Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
June 21, 2024
Mich. Panel Says Default Judgment Covered Per No-Fault Law
A Progressive unit must pay a $250,000 default judgment in a motor vehicle negligence case even though the insurer said its policyholder failed to cooperate, a Michigan appeals court ruled, finding a state Supreme Court decision predating Michigan's no-fault insurance reform was still applicable.
-
June 21, 2024
5th Circ. Knocks Out National Block On ACA Preventive Care
The Fifth Circuit on Friday struck down a national injunction against Affordable Care Act requirements forcing insurers to cover a range of preventive treatments, but kept a block in place that prevents its application to the individuals and businesses in Texas that sued.
-
June 21, 2024
Pa. Justices Will Weigh If 'Skill Games' Are Slot Machines
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will take up a case and decide whether the "Pennsylvania Skill Games" that combine a chance-based game mode with a secondary memory game fall under the state's definition of "slot machines," potentially affecting many storefronts and bars where the game machines have proliferated.
-
June 21, 2024
Ga. Appeals Seat Winner Aims To Nix Election Challenge
The winner of a Georgia appeals court seat says his opponent does not have any proof to support her allegations of his residency discrepancies and her motion to reverse the election should be dismissed.
-
June 21, 2024
Novel Ruling Backs Contact Sanctions For Texas Pro Se Atty
Addressing an issue of first impression in the Lone Star State, a Texas appellate court has ruled that an attorney's pro se status did not save him from a sanctions ruling for violating the state's no-contact rule by sending communications directly to members of the Commission for Lawyer Discipline.
-
June 21, 2024
9/11 Firm Consultant Acted Alone In Depo Leak, 2nd Circ. Told
A New York law firm representing victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a multidistrict litigation told the Second Circuit that a consultant who leaked a deposition transcript to the press acted by himself, asking an appellate panel to reverse millions of dollars in sanctions.
-
June 21, 2024
6th Circ. Says Counties Not On Hook For Mich. Dam Collapse
A Sixth Circuit panel agreed that two Michigan counties can't be forced to compensate homeowners for destructive flooding caused by a dam's collapse, finding Thursday that the counties did not cause the damage to the homeowners' properties.
-
June 21, 2024
High Court Opens Expert Testimony Basis To Confrontation
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that Arizona prosecutors may have violated a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses testifying against him by presenting a substitute expert witness at trial, and sent the case back down to state court for further proceedings.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Keep Domestic Abusers Disarmed, Clarify Bruen
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Texas man's constitutional challenge to a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms Friday, providing limited guidance to lower courts on how to apply the high court's Second Amendment historical analogue test.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Strengthen Jury Trial Rights For Stiffer Sentences
The constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury extend to a pivotal prong of a prominent sentencing enhancement for recidivism, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a Friday decision that casts doubt on many incarcerations and promises to reshape future trials.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Won't Allow Citizens To Contest Denied Spouse Visas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that Americans do not have a constitutional right to challenge the U.S. Department of State's denial of spousal visa applications, rejecting a woman's bid to review the department's rejection of her Salvadoran husband's visa.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Say No Feds, No Dice In Texas-NM Water Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Texas, New Mexico and Colorado improperly excluded the federal government from an agreement that resolved a Rio Grande water sharing dispute, rejecting the states' argument that the conflict was theirs alone to settle.
-
June 20, 2024
TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored
TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."
-
June 20, 2024
5th Circ. Starts Clock For Redo Bid In CFPB Payday Rule Case
The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that payday lender trade groups will have an opportunity to ask for another shot at litigating the validity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule after their constitutional challenge fell flat at the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
June 20, 2024
Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.
-
June 20, 2024
Wash. Justices Renew AG's Suit Over Police Eviction Claims
Washington's highest court said the state attorney general could sue a city for allegedly letting police illegally evict vulnerable residents under the guise of a crime prevention program, ruling Thursday the case involved issues of public concern such as protecting residents' civil rights and preventing police misconduct.
