Appellate

  • July 31, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Use New Law To Revive Trafficking Suit

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday refused to revive a human trafficking suit former Cambodian seafood factory workers launched against a Californian importer, saying a new law that expanded liability after the distributor's summary judgment win didn't apply retroactively.

  • July 31, 2024

    11th Circ. Affirms Trim Of Ex-Ala. Judge's Defamation Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit held Wednesday that an Alabama federal court was correct to toss some of the claims in a defamation suit from Roy Moore, the embattled former Alabama Supreme Court leader, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over some claims and others were conclusory.

  • July 31, 2024

    Lewis Brisbois TM Foe Can't Ax Injunction, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld an injunction against three Texans accused of ripping off the Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP name, saying it's clear the only reason the defendants created the infringing entity "was to ride on the back" of the BigLaw firm's reputation.

  • July 31, 2024

    Del. Justices Reject New Earnout Claim In $300M Deal Appeal

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld dismissal of a post-sale stockholder representative suit challenging denial of accelerated, post-closing "earnout" payments after the merger of Edwards Lifesciences and Valtech Cardio Ltd., rejecting a stockholder bid to introduce post-appeal developments.

  • July 31, 2024

    DC Circ. Revives Insurer's Bid To Enforce Argentina Awards

    The D.C. Circuit has revived an insurance company's efforts to enforce arbitral awards it won against Argentina in a decades-old dispute over tens of millions of dollars due under reinsurance contracts, ordering a lower court to more closely consider two exceptions to sovereign immunity.

  • July 31, 2024

    Pa. Panel Upholds Post-Gazette Strikers' Win

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court on Wednesday delivered a win for striking unions picketing outside the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's warehouse, upholding a county court's decision that the newspaper's claims that the unions disrupted deliveries were out of its jurisdiction.

  • July 31, 2024

    11th Circ. Revives Suit Over Ga. City's Ouster Of White Manager

    A white ex-city manager of a small Georgia city who was fired after a new administration allegedly vowed to replace him with a Black person will get another shot at pressing his racial discrimination claims as the Eleventh Circuit gave the case new life Wednesday.

  • July 31, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Sees No Disclosure In Private Sale Of Laptop Ports

    A "private" sale of some 15,000 laptop ports doesn't count as "a public disclosure," as far as patent law is concerned, the Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday, affirming a patent board panel's earlier ruling.

  • July 31, 2024

    Trade Secrets Cases To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report

    A Virginia appellate court reversed a historic $2 billion trade secrets verdict in a closely watched case, and the Seventh Circuit emphasized that the federal trade secrets law applies to conduct abroad, expanding the damages landscape. Here are some of the most notable trade secrets cases to watch for the rest of 2024.

  • July 31, 2024

    After Sackett, A Colorado Town Grapples With Its Wetlands

    Residents of a small town in Colorado have been left to spar over the fate of its wetlands in the wake of Sackett v. EPA, highlighting how the court's curtailment of Clean Water Act protections has placed local, state and tribal governments in a regulatory vacuum.

  • July 31, 2024

    Justices Urged To Review Airline Price-Fixing Deal Payout

    Two class members in a long-running airline price-fixing suit are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a secondary distribution of over $5 million in settlement money, saying unclaimed funds should have been sent to state treasuries, not class counsel.

  • July 31, 2024

    Pipeline Cos. Can Join FERC Approval Fight

    Companies behind a liquefied natural gas facility in Sonora, Mexico, and the Saguaro Connector Pipeline that will help serve it can weigh in on a challenge of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals for the pipeline, the D.C. Circuit said Wednesday.

  • July 31, 2024

    Meadows Appeal May Help Clarify Immunity Ruling, Attys Say

    Legal scholars told Law360 on Wednesday that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' recent request to have the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on whether his Georgia election interference case should be moved to federal court provides the justices with an opportunity to clarify key aspects of their recent presidential immunity ruling.

  • July 31, 2024

    Inhaler Patents 'Must Be' In Orange Book, Teva Tells Fed. Circ.

    Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. urged the Federal Circuit to upend a lower court decision ejecting inhaler device patents from an important government database, arguing that the delisting, won by Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an infringement lawsuit, ignores broad protection envisioned under intellectual property law.

