Appellate

  • July 09, 2024

    Terrorism Victims Push To Keep Pharma Suit In DC Circ.

    Terrorism victims warned the D.C. Circuit against sending to a lower court a lawsuit seeking to link pharmaceutical companies to the attacks that injured them, saying a remand could delay the case and frustrate their efforts to collect evidence.

  • July 09, 2024

    DC Circ. Sends EPA Chemical Test Order Back For Review

    The D.C. Circuit scrapped a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order directing seven chemical manufacturers and processors to test the effects of 1,1,2-trichloroethane on the reproductive systems of birds, holding that it improperly relied on nonpublic information to justify the need for the testing.

  • July 09, 2024

    1st Circ. Revives Debt Harass Claims Against National Grid

    The First Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action against National Grid USA Service Company Inc. and two debt collection firms whose multiple calls per day to a Massachusetts customer in 2017 and 2018 allegedly violated the state's consumer protection law.

  • July 09, 2024

    3rd Circ. Questions DuPont Family Trust's ERISA Status

    In a hearing Tuesday about a dispute between the DuPont family and its domestic workers over trust money, Third Circuit judges quizzed both sides on the level of involvement needed from trustees or the family for the fund to be considered a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • July 09, 2024

    Philly EB-5 Investors Can Seek Visa Outside Court, Panel Says

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday found three Chinese EB-5 investors who sought to fast-track a visa by putting their money into a Philadelphia transit project can still do so without litigation in a decision backing a trial court ruling dismissing their case.

  • July 09, 2024

    3 States Ask High Court To Freeze Biden's Debt Relief Plan

    Three state attorneys general applied to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to vacate the stay of a nationwide injunction in an effort to pause implementation of a $475 billion student loan debt forgiveness program, saying they are likely to succeed in their attempts to have the program invalidated by the high court.

  • July 09, 2024

    Dems Request Special Counsel To Probe Justice Thomas Gifts

    Two Democratic senators have asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' failure to disclose various gifts received during his tenure on the high court amounts to chargeable ethics violations or tax crimes.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ohio Justice Criticizes Dialysis Co.'s Tax Apportionment Claim

    An Ohio Supreme Court justice expressed deep skepticism Tuesday about a dialysis company's arguments that a portion of its receipts from medical services that it provided to Ohio patients should be sourced to other states.

  • July 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Fights Against Dating Apps

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday quickly shot down appeals from a patent litigation outfit trying to breathe life back into its failed legal campaign against a handful of prominent dating apps.

  • July 09, 2024

    Experts Lose EPA Scientific Panel 'Echo Chamber' Lawsuit

    The D.C. Circuit has tossed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency illegally created a scientific "echo chamber" by not selecting experts with an industry background to serve on an air quality advisory committee.

  • July 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Lets Librarian's Suit Against Dun & Bradstreet Go On

    The Ninth Circuit has backed a California federal court's decision not to throw out a suit claiming Dun & Bradstreet Holdings sold personal information of individuals without consent, saying the proposed class action can move forward.

  • July 09, 2024

    2nd Circ. Urged To Toss Cannabis Dormant Commerce Suit

    New York cannabis regulators have urged the Second Circuit to disregard a California lawyer's efforts to upend the state's licensing program, arguing that the dormant commerce clause doesn't apply to marijuana, a substance that Congress has not permitted to be traded between states.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ga. Doc Can't Get Emergency Protection In Med Mal Death Suit

    In a split opinion, the Georgia Court of Appeals revived a medical malpractice case against a doctor who allegedly misdiagnosed a patient's brain condition, finding he's not shielded by a statute that sets a gross negligence standard for liability in emergency medical situations.

  • July 09, 2024

    NFL Says Ex-Pro's Benefits Row Belongs At Bargaining Table

    The National Football League has pushed back against a Fifth Circuit appeal by a former player whose benefits suit was tossed, arguing his issue is not with the plan's board but the plan's design, which can only be resolved through bargaining, not in court.

