Appellate

  • July 19, 2024

    Prison Biz Urges 9th Circ. To Keep Inspection Law Blocked

    Private prison operator GEO Group Inc. has urged the Ninth Circuit to keep a Washington law allowing for the surprise inspection of its immigration detention center blocked, arguing the law was specifically enacted to shut down its facility.

  • July 19, 2024

    NFL Antitrust Verdict, WWE Chair Woes Define 2024's 1st Half

    The first half of 2024 saw bombshell allegations and yearslong litigation lurching forward, highlighted by the shocking lawsuit accusing the founder of WWE of horrific sexual conduct, an iconic magazine almost shuttering and two NFL cases reaching significant milestones.

  • July 19, 2024

    Pa. Justices Let Enviro Groups Join Cap-And-Trade Fray

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was of at least four different minds Thursday when it ruled that several environmental groups could finally intervene in litigation that has blocked the state from joining a regional carbon cap-and-trade program.

  • July 19, 2024

    Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit

    Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.

  • July 19, 2024

    Bank Regulators Ask 5th Circ. To Unfreeze New Lending Rules

    Federal banking regulators have urged the Fifth Circuit to rescind a Texas district court's injunction blocking implementation of new community lending rules, arguing in a filing that the district court's finding essentially rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act.

  • July 19, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds EPA's Revised Biogas Accounting Rules

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday backed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's revamp of how it accounts for renewable transportation fuel derived from biogas, rejecting a petition from an industry group that challenged the regulations as unduly burdensome and an agency overreach.

  • July 19, 2024

    DC Circ. Sides With FERC In Wind Farm Hookup Cost Fight

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in disputes related to the transmission system upgrade costs that Tenaska Clear Creek Wind LLC faced to connect a 242-megawatt wind farm in northwest Missouri to the grid.

  • July 19, 2024

    Investors Want Merrill, UBS Back In $364M Libor-Rigging Suit

    Investors who were allegedly harmed by the manipulation of a widely used interbank lending interest rate have appealed a final judgment that ended claims against major banks and financial services companies in protracted litigation that has garnered settlements totaling $364.5 million.

  • July 19, 2024

    2nd Circ. Rejects Webuild Discovery Bid In Panama Arbitration

    The Second Circuit on Friday affirmed a Manhattan federal judge's order that quashed a subpoena from Italian builder Webuild SPA to engineering firm WSP USA for use in an arbitration related to an expansion of the Panama Canal.

  • July 19, 2024

    Law Profs Throw Flag On NFL's 'Unconscionable' Arbitration

    Allowing the NFL's arbitration system, with commissioner Roger Goodell as the arbitrator, to prevail in Brian Flores' discrimination dispute with the league is "unconscionable" and "egregious," a dozen law professors have told the Second Circuit in an amicus brief supporting the former Miami Dolphins head coach.

  • July 19, 2024

    Calif. Justices Revive Row Over State Farm's Claims Handling

    California's Supreme Court revived a policyholder's case over State Farm's claims-handling practices, reversing an appeals court decision and agreeing with the state's attorney general that California's statute of limitations on unfair competition actions, not the policy or insurance code, governed the timing of the case.

  • July 19, 2024

    Mich. Driver's Providers Can't Obtain PIP Benefits, Panel Says

    Medical providers who treated a man injured in a car crash and were assigned his insurance rights cannot recover personal injury protection benefits from a Nationwide unit, a Michigan state appeals court ruled, citing the man's failure to secure statutorily required no-fault insurance.

  • July 19, 2024

    What The End Of Chevron Means For FTC Rulemaking

    Federal agencies can no longer expect courts to defer to their interpretation of challenged regulatory authorities under a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling the Federal Trade Commission expects will have no "significant impact," but that observers say could help trip up a noncompetes ban and perhaps other efforts.

  • July 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Fueling Planes Is Arbitration-Exempt Work

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday affirmed that an airplane fuel pumper can proceed with his unpaid wage claims in federal court rather than in arbitration, ruling his work is involved in the flow of interstate commerce and he is thus a transportation worker exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act.

  • July 19, 2024

    Signature Gatherers Must Comply With Mich. Election Law

    A Michigan appellate panel said in a published opinion that petition signature gatherers must strictly comply with state election law, finding that the gatherers' failure to identify their town of residence rendered invalid every signature on petitions seeking to put a referendum question regarding a solar energy ordinance on the ballot.

