher-fee funds when similar, lower-cost versions were available.

  • October 10, 2024

    Mich. Justice Asks If Disney Fight Harms Multistate Collabs

    Michigan's chief justice asked Thursday whether allowing Disney and the owner of IHOP to retain unclaimed property, which state officials say they should get after an audit, could hamper Michigan's ability to participate in multistate audits that yield hundreds of millions of dollars for the state.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fla. Panel Frees Officials From Suit Alleging Election Meddling

    The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Gov. Ron DeSantis and top state officials didn't unlawfully try to influence voters when they advocated against an upcoming ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to viability, denying a petition brought by an attorney seeking to hold them accountable for improper political interference.

  • October 10, 2024

    8th Circ. Won't Block EPA Power Plant Effluent Rule

    The Eighth Circuit rejected on Thursday efforts by nearly two dozen states, utility companies and trade groups to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting new wastewater limitations for coal-fired power plants.

  • October 10, 2024

    Vet Groups Back Soldiers Fighting Naturalization Mandate

    Veterans' groups are backing soldiers fighting the Pentagon's efforts to mandate a one-year service requirement for citizenship eligibility, telling the D.C. Circuit that soldiers who enlist during wartime would risk getting deployed without the benefits of citizenship.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Prosecutor Fee Fight Ends With High Court Rejection

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday declined to take up a dispute over how much a special prosecutor appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should be paid, ending a fee fight that has stretched on almost as long as the criminal case.

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Says ISP Liable For Piracy But Orders Damages Redo

    The Fifth Circuit has concluded that a Texas federal court correctly upheld a jury verdict finding internet service provider Grande Communications Networks LLC is liable for the willful contributory copyright infringement of 1,403 songs from several record labels but ordered that the nearly $47 million in damages be recalculated.

  • October 10, 2024

    Wendy's Asked To Move Wage Row Too Late, 10th Circ. Says

    The Tenth Circuit declined Thursday to move an unpaid wage class action against Wendy's back to federal court, saying the fast-food chain waited too long before asking to transfer the dispute from state court despite knowing the requirements to do so had been met.

Expert Analysis

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Preserving Payment Rights

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    Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions that together illustrate the importance of keeping accurate records and adhering to contractual procedures to avoid inadvertently waiving contractual rights to cost reimbursements or nonroutine payments.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance

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    A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech

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    Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

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