Appellate

  • August 23, 2024

    The Biggest Texas Trial Rulings Of 2024: Midyear Report

    Trial courts in Texas saw a series of high-dollar verdicts for plaintiffs in suits over patent infringement and personal injuries, but appellate courts tempered some plaintiffs' successes, backing a large retail employer in a harassment suit and tossing a verdict based on a lawyer's remarks. Here's a look at some of the biggest trial decisions in Texas in the first half of 2024.

  • August 23, 2024

    DHS Urges Justices To Bar Review Of Revoked Visa Petitions

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to find that an immigration law bars federal courts from reviewing revoked visa petitions, saying lawmakers had reduced the possibility of duplicative legal proceedings by preventing judicial review.

  • August 23, 2024

    5th Circ. Strikes Down DOL Tip Rule

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday struck down a U.S. Department of Labor rule on tipped wages, saying it goes against the Fair Labor Standards Act and is therefore arbitrary and capricious.

  • August 23, 2024

    SPAC Investors Ask Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Lucid Merger

    Investors have urged the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a panel's refusal to revive their proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, arguing that the panel's holding misconstrues U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other issues.

  • August 23, 2024

    Georgia Cases To Watch In The Last Half Of 2024

    The prosecutions of former President Donald Trump and his election interference case codefendants, along with Atlanta rapper Young Thug's bid to have the judge overseeing his racketeering trial removed from the case, will take center stage in Georgia's courts as we enter the second half of 2024.

  • August 23, 2024

    Texas Justices Back Creation Of 15th Appeals Court

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday backed the creation of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, writing that Dallas County's arguments alleging its unconstitutionality, while "not implausible," are not "inevitable."

  • August 23, 2024

    Workers Ask 6th Circ. To Remand UAW Bribery Scheme Row

    A group of engineers urged the Sixth Circuit to make a lower court send their fraud and civil conspiracy claims against the United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler back to Michigan state court, arguing they fall under state law and do not require interpretation of a labor contract.

  • August 23, 2024

    NJ Panel Backs Dismissal Of Whistleblower Suit

    A former New Jersey assistant prosecutor did not provide a clear enough link between complaints he filed against his boss and an alleged retaliatory disciplinary action, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled Friday when it dismissed his whistleblower suit.

  • August 23, 2024

    Punchbowl News Gets Win In TM Spat With Punchbowl Inc.

    A California federal judge has ruled there is no likelihood of confusion between a publication called Punchbowl News and a greeting card and event planning company named Punchbowl Inc., justifying the dismissal of the latter's trademark infringement claims, according to a summary judgment order.

  • August 23, 2024

    1st Circ. Says Longshoremen Local Still On Hook For $1.7M

    The International Longshoreman's Association pension fund is entitled to collect nearly $1.7 million in unpaid contributions and attorney fees from a union local in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following a merger with another local that had been in arrears, the First Circuit has ruled.

  • August 23, 2024

    On Final Night Of DNC, Prosecutors Ruled The Stage

    Vice President Kamala Harris invoked her experience as a prosecutor and an attorney general in her speech Thursday night in Chicago accepting the Democratic nomination for president.

  • August 22, 2024

    10th Circ. Pauses Debt Relief Appeal After 8th Circ. Ruling

    The Tenth Circuit on Thursday paused several states' appeal challenging a Kansas federal judge's injunction that partially barred the Biden administration's latest student debt relief plan, citing a broader injunction the Eighth Circuit issued earlier this month.

  • August 22, 2024

    Split 6th Circ. Reopens Coca-Cola Bottling Race Bias Case

    A split Sixth Circuit panel Thursday revived a lawsuit filed against a Coca-Cola bottling company by an employee who failed a drug test, finding a genuine dispute exists over whether the man voluntarily waived his rights to sue for racial discrimination and retaliation when he signed a "last chance" agreement.

  • August 22, 2024

    Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA

    The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.

  • August 22, 2024

    Calif. Justices OK Argentine Atty's Uber Fraud Fight

    California justices gave an Argentinian lawyer a green light Thursday to pursue allegations that Uber fraudulently hid crucial information as he represented Uber before its Buenos Aires launch, clarifying that his tort fraudulent-concealment claim is not necessarily barred by the so-called economic loss doctrine if his employment contract never contemplated the alleged fraud.

  • August 22, 2024

    Texas Appeals Knocks $1M Hernia Mesh Fee Ask Down To $135K

    A Texas appeals court on Wednesday upheld an arbitration award of $135,000 in attorney's fees in a decadeslong hernia mesh litigation dispute while denying the firm's request for $1 million.

  • August 22, 2024

    Homeowner Loses Atty Fees In Suit Over HOA Fence Policy

    A Texas appeals court reversed a homeowner's win in a dispute with his neighbors over privacy fences facing a road, finding that a new state law prevents homeowners associations from enacting any covenant barring homeowners from putting up security measures, so the homeowner couldn't collect attorney fees.

  • August 22, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Rep. Isn't Injured By Extended Ballot Count

    A split Seventh Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a challenge to Illinois' ballot receipt procedure, saying no one was forcing a congressman to spend money to safeguard the counting of mail-in ballots up to 14 days after Election Day.

  • August 22, 2024

    5th Circ. Says No Tolling For COVID, Trims Atty's Conviction

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday knocked a false statement charge off Houston attorney Richard Plezia's conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme but upheld the rest of his conviction, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by helping another lawyer evade federal income taxes.

  • August 22, 2024

    6th Circ. Reopens Red Cross Nurse's COVID-19 Vax Suit

    The Sixth Circuit revived a former Red Cross nurse's claim that the nonprofit organization failed to accommodate her religious beliefs when it refused to exempt her from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that the lower court held the plaintiff to an overly strict standard when it tossed her suit.

  • August 22, 2024

    3rd Circ. Denies Liberian Bank Whistleblower's Asylum Bid

    The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that a Liberian man can't claim asylum despite having "suffered horrors" after unearthing a fraud scheme involving Liberian government officials' relatives and refusing a politician's bribe, saying he did not show evidence that his alleged perpetrators targeted him for having an anti-corruption political opinion.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over App-Maker's Anti-Bullying Pledge

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a lawsuit against anonymous messaging app-maker Yolo Technologies over claims it didn't enforce its commitment to reveal and ban users who harass and bully others, finding Yolo repeatedly promised to do so, but never did, "and may have never intended to."

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Military Bias Claims Against Alaska Airlines

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a class action alleging Alaska Airlines illegally denied accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments, saying the case now has the benefit of a decision from the court in a similar case involving the airline.

  • August 22, 2024

    Texas Asks Justices To Uphold Bar On Nuclear Waste Site

    The state of Texas called on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's attempt to upend a Fifth Circuit decision barring the agency from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in the state. 

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Force Yellow Corp. Bias Suit Into Arbitration

    The Ninth Circuit refused Thursday to kick a former Yellow Corp. employee's disability discrimination lawsuit to arbitration, ruling the agreement the worker signed was improperly lopsided in favor of his employer and had to be scrapped.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech

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    Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.

  • Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.

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