Appellate

  • October 08, 2024

    Coolant Cos. Challenging HFC Rules Meet Skeptical DC Circ.

    A D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday seemed dubious of coolant industry challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's omission of 2020 market data in calculating the agency's framework for phasing down climate-harming hydrofluorocarbons.

  • October 08, 2024

    1st Circ. Says 'Nothing We Can Do' To Help Salvadoran Family

    The First Circuit on Monday rejected a petition for asylum from a Salvadoran family fleeing MS-13 gang violence, acknowledging that the issue is "rampant" in the Central American country but saying their hands are tied from helping the petitioners.

  • October 08, 2024

    New Testimony Can't Revive Seattle Police Pursuit Crash Suit

    A Washington state appeals court won't upend a verdict clearing the city of Seattle from liability in a suit by a woman injured in a car accident after the man driving her vehicle fled the police, finding that testimony taken after one of the officers involved died by suicide would not have altered the case's outcome.

  • October 08, 2024

    Solo Cup Maker Must Face Suit Over Worker's Shooting Death

    Solo Cup Operating Corp. can't escape a wrongful death lawsuit accusing it of negligently hiring a worker who killed a fellow employee in a dispute over $400, a Georgia appeals court ruled, saying the incident is clearly not covered by the state's workers compensation law.

  • October 08, 2024

    Yellow Tells 10th Circ. To Revive Claims Against Teamsters

    Yellow Corp. called on the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court's dismissal of the company's $137 million lawsuit against the Teamsters that claimed the union led the nearly 100-year-old company to shutter, saying the business wasn't required to exhaust the grievance process under a contract.

  • October 08, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Mexican Family Was Persecuted By Cartel Violence

    A Mexican mother and daughter will get another shot at asylum after the Ninth Circuit ruled on Tuesday that the Board of Immigration Appeals wrongly determined that cartel violence, including kidnapping, physical assault and murder, isn't persecution.

  • October 08, 2024

    Marathon Co. Wants 'Both Bites' In Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told

    A group of tribal landowners looking to intervene in the federal government's appeal related to a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary's pipeline that crosses part of reservation lands told the Eighth Circuit that the company can't have "both bites of the apple" in fighting their bid to dismiss the case.

  • October 08, 2024

    Hawaii Justices Hand AIG Win In Novel Climate Coverage Suit

    AIG isn't obligated to cover a lawsuit accusing a Honolulu-based Sunoco subsidiary of contributing to climate change, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled, saying a pollution exclusion in the oil giant's policy encompasses greenhouse gas emissions.

  • October 08, 2024

    3rd Circ. Directs Court To Explain If Natera Ads 'Literally False'

    A Third Circuit panel on Tuesday sent allegations of false advertising against medical test maker Natera back to district court, directing the judge to determine whether a jury had sufficient evidence last year to find that eight of the company's advertisements were "literally false."

  • October 08, 2024

    Avian Orgs Say FWS Unlawfully Tossed Bid To Import Parrots

    Two exotic bird nonprofits told the Eleventh Circuit Tuesday that they should have the chance to make their case for importing two parrot species to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which the nonprofits say unlawfully refused to even consider the petitions.

  • October 08, 2024

    1st Circ. Warned Not To 'Speculate' In Union Debt Ceiling Suit

    A lawyer for a governmental workers' union challenging the constitutionality of the federal debt limit told a First Circuit panel on Tuesday that a January default is a virtual certainty under existing law, and urged the judges to avoid trying to predict whether President Joe Biden and a lame-duck Congress might extend the ceiling.

  • October 08, 2024

    Pa. Developers Defend Efforts To Remediate Landslide Damage

    A Western Pennsylvania property development company asked the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday to throw out a contempt order in connection with an agreement to provide remediation to a community it built that was devastated by a landslide, arguing it poured its personal and business funds into the project.

