Appellate

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Eyes 'Justiciability' Of Ex-Rabobank Exec's OCC Row

    A Ninth Circuit panel Monday signaled doubts about a former Rabobank executive's challenge to enforcement proceedings that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency abruptly abandoned last year, flagging key mootness concerns while still expressing some unease with the agency's handling of the matter.

  • October 07, 2024

    Black La. Residents Urge Overhaul On Discriminatory Land Use

    A Fifth Circuit judge asked attorneys for a Louisiana parish Monday whether they believe local government officials could continue racial discrimination for "eternity" because an allegedly discriminatory land-use plan was passed a decade ago without widespread concern.

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Asked To Take Another Look At 'Patent Misuse' Case

    Atrium Medical Corp. has urged the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel ruling siding with rival medical product maker C.R. Bard in a $52.8 million lawsuit over patent royalty provisions, saying the panel "inappropriately dispensed with the evidence adduced below and the district court's fact-finding."

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Set To Review Feds' Suit Over 'Ghost Gun' Exception

    The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday over whether "ghost gun" assembly kits and their accessories, which are unserialized and untraceable, can be considered firearms and therefore subject to licensing requirements under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

  • October 07, 2024

    Texas Tells Panel It Had Three Months To Meet EPA Standards

    A Fifth Circuit panel questioned whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's determination that the Lone Star State was violating air quality standards merited review yet, asking if the state could petition before the agency meted out sanctions for the alleged violations during oral arguments Monday.

  • October 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Questions If Safer OxyContin Profits Came From IP

    An attorney for Purdue Pharma didn't seem to find much purchase at the Federal Circuit on Monday as he argued that the company's patents for abuse-deterrent OxyContin weren't obvious, claiming other companies had ample opportunity to reach a solution and failed to do so.

  • October 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Casts Doubt On SEC's Updated Short-Selling Rules

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Monday appeared skeptical of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's arguments for maintaining two regulations aiming to bolster transparency around short selling in the marketplace, with one judge asking whether the agency was "having cake and eating it too," by claiming that the rules were not interconnected in a way that was fatally flawed.

  • October 07, 2024

    NJ Justices Skeptical Philly Archdiocese Subject To NJ Courts

    New Jersey Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is subject to Garden State courts in a lawsuit claiming a former priest sexually abused a teenager at the former priest's Jersey Shore house decades ago, questioning whether it was being asked to extend personal jurisdiction to where it hasn't gone before.

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Asylum App Denied Over Alleged Plagiarism

    The Ninth Circuit revived an asylum application from an Indian national allegedly persecuted for his membership in a Sikh separatist political party, saying an immigration judge incorrectly denied the application based on its general similarities with other Indian nationals' asylum applications.

  • October 07, 2024

    Missed Deadline Ends Ga. Nightclub's Appeal Of Atty DQ

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said it won't hear a challenge to a Fulton County judge's decision to disqualify a lawyer from a property dispute after it was revealed the attorney advised one of the defendants to carry out alleged property destruction central to the case.

  • October 07, 2024

    Merck Immune For 'Inflated' Vax Claims To FDA, 3rd Circ. Says

    A divided Third Circuit panel inoculated Merck from claims that it tried to prevent competition by making inflated declarations to federal regulators about its mumps vaccine, with the majority ruling Monday that because Merck convinced federal regulators it had extended the vaccine's long-term potency, those assertions can't have been an anticompetitive "sham."

  • October 07, 2024

    Miss. Can't Use Federal Law To Squelch Pot Ads, 5th Circ. Told

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Monday pushed attorneys for a Mississippi medical marijuana business and state officials to articulate when it is acceptable for governments to restrain commercial speech as it pertains to conduct that is illegal under federal law, but regulated under state law.

  • October 07, 2024

    Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Mask Taxes, Pride Month Post

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court during its October argument session will weigh whether retailers improperly collecting sales tax on face masks, which were exempted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, amounts to "commerce" that could trigger the state's consumer protection law. ​

  • October 07, 2024

    Mich. Supreme Court Snapshot: Insulin Prices, Disney Audit

    The Michigan Supreme Court's first oral argument session of the 2024-25 term promises to be a busy one, involving an investigation into Eli Lilly's insulin prices with big implications for the scope of Michigan's consumer protection law and Disney's appeal of an order to turn over decades-old uncashed checks to the state treasurer.

