Appellate

  • July 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Union Carpenters' Retirement Fight

    The Ninth Circuit revived a suit by carpenters alleging union pension trustees broke federal benefits law by investing retirement plan assets in dicey index funds that lost over $250 million in the 2020 market downturn, finding Tuesday that the workers' mismanagement claims should proceed to discovery.

  • July 30, 2024

    Mich. COVID-19 Liability Law Shields Regular Healthcare Too

    A 2020 law protecting healthcare providers and facilities from liability for their response to the early COVID-19 pandemic also applies to regular care provided during that time, a Michigan appellate panel said, finding that resources diverted because of the state's response affected other areas of care.

  • July 30, 2024

    Fla.'s Workplace DEI Training Rules Get Permanently Blocked

    A Florida federal judge made permanent a ban on a state law provision that prevents employers from promoting various sex- and race-based concepts in diversity training sessions after the state said it wouldn't challenge an Eleventh Circuit ruling upholding a preliminary injunction on the measure.

  • July 30, 2024

    BREAKING: Quinn Emanuel Must Prove Authority In $486M Award Fight

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a lower court should have determined whether Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP had authority to represent Doraleh Container Terminal SA before deciding whether to enforce a $486 million arbitral award issued against Djibouti.

  • July 30, 2024

    What Mass. Attys Will Be Watching In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    Two potentially sweeping Massachusetts high court rulings and a long-awaited employment bill lingering in the State House are among the issues Bay State attorneys say they are monitoring closely heading into the latter half of 2024.

  • July 30, 2024

    Ex-Ch. 11 Trustee Can't Retroactively File Legal Fees

    A bankruptcy trustee who is removed can't retroactively receive administrative expenses, the Fourth Circuit has ruled, saying a former bankruptcy trustee is not allowed to later file an application for professional fees.

  • July 30, 2024

    BREAKING: Va. Appeals Court Tosses Historic $2B Trade Secrets Win

    The Court of Appeals of Virginia on Tuesday reversed Appian Corp.'s $2 billion trade secrets judgment against competitor Pegasystems Inc., saying that the trial court made a series of errors that led to the biggest jury award in state history and that a new trial is warranted.

  • July 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Pauses DOT's New 'Junk Fees' Rule Amid Review

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday agreed to temporarily block a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront while the appellate court reviews the rule, which has been challenged by major airlines and airline associations.

  • July 29, 2024

    8th Circ. Tosses 'Windfall' $79M Legal Fee In T-Mobile Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Monday threw out a $78.7 million attorney fee award for plaintiffs' attorneys who negotiated a $350 million settlement with T-Mobile over a massive data breach in 2021, saying the award amounts to a "windfall" for class counsel.

  • July 29, 2024

    Calif. High Court Says Co-Worker's Slur Can Be Harassment

    The California Supreme Court on Monday revived a race bias suit brought by a longtime employee of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, finding that her co-worker's one-time use of a racial slur may indeed have been so severe that it created a hostile work environment.

  • July 29, 2024

    11th Circ. Affirms Ga. Prison Officer Immunity For Strip Search

    An Eleventh Circuit panel said that Georgia prison officers violated a woman's constitutional rights when they subjected her to a strip search and manual body cavity search during a visit to see her incarcerated husband, but precedent blocks it from overturning a ruling holding the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.

  • July 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Partly Revives BofA Customers' ATM Fee Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially reinstated a proposed class action alleging Bank of America charged out-of-network fees for balance inquiries customers said they didn't know they authorized on ATMs, finding customers can be charged under their contract only if it's clear they sought the information and initiated the transaction.

  • July 29, 2024

    Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule

    A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.

  • July 29, 2024

    Split 11th Circ. Won't Revive Class Action Over USCIS Denials

    A split Eleventh Circuit panel on Monday backed the dismissal of claims from five immigrants given temporary protected status but later rejected for green cards, saying the court doesn't have jurisdiction to review U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services matters due to a precedential 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • July 29, 2024

    8th Circ. Urged To Ax FDIC's Multiple NSF Fee Guidance

    Minnesota state bankers have urged the Eighth Circuit to uphold their challenge to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guidance conscribing the use of non-sufficient funds fees, arguing a Minnesota federal judge was wrong to reject their case as premature.