  • July 09, 2024

    Gov't Missed Merck Vax Potency Problem, 3rd Circ. Told

    Two whistleblowers claiming that Merck & Co. had exaggerated the potency of its mumps vaccine told a Third Circuit panel Tuesday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's continued purchasing of the vaccine was not proof that the agency knew but didn't care about the alleged deception.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ex-Uber Driver Urges 9th Circ. To Rehear Race Bias Suit

    An Asian former Uber driver is asking the Ninth Circuit to overturn a panel's June ruling finding he failed to support his allegations that the ride-hailing giant's rating system is racially biased, saying the court held him to too high of a standard.

  • July 09, 2024

    NJ Atty Must Face Claims Over Not Reviving Malpractice Suit

    The New Jersey state appeals court reversed a trial court decision Tuesday and reinstated a malpractice case against a solo practitioner who allegedly blew a filing deadline and caused his clients to lose a separate malpractice suit.

  • July 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Indicates Skepticism In Brett Favre Defamation Case

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday seemed skeptical that comments made by former NFL star Shannon Sharpe about Brett Favre's alleged involvement in a massive Mississippi welfare fraud scheme amounted to defamation, pressing Favre's attorney over why the retired NFL quarterback didn't sue over Sharpe's more emotionally charged statements.

  • July 09, 2024

    Maryland, SC Tell 4th Circ. PFAS Suits Belong In State Courts

    Federal district courts properly determined that lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over alleged contamination stemming from the manufacture, use and disposal of a wide range of consumer products containing so-called forever chemicals can proceed within their respective state courts, the two states told the Fourth Circuit.

  • July 09, 2024

    Experts Don't Always Need To Cite Studies, Mich. Justices Say

    The Michigan Supreme Court has found a medical malpractice plaintiff's expert witness was wrongly stricken for failing to support his opinion with peer-reviewed medical literature, ruling experts shouldn't be disqualified solely on that basis, particularly in a case where the rare complication at issue has not been studied.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ousted Fla. Atty Pushes 11th Circ. To Speed Up Review

    Suspended Florida prosecutor Andrew Warren is once again asking the Eleventh Circuit to expedite a mandate to a lower court to reconsider his case against Gov. Ron DeSantis, arguing that a single judge has stopped it from moving forward for nearly six months.

  • July 09, 2024

    Alaska Senators Condemn District Judge After Resignation

    Alaska's two Republican senators reprimanded the federal judge from their state who was found by a special committee to have created a hostile work environment and had an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with one of his clerks, and has resigned.

  • July 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Skeptical Of Nixing ESG Rule Despite Chevron's End

    A Fifth Circuit panel appeared unlikely Tuesday to knock out a Biden administration rule allowing retirement plan advisers to consider environmental, social and governance factors when choosing investments, although one judge seemed to support vacating a lower court's decision upholding the regulation in light of the Chevron doctrine's demise.

  • July 09, 2024

    'ComEd Four' To Renew Acquittal Bid After Bribery Ruling

    An Illinois federal judge effectively pushed the next ruling in the criminal case against former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants to at least winter, as the defendants vowed to renew their acquittal bid in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling finding that federal bribery law doesn't criminalize rewards given after an official act.

  • July 09, 2024

    Newman Loses Suit Against Fed. Circ. Over Suspension

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman filed against her colleagues over her suspension for refusing to undergo medical tests, saying she failed to prove the judicial conduct law at issue is unconstitutional.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Malicious-Prosecution Ruling Shows Rare Restraint

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, Ohio, declining to limit malicious-prosecution suits, is a model of judicial modesty and incrementalism, in sharp contrast to the court’s dramatic swings on other rights, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School.

  • Series

    After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Opinion

    Trump Immunity Ruling Upends Our Constitutional Scheme

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. U.S. decision elevates the president to imperial status and paves the way for nearly absolute presidential immunity from potential criminal prosecutions — with no constitutional textual support, says Paul Berman at the George Washington University Law School.

  • High Court Paves Middle Ground For Proceedings Obstruction

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Fischer sensibly leaves the door open for prosecutors to make more nuanced assessments as to whether defendants' actions directly or tangentially impair the availability or integrity of anything used in an official proceeding, without criminalizing acts such as peaceful demonstrations, say attorneys at Perry Law.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

  • Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Calif. Ruling Heightens Medical Product Maker Liability

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    The California Supreme Court's decision in Himes v. Somatics last month articulates a new causation standard for medical product manufacturer liability that may lead to stronger product disclosures nationwide and greater friction between manufacturers and physicians, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

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