Appellate

  • December 05, 2024

    Money Services Co.'s Arbitration Bid Revived In $9M Fraud Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday reversed an Arkansas federal judge's order denying money service business EZBanc Corp.'s motion to arbitrate financial services company BSI Group's $9 million fraud suit over alleged unauthorized withdrawals, finding there to be material factual disputes over whether an agreement to arbitrate was effectively communicated to BSI.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple Beats ICloud Storage Consumer Claims At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit was unconvinced Wednesday that Apple Inc. traps computer users into paying for additional iCloud storage upon reaching a 5-gigabyte backup limit, declining to revive a putative consumer class action against the technology giant.

  • December 05, 2024

    7th Circ. Weighs Progressive Class' Proof In Car Value Suit

    Some Seventh Circuit judges seemed unsure Thursday that a group of Progressive insureds should be allowed to pursue class claims over allegedly improper cash valuations for totaled vehicles, saying the class would likely struggle to prove each of their contracts were breached.

  • December 05, 2024

    Man Says NC Failed To Prove He Had Cannabis, Not Hemp

    A North Carolina man is appealing his conviction for possession and intent to distribute cannabis, saying the state failed to show evidence that the material they seized from him was cannabis as opposed to legal hemp.

  • December 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Affirms ConocoPhillips Ruling On $8.5B Debt

    The Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed a ruling paving the way for ConocoPhillips' participation in an auction for control of the U.S. oil giant Citgo to enforce an $8.5 billion debt against Venezuela.

  • December 05, 2024

    Face-Swapping App Can't Ax Reality TV Star's Suit At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to toss a reality TV star's proposed class action accusing a face-swapping app of misusing his likeness, finding his statutory right-of-publicity claim isn't preempted by the federal Copyright Act since the claim involves his likeness and "not a work of authorship."

  • December 05, 2024

    Justices Told 9th Circ. Got Test Wrong In $1.3B Award Fight

    Indian satellite communications company Devas Multimedia and its shareholders have each submitted briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to nix the Ninth Circuit's decision to refuse enforcement of a $1.3 billion arbitral award against a state-owned division of India's space agency.

  • December 05, 2024

    Okla. Court Says Tulsa Can Prosecute Indian Country Crime

    An Oklahoma Criminal Appeals Court will not dismiss a challenge by the city of Tulsa that questions its jurisdictional rights on reservation lands, saying the municipality's ability to prosecute crimes is centered in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said states can prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians on tribal land.

  • December 05, 2024

    Ohio Court Affirms Nix Of Bid To Double $42M Property Value

    An effort to nearly double the $42 million taxable value of a property to its recent sale price was correctly dismissed, an Ohio state appeals court said, upholding a state law barring complaints based on the untimeliness of a sale.

  • December 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Unsure Pa. Regulator Had Right To Deny Project

    Third Circuit judges appeared wary on Thursday of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's argument that its take on the necessity of a transmission project trumps a federal agency's determination, at one point questioning how any such project could be completed if the court accepted its argument.

  • December 05, 2024

    Quest Ex-Workers Ask 3rd Circ. To Revive 401(k) Suit

    Ex-workers for Quest Diagnostics Inc. urged the Third Circuit to revive their suit alleging mismanagement of their $5 billion 401(k) retirement plan, arguing a lower court shouldn't have handed Quest an early win on claims the company failed to properly monitor investment offerings.

  • December 05, 2024

    Tesla Can't 'Pretend' Dismissal Was Stay Order, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday doubted Tesla's arguments that a California federal court had jurisdictional authority to enforce its arbitration win against an ex-Tesla engineer's defamation claims, with one judge noting that Tesla asked to dismiss the engineer's case and it can't now "pretend" the dismissal was a stay order.

  • December 05, 2024

    Utah Defends Effort To Wrest Land From Feds At High Court

    Utah told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that its proposed lawsuit accusing the government of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state belongs before the justices and that the government's recent response strengthens its case.

  • December 05, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rethink $100M Credit For John Hancock

    The Eleventh Circuit won't reconsider its decision to let John Hancock Life Insurance Co. keep $100 million in foreign tax credits, leaving in place its October ruling against a Florida law firm retirement plan's trustees.

  • December 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Unlikely To Help Realtek Pursue ITC Sanctions

    A Federal Circuit panel seemed baffled Thursday as a K&L Gates attorney argued that the U.S. International Trade Commission wrongly stopped his client from pursuing sanctions, with the panel repeatedly noting that the semiconductor company wasn't even a party in the import dispute.