  • July 31, 2024

    Historical Association Backs Tribes In SunZia Power Line Row

    The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers is asking the Ninth Circuit to intervene in a challenge by a coalition of Native American tribes and environmentalists seeking to block SunZia Transmission from routing a 520-mile power line through important cultural and historical sites in the San Pedro Valley.

  • July 31, 2024

    Metal Recycler Loses Contract Fight With Shredder Co.

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled against a North Carolina metal recycler in its bid to hold a heavy-equipment maker liable for backing out of a deal to sell a shredder, with the court reasoning that the recycler never signed paperwork to solidify the deal.

  • July 31, 2024

    Mich. Justices Ask, Again, If Auto Reforms Cover Old Policies

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday asked parties in a crash insurance dispute to address a question on which it had already heard arguments earlier this year: whether no-fault reforms enacted in 2019 apply to preexisting policies or just to those issued after the reforms took effect.

  • July 31, 2024

    Jury Instruction Error Kills $21M Verdict Over Noncompete

    Three former employees of a consulting group who jumped to a competitor in 2016 were let off the hook for a $21 million jury verdict Wednesday by an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court over a prejudicial error in jury instructions.

  • July 31, 2024

    Wash. Court To Rethink Gas Chain's Tax Duty On Fuel Cards

    A Washington state appeals court said it would reconsider its May decision that a Pacific Northwest gas station chain that issued fuel cards to customers must pay the state business and occupation tax when holders of those cards purchase gas from other participating gas station chains.

  • July 31, 2024

    NJ Clinic Immune From Personal Injury Claims, Panel Rules

    A New Jersey appellate panel has backed the dismissal of a patient's lawsuit alleging that she was seriously injured by a slip and fall at a Garden State health clinic, ruling that the clinic is immune from the suit because it is a nonprofit organized to provide charitable health education services.

  • July 31, 2024

    Antitrust Group Backs Naval Engineers' No-Poach Case

    An advocacy group that supports robust enforcement of antitrust laws has urged the Fourth Circuit to revive a case from former naval engineers accusing military shipbuilders of using secret "no-poach" agreements to avoid competing for workers.

  • July 31, 2024

    10th Circ. Finds Plenty To Prove Colo. Doctor's COVID Fraud

    A Tenth Circuit panel has affirmed fraud convictions for a former Colorado physician, concluding that there was a wealth of evidence to find him guilty of swindling government COVID-19 aid programs and spending the money on himself.

  • July 31, 2024

    5th Circ. Pause Spells Doom For DOT Airline Fees Rule

    The Fifth Circuit gave the airline industry a temporary reprieve from a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring carriers to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, a decision that stands to embolden opponents of the Biden administration's more aggressive consumer-focused policies.

  • July 31, 2024

    Ga. Panel Strikes Sanctions Without Day In Court In HOA Row

    A Georgia Court of Appeals panel said Wednesday a Fulton County trial judge wrongly entered sanctions against a woman without holding a hearing after she failed to attend depositions with an Alpharetta homeowners association.

  • July 31, 2024

    $7.5M Verdict Over Burger King Fall Axed And Retrial Ordered

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday wiped out a $7.5 million verdict in favor of a man who slipped and fell in a Burger King bathroom, saying a new trial is warranted to correct the trial court's mistake of letting his expert change his opinion midtrial.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Limit Discovery In Int'l Arbitration

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit's recent Webuild v. WSP decision, affirming a discovery order's nullification in arbitration between Webuild and the government of Panama, demonstrates courts' unwillingness to find that arbitral tribunals in investor-state cases fall within the scope of the discovery statute, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

    Author Photo

    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

    Author Photo

    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Patent Lessons From 5 Federal Circuit Reversals In June

    Author Photo

    A look at June cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court highlights a potential path for branded drugmakers to sue generic-drug makers for off-label uses, potential downsides of violating a pretrial order offering testimony, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

    Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • NY Ruling Offers A Foreclosure Road Map For Lenders

    Author Photo

    A New York appellate court recently upheld a summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial lender's foreclosure in U.S. Bank v. 1226 Evergreen Bapaz, illustrating the proofs lenders will need to prosecute a foreclosure action, especially where the plaintiff is an assignee of the originating lender, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!