Appellate

  • November 04, 2024

    New Panel Not Needed In NLRB Row, Exxon Tells 5th Circ.

    A Fifth Circuit panel questioned ExxonMobil's assertion that it could keep the same National Labor Relations Board panel makeup besides a board member flagged for conflict of interest, telling Exxon there was "good reason" for a completely new panel during oral arguments Monday.

  • November 04, 2024

    Post-Chevron, DC Circ. Wrestles With At-Sea Monitoring Rule

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Monday revisited a challenge to federal regulations requiring fishermen to fund the cost of compliance monitors aboard their ships, grappling with how to interpret the federal statute underlying the regulations following the demise of the Chevron deference.

  • November 04, 2024

    Lemon Law Doesn't Cover Used Cars, Calif. Justices Say

    The California Supreme Court has overturned nearly 30 years of precedent and held that the state's lemon law does not cover used cars when the vehicle has an unexpired manufacturer's warranty, delivering a victory to automaker FCA that its attorney said would end thousands of potential lawsuits.

  • November 04, 2024

    FERC, NJ Conservation Orgs Battle Over Pipeline Rehearing

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is clashing with a host of conservation groups and the New Jersey Division of the Rate Counsel over whether the D.C. Circuit should reconsider a panel decision that vacated the agency's approval for a natural gas pipeline expansion on the East Coast.

  • November 04, 2024

    'Oh, Come On': 5th Circ. Doubts Intuit Ads Misled Consumers

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday seemed skeptical that the company behind TurboTax duped customers into thinking they could file their tax returns for free, with judges engaging in a lengthy back-and-forth with the Federal Trade Commission over how noticeable disclosures on the ads had to be for the agency to consider them truthful.

  • November 04, 2024

    Microsoft Wants To Weigh In On Google Play Store Challenge

    Microsoft has asked the Ninth Circuit to allow it to file an amicus brief backing Epic Games in Google's challenge to an injunction requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, arguing that the search giant's policies have prevented Microsoft from offering "mobile gaming experiences customers want."

  • November 04, 2024

    Exxon Keeps Win In Sand Blaster's Lung Disease Suit

    A Texas state appeals court won't overturn a summary judgment freeing Exxon Mobil Corp. from a premises liability suit from a sandblaster alleging that he developed fibrosis in his lungs while working at an Exxon facility, saying the trial court rightly excluded his experts as unreliable.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. AG Underestimates Tenants, Rental Home Group Says

    A trade group has argued that Colorado's attorney general views tenants as "unsophisticated consumers" when he told the state Supreme Court that a group of tenants should be able to sue Blackstone subsidiaries over lease terms exchanging maintenance work for a rent discount.

  • November 04, 2024

    Yale Gets 2nd Circ. Win In COVID Test Reimbursement Row

    A Connecticut medical practice can't sue Yale University under federal legislation enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to recover the $1.1 million it said it incurred while providing COVID testing to university health plan members, the Second Circuit ruled Monday, finding no private cause of action existed.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Justices Say Expert Testimony OK Without Formalities

    The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that the formal offer and acceptance of an expert isn't required for that expert's testimony to be admissible, finding in a published opinion that there's no actual state requirement for courts to use such a practice.

  • November 04, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block Coal Ash Rule During Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit has denied East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc.'s effort to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened the federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants.

  • November 04, 2024

    High Court Questions If False Claims Act Covers FCC's E-Rate

    Multiple justices seemed unconvinced Monday that the federal government plays such a limited role in requiring companies to pay fees for supporting telecom subsidies in schools that it can't seek to recover excess payouts from the fund under the False Claims Act.

  • November 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Developer's Fire Loss Coverage Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a company's claim for lost business income after its laundromat development project was destroyed in a fire, saying Monday in an unpublished opinion that the developer's claim is not unduly speculative.

  • November 04, 2024

    Top Swimming Body Wants 9th Circ. Redo In Antitrust Case

    Swimming's international governing body has asked the Ninth Circuit to rethink a decision that revived a pair of lawsuits brought by a trio of swimmers and a swimming league claiming the governing body's boycott violated antitrust laws.

