Appellate

  • October 07, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Frat Members Can't Sue Over 'Nazi-Like' Photo

    The D.C. Circuit won't let four Gallaudet University alumni revive their defamation suit against the school and the Washington Post over their comments about a photo that depicts two of the men in a group of Kappa Gamma fraternity members doing a salute that resembles the infamous Nazi salute.

  • October 07, 2024

    High Court Doubts States Can Police Federal Rights Claims

    The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to strike down an Alabama law requiring litigants to exhaust state administrative remedies before they file claims in state court accusing local officials of violating federal rights, with several justices suggesting the court already answered that question almost 40 years ago.

  • October 07, 2024

    No Firm Schedule For New LNG Rule, Feds Tell DC Circ.

    The Biden administration has told the D.C. Circuit that it has no "firm schedule" for revising a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail, information the court asked for in litigation filed by environmental groups opposed to the regulations.

  • October 07, 2024

    Split DC Circ. Says FERC Can Require Power Plant Upgrade

    Federal energy regulators were right to require NextEra Energy to upgrade its New Hampshire nuclear power plant's circuit breaker to accommodate a new transmission line being developed by Avangrid Inc., a split D.C. Circuit panel has ruled.

  • October 07, 2024

    3M Facing PFAS Headwinds In Vermont, NJ And Ohio Cases

    3M Co., which is facing forever chemical lawsuits across the country, is dealing with pushback from Vermont, which is fighting 3M's effort to take its state court case into federal court, and from plaintiffs in Ohio and New Jersey, who have kept their litigation out of a sprawling multidistrict litigation.

  • October 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Gears Up To Tackle High Court's ICWA Ruling

    The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is gearing up to tackle the high court's ruling last year that upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, which determined that the nearly 50-year-old law does not exceed the federal government's authority in imposing a standard procedure on Indigenous child custody cases.

  • October 07, 2024

    7th Circ. Revives Wage Claim In Sales Rep's Bonus Suit

    A sales associate adequately showed that he and the technology and consulting company employing him had an agreement under which he would receive a bonus after meeting a sales target, the Seventh Circuit ruled, sending his wage claim back to Illinois federal court.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear Commerzbank RMBS Fight With US Bank

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Commerzbank AG to revive more of its claims against U.S. Bank NA in a long-running lawsuit over pre-2008 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts, declining to review a recent Second Circuit decision in the case.

  • October 07, 2024

    Trio Of 1st Circ. Criminal Cases Turned Away By Top Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review three white collar cases on appeal from the First Circuit, including challenges to a cryptocurrency founder's conviction for investor theft and an Illinois attorney's fraud and money laundering conspiracy verdict.

  • October 07, 2024

    Sanctioned Election Denier Is Stalling, Dominion Exec Says

    A former Dominion Voting Systems executive urged a Colorado federal judge Monday to find a key witness and 2020 election denier can't appeal a $1,000-per-day sanctions order for walking out of a deposition, arguing the appeal is a "frivolous" delay tactic.

  • October 07, 2024

    NJT Cop Can't Overturn Firing Over Positive THC Test

    A New Jersey appeals panel won't upend a decision by the New Jersey Transit Corp. police chief terminating an officer for testing positive for THC, rejecting the officer's argument that the chief wrongly deviated from an administrative law judge's determination that the test was unreliable.

  • October 07, 2024

    Stormwater Fees Not Illegal Tax, Mich. Appellate Panel Finds

    Stormwater drainage charges in Ann Arbor constitute a lawful fee and not an illegal tax, the Michigan Appeals Court ruled, saying the charges did not require voter approval as demanded under the state constitution for increased local tax rates.

  • October 07, 2024

    Sparring With Adams, Feds Shadowbox The Supreme Court

    The corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams may be the next front in an ongoing clash between federal prosecutors' desire to police official misconduct and a line of U.S. Supreme Court cases holding that alleged graft does not always amount to a federal crime.

  • October 07, 2024

    Mich. Judges Ask If 'Deplorable' Robocalls Actually Criminal

    A Michigan appeals court panel is considering for a second time whether two conservative activists can be criminally prosecuted for running a misinformation campaign that one judge on Monday called "deplorable," after the state Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the law they were charged with violating. 

  • October 07, 2024

    Grocery Co. Won't Get High Court Review Of Gender Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it won't review the revival of a gender bias case brought by a woman who said she was fired from her management role in a grocery store chain after her supervisor repeatedly said that management jobs were "too stressful" for women to handle.