  • July 19, 2024

    Mich. Panel OKs Nonresidents To Seek No-Fault Tort Damages

    Nonresidents of Michigan or individuals whose vehicles aren't registered in Michigan can still recover tort damages for their in-state auto injuries under Michigan's no-fault insurance law, a state appeals court ruled, even if they violate a statute requiring proper no-fault insurance if they stay in Michigan for over 30 days.

  • July 19, 2024

    NJ Towns Not Liable For Water Contaminants, Panel Rules

    A panel of New Jersey state appeals court judges ruled Friday that municipalities charging for water service aren't in an implied contractual relationship with residents and thus can't be found in breach of contract for elevated contaminant levels in the water.

  • July 19, 2024

    Calif. Alice Invalidations Block Koss' PTAB Appeal At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Friday said it won't review whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightfully invalidated some claims of Koss Corp.'s wireless earphone patents, as the patents were definitively invalidated in California.

  • July 19, 2024

    Knitting Co. Tells NC Justices Ex-CEO Can't Shirk $3M Verdict

    A high-speed knitting machine manufacturer is looking to defend a $3 million trial victory against its onetime CEO who was fired for self-dealing, telling the North Carolina Supreme Court that he failed to preserve many of the arguments he now makes on appeal before the lower court.

  • July 19, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Power Plant Emissions Rule

    The D.C. Circuit refused Friday to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule curbing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, saying challengers haven't shown they're likely to succeed in overturning the regulations.

  • July 19, 2024

    A Guide To The USPTO's Long List Of Requests For Comment

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has kept attorneys busy this year by seeking input on numerous patent issues and proposed rules. Here's a cheat sheet to the topics where feedback has been collected, from fee hikes to director reviews, and those with upcoming comment deadlines, including artificial intelligence.

  • July 19, 2024

    Zimbabwe Can't Dodge $50M Mining Award, DC Circ. Told

    Zimbabwe can't leverage sovereign immunity to get out of paying a $50 million arbitration award over a soured joint mining venture, two Mauritian mining companies told the D.C. Circuit, saying that a trial court judge was right to permit their enforcement suit to move forward.

  • July 19, 2024

    NLRB Drops Challenge To Joint Employer Rule Vacatur

    The National Labor Relations Board dropped its appeal of a Texas federal judge's decision vacating its rule expanding its definition of joint employer under federal labor law, saying it wants to consider its approach to the policy in light of the court's decision.

  • July 19, 2024

    Tweeting Holdout Ga. Juror's Removal Demands New Trial

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered a new trial for a man convicted of child molestation, ruling that the trial judge wrongly replaced a holdout juror even though he'd described himself on social media as "walking grounds for a mistrial."

  • July 19, 2024

    FTC Says Microsoft Price Hike Shows Activision Deal Harm

    The Federal Trade Commission told the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft's recently announced Game Pass price increase is an example of the harm caused by the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.

  • NJ Justices Clarify First-Party Indemnification Availability

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    In Boyle v. Huff, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that indemnification can be available in first-party claims, resolving an open question and setting up contracting parties for careful negotiations around indemnity clauses, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Takeaways From Justices' Redemption Insurance Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Connelly v. U.S. examines how to determine the fair market value of shares in a closely held company for estate tax purposes, and clarifies how life insurance held by the company to enable redemption of a decedent’s shares affects that calculation, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • Fair Use Doctrine Faces Challenges In The Generative AI Era

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    As courts struggle to apply existing copyright principles to new, digital contexts, the evolving capabilities of AI technologies are testing the limits of traditional frameworks, with the fair use doctrine being met with significant challenges, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    No Matter The Purdue Ruling, Mass Tort Reform Is Needed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP, and regardless of the outcome, it’s clear legal and policy reforms are needed to address the next mass tort, says William Organek at Baruch College.

  • A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • How Justices' Chevron Ruling May Influence Wind Projects

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    Parties both for and against the development of East Coast offshore wind development are watching the U.S. Supreme Court closely for its anticipated ruling challenging long-standing principles of agency deference that may subject decision making based on that precedent to upheaval, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli

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    A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • What 11th Circ. Fearless Fund Ruling Means For DEI In Courts

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent backing of a freeze on the Fearless Fund's grants to women of color building new companies marks the latest major development in litigation related to diversity, equity and inclusion and may be used to question other DEI programs targeted at providing opportunities to certain classes of individuals, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Opinion

    Flawed Fintiv Rule Should Be Deemed Overreach In Tech Suit

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    A pending federal lawsuit over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's unilateral changes to key elements of the America Invents Act, Apple v. Vidal, could shift the balance of power between Congress and federal agencies, as it could justify future instances of unelected officials unilaterally changing laws, say Patrick Leahy and Bob Goodlatte.

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