  • July 29, 2024

    7th Circ. OKs Sanctioning Atty For Pushing Opposing Counsel

    A Seventh Circuit panel has affirmed sanctions against a Chicago employment attorney for cursing and pushing opposing counsel who represented the Chicago Board of Education in a First Amendment dispute, finding Monday that the record supports the finding that the attorney knowingly lied when she claimed the physical contact was "unintentional."

  • July 29, 2024

    2nd Circ. Backs $44.6M For Feds In Deadly Navy Ship Crash

    The Second Circuit has upheld a New York federal judge's decision ordering Energetic Tank Inc. to pay the federal government more than $44.5 million in damages and prejudgment interest for its oil tanker's role in a deadly August 2017 collision with a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Singapore Strait.

  • July 29, 2024

    Court Won't Revive Woman's Postpartum Hospital Fall Suit

    A Minnesota appeals court declined Monday to reinstate a woman's claims against a hospital alleging that a nurse caused her to fall and hit her head by encouraging her to take a bath after giving birth, saying the trial court rightly found that her experts' opinions didn't do enough to establish her case.

  • July 29, 2024

    Gas Refinery Co. On Hook For Worker's $1.6M Injury Award

    An Ohio appellate panel has affirmed a $1.6 million award to an energy services worker who suffered serious injuries after thousands of gallons of jet fuel spilled onto him, saying there is sufficient evidence to support the $5.3 million verdict, which was later reduced.

  • July 29, 2024

    7th Circ. Affirms Defective Protein Pouch Suit Came Too Late

    The Seventh Circuit on Friday upheld a Wisconsin federal court's decision to dismiss a suit brought by a protein powder maker founded by a bodybuilder over the manufacturer of zipper pouches on the grounds that statutes of limitations and other laws barred its claims.

  • July 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Axes Limit On DOL Denying Calif. Agencies Grants

    The U.S. Department of Labor can shut California transit agencies out of a federal grant because of a conflict between a state pension law and a federal transit law, with the Ninth Circuit lifting a ban Monday on the agency denying grant applications because of that conflict.

  • July 29, 2024

    Railroads Ask 11th Circ. To Void New Train Crew Size Rule

    Rail giants have told the Eleventh Circuit that the Federal Railroad Administration overstepped with its new two-person train crew rule, saying rail labor costs would surge if "one of the most consequential rulemakings in the history of American railroading" were allowed to stand.

  • July 29, 2024

    Mich. Top Court Says 2020 Tax Foreclosure Ruling Retroactive

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday gave retroactive effect to its 2020 decision that said local governments violate homeowners' rights by profiting from the sales of their tax-foreclosed homes, saying Michigan's "robust" history of protecting against takings weighs in favor of making the ruling retroactive.

  • July 29, 2024

    Conn. Justices OK Vrbo Host's Short-Term House Rentals

    A divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Vrbo host in Branford was allowed to rent out his property to vacationers under a set of regulations passed in 1994, before the local zoning board changed the rules in 2018 to ban his activities.

  • July 29, 2024

    Sky Zone Operator Gets Injury Claims Sent To Arbitration

    The operators of a Sky Zone-branded trampoline park in the Chicago area have successfully pushed out of court a father's claims that his son was injured at the facility, after an Illinois appellate panel ruled that an arbitrator must determine if the waiver agreement the mother signed is in fact enforceable.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • NY Ruling Offers A Foreclosure Road Map For Lenders

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    A New York appellate court recently upheld a summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial lender's foreclosure in U.S. Bank v. 1226 Evergreen Bapaz, illustrating the proofs lenders will need to prosecute a foreclosure action, especially where the plaintiff is an assignee of the originating lender, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Preserving Payment Rights

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    Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions that together illustrate the importance of keeping accurate records and adhering to contractual procedures to avoid inadvertently waiving contractual rights to cost reimbursements or nonroutine payments.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance

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    A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech

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    Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

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