  • October 08, 2024

    Texas Tribune Can Attend Bail Hearings, 5th Circ. Told

    A Fifth Circuit panel pushed back on a Texas county's argument that the Texas Tribune and other news organizations do not have the right to enter magistration proceedings, asking why the process of setting bail would count as an informal procedure during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Restores Debit Card Patent Suit Against Aetna

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived patent litigation targeting Aetna's Visa- and Mastercard-branded debit cards, while holding that certain aspects of dismissal decisions should be reviewed from scratch on appeal.

  • October 08, 2024

    Colo. Supreme Court Punts On Transgender Cake Case

    The Colorado Supreme Court said Tuesday it couldn't consider the merits of a discrimination case alleging a bakery refused to make a cake to celebrate a customer's gender transition, finding a trial court didn't have jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place.

  • October 08, 2024

    Industry, Utilities Take Aim At EPA's Drinking Water PFAS Rule

    Water utility associations and chemical industry players asked the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule setting the first-ever limits for forever chemicals in the nation's drinking water.

  • October 08, 2024

    Student Loan Cos. Settle Ex-Exec's Severance Dispute

    Student loan companies Navient Corp. and Earnest LLC told the Ninth Circuit they had reached a settlement to end a former executive's lawsuit alleging he was wrongly denied severance benefits, just days before a dual-sided appeal in the case was set for panel arguments on Thursday.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fla. Riot Law Targets Only Violent Protesters, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit reversed a lower court's preliminary injunction putting a halt to a recent Florida riot law put in place in the wake of the George Floyd protests, saying the law only targets violent agitators after the state's high court clarified that it doesn't apply to peaceful demonstrations.

  • October 08, 2024

    Exporting Chips To China Doesn't Merit 7 Years, 9th Circ. Told

    Counsel for a former UCLA electrical engineering professor urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reduce his seven-year prison sentence for illegally exporting high-powered semiconductor chips to China, saying the conduct did not amount to an evasion of national security controls.

  • October 08, 2024

    11th Circ. Revives Slip-And-Fall Suit Against Sam's Club

    The Eleventh Circuit has reinstated a woman's suit against retailer Sam's Club alleging she slipped and fell on water in one of its stores, saying there's evidence creating a dispute about whether the store had constructive notice of the spill.

  • October 08, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Pa., NJ Businesses' Virus Loss Suits

    The Third Circuit declined to rehear consolidated pandemic-related loss coverage disputes brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania businesses, according to an order issued Tuesday, upholding its decision that the businesses' insurers didn't owe coverage for the claimed losses.

  • October 08, 2024

    5th Circ. Skeptical Of Suit Over NLRB Captive Audience Memo

    The Fifth Circuit gave a cool reception Tuesday to staffing companies challenging a 2022 memo the National Labor Relations Board's general counsel issued arguing so-called captive audience meetings violate federal labor law, with judges questioning whether the document is the type of board action subject to court review.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Reinstates Duties On Chinese Aluminum Door Parts

    The Federal Circuit overturned a U.S. Court of International Trade ruling narrowing the scope of duties on Chinese aluminum extrusions, saying Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Commerce had justifiably included aluminum door thresholds in the tariffs.

  • October 08, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Constitutional Rights Fears Top October

    Constitutional challenges dominate an October argument lineup that will task the Third Circuit with mulling drug price fights by AstraZeneca and other pharmaceutical powerhouses and a suit by a Pennsylvania man claiming his past convictions don't foreclose his right to own a gun. 

  • October 08, 2024

    Pa. Justices Wary Of Linking Mask Tax To Consumer Harms

    Several justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed cautious Tuesday about extending the state's consumer protection law liability to retailers who collect sales tax on tax-exempt items, pointing to the state's refund system as an existing form of relief for overcharged customers.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

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    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

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    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    3rd. Circ. Got It Right On Cancer Warning Claims Preemption

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    The Third Circuit's recent, eminently sensible ruling in a failure-to-warn case against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto, holding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act preempts state law claims, provides a road map that other courts should adopt, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

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