Appellate

  • October 25, 2024

    Off The Bench: Toss-Up For Ohtani Ball, UFC Fighters' Payday

    In this week's Off The Bench, the three claimants to a historic baseball now know how much is at stake for the winner, a long fight against wage suppression for mixed martial arts fighters is a step closer to ending, and WNBA players want a bigger piece of a growing revenue pie.

  • October 25, 2024

    Mass. Panel Flips Teacher's Tenure Denial Over Family Leave

    Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court on Friday invalidated an arbitrator's denial of tenure to a teacher who took maternity leave during one of her first three years of teaching, ruling that the decision had wrongly penalized her for taking the protected time away from work.

  • October 25, 2024

    5th Circ. Says Immigration Board Defied Haitian's Due Process

    The Fifth Circuit has revived a bid by a Haitian man with a history of mental illness for removal protection, saying the Board of Immigration Appeals violated his due process rights when it ordered unnecessary fact-finding, flouting its own regulations.

  • October 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Dubious Of Tesla Investors' Appeal Of $12B Trial Loss

    Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Friday of Tesla investors' argument that an erroneous trial instruction improperly led a jury to reject their $12 billion claim over Elon Musk's 2018 tweets that he had "funding secured" to take the electric car giant private.

  • October 25, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Mitchell Law's Jonathan F. Mitchell

    The pantheon of U.S. solicitors general doesn't include many lawyers who've openly challenged the U.S. Supreme Court's authority or sought to undermine its landmark precedents. But there aren't many lawyers like Jonathan F. Mitchell, a crusading conservative who rescued former President Donald Trump's reelection run — and in the process positioned himself to become the government's top oral advocate.

  • October 25, 2024

    'Starting Point' Algorithm Enough To Fix Prices, DOJ Says

    The Justice Department is using the first algorithmic price-fixing case to reach an appeals court to argue that just because an algorithm only set "starting points" doesn't make its use legal, in a Ninth Circuit amicus brief backing efforts to revive a room rate lawsuit against Las Vegas casino hotels.

  • October 25, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Emissions Rule For Steel Plants

    A split D.C. Circuit panel has denied bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cardinal-Cliffs Inc. to hit pause on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emission standards for integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities.

  • October 25, 2024

    Election Records Law Needs Update, Mich. Justice Says

    The Michigan Supreme Court declined on Friday to revive criminal charges against an election worker who downloaded a copy of a voter list onto a personal thumb drive, prompting one justice to argue the law he was cleared of violating is out of touch in the digital age.  

  • October 25, 2024

    Trump Co-Defendants Stuck In Ga. State Court, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday rejected attempts from four co-defendants of former President Donald Trump to have their Georgia election interference cases moved from state to federal court.

  • October 25, 2024

    Ga. Atty Can't Beat Contempt Charge Over Trial Tardiness

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday rejected an attorney's argument that his due process rights were violated when he was found in contempt, finding that his tardiness to a trial — where the judge sent the jury home due to the absence of the lawyer and his client — was direct contempt.

  • October 25, 2024

    Congress Urged To Further Inspect FBI's Kavanaugh Probe

    More than 50 civil rights groups have called on members of the U.S. Congress to further investigate the Trump White House's role in restricting the FBI's investigation into sexual misconduct allegations lodged against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation process.

  • October 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Muldrow Reopens Asian Worker's Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a former supply chain manager's lawsuit alleging she was demoted because she's Asian American, saying a lower court should take another look at the case based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying the standard for workplace discrimination claims.

  • October 25, 2024

    Conn. Justices Will Hear Ex-Dem Chief's Ballot Fraud Appeal

    The Connecticut Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court's refusal to let former Stamford Democratic Party chair John Mallozzi find a handwriting expert to counter testimony during criminal fraud proceedings that he had forged signatures on phony ballots in a 2015 municipal election.