  • December 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Skeptical Starz Ripped Off Play For Strip Club Drama

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared dubious Thursday of a playwright's bid to revive claims that Starz Entertainment copied her stage musical for the strip club drama series "P-Valley," with one of the appellate judges noting that the works "could not be more different."

  • December 05, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Revisit Ruling On Bush-Era Mining Regulation

    The D.C. Circuit said Thursday it won't reconsider a June panel decision that upheld a 20-year-old mining regulation that removed limits on the amount of land around a mining site that can be used for secondary activities such as waste disposal.

  • December 05, 2024

    Mich. Panel Quashes COVID-19 College Tuition Refund Cases

    Students at Michigan State University and four other public universities are not entitled to tuition refunds for the portion of the spring 2020 semester when campuses shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Michigan appellate panel said Wednesday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Boies Tells 1st Circ. Cannabis Precedent Is Outdated

    The premises undergirding a 19-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent on cannabis policy have changed so dramatically in the intervening years that its holdings no longer apply to the current marijuana landscape, litigator David Boies told a First Circuit panel during oral arguments Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Mixed PTAB Ruling In Circuit Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Dutch semiconductor maker NXP was able to show that some claims in a pair of Bell Semiconductor circuit patents were invalid but was unable to prove other claims were unpatentable.

  • December 05, 2024

    Disgruntled Dems Move On From Appellate Noms Deal

    While some Democrats have gripes about the deal Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made with Republicans before Thanksgiving on judicial confirmations, they grudgingly concede the deal helps them fill as many seats as possible even if it means leaving choice circuit seats for President-elect Donald Trump to fill.

  • December 05, 2024

    Colo. Panel Sides With Cannabis Atty In Former Client's Suit

    The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that a cannabis attorney cannot be held liable for a former marijuana cultivator client's business failing when they violated land use rules because the attorney was no longer representing them at the time.

  • December 04, 2024

    Meta Genocide Defense Spurs 'Yeah Right' From 9th Circ.

    Ninth Circuit judges doubted Wednesday whether women fleeing genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar could have realistically investigated Facebook's role in spreading disinformation and called a lawyer, with one judge calling the defense argument "silly" and another judge responding, "yeah right."

  • December 04, 2024

    Some Religious Gathering Limits Are OK, Texas Justices Told

    The city of San Antonio hit back Wednesday at Native American church members' reliance on a Texas constitutional amendment banning limitations on religious services, telling the Texas Supreme Court that the amendment must be viewed in the context of COVID-19 restrictions.

  • December 04, 2024

    Civil Atty Named Winner Over Judge For Wash. High Court Seat

    Civil attorney Sal Mungia has been elected to an open seat on Washington's highest court, edging out Seattle-area municipal judge Dave Larson by less than 1% of the vote, according results from the Nov. 5 election that were finalized on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: The Future Of AI And Copyright Law

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule the Chevron doctrine, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry may seek to shift the balance of power to courts to exercise more independent statutory interpretation without constraints from the U.S. Copyright Office, says Greg Derin at Signature Resolution.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Presidential Privilege Questions After Trump Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. U.S., carving out a new evidentiary privilege for presidents, leaves unanswered several key questions concerning whether this new privilege is waivable or subject to various exceptions, says Jeremy Bates at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss the muted nature of the property and casualty insurance class action space in the second quarter of the year, with no large waves made in labor depreciation and total-loss vehicle class actions, but a new offensive theory emerging for insurance companies.

  • What To Know About Major Fla. Civil Procedure Rule Changes

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    The Florida Supreme Court recently amended the state's Rules of Civil Procedure, touching on pretrial procedure, discovery, motion and trial practice, and while the amendments are intended to streamline cases, the breadth of the changes may initially present some litigation growing pains, say Brian Briz, Benjamin Tyler and Yarenis Cruz at Holland & Knight.

  • Prior Art Takeaways From Fed. Circ. Public Disclosure Ruling

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    While the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Sanho v. Kaijet clarified that a private sale is not a public disclosure under patent law, there remains significant room for advocacy, as the opinion lacked meaningful guidance on how to satisfy the public disclosure exception to prior art, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.

  • Perspectives

    2 High Court Rulings Boost Protections Against Gov't Reprisal

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Gonzalez v. Trevino and Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon significantly strengthen legal protections against retaliatory arrests and malicious prosecution, and establish clear precedents that promote accountability in law enforcement, say Corey Stoughton and Amanda Miner at Selendy Gay.

  • Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing

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    Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics

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    Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry

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    The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.

  • What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.

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