Appellate

  • October 01, 2024

    Oxygenation Doesn't Show Water Quality, Texas Justices Hear

    Texas Supreme Court justices prodded the Save Our Springs Alliance's argument that a permit to release treated wastewater would degrade water quality, questioning whether the advocacy organization's argument that a drop in levels of dissolved oxygen shows water degradation during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • October 01, 2024

    9th Circ. Cites 'Sunscreen' Song In Reviving Banana Boat Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action claiming Banana Boat sunscreen contains unsafe levels of benzene, citing a one-hit wonder from an Academy Award nominated director and saying a lower court judge erred by prematurely resolving disputed issues of fact and the merits of the consumer case.

  • October 01, 2024

    Former Rutgers Law Dean To Serve As University's Interim GC

    A former Rutgers Law School dean will serve as the university's interim senior vice president and general counsel following John J. Hoffman's confirmation to the New Jersey Supreme Court, Rutgers announced Tuesday.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ga. County Urges Full 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Win

    A Georgia county told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday that a health plan coverage exclusion for gender-affirming surgery is comparable to other exclusions in coverage and does not violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

  • October 01, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives FCA Claims Against Dermatology Practice

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday revived the claims of a former employee who accused a Nevada dermatology practice of retaliation under the False Claims Act and other wrongdoing, reversing the practice's early win and sending the case back for trial.

  • October 01, 2024

    University Can Keep Conduct Records, Texas Justices Hear

    Texas Supreme Court Justices asked the University of Texas at Austin why it was trying to keep from releasing records of students who violated policies against violence and sex offenses during oral arguments Tuesday, saying that the category of students the university was protecting seemed the "least defensible."

  • October 01, 2024

    Georgia-Pacific Tells 6th Circ. Rivals Liable In CERCLA Row

    Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP on Tuesday asked the Sixth Circuit to affirm a Michigan federal judge's ruling that International Paper Co. and Weyerhaeuser Co. can be sued for future cleanup costs of a Michigan Superfund site.

  • October 01, 2024

    Activists Sue Ark. Officials Over Medical Pot Ballot Measure

    Activists attempting to put a measure that would expand medical marijuana access in Arkansas on the ballot brought a lawsuit against John Thurston, the state's secretary of state, on Tuesday, one day after he said that the campaign did not have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

  • October 01, 2024

    Colo. Workers' Comp. Doesn't Exempt Employer Auto Insurers

    Workers who are injured in car accidents while on the job can sue their employers' auto insurance carriers for underinsured motorist coverage, even if they have received workers' compensation benefits, Colorado's supreme court concluded, finding no state law precluded it.

  • October 01, 2024

    Phone 'Tax' For FCC Programs Unconstitutional, Justices Told

    Groups challenging the Federal Communications Commission's universal service system urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out the program's funding base, arguing it amounts to an illegal tax on consumers.

  • October 01, 2024

    Starbucks Investor Suit Seems 'Premature,' Court Official Says

    A Washington appellate commissioner gave Starbucks another chance to end a shareholder suit accusing the company's leadership of turning a blind eye to union-busting by managers, saying the lawsuit appears "premature" since it mostly relies on unfair labor practice complaints that are still pending.

  • October 01, 2024

    NC Man Defends $1.6M Verdict Over Vape Battery Explosion

    A North Carolina man is asking a state appeals court to affirm his $1.6 million verdict in a suit against a distributor over injuries he suffered when a lithium-ion battery for his vape exploded in his pocket, saying there was plenty of evidence for the jury to conclude the distributor sold the battery in question.

  • October 01, 2024

    TikTok Petitions 3rd Circ. To Review Section 230 Ruling

    TikTok asked for another crack in the Third Circuit on Tuesday, requesting an en banc rehearing of the appeals court's decision holding that its "For You Page" algorithm doesn't enjoy Section 230 immunity and reviving a suit accusing the app of recommending a "blackout challenge" that led to a 10-year-old's death.