  • October 07, 2024

    Decision In Jurisdictional Case 'Outlier,' High Court Told

    An attorney representing Royal Canin USA Inc. and Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. on Monday told the U.S. Supreme Court that a jurisdictional decision in a case over prescription dog food is both an "extreme outlier" and goes against more than a hundred years of precedent.

  • October 07, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Frat Members Can't Sue Over 'Nazi-Like' Photo

    The D.C. Circuit won't let four Gallaudet University alumni revive their defamation suit against the school and the Washington Post over their comments about a photo that depicts two of the men in a group of Kappa Gamma fraternity members doing a salute that resembles the infamous Nazi salute.

  • October 07, 2024

    High Court Doubts States Can Police Federal Rights Claims

    The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to strike down an Alabama law requiring litigants to exhaust state administrative remedies before they file claims in state court accusing local officials of violating federal rights, with several justices suggesting the court already answered that question almost 40 years ago.

  • October 07, 2024

    No Firm Schedule For New LNG Rule, Feds Tell DC Circ.

    The Biden administration has told the D.C. Circuit that it has no "firm schedule" for revising a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail, information the court asked for in litigation filed by environmental groups opposed to the regulations.

  • October 07, 2024

    Split DC Circ. Says FERC Can Require Power Plant Upgrade

    Federal energy regulators were right to require NextEra Energy to upgrade its New Hampshire nuclear power plant's circuit breaker to accommodate a new transmission line being developed by Avangrid Inc., a split D.C. Circuit panel has ruled.

  • October 07, 2024

    3M Facing PFAS Headwinds In Vermont, NJ And Ohio Cases

    3M Co., which is facing forever chemical lawsuits across the country, is dealing with pushback from Vermont, which is fighting 3M's effort to take its state court case into federal court, and from plaintiffs in Ohio and New Jersey, who have kept their litigation out of a sprawling multidistrict litigation.

  • October 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Gears Up To Tackle High Court's ICWA Ruling

    The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is gearing up to tackle the high court's ruling last year that upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, which determined that the nearly 50-year-old law does not exceed the federal government's authority in imposing a standard procedure on Indigenous child custody cases.

  • October 07, 2024

    7th Circ. Revives Wage Claim In Sales Rep's Bonus Suit

    A sales associate adequately showed that he and the technology and consulting company employing him had an agreement under which he would receive a bonus after meeting a sales target, the Seventh Circuit ruled, sending his wage claim back to Illinois federal court.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear Commerzbank RMBS Fight With US Bank

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Commerzbank AG to revive more of its claims against U.S. Bank NA in a long-running lawsuit over pre-2008 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts, declining to review a recent Second Circuit decision in the case.

  • October 07, 2024

    Trio Of 1st Circ. Criminal Cases Turned Away By Top Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review three white collar cases on appeal from the First Circuit, including challenges to a cryptocurrency founder's conviction for investor theft and an Illinois attorney's fraud and money laundering conspiracy verdict.

  • October 07, 2024

    Sanctioned Election Denier Is Stalling, Dominion Exec Says

    A former Dominion Voting Systems executive urged a Colorado federal judge Monday to find a key witness and 2020 election denier can't appeal a $1,000-per-day sanctions order for walking out of a deposition, arguing the appeal is a "frivolous" delay tactic.

Expert Analysis

  • Strategies To Defend Against Healthcare Nuclear Verdicts

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    The healthcare industry is increasingly the target of megaclaims, particularly those alleging medical malpractice, but attorneys representing providers can use a few tools to push back on flimsy litigation and reduce the likelihood of a nuclear verdict, says LaMar Jost at Wheeler Trigg.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War

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    In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Fed. Circ. Resolves Post-AIA Question On Prefiling Activity

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    For more than a decade, patent attorneys have worried about what the America Invents Act means for specific prefiling activities, but two recent Federal Circuit decisions suggest the enumerated prefiling activities in Section 102(a)(1) will not affect validity if done within a year of filing the application, says Howard Skaist at Berkeley Law.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC

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    Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.

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