Appellate

  • September 20, 2024

    Veteran High Court Litigator Warns Of Ethics Debate's Impact

    Accusations that U.S. Supreme Court justices are corrupt or nothing more than politicians in robes are unwarranted, tremendously dangerous and threaten to irreparably harm the institution's legitimacy, veteran high court litigator Kannon Shanmugam warns.

  • September 20, 2024

    Cannabis Group Defends Social Equity Programs At 9th Circ.

    A coalition of cannabis business advocates pushing for a legal interstate weed market told the Ninth Circuit on Friday that the dormant commerce clause of the Constitution applies to marijuana, but that state social equity programs geared towards restorative justice are still legitimate.

  • September 20, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives Christian Challenges To LGBTQ Bias Law

    The Sixth Circuit revived two lawsuits Friday from Christian organizations challenging a Michigan civil rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, saying they demonstrated a plausible fear of enforcement if they publicized their religious views.

  • September 20, 2024

    Calif. Panel Backs VW Drivers' $3.5M Data Breach Deal

    California appellate justices have upheld Volkswagen and Audi drivers' $3.5 million data breach settlement and rejected an objector's request to intervene and vacate judgment, finding that her disagreement with their litigation strategy doesn't mean her interests weren't adequately represented. 

  • September 20, 2024

    Del. Justices Uphold Toss Of AmerisourceBergen Syringe Suit

    Delaware's Supreme Court upheld with little comment Friday a lower court dismissal of a nearly 5-year-old shareholder derivative suit accusing AmerisourceBergen Corp. directors of failing to investigate and stop illegal repackaging of cancer drugs.

  • September 20, 2024

    Conn. Court Axes Estate's Benefit Bid For Deceased Fire Chief

    The estate of Waterbury, Connecticut's union-represented fire chief cannot collect any remaining workers' compensation benefits owed to him after his 1993 heart attack, a state appeals court ruled Friday, saying that under a city law, the chief's pension had adequately compensated him.

  • September 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Reverses Insurer's Early Win In Silo Damage Dispute

    The Fifth Circuit reversed an insurer's early win in a coverage dispute with an agricultural cooperative over damage to two grain silos, instead finding that questions remained about whether wind and weather damage because of faulty construction qualified as property damage under the policy.

  • September 20, 2024

    US Chamber Warns Del. Justices On TC Energy Case Fallout

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned Delaware's Supreme Court Friday of "detrimental and expensive consequences" from an unprecedented, $199 million damages ruling against TransCanada Corp. last year for aiding seller fiduciary breaches in its $13 billion acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Corp.

  • September 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Deals Biden A Loss in Medicare Drug Pricing Row

    A Fifth Circuit panel majority said that a healthcare trade association has standing to challenge the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, allowing the group to sidestep agency administrative procedure and test its claims in federal court.

  • September 20, 2024

    Vandalizing Doctor Gets $200K For Defeating Vengeful Suit

    A doctor who defaced the property of a real estate developer with graffiti can keep an award of more than $200,000 in attorney fees for defending himself from a suit that a judge found was filed out of vengeance, a Michigan appellate panel has ruled. 

  • September 20, 2024

    Doctor Can't Secure Disability Coverage, 3rd Circ. Affirms

    An ophthalmologist cannot secure total-disability benefits from his occupational disability insurer after he was diagnosed with a nerve condition preventing him from performing surgeries, the Third Circuit ruled, noting he still maintained his practice even after he stopped performing the surgeries.

  • September 20, 2024

    Mich. School Officials Keep Immunity In Oxford Shooting Suits

    A Michigan appellate court panel on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a pair of lawsuits alleging Oxford Community School and its employees were negligent in failing to prevent a teenager from shooting and killing four classmates and injuring seven others in 2021, saying no reasonable juror could determine anyone other than the shooter was responsible.

  • September 20, 2024

    Car Crash Claims Against Uber Sent To Arbitration

    A New Jersey appeals panel on Friday sent a couple's suit against Uber Technologies Inc. over a car accident to arbitration, finding that a user agreement for Uber Eats that includes an arbitration clause is valid and enforceable.

