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October 04, 2024
Election Litigation Looms Over New Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court justices return to the bench Monday for a new term, even as the dust continues to settle from the shifts in administrative law and foundational changes to presidential immunity that headlined their last sitting. But experts say any hope that this term may be calmer is wishful thinking, in large part due to all-but-certain litigation over the presidential election.
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October 04, 2024
State Fair Case Creates Tension For Gun And Property Rights
The State Fair of Texas kicked off a week ago with its usual offerings of splashing neon and deep-fried Oreos, but with its opening the fair has become the center of a legal question the Texas Supreme Court may have difficulty wrangling as it seeks to sort out the tension between the rights of gun owners and property owners.
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October 04, 2024
11th Circ. Sends Tribal Loan Dispute Back For Arbitration
An Eleventh Circuit panel has reversed and remanded a lower court's ruling that a Tampa-based consumer collection company cannot compel arbitration in a bid seeking payment on a tribally owned firm's loans, arguing provisions of the agreements require such proceedings under tribal and federal law.
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October 04, 2024
Oversight Dems Probe Chief Justice On Jan. 6 Case Handling
Two House Democrats on the oversight committee questioned U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Friday on recent reporting he replaced Justice Samuel Alito as the author of a decision on a Jan. 6 case after the public learned the latter justice's wife flew flags at their homes with ties to the "Stop the Steal" movement.
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October 04, 2024
DC Circ. Wary Of Ga. Voting Ruling's FOIA Impact
A D.C. Circuit panel seemed concerned Friday with the practical implications of a trial court's holding that the Freedom of Information Act compels the disclosure of the U.S. Department of Justice's communications with private co-litigants in lawsuits challenging a controversial Georgia voting law.
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October 04, 2024
High Court Nuclear Case Could Be Admin Law Blockbuster
By agreeing to consider the federal government's authority to license temporary nuclear waste storage facilities, the U.S. Supreme Court can ease the uncertainty facing a resurgent U.S. nuclear industry as well as clarify limits it's recently placed on federal agency power, experts say.
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October 04, 2024
DOL Urges 11th Circ. To Back Arbitration Denial In ESOP Row
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject arbitration in a proposed class action alleging a legal technology firm undervalued company shares when it shut down its employee stock ownership plan, arguing that the arbitration provision clashed with federal benefits law.
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October 04, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky
In many ways, Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP has traveled a tried-and-true path — Harvard, elite clerkships, BigLaw — to the upper echelons of U.S. Supreme Court advocacy. But his route to the forefront of the bar's next generation has been less conventional than it might appear, and he spoke with Law360 about how he's climbed so high — and how he excels by avoiding rhetoric that "judges really, really hate."
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October 04, 2024
Enviro Group Drops EPA Fight Over Colo. Refinery Permit
The Center for Biological Diversity agreed to end its Tenth Circuit challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's refusal to object to a series of state permit changes for a Denver-area oil refinery, according to a Friday court filing.
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October 04, 2024
Denver Charity Drops Fraudulent Grant Coverage Fight
A Denver-based nonprofit has agreed to drop its suit over insurance coverage for $349,000 in grants it gave to a different charity whose founder was accused by Colorado authorities of lying about its nonprofit status, according to court filings Friday.
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October 04, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Pause EPA's Iron Plant Rule
A D.C. Circuit panel rejected bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. to stay a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emissions standards for their taconite iron ore processing facilities.
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October 04, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives Boeing Contractual Cost Accounting Case
The Federal Circuit on Friday revived Boeing's suit claiming the Defense Contract Management Agency wrongly adjusted contractual cost claims using a regulation that clashes with a federal cost accounting statute, finding the case was essentially a contract dispute and not a disallowed regulatory challenge.
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October 04, 2024
Up First At High Court: Civil Rights, Ghost Guns, Atty Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes Monday to start a brand-new term, with the justices first hearing arguments related to prerequisites for litigating federal rights in state courts, ghost gun regulations, and whether a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial after a state admits that prosecutorial misconduct might have led to his conviction.
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October 04, 2024
Panel Agrees Atty 'Acted Incompetently' In Filing Slipup
Connecticut's Statewide Grievance Committee had clear and convincing evidence that civil litigation attorney John W. Mills of Mills & Cahill LLC acted incompetently in failing to name his client's business as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against her accountant's estate or provide proof of her individual damages, a state appellate panel ruled Friday.
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October 04, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Class Decertification In Unpaid Wages Dispute
The Seventh Circuit declined to upend an order decertifying a class of satellite technicians who accused their employer of shorting them on overtime wages, agreeing that class treatment is improper because of the myriad differences between workers.
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October 04, 2024
NY Appeals Court Won't Trim Sex Abuse Coverage Dispute
A New York state appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling declining to dismiss The Rockefeller University's claims that its insurers acted in bad faith and conducted deceptive trade practices while handling the university's coverage request for underlying allegations of sexual abuse.
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October 04, 2024
5th Circ. Names Judge Behind Abortion Pill Ruling As New Chief
U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod became chief judge of the Fifth Circuit on Friday, rising to the top of the appellate court after a nearly two-decade tenure there marked by high-profile decisions on abortion medication and gun regulations.
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October 04, 2024
NJ Court Removes Judge Who Admitted Sex Harassment
The New Jersey Supreme Court has removed a municipal judge and barred him from holding judicial office in the state again after accusations that he sexually harassed female court staff members after becoming drunk at an office party.
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October 04, 2024
Colo. Attys May Release Files Without Waiving Lien On Clients
A Colorado appellate panel has found that attorneys who hold liens on documents due to unpaid client bills will not waive their rights to enforcement if they release certain files, issuing a precedential opinion designed to help trial courts determine when such liens are enforceable and when they might be lifted.
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October 04, 2024
Justices Accept Ex-Chicago Alderman's False Statement Case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it would review the conviction of an ex-Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella PC attorney and former Chicago alderman under a federal statute that prohibits making false statements to influence certain financial institutions.
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October 04, 2024
Justices Won't Block EPA Methane Control Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected pleas by Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups to block implementation of an Environmental Protection Agency rule strengthening methane emissions control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure.
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October 04, 2024
Justices Won't Freeze EPA's Mercury Rule During Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement its recent rule strengthening mercury air emission standards while red states' and fossil fuel groups' challenges proceed at the D.C. Circuit.
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October 04, 2024
Justices Take Up Fight Over $1.3B Failed Satellite Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a pair of cases asking it to clarify the analysis of a highly technical jurisdictional question, as shareholders of an Indian satellite communications company look to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award against a state-owned division of India's space agency.
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October 04, 2024
High Court To Weigh In On Halliburton Worker's Age Bias Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to wade into an age discrimination lawsuit from a former Halliburton employee who said his case was wrongly shut down when the Tenth Circuit ruled a trial court lacked the power to reopen it following arbitration.
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October 04, 2024
High Court Will Hear Mexico's Suit Against Gun Cos.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a decision allowing Mexico to sue a group of gun manufacturers alleging they have aided and abetted criminal cartels.
Expert Analysis
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Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB
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.
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Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility
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.
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July
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.
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'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG
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.
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Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store
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.
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Opinion
More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals
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.
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Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies
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.
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Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView
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.
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What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs
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.
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Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address
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.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks
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.
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Series
After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges
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.
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11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court
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.