Appellate

  • March 14, 2025

    Wash. Justices Side With Shopper In Lowe's Fallen Fence Suit

    Washington's high court has sided with a customer suing Lowe's after she was injured by a fallen roll of fencing at an Evergreen State store, saying a judge or jury should decide whether the retailer could have anticipated the hazard given the self-service style of the store.

  • March 14, 2025

    1st Circ. Asked To Look At Takeda Invoice Fraud Conviction

    The husband of a former Takeda Pharmaceuticals vice president is appealing his fraud conviction and 2½-year prison term over a $2.3 million bogus invoice scheme, according to a Friday notice filed to the First Circuit.

  • March 14, 2025

    DOJ Drops Biden-Era Suit Over Iowa Immigration Law

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday voluntarily dropped a lawsuit lodged under the former Biden administration that challenged Iowa legislation empowering state officials to arrest and remove previously deported noncitizens, months after the Eighth Circuit upheld an order blocking the law.

  • March 14, 2025

    FTC Urges 8th Circ. Not To Pause Insulin Pricing Case

    The Federal Trade Commission has urged the Eighth Circuit not to pause its in-house case accusing Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx of artificially inflating insulin prices, telling the appeals court the pharmacy benefit managers have no chance of winning on their constitutional claims.

  • March 14, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds Toss Of Avian Orgs.' Bid To Import Parrots

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday affirmed a judgment against two exotic bird nonprofits trying to get approval to import two parrot species, ruling that the Wild Bird Conservation Act does not allow for a carveout of only captive-bred parrot species from certain countries.

  • March 14, 2025

    Halliburton Rival Loses Fracking Claims At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed findings in Halliburton's favor at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that came after the company challenged claims in patents covering electric pumps used in hydraulic fracturing.

  • March 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Reluctant To Loosen EEOC Charge Requirement

    A Fourth Circuit panel seemed hesitant Friday to revive a bias case from a worker whose presuit U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge didn't specifically name one of the entities he hauled into court, with one judge expressing "apprehension" about adopting a widely used exception to charge filing rules.

  • March 14, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Arbitrator Finding COVID Is No 'Act Of God'

    A distribution service provider failed to support its argument that an "act of God" exemption in a contract it had with a Teamsters chapter allowed the company to reduce workers' hours during the coronavirus pandemic, the Seventh Circuit ruled, keeping in place an arbitrator's conclusion.

  • March 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Reverses Insurer's Bar Assault Coverage Win

    The Fifth Circuit reversed on Friday a decision finding a bar's insurer had to pay only $1 million of a $3.2 million judgment because a settlement demand letter was too vague, saying the lower court should have declined to hear the case and must toss it on remand.

  • March 14, 2025

    Mass. Court Won't Lift Default Over Discovery Failures

    A California aerospace firm can't get a do-over after repeatedly defaulting on discovery obligations in a Massachusetts lawsuit over an unpaid bill from a tax consultant, the state's intermediate-level appeals court said on Friday.

  • March 14, 2025

    6th Circ. Rejects Tribe's Appeal Of Great Lakes Fishing Pact

    A Sixth Circuit panel upheld a 2023 decree governing fishery management in the Great Lakes on Thursday, finding that a Michigan federal judge had the prerogative to enter the decree over the objections of a Native American tribe. 

  • March 14, 2025

    Mass. Justices Say Transit Agency Not Immune In Assault Suit

    Massachusetts' highest court said Friday that the public transit agency in Greater Boston is not immune from claims that it negligently hired and retained a bus driver with an alleged known history of anger management issues who later beat up a customer and left him with a traumatic brain injury.

  • March 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Block Consolidation Of Uber Assault Cases

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected Uber Technologies Inc.'s contention that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation should've enforced Uber's "non-consolidation" clause with passengers' lawsuit alleging they were sexualy assaulted, ruling that such a "private agreement" doesn't override the JPML's power to consolidate.

  • March 13, 2025

    Interactive Brokers Tells Justices To Skip Trading Patent Case

    Trading software company Interactive Brokers has shot back at a rival's effort to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to look at an "illusory" split between appeals courts over the standard for introducing post-trial fraud evidence in a long-litigated patent case. 

  • March 13, 2025

    Trump Asks Justices To Limit Pauses Of Birthright Order

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to limit three nationwide court orders prohibiting the implementation of his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, arguing that the coast-to-coast injunctions upended the judicial process and are trying to micromanage the executive branch.

