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Appellate
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August 01, 2024
Justices Uphold Chancery Toss Of Church COVID Suit
Two religious leaders in Delaware who sued over restrictions the state imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic waited too long to file the case and have no standing to proceed with their claims, Delaware's Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding dismissals by both the Superior and Chancery courts.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Puts Net Neutrality Rule On Ice During Appeals
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday granted industry groups' bid to put a hold on the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules while appellate court challenges play out, saying there is a strong chance that internet service providers will eventually prevail.
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August 01, 2024
NJ Justices Say Bridge Commission Can Mandate Union Deals
The compact that created the bistate Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission gave the commission the authority to require contractors to use project labor agreements in a publicly bid construction project, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
Groups Say DC Circ.'s Toss Of FERC OK Boosts Their Case
Conservation groups and the city of Port Isabel, Texas, told the D.C. Circuit that its recent decision to vacate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a Northeast pipeline expansion supports their challenge of the commission's decision to approve two Texas liquefied natural gas facilities.
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August 01, 2024
Utah High Court Upholds Pause On State Abortion Ban
The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a pause on the state's near-total abortion ban while a constitutional challenge to the law proceeds, agreeing with a lower court's conclusion that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had standing to bring its challenge.
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August 01, 2024
Fed. Circ. Denies PTAB Overreach In Voice Tech IP Invalidation
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board properly invalidated a Voice Tech Corp. patent directed to the use of voice commands and did not make up a new theory in favor of challenger Unified Patents LLC, the Federal Circuit said Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
Colo. Judges Can't Tell Magistrates To Redo Rulings
Colorado state courts that reject a magistrate's order can't send it back to the magistrate for reconsideration, a state appellate panel ruled Thursday, stating in a published opinion that district judges must issue a new ruling themselves.
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August 01, 2024
Colo. Panel Finds Campaign Disclosure Rule Unconstitutional
A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday found that a requirement for ballot issue committees to list their registered agent on election communications is unconstitutionally compelled speech, reasoning that the public doesn't learn much from knowing a committee's legal representative.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Says Teacher's Failure To Engage Sinks ADA Suit
A former teacher can't revive his disability bias lawsuit claiming a school board unlawfully refused to let him continue working from home following a mid-pandemic return to in-person instruction, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, faulting the educator for refusing to discuss alternative accommodations.
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August 01, 2024
9th Circ. Says Vegas Casino Pilots Are Exempt From OT
Five corporate pilots for a Las Vegas casino performed non-manual labor and are therefore exempt from overtime requirements under federal law, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday, upholding a Nevada federal court's decision.
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August 01, 2024
White House Defends 6th Circ. Nom Against Tenn. Senator
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved seven judicial nominees on Thursday, including one for the Sixth Circuit under fire from her home-state senators.
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August 01, 2024
5th Circ. Backs Louisiana's Block Of EPA Chemical Rule
The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday refused to overturn a Louisiana agency's move to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing a chemical rule that a neoprene maker says would force it to shut down.
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August 01, 2024
Fla. Justices Sanction Paralegal For Immigration Practice
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday told a paralegal and the immigration legal services businesses she has operated that she must reimburse clients who were misled into believing they were working with licensed attorneys.
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August 01, 2024
Senate Passes Bill To 'Systematically' Increase Judgeships
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Thursday by voice vote to create 66 new and temporary judgeships to help federal courts handle increasing workloads.
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August 01, 2024
3rd Circ. Affirms Nix Of Discovery Ask On GM In Brazil Case
A Delaware federal court didn't abuse its discretion by declining to begin discovery on General Motors to aid ongoing litigation in Brazil for a group that is entitled to receive dozens of car dealerships' tax credits from the early 1990s, the Third Circuit found.
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August 01, 2024
Feds Urge Against Steve Bannon's En Banc Rehearing Bid
The federal government is urging the D.C. Circuit not to revisit its long-standing precedent on the meaning of the contempt of Congress law as former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon looks to undo his conviction under the statute.
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August 01, 2024
5th Circ. Says Oil Crossing State Lines Made Work Interstate
The crude oil that a worker transported travels outside of Texas and thus is part of an interstate trip, the Fifth Circuit ruled, flipping a district court's decision that the Motor Carrier Act exemption didn't apply to a transporter who sought unpaid overtime.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Dashes Appeal Of Mich. Township's Ex-GC
A Michigan township's former general counsel was not denied due process when his position was eliminated in 2020, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, agreeing with the district court that the attorney's employment agreement did not guarantee him a job.
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August 01, 2024
NY Appeals Court Upholds Trump Gag Order
A New York appeals court on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to strike down a gag order that bars him from threatening court and district attorney staff in his criminal hush money case ahead of his scheduled sentencing next month, as the former president renewed his bid to vacate his conviction following the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity ruling.
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August 01, 2024
3rd Circ. Says Enviro Fight No Reason To Reopen Ch. 11
The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that Bath Iron Works' potential liability over a polluted New Jersey river doesn't affect the Chapter 11 case of the shipbuilder's former affiliate, backing a district court that decided a bankruptcy judge erred in reopening the case.
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August 01, 2024
Calif. Justices Block Drivers From Intervening In PAGA Deal
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that ride-hail drivers bringing claims under the state's Private Attorneys General Act lack standing to intervene in a separate case that reached a settlement.
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August 01, 2024
Mass. Could Be New Front In The Battle Over Jury Trial Right
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling granting defendants facing administrative civil penalties the right to a jury trial, experts say a similar challenge in Massachusetts is likely, but may not find as receptive a judicial audience.
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August 01, 2024
Schumer And Senate Dem Bill Would Reverse Trump Immunity
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and more than 30 of his Democratic colleagues introduced a bill on Thursday to undo the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that former President Donald Trump has immunity for official acts.
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July 31, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Won't Use New Law To Revive Trafficking Suit
A split Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday refused to revive a human trafficking suit former Cambodian seafood factory workers launched against a Californian importer, saying a new law that expanded liability after the distributor's summary judgment win didn't apply retroactively.
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July 31, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Trim Of Ex-Ala. Judge's Defamation Suit
The Eleventh Circuit held Wednesday that an Alabama federal court was correct to toss some of the claims in a defamation suit from Roy Moore, the embattled former Alabama Supreme Court leader, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over some claims and others were conclusory.
Expert Analysis
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule
A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.
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Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.
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Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.
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Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review
Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation
The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now
Though the substantive holding of Loper Bright is unlikely to affect bid protests because questions of statutory interpretation are rare, the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision may signal a general trend away from agency deference even on the complex technical issues that often arise, say Kayleigh Scalzo and Andrew Guy at Covington.
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Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls
Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.
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How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry
In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.
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3 Policyholder Tips After Calif. Ruling Denying D&O Coverage
A California decision from June, Practice Fusion v. Freedom Specialty Insurance, denying a company's claim seeking reimbursement under a directors and officers insurance policy for its settlement with the Justice Department, highlights the importance of coordinating coverage for all operational risks and the danger of broad exclusionary policy language, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Opinion
High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.
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Series
After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable
While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.
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What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal
Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.