  • October 25, 2024

    The Candidates In Surprise Texas Criminal Court Matchups

    Three sets of Republican and Democratic candidates are facing off next month to join the top criminal court in Texas after GOP incumbents suffered "unprecedented" primary losses amid a barrage of criticism over their earlier ruling in an election fraud case.

  • October 24, 2024

    Trump Again Argues Jack Smith's Appointment Was Illegal

    Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said a D.C. federal court should throw out prosecutors' election interference case, repeating the argument he made in the classified documents case against him in Florida and contending that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegal.

  • October 24, 2024

    4th Circ. Backs Sanctioning Firm $1M For 'Defiance' Of Court

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday upheld a roughly $1 million sanction against the law firm of New York plaintiffs attorney Paul J. Napoli for its purportedly frivolous filings in a battle with another firm over asbestos litigation client referrals, saying the firm's misconduct was in "direct defiance" of a Maryland federal court's authority.

  • October 24, 2024

    Split Fed. Circ. Rejects Expert's 'Because I Said So' Testimony

    A Delaware federal jury was wrong to find Comcast infringed a NexStep "digital butler" patent, and the trial judge properly overruled it, a split Federal Circuit panel said Thursday.

  • October 24, 2024

    2nd Circ. Largely OKs Gun Control Law After High Court Order

    The Second Circuit on Thursday stood by its previous decision that largely vacated an order enjoining several of New York's gun restrictions, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling the high court told it to consider on remand had "little direct bearing" on its prior conclusions.

  • October 24, 2024

    Del. Co. Tells 3rd Circ. €4.2M Award Was Properly Denied

    A Delaware investment company wants the Third Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling that refused to enforce an approximately €4.2 million arbitral award issued in a dispute over failed plans for a French medical equipment company to expand into Colombia.

  • October 24, 2024

    11th Circ. Seeks Bias Test Briefing In Fla. Trans Patients' Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has ordered Florida health officials and transgender individuals to provide additional briefing in the state's appeal to reverse a ruling blocking its ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, directing the parties to present their positions on whether hostile discrimination analysis applies to certain classes of people.

  • October 24, 2024

    Colo. Justices Grill State On Biz Names, ID Theft Law

    Colorado Supreme Court justices pressed state prosecutors Thursday on why a man's reversed conviction for identity theft should be reinstated, saying the identity theft law's use of "name" as a type of personal information seems to suggest the law refers only to people and not corporations.

  • October 24, 2024

    High Court Asked To Toss Texas Stay Of Green Card Rule

    An immigrant rights group asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to wipe out a Texas order freezing a new program that would allow certain noncitizen relatives of U.S. citizens to stay in the country while seeking green cards, arguing the court improperly used a procedural tool to effectively issue injunctive relief.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bank Groups Appeal Loss In Suit Over CFPB Small Biz Rules

    Lender trade groups that sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its reporting requirements for small businesses have appealed to the Fifth Circuit after a Texas federal judge granted the bureau's request for summary judgment in August.

  • October 24, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says Healthcare Arbitrations Were Properly Halted

    The Second Circuit affirmed Thursday that a lower court properly halted a group of healthcare providers from pursuing thousands of arbitrations against State Farm as part of an alleged massive fraudulent scheme, ruling in a novel opinion the injunction did not violate federal arbitration law.

  • October 24, 2024

    IP Forecast: Inhibrx Co-Founder Faces Biotech Secrets Trial

    A Wilmington federal jury next week will hear a trade secrets lawsuit that accuses a biotech executive of helping himself to confidential information about cancer treatment antibodies while being employed as an expert in an unrelated $200 million arbitration proceeding. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • Differences In Enforcing Oral Settlements In NJ And Pa.

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    New Jersey mediations should incorporate new best practices for settlement agreements after a recent state appellate court ruling eliminated the enforceability of oral-only settlements, setting New Jersey at odds with Pennsylvania’s established willingness to enforce unwritten agreements that were clearly intended to be binding, say Thomas Wilkinson and Thomas DePaola at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • 7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws

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    The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.

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