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Appellate
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November 13, 2024
Fed. Circ. Judges Frown On Custom Emoji Patent
A patent covering the development of customizable emojis died at the Federal Circuit on Wednesday, after judges there rejected an appeal of an administrative board ruling that knocked out all of the patent's claims.
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November 13, 2024
Mich. Justices Bore Into Railroad's Telecom Tunneling Dispute
Norfolk Southern emphasized its safety concerns Wednesday during oral arguments before the Michigan Supreme Court as it tried to persuade the justices to reverse a ruling finding a telecommunications company did not need the railway's permission to bury fiber-optic cable underneath its tracks.
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November 13, 2024
Detroit Fire Fee Ruling Concerns Mich. Justice
A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday said he was troubled by a lower appellate ruling he said seemed to imply that municipalities can work around a state law barring sneaky taxes, in this case by stating a charge for fire prevention services is really just the cost of a permit allowing property owners to do business in Detroit.
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November 13, 2024
EPA Tells DC Circ. That Mercury Rule Is Sound
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the D.C. Circuit that opponents of its rule strengthening standards for mercury and other toxic air emissions at power plants are seeking to hamstring the agency with a too-narrow interpretation of the Clean Air Act.
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November 13, 2024
7th Circ. Judge Calls Strike On Cubs Atty In ADA Seating Row
An increasingly frustrated Seventh Circuit judge on Wednesday repeatedly asked a lawyer for the Chicago Cubs how federal prosecutors' recent accessible seating settlement affected a fan's related appeal, cutting her off several times to emphasize that her suggested doctrine was explicitly not available in his court.
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November 13, 2024
Italian Plane Maker Can't Dodge Fla. Wrongful Death Suit
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday said an Italian aircraft manufacturer cannot escape a wrongful death suit over a plane crash in the Florida Keys, finding that the company had sufficient minimum contacts in the state to haul it into court there.
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November 13, 2024
Republicans Ask Pa. Justices To Cement Ballot Date Rule
Although a Pennsylvania court decision tossing a rule for mail-in ballots was supposed to only apply to a September special election in Philadelphia, Republican groups have asked the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to review it and more broadly uphold the rule requiring a handwritten date on the ballots' outer envelopes.
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November 13, 2024
Short-Term Rental Owners 'Unreasonable,' Dallas Tells Court
A Dallas short-term rental advocacy organization loves to focus on property rights, but it never considered the rights of neighbors who want safe neighborhoods and don't want to live next to an active business, a city attorney told a Fifth Court of Appeals panel during oral arguments Wednesday.
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November 13, 2024
Colo. A2J Commission Will Launch Listening Tour Next Year
Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart told a room of attorneys on Wednesday that the state's Access to Justice Commission is preparing a 2025 "listen and learn" tour to solicit ideas on how to better serve Coloradans who struggle to afford legal representation.
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November 13, 2024
Justices Puzzled By Nvidia's Position In Investor Case
Some U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed to regret the decision to hear a dispute between chipmaker Nvidia Corp. and its investors, wondering whether a disagreement over what the company knew about its sales to crypto miners has any bearing on other securities class action lawsuits.
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November 13, 2024
2nd Circ. Doubts Bakery Drivers Fall Under Arb. Requirements
A Second Circuit panel seemed to express skepticism Wednesday over a baked goods company's argument that its products' delivery drivers are not exempt from federal arbitration requirements as interstate transportation workers, weighing in on an independent contractor classification suit that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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November 13, 2024
9th Circ. Reopens Nevada State Worker's Age Bias Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a former Nevada state worker's lawsuit claiming she was fired because she was in her 50s, ruling Wednesday that she'd provided enough evidence to cast doubt on the state's assertion that she was let go for being uncooperative.
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November 13, 2024
Mich. Justice Jokes He's To Blame For PIP Assignment Fights
A Michigan Supreme Court justice joked Wednesday that his 2017 footnote about patients assigning medical claims to healthcare providers was to blame for complicated recent insurance litigation surrounding plaintiffs who sign over their rights but nevertheless sue insurers.
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November 13, 2024
LNG Co. Says Full DC Circ. Must Revive Texas Project
The company behind a liquefied natural gas project on the Texas Gulf Coast urged the full D.C. Circuit on Wednesday to vacate a panel's ruling nixing its federal approval, citing another panel's decision finding the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations are unenforceable.
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November 13, 2024
6th Circ. Partially Vacates Insurer's ERISA Disability Suit Win
The Sixth Circuit partially invalidated on Wednesday an insurance company's win in an ex-worker's suit seeking additional disability benefits, directing a lower court to reconsider arguments regarding when to apply a 24-month policy limitation on benefits for total disability caused by a mental health condition.