  • October 07, 2024

    11th Circ. Balks At Ex-Braves' $47M Easement Case

    Former Atlanta Braves players John Smoltz and Ryan Klesko, challenging a U.S. Tax Court ruling that slashed the value of a conservation easement deduction by 90%, won't have their appeal heard by the Eleventh Circuit after the court said Monday the duo had jumped the gun on challenging the decision before it was made final.

  • October 07, 2024

    Manafort Associate's Bribery Case Won't Get Top Court Look

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the case of a former bank CEO who had argued the Second Circuit's decision to uphold his conviction for bribing former Donald Trump staffer Paul Manafort wrongly criminalized even the smallest of benefits a bank executive receives from a customer.

  • October 07, 2024

    State Courts Splitting Over Future Of Climate Change Suits

    Recent decisions on whether climate change suits brought by state and local governments against fossil fuel companies can go forward are exposing splits between state courts over whether they can impose liability for pollution that originates beyond their borders, legal experts say.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Want SG's Take On Union Pension Withdrawal Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on an employer-side petition in a fight over what actuarial assumptions multi-employer pension funds are allowed to use under federal benefits law when determining an employer's withdrawal liability.

  • October 07, 2024

    Brothers' $10B Real Estate Battle Nets Another $11.6M In Fees

    A California judge granted over $11 million in attorney fees Monday to a man who prevailed in a 20-year legal battle with his brother over a real estate empire when a jury awarded him and his other brothers a $10 billion verdict, granting the bulk of the request.

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Nixes Judicial Complaint Over Atty 'Disbar' Threat

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected a judicial misconduct complaint against a judge who allegedly suggested that he could "disbar" a lawyer.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Review 9th Circ. Case On Service Issue

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a Ninth Circuit decision enforcing an arbitral award favoring a Los Angeles-based film production company over a 2020 Jessica Chastain movie, in a case that raised a technical question relating to service of process on foreign parties.

  • October 07, 2024

    Ga. Asks Justices To Ignore Meadows' Election Removal Bid

    Georgia county prosecutors fought a bid by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to move his election interference case into federal court, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the legal issues at play require more "percolation" before they are ripe for review.

  • October 07, 2024

    Massachusetts' Chief Federal Judge To Take Senior Status

    U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of Massachusetts has notified President Joe Biden he will take senior status on July 31, 2025, the court announced Monday.

  • October 07, 2024

    Mass. High Court Reluctant To Kill Lost Value Policy Exclusion

    Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared likely to reject a challenge to standard auto insurance policy language that excludes coverage for the dip in resale value of a vehicle after a crash.

Expert Analysis

  • The Fed. Circ. In June: More Liability For Generic-Drug Makers

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    The Federal Circuit’s June ruling in Amarin v. Hikma will likely result in more allegations of induced infringement by generic drugs postapproval, with more of those cases proceeding to at least the summary judgment stage instead of being cut off at the outset, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling Expands CFPB Power In Post-Chevron Era

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone Financial interprets the Equal Credit Opportunity Act broadly, paving the way for increased CFPB enforcement and hinting at how federal courts may approach statutory interpretation in the post-Chevron world, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Series

    After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch

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    The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.

  • Menendez Corruption Ruling Highlights Attorney Proffer Risks

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    The recent admission of slides used in a preindictment presentation as evidence during U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial highlights the potential pitfalls of using visual aids in attorney proffers, and the increasing importance of making disclaimers regarding information presented at the outset of proffers, say Carrie Cohen and Savanna Leak at MoFo.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • Analyzing Advance Notice Bylaws On 'Clear' Or 'Cloudy' Days

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    In Kellner v. AIM ImmunoTech, the Delaware Supreme Court recently clarified the framework for judicial review of advance notice bylaws adopted, amended or enforced on "clear" or "cloudy" days, underscoring the responsibility of boards to ensure that their scope does not overreach or prevent the possibility of a contested election, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Limit Discovery In Int'l Arbitration

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    The Second Circuit's recent Webuild v. WSP decision, affirming a discovery order's nullification in arbitration between Webuild and the government of Panama, demonstrates courts' unwillingness to find that arbitral tribunals in investor-state cases fall within the scope of the discovery statute, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Patent Lessons From 5 Federal Circuit Reversals In June

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    A look at June cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court highlights a potential path for branded drugmakers to sue generic-drug makers for off-label uses, potential downsides of violating a pretrial order offering testimony, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • NY Ruling Offers A Foreclosure Road Map For Lenders

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    A New York appellate court recently upheld a summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial lender's foreclosure in U.S. Bank v. 1226 Evergreen Bapaz, illustrating the proofs lenders will need to prosecute a foreclosure action, especially where the plaintiff is an assignee of the originating lender, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

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