Appellate

  • 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.

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Told Medicare Drug Price Talks Not Voluntary

    Three pharmaceutical companies told the Third Circuit on Wednesday the Medicare drug price negotiation program is anything but voluntary, arguing the appeals court should revive their challenges to the program because it is unconstitutional.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ga. Health Commish 'Overstepped' In Hospital Turf War

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has tossed a ruling from the state's Commissioner for the Department of Community Health that would have allowed a metro Atlanta hospital system to open a new radiology center, saying Tuesday that the commissioner overstepped his review powers.

  • October 30, 2024

    COVID-19 Order Could Save Med Mal Suit, Ga. Judges Say

    A mistake made by a paralegal working for former Georgia state representative Robbin Shipp may have been saved by a recent Peach State high court ruling that a pandemic-era judicial emergency order can toll the deadline to file medical malpractice suits, the state appeals court found Tuesday.

  • October 30, 2024

    AIG Tells Del. Justices Texas Medicaid Case 'Steeped In Fraud'

    An attorney for insurers who brought a mid-case appeal in a tangled suit focused on a Texas Medicaid claims processor's battles over its alleged errors and omissions in orthodontia billings told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday that the original case was "steeped in fraud" and propped up by negligence claims.

  • October 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Reverses NFL Fans' Win In Railing Collapse Suit

    A dispute over a railing collapse that injured fans at the Washington Commanders' stadium could still end up in arbitration after a Fourth Circuit panel reversed a lower-court decision blocking the team from enforcing the arbitration clause on the fans' game tickets.

  • October 30, 2024

    Mich. Judges Reject Interest For Unclaimed Property Returns

    A Michigan appellate panel overturned a trial court Tuesday that admitted it was going against the grain by requiring the state to pay interest when it returns seemingly abandoned property, with appellate judges finding state statute was comprehensive enough to supersede the common law idea that "interest follows principal." 

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Asks If Dodge Charger Suit Is Ripe For Revival

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday asked owners of Dodge Charger Hellcats whether now is the right time to revive allegations that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC sold them muscle cars that fell short of advertised high-performance standards.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ohio PBM Case Will Wait For High Court Ruling

    The Sixth Circuit agreed to pause a case from Ohio state enforcers accusing Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of driving up prescription drug prices while the U.S. Supreme Court decides another case dealing with federal versus state jurisdiction.

  • October 30, 2024

    Mich. Justices To Mull Reviving Diminished Capacity Defense

    Michigan's highest court announced Wednesday that it will hold arguments in a case that could reinstate the diminished mental capacity defense in the Great Lakes State.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War

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    In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Fed. Circ. Resolves Post-AIA Question On Prefiling Activity

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    For more than a decade, patent attorneys have worried about what the America Invents Act means for specific prefiling activities, but two recent Federal Circuit decisions suggest the enumerated prefiling activities in Section 102(a)(1) will not affect validity if done within a year of filing the application, says Howard Skaist at Berkeley Law.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC

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    Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.

  • Fed. Circ. Patent Ruling Clarifies Section 101 Procedures

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Mobile Acuity v. Blippar affirming a dismissal at the pleading stage illustrates important considerations and potential pitfalls for both filing and opposing a Section 101 motion to dismiss, say Thomas Sprankling and Vikram Iyer at WilmerHale.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • Calif. Ruling Clarifying Paystub Compliance Is Win For Cos.

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    In rare good news for California employers, the state Supreme Court recently clarified that workers couldn’t win extra penalties in wage and hour cases by claiming their employer intentionally violated state paystub law if the employer believed it had complied in good faith, say Drei Munar and Kirk Hornbeck at Hunton.

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