  • November 04, 2024

    FSU's Suit In Fla. Won't Be Paused For Related ACC Suit In NC

    A Florida appellate panel on Monday denied the Atlantic Coast Conference's bid to halt Florida State University's grant-of-rights contractual lawsuit, saying a lower court didn't have to solely rely on the determination that the conference's action in North Carolina was anticipatory.

  • November 04, 2024

    Farm Asks 4th Circ. To Undo $2.5M Severed-Foot Verdict

    A North Carolina farm and four of the family members who run it urged the Fourth Circuit to undo a $2.5 million verdict in favor of a former worker whose foot was severed by a grain silo auger, arguing that the trial judge was wrong to say the evidence supported the jury's decision.

  • November 04, 2024

    Conn. Justice Warns Against 'Amelia Bedelia' Tax Law Reading

    Whether a Connecticut judge properly restored a batch of tax appeals after dismissing them could center on the meaning of the word "may," a state Supreme Court justice said Monday, while also cautioning against an "Amelia Bedelia" approach to statutory construction, citing a children's book character known for her hyper-literalism.

  • November 04, 2024

    Religious Groups Want 5th Circ. To Toss FCC Diversity Form

    Religious broadcasters are asking the Fifth Circuit to step in and stop the Federal Communications Commission from making them turn in diversity data, a recently reinstated policy that they say tramples on their First Amendment rights and pressures them to "engage in race- and sex-conscious employment decisions."

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear UBS Suit Over Disclosed Account Info

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a couple's suit accusing UBS of fraudulently flagging an account to the Internal Revenue Service in violation of civil provisions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Remand Atty Privilege Case After Judge Admits Gaffe

    The Colorado Supreme Court has remanded a case over whether communications between an insurance company's outside lawyer and the experts it hired to study an alleged construction defect are privileged, after some justices said the appeal was "half-baked" because the trial judge had already admitted she was wrong.

  • November 04, 2024

    Suspended Fla. Atty Seeks Leniency Over Missing Precedent

    A suspended Florida attorney has urged the Florida Supreme Court to reduce the punishment it doled out last month, including a one-year suspension of his law license, arguing that the state Supreme Court's decision "cites no precedent," so it should use its discretion to hand out lesser sanctions.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Urges Appeals Court To Toss Netflix Sales Tax Ruling

    Netflix subscriptions in Colorado are tangible personal property subject to sales tax under long-standing state law, the state tax department told an appeals court, urging it to reverse a trial court ruling.

  • November 04, 2024

    Atty Moves To Oust DA Who Cleared Cops In Brother's Death

    A Littler Mendelson PC shareholder's effort to remove the Massachusetts district attorney who absolved officers in the 2021 fatal shooting of his brother left justices on the state's highest court grappling with the reach of a seldom-used state statute allowing them to oust government officials for "the public good."

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices Say Gov't Can Join Oral Arguments In $47M TM Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will allow Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to participate in oral arguments in a case where the justices will consider whether a real estate development company's corporate affiliates should be responsible for a $46.6 million trademark infringement judgment, even though they were not defendants.

  • November 04, 2024

    Ford Gets New Trial In $1.7B Rollover Case In Georgia

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a new trial in a record-setting $1.7 billion rollover case against Ford Motor Co., saying it was "reluctantly" vacating the jury's verdict after finding that a trial court wrongly imposed issue preclusion sanctions that "almost completely prevented Ford from presenting a defense as to liability."

Expert Analysis

  • What 7th Circ. Collective Actions Ruling Means For Employers

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    With the Seventh Circuit’s recent Fair Labor Standards Act ruling in Vanegas v. Signet Builders, a majority of federal appellate courts that have addressed the jurisdictional scope of employee collective actions now follow the U.S. Supreme Court's limiting precedent, bolstering an employer defense in circuits that have yet to weigh in, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

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    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

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    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

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