Appellate

  • June 03, 2024

    States Say Biden Admin's LNG Export Pause Is Actually A Ban

    A coalition of Republican-led states is urging a Louisiana federal court not to toss its lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's pause on reviewing applications to export liquefied natural gas to countries without free trade agreements, saying the pause effectively amounts to a ban because no timeline is provided.

  • June 03, 2024

    Mich. Justices Take Up 'Sidewalk Exception' In Trip Case

    The Michigan Supreme Court has said it will consider whether the city of Detroit may be liable for a man's injuries suffered when he tripped over a metal post embedded in a sidewalk, in an appeal focused on the scope of an exception to governmental immunity.

  • June 03, 2024

    'Unflappable' Chicago DOJ Appeals Chief Joins Federal Bench

    The top appellate lawyer for federal prosecutors in Chicago, now a newly confirmed federal judge, has an overriding sense of public duty and a deep knowledge of Seventh Circuit case law that will set her up for success on the bench, former colleagues told Law360. 

  • June 03, 2024

    6th Circ. Says $10.5M Ascension Hospitals Vax Deal Too Broad

    The Sixth Circuit scrapped a settlement Monday in a class action claiming that Ascension Health Alliance illegally fired or suspended religious workers who rejected the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling the Michigan-based employees backing the suit lack standing to expand the deal nationwide.

  • June 03, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court May Hear Trump-Willis DQ Fight On Oct. 4

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has set a tentative date of Oct. 4 to hear arguments from former President Donald Trump's lawyers that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election interference case over her personal relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case.

  • June 03, 2024

    Split Fed. Circ. Backs EcoFactor's $20M Trial Win Over Google

    The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed that Google should pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing its smart thermostat patent, but one judge took issue with allowing the damages to stand, saying her colleagues' ruling "at best muddles our precedent and at worst contradicts it."

  • June 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Reverses Polish Woman's Removal For Drug Offense

    The Second Circuit revived a Polish immigrant's bid to cancel her deportation from the U.S., saying her drug conviction under New Jersey state law for distributing cocaine didn't qualify as an aggravated felony under a comparable federal law.

  • June 03, 2024

    3rd Circ. Backs Bad Subpoena Sanction In Race, Sex Bias Suit

    The Third Circuit has upheld a $6,720 fee sanction against a New Jersey attorney for serving an intentionally misleading subpoena while representing a Garden State management company against federal race and sex bias claims.

  • June 03, 2024

    Tax Crime Lacked 'Meeting Of Minds' With Atty, 5th Circ. Told

    A Houston personal injury attorney told the Fifth Circuit on Monday that prosecutors didn't provide enough evidence at trial to show that he intentionally planned to help another lawyer evade federal income taxes as he pushed the court to vacate his conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme.

  • June 03, 2024

    Mich. High Court Keeps $15 Min. Wage Proposal Off Ballot

    An initiative to raise the hourly minimum wage in Michigan to $15 by 2027 will stay off the 2024 ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled, turning down a group's bid to force the state canvassers board to certify the proposal.

  • June 03, 2024

    Supreme Court Ruling Keeps Amazon Race Bias Suit Alive

    Amazon Music can't sink a Black former worker's suit alleging her responsibilities were reduced and she was placed on a performance improvement plan for complaining about her manager, a New York federal judge said, ruling her claims are viable based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • June 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Affirms Insurer's Win In Store Crash Coverage Suit

    An insurer didn't breach its policy with the owner of a Texas convenience store when it denied coverage for roof damage after a vehicle crashed into the store, the Fifth Circuit has affirmed, saying the owner failed to create a genuine dispute that any damage to the roof was attributable to the crash.

  • June 03, 2024

    Pool Co. Says It Won't Survive $16M Judgment In Bid For Stay

    The American arm of a Chinese swimming pool equipment maker told a North Carolina federal judge it faces insolvency if forced to fork over a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment, asking instead for a stay without bond while it appeals the verdict.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justices To Hear Mob Case Over 'Violent' Crimes Of Inaction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the case of an alleged associate of New York's Genovese crime family in which the reputed mobster, and the government, argued that the justices should resolve a circuit split over whether crimes of violence can be committed through inaction.

  • June 03, 2024

    Design Patents May Be Harder To Get Under New Test

    The Federal Circuit's decision discarding long-standing tests for proving that a design patent is invalid as obvious means the world has changed for patent examiners and applicants, attorneys said, and the new standard could lead to more design patent applications being turned down.

  • June 03, 2024

    Calif. Justices Free Woman From Misdemeanor Pot Charges

    The California Supreme Court has thrown out misdemeanor cannabis-related charges against an 85-year-old woman, finding the trial court was within its discretion to consider her lack of knowledge of the unlicensed operation happening in her building.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justice Gorsuch Calls Colleagues 'Best Writers' In History

    Justice Neil Gorsuch recently sat down for a keynote conversation during the 25th annual Burton Awards in Washington, D.C., where he reflected on his approach to writing opinions, his originalist method to interpreting the Constitution and the civility that exists between his fellow justices.

  • June 03, 2024

    High Court Won't Hear Arguments On Madoff Clawback Math

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear arguments by an investor in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme for overturning a Second Circuit decision on how to calculate the amount of investor withdrawals that can be clawed back to the Madoff bankruptcy estate.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Migrant Harboring Convictions

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't review a Kentucky federal jury's verdict convicting two restaurateurs on four counts of harboring unauthorized immigrants, shutting down those business owners' arguments they were not intentionally hiding the migrants from the government.

  • June 03, 2024

    CORRECTED: Justices Delay Cert Decision On OSHA Standard Setting

    The U.S. Supreme Court is holding off on deciding if it will review a split decision from the Sixth Circuit that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's authority to set workplace safety standards is constitutional, a ruling that the lower federal appellate court declined to rehear in December.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justices Won't Mull Worker-Friendly Ruling On Preshift Pay

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a case asking how to decide when an employer must pay employees for time they spend on preshift tasks that are necessary for them to do their jobs.

  • June 01, 2024

    Blockbuster Summer: 10 Big Issues Justices Still Must Decide

    As the calendar flips over to June, the U.S. Supreme Court still has heaps of cases to decide on issues ranging from trademark registration rules to judicial deference and presidential immunity. Here, Law360 looks at 10 of the most important topics the court has yet to decide.

  • May 31, 2024

    Texas Justices Won't Take On City Insurance Coverage Fight

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to review a trial court's decision rejecting a municipal insurance risk pool's attempt to evade the city of Hidalgo's lawsuit seeking to recover millions of dollars for damage sustained in Hurricane Hanna in July 2020. 

  • May 31, 2024

    Fiji Water Beats $2M Breach-Of-Contract Verdict On Appeal

    California appellate justices on Thursday dismissed Carolina Beverage's $2 million jury win in a contract case accusing Fiji Water of violating their distribution deal by selling Fiji directly to retailers, finding that the agreement wasn't constructively terminated because Carolina Beverage continued to deliver Fiji products to retailers, pursuant to their contract.

  • May 31, 2024

    Monsanto PCB Plaintiffs Want $185M Wash. Win Restored

    A group of public school teachers is urging the Washington State Supreme Court to review a state appellate court decision overturning their $185 million win in a PCB tort against Monsanto, contending the ruling stifles plaintiffs' rights in cases stemming from the same school site and other product liability litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

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