Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
August 08, 2024
Drilling Permit Suit Must Be Revived, Enviro Orgs. Tell DC Circ.
Conservation groups are defending their standing to challenge federal approvals of thousands of drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming, telling the D.C. Circuit that they have pressed specific allegations showing that the drilling would harm the environment and their members.
-
August 08, 2024
Apollo Stockholder Suit Held Until Del. Justices Hear Moelis
Both sides in a Delaware Court of Chancery challenge to an Apollo Global Management Inc. stockholder agreement adopted in 2022 have agreed to a litigation pause, citing the import of a possible Delaware Supreme Court appeal targeting a case that upended state corporate law on similar pacts.
-
August 08, 2024
Insurer Utica Off Hook In High-End Leather Goods Dispute
Utica National Insurance Group is not obligated to defend or indemnify a maker of high-end leather goods against claims it fraudulently induced a former partner into a deal in order to steal his designs and then attempt to drive him out of business, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court has concluded.
-
August 08, 2024
States, Industry Back High Court Review Of Calif. Waiver
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute and a group of states led by Iowa are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the federal government's decision to continue to allow California to set its own vehicle emissions programs.
-
August 08, 2024
Conservative Activists Push To Ax Robocall Election Charges
Two conservative activists being prosecuted in Michigan for robocalls aimed at discouraging mail-in voting have told an appellate court that their criminal charges must be tossed under the Michigan Supreme Court's recent interpretation of a voter interference law.
-
August 08, 2024
Where Judicial Vacancies Stand As Congress Is In Recess
The U.S. Senate doesn't return for about a month, but when it does, Democrats will be on the final sprint to try to top the 234 judges confirmed in former President Donald Trump's first term.
-
August 08, 2024
Fla. Judge Dismisses Sex Abuse Suit, Blaming Lies By Atty
A Florida state judge has thrown out a suit by a Palm Beach real estate developer's daughter who alleges her father sexually abused her, ruling that her attorney's misrepresentations about an expert and why he withdrew from the case are fraud against the court.
-
August 08, 2024
Ga. Appeals Court Candidate Loses Election Challenge
A Georgia superior court judge has rejected an attorney's bid to overturn the results of a state appeals court election she lost, saying her claims were already resolved when the secretary of state made a preelection decision that her opponent was qualified to run and her subsequent appeal of that ruling was denied.
-
August 08, 2024
Mass. Justices Toss Conviction Over 'Vague' Jailhouse Bribe
Massachusetts' top court on Thursday vacated a man's witness intimidation conviction based on "vague and amorphous" promises he made during jailhouse phone calls with his fiancée that prosecutors claimed were bribes.
-
August 08, 2024
Willis Defends Staying On Trump's Ga. Election Case
Georgia prosecutors have pushed back against former President Donald Trump's request for appellate intervention in his election interference case, arguing District Attorney Fani T. Willis doesn't have a conflict of interest and Trump failed to persuade the trial court that she had a conflict due to a relationship with a former outside counsel.
-
August 08, 2024
NY Agrees To Delay Enforcing Broadband Price Cap For Now
Broadband industry groups on Thursday temporarily withdrew their request for the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a New York law requiring price-capped consumer broadband plans after state officials agreed to delay its enforcement for now.
-
August 08, 2024
Kansas, Nebraska Urge 6th Circ. To Block Arb. In Pronoun Suit
A former physician assistant shouldn't have to arbitrate her suit claiming she was fired over religious objections to the use of patients' preferred pronouns, Kansas and Nebraska told the Sixth Circuit, arguing the worker can't be forced to litigate constitutional and civil rights claims behind closed doors.
-
August 08, 2024
FTC Tells 9th Circ. Booksellers Don't Belong In Amazon Case
The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon both urged the Ninth Circuit not to allow a trade association for independent bookstores to intervene in the government's antitrust case against the e-commerce giant, saying the group's claims are too different.
-
August 08, 2024
Hospitals Tell High Court HHS Errs In SSI Pay Formula
A group of hospitals argued to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is misinterpreting a formula used to calculate billions of dollars in special payments every year for hospitals treating people receiving Supplemental Security Income.
-
August 08, 2024
Calif. Attorney Beats DQ Bid Despite Being Potential Witness
A California state appeals court on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision not to disqualify a San Diego lawyer from representing a client in a malpractice suit against a Pasadena law firm, saying the attorney can be counsel and provide witness testimony at the trial.
-
August 07, 2024
5th Circ. Pushes DOL On Salary Thresholds For OT Eligibility
A Fifth Circuit panel told the government during oral arguments Wednesday that the Labor Department needed to provide more substantial reasoning as to how it determines workers' overtime eligibility, saying that just because it has set salary thresholds for nearly a century doesn't mean it gets carte blanche.
