Appellate

  • March 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Panel Wary Of Discarding Prosecution Laches

    A Federal Circuit panel indicated Friday that it doesn't plan to overturn precedent holding that inventors forfeit their patent rights when they cause unreasonable delays in the application process, telling counsel for prolific inventor Gilbert Hyatt that it would take the full court to do that.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Overturns Remand Of Md., SC PFAS Suits Against 3M

    U.S. district court judges erred when they sent lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over environmental contamination from consumer products containing forever chemicals back to state courts, a split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.

  • March 07, 2025

    Frost Bank Wins Arbitration Right In Texas Ownership Dispute

    A Texas appeals court has found Frost Bank has the right to compel arbitration in a tangled ownership dispute involving a privately owned South African packaging company's Texas affiliate, holding Thursday that the bank has a valid arbitration agreement.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ohio, PBMs Say High Court Ruling Didn't End Pricing Appeal

    Ohio state enforcers have told the Sixth Circuit an appeal in their case accusing Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of driving up prescription drug prices was not resolved by a U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing with federal versus state jurisdiction.

  • March 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Critical Of Nordstrom Nixing $6.7M Order

    A Ninth Circuit judge doubted Nordstrom Inc.'s stance on Friday in a suit accusing it of using labor concerns as a false pretense to pull a $6.7 million menswear order, calling the department store chain's alleged oversupply of dress shirts at the time of the cancelation "the elephant in the room."

  • March 07, 2025

    Del. Justices Side With Gov. In State Port Appointment Battle

    Delaware's Supreme Court handed Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer a precedential win Friday in an early-term battle with the state's Democratic-controlled Senate over appointments to the Diamond State Port Corp., operators of the Port of Wilmington.

  • March 07, 2025

    Apple Prevails In Watch Tech Patent Fight At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit handed Apple a significant victory Friday in a dispute that might have led to a ban on imports of its smartwatches, affirming that a competing company's heart monitor patents are invalid and vacating a conflicting U.S. International Trade Commission decision that found the watches infringed those patents.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Novo Nordisk Worker Can't Reopen Harassment Suit

    A former employee of Novo Nordisk can't revive her lawsuit claiming she was let go because she is a Jewish woman and had a back and hip injury, a California state appeals court ruled, finding no issue with a trial court tossing the case after she failed to oppose the move.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Set To Consider NASCAR Antitrust Injunction In May

    The Fourth Circuit will hear arguments on May 9 as to whether NASCAR should be extricated from an injunction forcing it to offer charter contracts to two teams — including one co-owned by former NBA star Michael Jordan — that have accused the league of antitrust violations.

  • March 07, 2025

    1st Circ. Nixes Order Halting Foxconn Patent Arbitration

    The First Circuit on Thursday nixed an order barring a subsidiary of Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn from pursuing arbitration in China of a patent dispute with a U.S. power systems manufacturer while related proceedings at the U.S. International Trade Commission are ongoing.

  • March 07, 2025

    Okla. Gov.'s Brother Can't Use McGirt Ruling to Avoid Ticket

    Keith Stitt, brother of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, can't dodge a speeding ticket on the back of a 2020 landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a state appeals court panel said, arguing that the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, maintains jurisdiction over the dispute.

  • March 07, 2025

    CPKC Rail Merger Enviro Review Needs Redo, DC Circ. Told

    A group of Illinois towns told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that federal regulators relied on flawed train traffic data to approve Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern, failing to account for significant public safety and environmental harms to Windy City communities.

  • March 07, 2025

    Gas Station Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Pollution Coverage Suit

    A Florida gas station owner asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive its lawsuit trying to get Nautilus Insurance Co. to cover the costs to clean up contamination caused by a leaking underground fuel tank, telling the appeals court the company did not learn of the leak until after the policy went into effect.

  • March 07, 2025

    For Many Biden Clemency Grantees, Freedom Is On Hold

    Former President Joe Biden set records when he granted approximately 2,500 people clemency at the end of his term, but the process of getting out of prison for those people has not been so straightforward and two months later, a majority remain in custody.

  • March 07, 2025

    Texas High Court Passes On 1 Of 3 'Love Is Blind' Fights

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to take up a dispute between the producers behind the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" and a former contestant, passing on one of three appeals that stem from the show's fifth season.

  • March 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Probes Ax Of Trader Joe's IP Suit Against Union

    Ninth Circuit judges on Friday questioned a federal judge's decision to toss Trader Joe's trademark suit against a union selling merchandise with the grocers' name, with one saying it was "a little bit unusual" to have a determination about the likelihood of confusion decided at the motion to dismiss stage.

  • March 07, 2025

    Utah Court Affirms Walmart's Collective $52M Property Value

    A trio of Utah-based Walmart retail properties were correctly assessed at a collective $52 million for property tax, a Utah appeals court said, finding that a lower court didn't make any errors when valuing the three properties.