  • March 13, 2025

    $181K Sanctions Against Texas AG-Tied Investor Stand

    A Texas appeals court upheld around $181,000 in sanctions against the real estate developer at the center of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed impeachment, finding in a Thursday opinion that developer Natin Paul breached court orders when he wired money to an NBA player.

  • March 13, 2025

    Grubhub Can't Force Arbitration, But Uber Can At 2nd Circ.

    A partially divided Second Circuit panel said Thursday that Grubhub cannot force into arbitration a proposed class action's price-fixing claims based on rules barring restaurants from selling food more cheaply through other channels, but left the arbitrability question for the same claims against Uber Eats up to the arbitrator.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sides With Merck In Reissued Patent Debate

    The Federal Circuit isn't buying that a reissued patent was actually "issued" at the time it was originally awarded, dashing generic-drug makers' hopes of breaking pharmaceutical giant Merck's hold on a blockbuster drug that counteracts the effects of anesthesia.

  • March 13, 2025

    Merck Asks Justices To Block Fosamax Failure-To-Warn Suits

    Merck has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Third Circuit ruling that allowed more than 1,000 state-law failure-to-warn claims over its osteoporosis drug Fosamax, arguing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's formal rejection of a such a proposed warning label should block such lawsuits under federal law.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fla. Attys Disbarred, Suspended For Forgery Accusations

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday disbarred a West Palm Beach attorney for making threatening social media posts during litigation, repeatedly failing to file a viable complaint in a toxic tort case, and falsely accusing opposing counsel of forgery, an infraction that also earned his co-counsel a suspension.

  • March 13, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Kills Injunction In Indiana Power Line Dispute

    The Seventh Circuit has knocked down an injunction blocking an Indiana right of first refusal law that gives Indiana-based utilities the first shot at securing new transmission project contracts before those from other states.

  • March 13, 2025

    Calif. AG Appealing State Limits On Pay-For-Delay Ban

    California enforcers are appealing to the Ninth Circuit after a lower court found that a new state law restricting "reverse payment" settlements between brand-name and generic-drug makers cannot be used to regulate deals that were struck outside the state.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Dings Antibody Patent App For Lacking Description

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed a decision from top U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials in a highly watched and technical dispute over an antibody patent application, concluding that preambles for so-called Jepson claims need sufficient written descriptions.

  • March 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Saks, Luxury Brands No-Poach Case

    A Second Circuit panel refused Thursday to revive an antitrust suit from former Saks Fifth Avenue employees over the retailer's alleged agreements with Gucci, Louis Vuitton and other luxury fashion houses to not hire workers from its stores.

  • March 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. OKs Injunction Against Innova's Car Circuit Testers

    The Federal Circuit decided Thursday to keep an injunction in place stopping sales of Innova Electronics Corp.'s car-testing devices amid allegations those devices infringe a patent by rival Power Probe Group Inc.

Expert Analysis

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

    Author Photo

    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • 2nd Circ. Maxwell Ruling Adds To Confusion Over NPA Reach

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit’s recent decision upholding Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction made an analytical leap in applying plea agreement precedent to a nonprosecution agreement, compounding a circuit split and providing lessons for defense counsel, say attorneys at Kropf Moseley.

  • The Fed. Circ. In October: Aetna And License-Term Review

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Aetna's credit card licensing agreement with AlexSam did not give the insurer immunity from patent infringement claims serves to warn licensees to read their contracts carefully, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Recent Developments In Insurance Coverage For FCA Claims

    Author Photo

    As the U.S. Department of Justice continues its vigorous False Claims Act enforcement, companies looking to their insurers to help defray the costs of an investigation or settlement should note recent decisions on which types of policies cover FCA claims, which policy periods apply and which portions of FCA-related losses are covered, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

    Author Photo

    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Boosting Confidence In Pennsylvania's Election System

    Author Photo

    As Election Day nears, Pennsylvania is facing an intense flurry of litigation, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centered on mail-in and provisional ballots, but the state's election system is robust, and attorneys from all practice areas have an important role to play in ensuring confidence in and access to our election system, says Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.

  • Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win

    Author Photo

    A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.

    Author Photo

    The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

    Author Photo

    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Reading Tea Leaves In Fed. Circ. Deep Dive On Review Scope

    Author Photo

    Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer investigates why a recent Federal Circuit opinion spent six pages explaining its unsurprising conclusion on proper scope of review — that no deference need be afforded to the trial court in a case dismissed for failure to state a claim.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

    Author Photo

    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!