Appellate

  • October 11, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Stanford Law's Easha Anand

    Fresh off her shot-from-a-cannon debut during the U.S. Supreme Court's previous term, Easha Anand of Stanford Law School is moving full steam ahead into the new term, arguing Tuesday against one of the nation's most accomplished oral advocates. If things go as usual, Anand says she'll have nerves "out the wazoo" before and even after the showdown — but none at all when staying calm matters most.

  • October 11, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Deem Bus Driver's Migraines FMLA-Eligible

    A Pennsylvania public transit employee didn't have the requisite "serious health condition" to back his workplace retaliation claims under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, the Third Circuit ruled Friday, declining to reinstate a trial victory for the bus driver. 

  • October 11, 2024

    Justices Will Evaluate RICO Scope In Trucker's CBD Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a case brought by a trio of CBD companies asking the justices to establish whether a trucker can bring a personal injury claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

  • October 11, 2024

    Asbestos Claimants Say Kaiser Ch. 11 Plan Should Stand

    Asbestos injury claimants in Kaiser Gypsum Co.'s bankruptcy case have asked the Fourth Circuit to uphold the company's Chapter 11 plan, saying the arguments against it by Kaiser's primary insurer are based on speculative harms.

  • October 11, 2024

    DOI Defends Offshore Lease Schedule At DC Circ.

    The U.S. Department of the Interior defended its scaled-back offshore leasing program for 2024-2029 from dueling challenges at the D.C. Circuit, arguing it relied on "extensive quantitative and qualitative analyses" that it prepared over several years to reach its decision.

  • October 11, 2024

    Pa. Justices Won't Review Bible App Maker's Coverage Denial

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to hear a Bible app maker's coverage bid over a hacker's deletion of its videos and software stored on a GoDaddy Inc. server, letting stand an appeals panel's ruling in a case of first impression on what "your computers" means in a property policy.

  • October 11, 2024

    FERC Defends Keeping Calif. In Hydro Permitting Role

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its conclusion that California's water board didn't waive its Clean Water Act permitting authority over two hydroelectric dams, telling the D.C. Circuit there's nothing to suggest there was a coordinated effort to string out the permitting process.

  • October 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says USMCA Review Bars Importer's Duty Suit

    The Federal Circuit has backed the U.S. Court of International Trade's dismissal of a Canadian lumber company's challenge to increased tariffs, saying the U.S. court couldn't take the case once a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement panel began reviewing the duties.

  • October 11, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Planned Parenthood's $14M Atty Fee Win

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a nearly $14 million attorney fee award to Planned Parenthood after the reproductive health service provider won its suit claiming the Center for Medical Progress unlawfully recorded abortion service providers, saying Friday the award was not unreasonably disproportionate to the jury's $2.4 million damages award.

  • October 11, 2024

    Gruden Gets Another Play, Could Keep NFL Suit In Court

    Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden will have another shot to keep from arbitration his case over the NFL's alleged torpedoing of his contract with leaks of his inflammatory emails, as the entire Nevada Supreme Court will consider the proper venue for the heated dispute.

  • October 11, 2024

    Xcel, Colo. Co-Op Reach Deal To End Power Plant Appeal

    Xcel Energy and a Colorado electric cooperative have told an intermediate state appellate court that they've reached a settlement in principle to avoid further appeals of a $26 million jury verdict against Xcel in a fight over the closure of a power plant.

  • October 11, 2024

    Nelson Mullins Can't Beat DQ In Foreign Exchange Fraud Suit

    A Florida state appeals court panel unanimously sided with a trial court Friday in deciding that Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP can't represent the defendant in a lawsuit accusing him of duping the plaintiff into doing business with online foreign exchange platform FxWinning Ltd. because the firm previously represented the plaintiff in a "substantially related" suit against the company.

  • October 11, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA's NIL Deal Advances, QB Settles Again

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA and the athletes suing it over name, image and likeness money satisfy a judge with their proposed settlement revisions, an NFL quarterback settles yet another sexual assault accusation, and a legal battle between the NFL and one of its former reporters ends amicably.