-
June 20, 2024
Zimbabwe Says $50M Mining Award Can't Be Enforced
The Republic of Zimbabwe is urging the D.C. Circuit to overturn a ruling forcing it to face litigation to enforce a decade-old $50 million arbitral award stemming from a soured mining deal, arguing that a lower court mistakenly rejected its sovereign immunity defense.
-
June 20, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Dig Excavator Out Of Kickback Conviction
The Seventh Circuit ruled a former Illinois excavation company employee who was sentenced to five years in prison for paying a former commissioner kickbacks in exchange for inflated invoice payments was not prejudiced by the government's belated disclosure of notes from a cooperating witness.
-
June 20, 2024
Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle
The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.
-
June 20, 2024
Justices' Caution May Hold Key To New Sports Betting Efforts
States overseeing feuds regarding the particulars of online sports betting may have been given a blueprint for peace after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a testy dispute over the Seminole Tribe's sports gambling compact in Florida.
-
June 20, 2024
Finance Co. Asks Fed. Circ. To Read Its 1.4K Pages Of Evidence
A patent outfit connected to a man behind one of the world's first money market funds says that a Texas court's decision to throw out a patent case against online stockbroker TD Ameritrade went against the weight of some "1,400 pages of credible evidence," and is something that the full Federal Circuit should look into.
-
June 20, 2024
FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold
The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.
-
June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
-
June 20, 2024
ACC Fights FSU's Stay Appeal In Media Rights Contract Suit
The Atlantic Coast Conference has urged North Carolina's highest court to support a judge's decision to reject a bid by Florida State University to pause the organization's media rights lawsuit while a related action plays out in the Sunshine State.
-
June 20, 2024
11th Circ. Upholds $2.5M Pelvic Mesh Verdict, Rules Suit Timely
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday refused to throw out a woman's $2.5 million victory against Coloplast Corp. in a suit alleging she was implanted with defective pelvic mesh, saying the evidence does not support a conclusion that her claim was filed too late.
Expert Analysis
-
TTAB Ruling Raises Foreign-Language Mark Questions
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision to cancel the Veuve Olivier registration due to its similarity to Veuve Clicquot brings new focus to the treatment of foreign terms and the doctrine of foreign equivalents, say attorneys at Finnegan.
-
A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
-
What A Louisiana Ruling Means For Pipeline Crossings
After a Louisiana appeals court's recent ruling on a conflict between two pipeline projects, operators and developers should review pipeline crossings to ensure that they occur at safe distances — and keep in mind the value of crossing agreements for protecting both sides in case of a dispute, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
-
Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
-
Opinion
Climate Change Shouldn't Be Litigated Under State Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court should reverse the Hawaii Supreme Court's October decision in Honolulu v. Sunoco that Hawaii could apply state law to emissions generated outside the state, because it would lead to a barrage of cases seeking to resolve a worldwide problem according to 50 different variations of state law, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
-
Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures
The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
Key Antitrust Class Certification Questions Remain Unclear
The U.S. Supreme Court, by recently rejecting certiorari in Visa v. National ATM, turned down the opportunity to clarify how to analyze disputed evidence bearing on the certification of antitrust class actions, leaving the applicable standards unclear instead of resolving this split of authority, says Jonathan Berman at Jones Day.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
What's Notable In JAMS' New Mass Arbitration Rules
The Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services’ recently released guidelines, coming on the heels of similar American Arbitration Association amendments, suggests that mass arbitrations will remain an efficient means for consumers to vindicate their rights against companies, say Jonathan Waisnor and Brandon Heitmann at Labaton Keller.
-
Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape
Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.
-
'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
-
Justices Clarify FAA But Leave Behind Important Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Bissonnette v. LePage firmly shuts the door on any argument that the Federal Arbitration Act's Section 1 exemption is limited to transportation workers whose employers transport goods on behalf of others, but two major issues remain unresolved, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.
-
Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?
Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.
-
Rebuttal
Double-Patenting Ruling Shows Terminal Disclaimers' Value
While a recent Law360 guest article seems to argue that the Federal Circuit’s Cellect decision last year robs patent owners of lawful patent term, the ruling actually identifies how terminal disclaimers are the solution to the problem of obviousness-type double patenting, say Jane Love and Robert Trenchard at Gibson Dunn.
-
Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.