Appellate

  • November 19, 2024

    Undefined Terms Cinch Cloudera's Win In 'Cloudy' Fraud Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action against Cloudera Inc. alleging the data management and analytics company duped investors into buying stock at artificially inflated prices, saying the suit didn't substantiate its falsity claims with clear definitions for terms like "cloud native."

  • November 19, 2024

    SF Urges Calif. Panel To Rethink Waymo City Approval

    The city and county of San Francisco urged a California appellate court Tuesday to find the California Public Utilities Commission abused its discretion in allowing Waymo to operate self-driving vehicles on city streets without imposing requirements, arguing "there are no guardrails" even though the cars pose serious safety hazards.

  • November 19, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Denial Of Video IP Injunction Against X

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld a Texas federal judge's decision denying VidStream's bid to block X Corp. from deploying features that allegedly infringe its patent on a system for receiving and distributing user-generated video.

  • November 19, 2024

    Pa. Candidates Launch Litigation Blitz To Settle Tight Race

    With Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick ahead of incumbent Democrat Bob Casey by fewer than 18,000 votes in Pennsylvania's unofficial count Tuesday, the candidates and their political parties have turned to filing lawsuits against individual counties over their decisions to include or exclude relatively small numbers of provisional ballots in their totals.

  • November 19, 2024

    Ga. Panel Says 190-Year-Old Marshland Grant Is Valid

    A Georgia appellate court has sided with a company seeking to retain ownership of 1,000 acres of Georgia coastal marshland by using an 1834 document in which the state granted the land to the company's predecessor-in-title.

  • November 19, 2024

    Calif. Man Wants 9th Circ. To Rehear LG Battery Decision

    A California man who alleges that a faulty LG Chem Ltd. 18650 lithium-ion battery melted the skin off his hand is asking the Ninth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a decision dismissing his defect claims against the company, saying the panel broke with other circuits and binding precedent by finding that California courts did not have jurisdiction over the Seoul-based company.

  • November 19, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For 1977 Auto Crash, Mich. Panel Rules

    A man who was injured in a 1977 automobile accident cannot get no-fault injury benefits from an auto insurer decades later, a Michigan appeals court ruled, finding there's no evidence the insurer either issued benefits payments for the man or that a claim was ever filed for him.

  • November 19, 2024

    Utah Counties, Feds Ask Justices To Restore Rail Oil Project

    Utah counties and the federal government fired back at a Colorado county's attempt to affirm a D.C. Circuit ruling that overturned federal approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin, telling the U.S. Supreme Court in separate briefs the county's understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act is incorrect.

  • November 19, 2024

    Recount Underway In Tight NC Supreme Court Race

    The votes for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat that Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs has clinched by a narrow margin will be recounted starting Wednesday, at the behest of her Republican opponent, according to the state Board of Elections.

  • November 19, 2024

    Lying Lawyer Gets 2-Year Suspension From Ga. Justices

    The Supreme Court of Georgia hit a repeat offender attorney with a two-year suspension Tuesday for lying to the state bar, opposing counsel and his clients, at times costing those he was representing even more money in sanctions and fees after losing their cases.

  • November 19, 2024

    Liberty Global Tax Break Based On Void Moves, 10th Circ. Told

    The economic substance doctrine is broad and can invalidate telecommunications company Liberty Global's transaction that led to a $2.4 billion deduction because steps taken to maximize the tax break lacked business purpose, a government attorney told the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday.

  • November 19, 2024

    In 'Perplexing' Move, Ga. Appeals Court Cuts Trump Oral Args

    Attorneys described the Georgia Court of Appeals' decision this week to cancel oral arguments over whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants as "perplexing," saying it may be the result of Trump's recent reelection or simply having enough information already to make a decision.

  • November 19, 2024

    Flooring Co. Asks 11th Circ. To Back 'Inebriated' CEO's Ouster

    Flooring manufacturer Interface Inc. told the Eleventh Circuit Tuesday it stands by its decision to fire its CEO after he allegedly got drunk and berated a subordinate at a company function, urging a three-judge panel to affirm a summary judgment ruling that put an end to the former executive's $100 million suit.

  • November 19, 2024

    Former Georgia Judge's Law License Suspended After Ouster

    After removing a Georgia Court of Appeals judge from the bench last year, the Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended his law license until August 2025 for taking advantage of an elderly client, calling it "an appropriate sanction in this case" in light of case law and the State Bar of Georgia's support of the suspension.

  • November 19, 2024

    1st Circ. Won't Pause Prison Phone Rate Caps

    The First Circuit said it won't stop the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing new caps on rates charged for prison phone calls while service providers challenge the rules in court.

  • November 19, 2024

    Nonpracticing Doc Can't Testify In Med Mal Case, Court Says

    A Florida state appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of a case accusing a doctor of botching two shoulder surgeries, agreeing with a lower court's findings that a physician-turned-legal-consultant wasn't qualified to testify as the plaintiff's medical expert under the law.

  • November 19, 2024

    IRS Can Extend Deadline Over Preparer's Fraud, 3rd Circ. Told

    The Third Circuit should affirm a U.S. Tax Court ruling allowing the Internal Revenue Service to skirt the normal deadlines and assess taxes going back to 1993 against a couple who were unaware that their tax preparer had falsified their returns to lower their liabilities, the government said.

  • November 19, 2024

    DA Says Trump Sentencing Could Be Delayed Until 2029

    Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday suggested that President-elect Donald Trump's criminal sentencing could be delayed until after he serves out his next term, but urged a judge not to throw out his conviction over an alleged hush money scheme.

  • November 19, 2024

    Mass. Justices Uphold Degree Requirement For Bar Exam

    A Massachusetts man who never attended college or law school won't be allowed to sit for the bar exam despite his decades of pro se experience and legal writing done for an area attorney, the state's high court ruled Tuesday.

  • November 19, 2024

    MVP: Latham's Roman Martinez

    Latham & Watkins LLP's Roman Martinez outdid himself this year, helping to tear down the Chevron deference doctrine in a landmark Supreme Court case and upending existing precedent in another win on behalf of a $70 billion retirement fund, making him one of the 2024 Law360 Appellate MVPs.

  • November 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Indicates DOT Airline Fees Rule May Need Reworking

    A pair of Fifth Circuit judges signaled Monday that the U.S. Department of Transportation may have to rework its rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, suggesting that it might be too costly for airlines to comply with the mandate and consumers would be overloaded with information.

  • November 18, 2024

    Senate Confirms Fla. Magistrate Judge To 11th Circ.

    The Senate voted 49-45 on Monday to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd of the Middle District of Florida to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

  • November 18, 2024

    DC Circ. Doubts It Can Confirm Foreign Enforcement Order

    The D.C. Circuit did not seem at all convinced Monday morning that two Mauritian mining companies could lean on a treaty governing arbitral awards to enforce a foreign court judgment confirming a $50 million arbitration award against Zimbabwe stemming from a soured joint mining venture.

  • November 18, 2024

    Justices Urged To Pass On 3rd Circ. CFPB Loan Trust Case

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny an appeal by a group of student loan trusts fighting an enforcement action by the agency, arguing that industry concerns about the Third Circuit case are overblown and unavailing.

  • November 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Judges Seem Split In Trans Woman's Spa Bias Case

    Ninth Circuit judges debated Monday whether a nude Korean spa's ban on patrons who "present" as male discriminates against transgender women without gender-affirming surgery, with one judge asking how it was different from barring Black patrons and another who went to a similar spa as a boy in Korea seeming to suggest customers had a right to choose whom to be naked in front of.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

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    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

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    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

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