  • October 11, 2024

    California High Court Rejects Bar Exam Alternative Program

    The California Supreme Court has rejected a proposal that would have allowed bar applicants to submit a portfolio of work they did with real clients under supervision instead of taking the bar exam.

  • October 10, 2024

    Chutkan OKs Redacted Immunity Evidence In Trump Case

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing the case that charges Donald Trump with scheming to subvert the 2020 election results will allow the public disclosure of some evidence related to the issue of his potential immunity, but will give the former president time to challenge the disclosure.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Sanctions Attempt Is 'Intimidation Tactic,' Nonprofit Says

    A Houston civil rights nonprofit focusing on immigration is calling a sanctions motion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton an "intimidation tactic," telling a state appeals court that it shouldn't have to just accept whatever legal interpretation the state spits out or face sanctions.

  • October 10, 2024

    Trade Group, Enviros Clash Over EPA Methylene Chloride Rule

    American Chemistry Council and the Sierra Club are taking aim at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methylene chloride rule, with the industry group telling the Fifth Circuit the agency overstepped when it outright banned most applications of the chemical for no valid reason and the conservation organization arguing it didn't go far enough.

  • October 10, 2024

    Wash. Judge Condemns Monsanto's Bid To Delay PCB Trial

    A Washington state judge grew frustrated on Thursday with Monsanto's eleventh-hour attempt to shelve a PCB poisoning tort headed to trial next week until the state Supreme Court weighs in on a similar case, calling out the chemical giant for taking stances on "both sides of the fence" about the stakes on appeal.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Digs Into Patent Applications' Place In Prior Art

    A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to work out whether published patent applications meet the requirements to serve as prior art, in order to evaluate whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightfully invalidated claims of a Lynk Labs LED patent.

  • October 10, 2024

    Vape Co. Missed Cutoff To Toss $892K Arb. Loss, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday affirmed a Washington distributor's $892,000 arbitration award in a dispute with vape company Avid Holdings, in an order siding with a district court judge who determined Avid waited too long to dispute the arbitrator's decision.

  • October 10, 2024

    DOJ Defends Federal Marijuana Ban At 1st Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday urged the First Circuit to reject cannabis companies' constitutional challenge to the drug's ongoing prohibition under federal law, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that Congress has the power to regulate the interstate and intrastate markets for controlled substances.

  • October 10, 2024

    Why So Hard To Say 'Denied'? Mich. Justices Ask Insurers

    Michigan Supreme Court justices pushed insurers Wednesday to explain why they take issue with appellate rulings requiring them to explicitly say they have "denied" insureds' claims, asking what about including that word or evaluating claims as they normally do would create new obligations on the insurers.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Software IP Case Against Salesforce

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday threw out a Nevada federal court's finding that Salesforce didn't infringe claims in a pair of patents for database software reprogramming and that the claims weren't valid to begin with, saying key language in the patents has to be looked at differently.

  • October 10, 2024

    Boulder Says Exxon Can't Twist Law To Avoid Climate Fight

    Boulder, Colorado, accused Exxon on Wednesday of twisting preemption standards to avoid a suit over the impacts of climate change, telling the Colorado Supreme Court that it doesn't need explicit permission from the Clean Air Act to bring its state law claims. 

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Hints Justices' 'Sea Change' May Help DACA

    A Fifth Circuit judge grilled Texas on Thursday over whether it still has standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, suggesting recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent might spell trouble for the Lone Star State's bid to kill the program.

Expert Analysis

  • Strategies To Defend Against Healthcare Nuclear Verdicts

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    The healthcare industry is increasingly the target of megaclaims, particularly those alleging medical malpractice, but attorneys representing providers can use a few tools to push back on flimsy litigation and reduce the likelihood of a nuclear verdict, says LaMar Jost at Wheeler Trigg.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War

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    In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Fed. Circ. Resolves Post-AIA Question On Prefiling Activity

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    For more than a decade, patent attorneys have worried about what the America Invents Act means for specific prefiling activities, but two recent Federal Circuit decisions suggest the enumerated prefiling activities in Section 102(a)(1) will not affect validity if done within a year of filing the application, says Howard Skaist at Berkeley Law.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC

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    Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.

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