  • October 01, 2024

    Wash. Panel Backs Workers' $3.3M Win In Meal Break Suit

    A Washington appeals court refused to upend a class of workers' $3.3 million win in their lawsuit accusing a Seattle-based hospital of failing to provide them with 30-minute meal periods, saying employees in Washington state are entitled to additional pay if they're forced to work through their breaks.

  • October 01, 2024

    Big Banks Urge Panel To Toss NJ Bond Marketing Claims

    A New Jersey state judge erred when he applied a recent change in state law to deny a bid by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other big banks to toss a suit accusing them of a scheme to inflate the interest rates of certain bonds, the banks argued Tuesday before a state appellate panel.

  • October 01, 2024

    EPA Can't Justify Particulate Matter Rule, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't justify its decision to ratchet down a fine particulate matter air pollution standard, Republican-led states and industry groups told the D.C. Circuit on Monday.

  • October 01, 2024

    Fla. Justices Urged To Nix Ruling Axing Malpractice Award

    A former client of The Ferraro Law Firm PA is asking the Florida Supreme Court to consider restoring its $1.5 million legal malpractice arbitration award, arguing the Third District Court of Appeal created a new pleading requirement in arbitrations.

  • October 01, 2024

    Febreze Jingle IP Claim Doesn't Pass 2nd Circ. Smell Test

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a New York composer who claims Procter & Gamble's advertisement jingle for Febreze ripped off five notes from a song he wrote in the 1980s, saying those notes by themselves are not protectable under copyright law.

  • October 01, 2024

    Estate Exaggerating Value Of Exec's Tax Tipoff, DC Circ. Told

    A Dutch bank executive's estate is "vastly" overstating the significance of his tips to the IRS in seeking a whistleblower award for his reporting of tax schemes, the U.S. government told the D.C. Circuit, urging it to uphold the U.S. Tax Court's denial of the award.

  • October 01, 2024

    NYC Bar Urges Congress To Place Ethics Rules On High Court

    The New York City Bar Association called on Congress to put U.S. Supreme Court justices under enforceable ethics rules in a report released Tuesday, throwing its support behind reforms, such as the creation of a Judicial Investigation Panel and an Office of the Inspector General.

  • September 30, 2024

    Texas' Standing Theory Yet To Be Tested At High Court

    Litigation challenging federal immigration policy has become a cornerstone for both Democratic and Republican-led states, but Texas-led suits have introduced a unique theory of standing that has yet to be tested in the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • September 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Partly Revives Crypto Investor's Suit Against AT&T

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially revived a cryptocurrency investor's suit accusing AT&T of failing to protect his information amid a fraudulent SIM swap that cost him $24 million, finding there to be a triable question whether AT&T gave hackers access to his proprietary information through the scheme.

  • September 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.

  • September 30, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Patent Case Against Sony In EDTX

    The Federal Circuit on Monday rejected Sony's bid to move a patent suit against it over a newer line of wireless PlayStation 5 controllers out of a Texas federal court, finding that it failed to show that the Northern District of California was a more convenient forum.

  • September 30, 2024

    Plane Parts Exec Loses Appeal In Honeywell Fraud Case

    The Second Circuit refused Monday to free the president of an airplane parts supplier from a seven-year prison sentence over a $15 million fraud on Honeywell International Inc., rejecting his protest over evidence admitted for consciousness of guilt.

Expert Analysis

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.

  • Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now

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    Though the substantive holding of Loper Bright is unlikely to affect bid protests because questions of statutory interpretation are rare, the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision may signal a general trend away from agency deference even on the complex technical issues that often arise, say Kayleigh Scalzo and Andrew Guy at Covington.

  • Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls

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    Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.

  • How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry

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    In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.

  • 3 Policyholder Tips After Calif. Ruling Denying D&O Coverage

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    A California decision from June, Practice Fusion v. Freedom Specialty Insurance, denying a company's claim seeking reimbursement under a directors and officers insurance policy for its settlement with the Justice Department, highlights the importance of coordinating coverage for all operational risks and the danger of broad exclusionary policy language, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

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