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November 13, 2024
Michael Jordan's NASCAR Team Appeals Antitrust Loss
Two NASCAR teams, one co-owned by Michael Jordan, on Wednesday appealed a North Carolina federal judge's denial of their request to keep racing next season, taking part of their antitrust fight against the stock car league to the Fourth Circuit.
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November 13, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Send Microchip Patent Suit To NY
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday denied a bid from a Chicago tech manufacturer to transfer a Texas case brought by an ex-Microsoft executive's private equity-funded patent litigation outfit, saying the manufacturer didn't show that the lower court erred in refusing to ship the case to New York.
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November 13, 2024
NC Wetlands Developer Wants 4th Circ. To Revive Projects
A North Carolina landowner has urged the Fourth Circuit to block a new rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, arguing that the new rule saddles him with "extraordinary compliance costs" for wetland development projects and goes beyond the law's actual scope.
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November 13, 2024
4th Circ. Won't Rethink Ex-Development Director's Wage Case
The Fourth Circuit declined Wednesday to reconsider its decision affirming a North Carolina city's win on a former development director's claims for unpaid overtime, turning down the former employee's argument that the record did not make clear that she was classified as exempt under federal law.
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November 13, 2024
Texas Fights Contractor Wage Hike After 9th Circ. Ruling
The recent Ninth Circuit decision deeming President Joe Biden's increase of federal contractors' hourly minimum wage unlawful clarified that the government's position that it could mandate the hike is absurd, the state of Texas told the Fifth Circuit in its case also challenging the wage hike.
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November 13, 2024
FERC Tells 9th Circ. It Properly Rescinded PG&E Grid Perk
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has told the Ninth Circuit it correctly yanked a grid incentive for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for voluntarily belonging to a regional transmission organization, noting California now mandates the state's major utilities join an RTO.
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November 13, 2024
3rd Circ. Wary Of Easing Cheesesteak Shop Owner's Sentence
Third Circuit judges seemed mostly skeptical of overturning an extension to the prison sentence of a Philadelphia cheesesteak shop owner who admitted to paying employees off the books, saying during oral arguments it was unclear whether the employees should be considered co-conspirators in the tax fraud.
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November 13, 2024
Former Fla. Law Prof Turns To 11th Circ. For Reinstatement
A former tenured professor at Florida A&M University College of Law has asked the Eleventh Circuit to be reinstated, arguing that the university wrongly terminated her in retaliation for suing it under the federal Equal Pay Act.
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November 13, 2024
1st Circ. Punts Pandemic Retail Antitrust Case To Puerto Rico
A divided First Circuit has ruled that local Puerto Rico courts, not federal courts, should hear an unfair-competition suit by local merchants accusing major big-box retailers Costco and Walmart of violating executive orders during the pandemic by continuing to sell "non-essential" goods.
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November 13, 2024
NJ AG Avoids Defense Of Prosecutor's Office In Civil Case
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office is not required to represent the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in a suit from a local deputy police chief over an internal affairs investigation, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday in a published opinion.
Expert Analysis
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What's In The Cards For CFTC's Election Betting Case
A D.C. federal judge's Sept. 12 ruling, allowing KalshiEx to offer derivative contracts trading on the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections over objections from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, could mark a watershed moment in the permissibility of election betting if upheld on appeal, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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IP Concerns For Manufacturing Semiconductors In Low Orbit
With space habitation companies working to launch private space stations in the near future, semiconductor manufacturers aiming to execute research and development in low or microgravity must consider the unique claim drafting and patent protection issues that will emerge, says Greg Miraglia at Quinn Emanuel.
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How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns
Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.
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3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim
The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.
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How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation
Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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7 Takeaways For Companies After Justices' Bribery Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Snyder v. U.S. decision this summer, holding that a federal law does not criminalize after-the-fact gratuities made to public officials, raises some key considerations for companies that engage with state, local and tribal governments, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Series
After Chevron: Courts Will Still Defer To Feds On Nat'l Security
Agencies with trade responsibilities may be less affected by Chevron’s demise because of the special deference courts have shown when hearing international trade cases involving national security, foreign policy or the president’s constitutional authority to direct such matters, say attorneys at Venable.
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What 7th Circ. Collective Actions Ruling Means For Employers
With the Seventh Circuit’s recent Fair Labor Standards Act ruling in Vanegas v. Signet Builders, a majority of federal appellate courts that have addressed the jurisdictional scope of employee collective actions now follow the U.S. Supreme Court's limiting precedent, bolstering an employer defense in circuits that have yet to weigh in, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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Perspectives
DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split
The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.
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Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.