  • March 07, 2025

    Prison Phone Co. Floats New FCC Rate Cap Plan

    Prison phone company NCIC Correctional Services is hoping to kill several birds with one stone by presenting the Federal Communications Commission with a proposal it says would fix issues with a 2024 order changing how the phone prison payment system works and resolve some issues it has on appeal at the First Circuit.

  • March 07, 2025

    Mich. Justices Ax Bid To Sue Pizza Delivery Driver's Employer

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal from a woman who argued her settlement with a Jet's Pizza delivery driver who rear-ended her did not bar vicarious liability claims against his employer, while a dissenting justice called on the court to rethink the "counterintuitive" rule that prohibited her claims.

  • March 07, 2025

    Honda, Class Spar Over Defect Verdict And Fees At 9th Circ.

    Class counsel representing a certified class of Illinois Honda owners urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to reverse their partial summary judgment loss, along with a $1.5 million fee and cost award for securing a $1.4 million valve defect verdict, while Honda argued that the verdict should be tossed entirely.

  • March 07, 2025

    Conn. Justice Questions Fairness Of Water Rate Hike Rebuff

    Connecticut's utility regulator may have treated an Eversource subsidiary unfairly when it told the company it could not increase consumers' water rates to make up for $42 million in capital expenditures, a state Supreme Court justice said Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    Dem AGs Back NLRB In Appeal Over Board Functionality

    Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general have backed the National Labor Relations Board in a Sixth Circuit fight over the agency's ability to adjudicate unfair labor practice cases, saying workers' rights under labor law would be trampled if the agency is restrained from performing its duties.

  • March 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Judge Misconstrued Term In Tactical Vest Row

    A Federal Circuit ruling on Friday reversed a finding from a Florida federal judge on constructing the phrase ​​"pull cord," reviving a fight over a patented system for making tactical vests easier to take off.

  • March 07, 2025

    Judicial Impeachment Calls Could Drive Anger At Bench

    Twenty-nine years ago, then-U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist laid out a cautionary tale on impeachments of judges.

Expert Analysis

  • What Loper Bright And Trump 2.0 Mean For New Transpo Tech

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, combined with the incoming Trump administration's deregulatory agenda, will likely lead to fewer new regulations on emerging transportation technologies like autonomous vehicles — and more careful and protracted drafting of any regulations that are produced, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

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    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Alpine Ruling Previews Challenges To FINRA Authority

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    While the D.C. Circuit's holding that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority can't expel member firm Alpine prior to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission review was relatively narrow, it foreshadows possibly broader constitutional challenges to FINRA's enforcement and other nongovernmental disciplinary programs, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Can Romania Escape Its Arbitral Award Catch-22?

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    Following a recent European Union General Court decision, Romania faces an apparent stalemate of conflicting norms as the country owes payment under an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes award, but is prohibited by the European Commission from making that payment, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling Muddies Split On Trade Secret Damages

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent endorsement in Motorola v. Hytera of a Second Circuit limit on avoided-cost damages under the Defend Trade Secrets Act contradicts even its own precedents, and will further confuse the scope of a developing circuit conflict that the U.S. Supreme Court has already twice declined to resolve, says Jordan Rice at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • Using Data To Inform Corporate Disclosure Decisions

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    With today’s market volatility and regulatory factors requiring public companies to confront competing transparency and protection demands, incorporating stock price reaction analysis of company-specific news into the controller's role could be beneficial for disclosure determinations, say Liz Dunshee at Fredrikson & Byron and Nessim Mezrahi at SAR.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • 5th Circ. Crypto Ruling Shows Limits On OFAC Authority

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent decision that immutable smart contracts on the Tornado Cash crypto-transaction software protocol are not "property" subject to Office of Foreign Assets Control jurisdiction may signal that courts can construe OFAC's authority more restrictively after Loper Bright, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Risk Disclosure Issue Remains After Justices Nix Meta Case

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    After full briefing and argument, the U.S. Supreme Court recently dismissed Facebook v. Amalgamated Bank as improvidently granted, leaving courts with the tricky endeavor of determining when the failure to disclose a past event in an Item 105 risk disclosure is materially misleading, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Malpractice Perils Of Elder Abuse Liability

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    Recent cases show that the circumstances under which an attorney may be sued for financial elder abuse remain unsettled, but practitioners can avoid these malpractice claims altogether by taking proactive steps, like documenting the process of evaluating a client's directives under appropriate standards, says Edward Donohue at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Importance Of Trial Expert Specificity

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in NexStep v. Comcast highlights how even a persuasive expert’s failure to fully explain the basis of their opinion at trial can turn a winning patent infringement argument into a losing one, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

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