Appellate

  • July 23, 2024

    EPA Tells 5th Circ. Louisiana Can't Stall Chemical Regulation

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the Fifth Circuit cannot decide whether a Louisiana regulator can give a neoprene maker an extra two years to comply with a federal chemical rule because the issue is already before the D.C. Circuit.

  • July 23, 2024

    Calif. Justices Lower Bar For Emotional Distress Damages

    The California Supreme Court effectively made it easier for plaintiffs to sue for emotional distress damages by concluding Monday that close relatives of an injured party need not be immediately aware of potential negligence at the time they witness the injury-causing incident.

  • July 23, 2024

    Judge Doubts CenturyLink Can Block Borrowed Allegations

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel Tuesday pressed an attorney for CenturyLink on why a shareholder can't use allegations borrowed from other cases in his own securities suit against the telecommunications company, with one judge saying that requiring plaintiff's counsel to speak to every witness would be going overboard.

  • July 23, 2024

    Cornell Tells High Court Not To Touch Workers' ERISA Suit

    Cornell University urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up a class action accusing it of mismanaging its employees' retirement savings, saying it shouldn't disturb a Second Circuit ruling that found the workers leading the suit failed to show that Cornell's payments to its service providers involved self-dealing.

  • July 23, 2024

    Labor Dept. ESG Rule May Survive Chevron's Demise

    The Fifth Circuit recently overturned a ruling that relied on the now-defunct doctrine of Chevron deference to uphold a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering socially conscious retirement plan investing, but some experts believe the rule has a good chance at surviving — even with the precedent off the books.

  • July 23, 2024

    Pa. Justices Will Hear Pittsburgh's Appeal For Its 'Jock Tax'

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has accepted the city of Pittsburgh's request to review a lower court decision that ended the city's fee on nonresident professional athletes, also known as the jock tax, the court said.

  • July 23, 2024

    2nd Circ. Backs Project Veritas Search Tied To Stolen Diary

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld a district court's rejection of claims of journalistic privilege by Project Veritas' founder and two others at the activist group as they sought to shield documents seized under search warrants in connection with the stolen diary of President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley Biden.

  • July 23, 2024

    Wash. Justices Decline 9th Circ. Request in Uber Murder Case

    Washington State's Supreme Court has declined to answer a certified question from the Ninth Circuit over whether Uber Technologies Inc. had a duty to use reasonable care to protect one of its drivers who was murdered in a carjacking.

  • July 23, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Bad Jury Instructions Gave J&J Win In Mesh Suit

    The Fourth Circuit has vacated a judgment in Ethicon Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's favor in a suit from a woman alleging Ethicon's pelvic mesh was defective, saying a federal judge was wrong to limit her expert's opinion based on the so-called elimination mandate.

  • July 23, 2024

    Tesla Crash Victim's Parents Urge Fla. Top Court To Allow Depos

    The father of a Florida teenager killed in a Tesla Model S crash in 2018 has urged the state's high court to review a lower court's orders quashing depositions of company CEO Elon Musk and another executive, saying the orders directly conflict with Florida case law.

  • July 23, 2024

    Amazon Fights To Arbitrate Sellers' Misclassification Claims

    Amazon urged a California appellate panel on Tuesday to compel arbitration for individual claims from two sellers accusing the online retailer of misclassifying them as independent contractors, and to direct the trial court to toss their representative claims under the state's Private Attorneys General Act.

  • July 23, 2024

    Red States Seek High Court Stay Of EPA Power Plant Rule

    Dozens of red states Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule curbing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, four days after the D.C. Circuit rejected a stay request.

  • July 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Gives Netflix 2nd Chance To Challenge Broadcom IP

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board must reconsider Netflix's petitions challenging the validity of a Broadcom unit's software performance monitoring patent, the Federal Circuit held Tuesday, finding flaws in the board's refusal to invalidate claims. 

