Appellate

  • September 19, 2024

    Why Justice Thomas' Gifts Probe Is Likely Taking So Long

    The federal judiciary's governing body has spent more than a year reviewing complaints alleging U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas unlawfully failed to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel. Ethics watchdogs argue it's time to wrap up the investigation, but politics — in every sense of the word — may cause further delay.

  • September 19, 2024

    CFTC Warns Of 'Profound' Harm In Election Betting Appeal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fought Thursday to prevent an online trading platform from offering betting on election outcomes while the agency appeals a trial court ruling that allowed the futures contracts to go live, warning the D.C. Circuit that the "high-stakes" event contracts threaten serious harm to election integrity.

  • September 19, 2024

    Texas Med Mal Law Axes Crash Suit Against Ambulance Driver

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday narrowly tossed a suit accusing an ambulance driver of causing a motorist's crash injuries after running a red light, saying the suit can be considered a medical malpractice case, which requires a medical expert's report.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ill. Justices Affirm $2.1M Verdict In Blood Clot Death Suit

    The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday declined to overturn a jury's $2.1 million verdict in a medical malpractice suit accusing a doctor of causing a patient's death, saying the widower's award for "material services" was recoverable even though he remarried about a year after his wife's death.

  • September 19, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Flip Fraud Convictions Over Unseen Jury

    The Fourth Circuit has refused to overturn two men's investment-fraud convictions over complaints that COVID safety protocols made the jury invisible to the public, but vacated part of one sentence because probation conditions weren't adequately spelled out.

  • September 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Disbarred Atty Mooted Appeal With Guilty Plea

    The Tenth Circuit dismissed a disbarred immigration attorney's efforts at obtaining an injunction that would force a state court to appoint counsel for her in a forgery case, saying Thursday that she mooted her own appeal by pleading guilty.

  • September 19, 2024

    8th Circ. Says No Detention Time Limit For Deportees

    The Eighth Circuit has ruled that a district court wrongly determined that the due process rights of an Ivory Coast native convicted of robbery were violated after he spent a year in federal custody waiting for a removal decision.

  • September 19, 2024

    Wash. Justices Strike Down County's Rural Winery Regs

    The Washington State Supreme Court has struck down an Evergreen State county's regulations for wineries and tasting rooms on rural land near Seattle, saying Thursday the local government violated long-term planning and land use law by downplaying potential environmental consequences of the rules before passing them.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ill. High Court Says Pot Smell Not Grounds For Vehicle Search

    Illinois's highest court on Thursday ruled that the smell of burned marijuana does not constitute grounds for a warrantless vehicle search, given that the state legalized recreational marijuana prior to the traffic stop.

  • September 19, 2024

    GM Asks Full 6th Circ. To Rehear Truck Emissions Fraud Suit

    General Motors LLC is asking the full Sixth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a split decision that revived state law claims from four plaintiffs who alleged that GM misleadingly marked Chevrolet Silverado and Sierra vehicles as being more environmentally friendly than they were.

  • September 19, 2024

    Publishers Back Music Companies' Bid To Restore $1B Win

    Organizations that represent music publishers and songwriters urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that scrapped a $1 billion jury verdict against Cox Communications Inc. for ignoring online piracy, saying the three-judge appeal panel's conclusion "effectively immunizes internet service providers" from vicarious liability.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court Says Hospital Must Get Certificate Of Need

    The Georgia Court of Appeals for the second time has said that a Georgia hospital must obtain a new certificate of need from the state to convert its long-term care beds to short-stay acute care beds, following guidance issued by the state's justices earlier this year.

  • September 19, 2024

    6th Circ. Upholds NLRB's Severance Order Against Hospital

    The Sixth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a National Labor Relations Board decision that found a Michigan hospital violated federal labor law through its offer of severance agreements, but didn't weigh in on whether the board's precedent shift on pacts that include nondisparagement clauses should stand.

  • September 19, 2024

    Pa. Justices Cement Dismissal Of Ballot Date Rule Challenge

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court headed off voting-rights groups' effort to quickly revive a challenge to state rules for signing and dating mail-in ballots, clarifying Thursday that a statewide court would still lack jurisdiction even if the challengers added all 67 counties to the case.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ch. 7 Trustee Urges Justices To Uphold Return Of Taxes

    The bankruptcy trustee of a defunct Utah transportation company warned the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that overturning a decision forcing the IRS to return tax payments made by company directors to cover their personal debts would encourage shareholder fraud.

  • September 19, 2024

    Conn. Justices Seem Open To Child Bond Claims In Injury Suit

    Two Connecticut Supreme Court justices on Thursday seemed open to allowing parents to seek a new legal remedy for the impairment of their relationship with a child, with one justice observing that compensable losses aren't limited to "obligatory functions" under the state's existing tort law.

  • September 19, 2024

    Union Pacific Contractors Again Escape Texas Enviro Claims

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss without prejudice the claims scores of people lodged against two Union Pacific Railroad Co. contractors in their litigation over cancer-causing contamination related to a Houston rail yard.

  • September 19, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Takes $166M Arbitration Loss To 4th Circ.

    Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg is looking to overturn a $166 million arbitral award favoring defunct Dutch life insurer Conservatrix after a North Carolina federal judge found the proceedings were conducted fairly.

  • September 19, 2024

    5th Circ. Says Deported Honduran Wrongly Deemed A Felon

    The Fifth Circuit has vacated the removal order of a Honduran woman charged as an accessory to an armed robbery, finding that the Louisiana statute she was deported under for an aggravated felony doesn't align with the federal definition of the removable offense of obstruction of justice.

  • September 19, 2024

    Fla. Panel Backs Simon Option On Closed Boca Raton Sears

    A split Florida appeals court has sided with Simon Property Group in backing a trial court ruling that the owner of a Boca Raton mall has a right to buy a vacant Sears store after Seritage Growth Properties pitched a redevelopment plan out of line with a 1980s easement.

  • September 19, 2024

    EPA Urges DC Circ. Not To Block Coal Ash Rule Implementation

    A Kentucky electric utility is "misleading" the D.C. Circuit about how clean former coal ash pits are once the material is removed, and should not be allowed to block implementation of a new coal ash rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Norwich Asks Justices To Allow Sale Of Generic Diarrhea Drug

    A New York drugmaker has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the courts have gone too far in preventing the release of a generic version of a blockbuster diarrhea drug, after a lower court found there was a way of using the drug that would infringe certain patents.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ohio Panel Says Landfill Death Suit Shouldn't Be Thrown Out

    A split Ohio state appeals court has revived a wrongful death suit brought against waste management firm Rumpke Sanitary Landfill Inc. over a tree on its land that fell and killed a motorist passing a landfill, with one judge saying the company can't be held liable and another calling for new standards.

  • September 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Hilton Builder's $7.5M Insurance Suit

    Two insurers for a construction company have no duty to provide coverage for a more than $7.5 million water damage claim, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday, finding a rain damage exclusion in the company's policies is applicable.

  • September 19, 2024

    Conn. Justices Wonder How 'Malicious' Firm's Ex-Client Was

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday questioned whether an ex-McCarter & English LLP client was "wanton" and "malicious" enough to justify the firm's novel $3.6 million punitive damages bid in a protracted billing dispute that has already fetched the firm judgments totaling more than $2 million on contract claims.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Fed. Circ. Percipient Gov't Contract Ruling Is Groundbreaking

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    The effects of the Federal Circuit's decision last month in Percipient.ai v. U.S. may be limited to commercial product and service suppliers, but it is significant for government procurement in opening the door to protests by suppliers who previously would have lacked standing and Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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