-
August 07, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Dow Chemical's Escape From Age Bias Suit
The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a Texas woman's lawsuit accusing Dow Chemical of age discrimination and retaliation, saying in a published opinion that the former senior health service manager failed to properly exhaust her administrative remedies before filing suit.
-
August 07, 2024
10th Circ. Won't Undo Atty Fees In $1.5B Syngenta Corn Deal
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday backed a Kansas federal judge's allocations of attorney fees to three law firms representing individual claimants in multidistrict litigation over Syngenta's genetically modified corn that was resolved by a $1.5 billion class settlement, finding that the firms' arguments strayed from the issue at hand.
-
August 07, 2024
Investor Asks Justices To Overturn $5.7M Arb. Award Ruling
An investor who put money into an unsuccessful business looking to revolutionize the chemical manufacturing industry urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to overturn a split Ninth Circuit decision enforcing a $5.7 million arbitration award in favor of that business' founders, arguing the award should never have been issued.
-
August 07, 2024
4th Circ. Approves Payout Plan In $550M Ponzi Case
Investors defrauded in a $550 million Ponzi scheme can't reverse a receiver's asset distribution plan on the basis of arguments that the plan unfairly divides up recovered funds among claimants, the Fourth Circuit has determined.
-
August 07, 2024
Monsanto, PCB Plaintiffs Want It Both Ways, Judge Says
A Washington state court judge expressed frustration on Wednesday with counsel for both sides of a toxic tort against Monsanto, remarking during a summary judgment hearing that the parties can't "pick and choose" which parts of a recent appellate ruling apply to their case.
-
August 07, 2024
Judge's Pharma Comments Could Decide Ineligibility Appeal
A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday was willing to explore Astellas Pharma's argument that a Nebraska federal judge should be taken off its infringement case over the bladder medication Myrbetriq, given statements that showed a potential bias against the pharmaceutical industry, but also made clear that such reassignments are rare and difficult.
-
August 07, 2024
NC Court Tosses Resort's Appeal Over Tree-Cutting Loss
The North Carolina Court of Appeals threw out a resort owner's appeal arguing that Dominion Energy North Carolina cannot remove trees on its property, holding instead that the resort owner abandoned its arguments when it failed to analyze the trial court's final judgment on appeal.
-
August 07, 2024
6th Circ. Backs 20 Years For Chinese Spy Who Targeted GE
The Sixth Circuit upheld a 20-year prison sentence for a Chinese spy convicted of espionage for trying to steal trade secrets from General Electric's GE Aviation unit, noting in an opinion unsealed Wednesday the punishment was reasonable as he continuously pursued the confidential information using sophisticated tradecraft processes for several years.
-
August 07, 2024
Robot Vacuum Cleaner Patent Ruling Remains Undisturbed
Federal Circuit judges proved unpersuaded on Wednesday to do anything to touch an administrative board ruling that wiped out most, but not all, of the claims in a patent that allegedly covered a new feature in the Roomba brand of robotic vacuum cleaners.
Expert Analysis
-
Accidental Death Ruling Shows ERISA Review Standard's Pull
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent accidental death insurance ruling in Goldfarb v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance illustrates how an arbitrary and capricious standard of review in Employee Retirement Income Security Act denial-of-benefits cases creates a steep uphill battle for benefit claimants, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
-
Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in two major abortion-related cases this term largely preserve the status quo for now, but leave federal preemption, the Comstock Act and in vitro fertilization in limbo, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
-
California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
-
Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
-
Why Justices Should Rule On FAA's Commerce Exception
The U.S. Supreme Court should review the Ninth Circuit's Ortiz v. Randstad decision, to clarify whether involvement in interstate commerce exempts workers from the Federal Arbitration Act, a crucial question given employers' and employees' strong competing interests in arbitration and litigation, says Collin Williams at New Era.
-
Series
After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.
-
FLSA Conditional Certification Is Alive And Well In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina federal court's recent decision in Johnson v. PHP emphasized continued preference by courts in the Fourth Circuit for a two-step conditional certification process for Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, rejecting views from other circuits and affording plaintiffs a less burdensome path, say Joshua Adams and Damón Gray at Jackson Lewis.
-
7th Circ. Exclusion Ruling Will Narrow BIPA Coverage
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Thermoflex Waukegan v. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, holding that the access or disclosure exclusion applies to insurance claims brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, departs from the majority rule and opens the door to insurers more firmly denying coverage under general liability policies, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
-
Tricky Venue Issues Persist In Fortenberry Prosecution Redo
Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was recently indicted for a second time after the Ninth Circuit tossed his previous conviction for improper venue, but the case, now pending in the District of Columbia, continues to illustrate the complexities of proper venue in "false statement scheme" prosecutions, says Kevin Coleman at Covington.
-
Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
-
1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
-
Series
After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change
The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.
-
Series
After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed
The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.
-
Series
After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Opinion
'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.