  • July 23, 2024

    Feds Urge 6th Circ. To Affirm Pharma Owner's Fraud Sentence

    The Sixth Circuit should affirm a district court's fraud convictions, nearly five-year sentence and $7 million restitution order against an Ohio pharmaceutical salesman who underreported his income to reduce his tax liability in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving bogus insurance billings, the federal government said.

  • July 23, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Doubts Cover-Up Part Of Fire Chief's Job

    A Sixth Circuit judge on Tuesday said he found it hard to believe a Michigan mayor could avoid an ex-fire chief's retaliation suit by claiming the chief's refusal to follow a directive to cover up firefighters' alleged misconduct was part of his job description.

  • July 23, 2024

    6th Circ. Affirms Insurer's Early Win In Hail Damage Suit

    A welding company wasn't owed coverage for roof damage caused by wind and a hailstorm, the Sixth Circuit ruled, finding that a lower court didn't err in ruling that a cosmetic-damage exclusion in its policy precludes the damage at issue.

  • July 23, 2024

    The Biggest Trademark Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a California attorney's arguments that registering "Trump Too Small" as a trademark constituted speech protected by the First Amendment, and a split Ninth Circuit concluded district courts have the power to cancel trademark applications during litigation. Here's a look at some of the most notable trademark decisions so far this year.

  • July 23, 2024

    6th Circ. Vows Careful Immunity Take In Prof's Retaliation Suit

    The Sixth Circuit wrestled Tuesday with whether six University of Louisville officials were each rightly denied immunity from a former professor's suit alleging he was unconstitutionally pushed out because of his views on treating childhood gender dysphoria, with one judge promising meticulous assessments of each defendant.

  • July 23, 2024

    Ariz. Justices OK Use Of Power Deal In Plant's Valuation

    An Arizona power plant's income from a power purchase agreement may be considered in the income analysis of the valuation of the property, the state Supreme Court said, sending the matter back to the state tax court.

  • July 23, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Undo TD Ameritrade's One-Word IP Win

    The full Federal Circuit on Monday denied a patent owner's en banc rehearing petition challenging a one-word ruling in favor of stockbroker TD Ameritrade in a high-stakes patent fight and effectively rejected an amicus party's legal challenge to the court's rule allowing one-word affirmance decisions.

  • July 23, 2024

    Split 2nd Circ. Keeps Zantac Suits In Conn. State Court

    A split Second Circuit panel on Tuesday allowed nine consolidated suits over carcinogens in heartburn medication Zantac to remain in Connecticut state court, with the majority ruling that the cases' consolidation is not enough to open up federal jurisdiction.

  • July 23, 2024

    Farm Owner Must Boost Taxable Income, 8th Circ. Told

    An Arkansas company that leases farmland must raise its reported income by $230,000 because it failed to get permission from the IRS to change its accounting method, the U.S. told the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday in asking it to uphold a U.S. Tax Court ruling.

  • July 23, 2024

    After Trump Attack, GOP Presses DOJ On Justices' Security

    Two Republican U.S. House representatives pressed the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for information on security measures protecting court officers, warning that limitations on the U.S. Marshals Service's authority to arrest protesters near justices' homes are "dangerous and misguided," especially after former President Donald Trump's attempted assassination.

  • July 23, 2024

    Atty Argues Fla. Ethics Charges Are 1st Amendment Attacks

    A Georgia-based attorney is fighting accusations from the Florida Bar that he disparaged an opponent running for 20th Judicial Circuit state attorney in 2018, arguing that the bar's bid to suspend his Florida law license is a violation of his First Amendment rights because it would punish him for protected speech.

  • July 23, 2024

    No Victims, No Fraud, Trump Says In $465M Judgment Appeal

    Donald Trump has appealed the $465 million judgment against him, arguing that the New York attorney general exceeded her authority in her civil fraud suit against the former president because the statute in question does not apply to victimless transactions.

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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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 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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