  • September 20, 2024

    'Free Karen Read' Protest Case Is Moot, 1st Circ. Says

    The First Circuit has bowed out of hearing a First Amendment challenge brought by protesters who gathered outside a business run by a witness in Karen Read's first trial for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, ruling that the dispute centering on the Massachusetts witness intimidation law was moot.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ex-Healthcare Exec Can't Sue GC Over Probe Advice

    A former Baxter International treasurer who was fired amid an investigation into improper foreign exchange transactions was correctly blocked from pursuing claims against the healthcare company and its general counsel over advice he received on navigating the probe, an Illinois appellate panel said Friday.

  • September 20, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Late-Reported Malpractice Claim

    An insurance carrier had no obligation to defend or indemnify a Massachusetts attorney who failed to report a malpractice lawsuit for more than a year, the First Circuit said, affirming a lower court's decision to vacate a $1.1 million jury verdict against the insurer.

  • September 20, 2024

    Avenatti Seeks Top Court Review Of Daniels ID Theft Verdict

    Incarcerated celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction for misappropriating money from ex-client Stormy Daniels, claiming the Second Circuit's decision upholding the verdict runs afoul of precedent for identity-theft cases.

  • September 20, 2024

    What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For The Courts

    During his speech in Milwaukee in July accepting the Republican nomination for president, former President Donald Trump called Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida a "highly respected federal judge" and touted her ruling a few days earlier throwing out the "fake" case against him involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

  • September 20, 2024

    Chevron's Demise May Not Bring Deluge Courts Had Feared

    Though the death of Chevron deference has opened a door to attacking administrative decisions, the expected uptick in litigation probably won't threaten to clog federal courts, numerous administrative law experts told Law360.

  • September 20, 2024

    Court Rejects Jerry Sandusky's Atty Pressure Tactics Theory

    A Pennsylvania state appeals court has denied convicted pedophile and former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's latest request for a retrial, rejecting his claims that new evidence showed accusers were pressured by an attorney to sue and that several underwent "repressed memory therapy" in order to recount false memories of abuse.

  • September 20, 2024

    Drew Eckl Battles Ex-Firm Attys Over Fees Arbitration

    Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP and breakaway firm Burke Moore Law Group LLP filed competing briefs with the Georgia Court of Appeals this week, as Drew Eckl fought to uphold a trial court's ruling that Burke Moore must arbitrate a dispute over fees earned by its name partners when they left to start their own shop.

  • September 20, 2024

    Off The Bench: Favre Flops, Dolan Escapes, Betting Cos. Sued

    In this week's Off The Bench, retired quarterback Brett Favre can't revive a defamation suit against fellow NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, New York Knicks owner James Dolan is spared from federal sex-trafficking claims, and two sports-betting giants face new suits over their use of MLB player images.

  • September 20, 2024

    Trump Again Asks To Delay Evidence In DC Election Suit

    Attorneys for former President Donald Trump again asked the Washington, D.C., federal judge overseeing his election interference case to push back a highly anticipated evidentiary filing from prosecutors, saying special counsel Jack Smith's office shouldn't be allowed to publicly lay out evidence until the court addresses Trump's concerns about the scope of discovery.

  • September 20, 2024

    Illinois Justices Affirm Fired Attorneys' $1.7M Fee Award

    The Illinois Supreme Court held Thursday that two attorneys who represented clients in contentious proceedings over family assets are entitled to $1.7 million in fees for nearly a year and a half of legal work they did before they were terminated, reversing an appellate court that found their attorney-client agreement void.

  • September 20, 2024

    IRS Must Credit Overpayments, Couple Tell 5th Circ.

    A couple claiming they should be allowed to sue the IRS for a roughly $500,000 tax refund in federal court because they overpaid their taxes told the Fifth Circuit that the agency is out of time to challenge their overpayments and must credit their account.

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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