Appellate

  • July 25, 2024

    IT Firm Says $1.5M Commerce Award Redo Not Routine

    An IT consulting firm challenging a U.S. Department of Commerce corrective action on a $1.5 billion information technology deal made during ongoing bid protests told the Federal Circuit that the agency is undercutting its own position by claiming that such moves are routine.

  • July 25, 2024

    Justice Kagan Floats Committee To Enforce High Court Ethics

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that the high court "should" and "could" create a mechanism like a committee of lower-court judges to enforce a code of conduct, while acknowledging the "complications" in deciding who should be the enforcers.

  • July 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Revives FCA Dispute Over Small Biz Contracts

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday revived a whistleblower False Claims Act case alleging new owners of a construction firm fraudulently secured orders under a program for disadvantaged small businesses, saying those owners should have told the Small Business Administration about the ownership switch.

  • July 25, 2024

    Iowa Says Blocking Its Immigration Law Flouts High Court

    Iowa told the Eighth Circuit on Thursday that a federal judge contorted U.S. Supreme Court precedent by granting the Biden administration's request to block a law criminalizing previously deported noncitizens' entry into the state.

  • July 25, 2024

    Ninth Circ. Vacates, Remands BIA Sexual Misconduct Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded a lower court's ruling that the Bureau of Indian Affairs isn't liable for the actions of one of its officers who sexually assaulted a Northern Cheyenne woman, saying conflicting statements create a factual dispute regarding whether the officer was acting within the scope of his employment.

  • July 25, 2024

    NJ Justices Uphold Yeshiva's Win In Defamation Suit

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that the ministerial exception insulating religious employers from workplace tort claims protects an Orthodox Jewish school from a fired teacher's defamation claim over a letter sent to the community following an inquiry into allegations that he had interacted inappropriately with students.

  • July 25, 2024

    SEC Seeks To Narrow Attack On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the Fifth Circuit Thursday that conservative groups objecting to a Nasdaq rule mandating the disclosure of board diversity data can no longer complain about the exchange's offer to help companies recruit applicable candidates because that offer has expired, mooting at least one aspect of a broader attack against the rule.

  • July 25, 2024

    FCC Keeps Chin Up, But Chevron Woes Won't Soon Fade

    After the U.S. Supreme Court term stampeded over long-established elements of administrative law this summer, the future of several major Federal Communications Commission initiatives was cast into doubt, but the agency says it's still optimistic it can navigate the new challenges.

  • July 25, 2024

    Mich. Justices Roll Back Expert Limits For Med Mal Plaintiffs

    A split Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday partly overturned a nearly 20-year-old standard that made it harder for medical malpractice plaintiffs to introduce expert testimony, as dissenting justices warned the change could unleash a cascade of new appeals.

  • July 25, 2024

    Newsom Cites High Court In Ordering Encampments Cleared

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state property while providing outreach services to homeless residents following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave governments broader authority to ban camping in public.

  • July 25, 2024

    Radiologist Leans On Muldrow At 1st Circ. Bias Arguments

     A newly minted First Circuit judge dove enthusiastically into his first oral argument session Thursday, lobbing questions at a Boston medical center and a radiologist who said her discrimination and whistleblower case should be revived in part because of an April U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • July 25, 2024

    NC High Court Signals End To College Building Access Row

    The Tar Heel State's Supreme Court this week unpaused a legal battle between North Carolina State University and a cancer-stricken professor after the two said they had resolved a dispute over testing for carcinogens in a campus building.

  • July 25, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Penn. Jury Invalidating Sherwin-Williams IP

    A Pennsylvania federal judge rightfully invalidated claims of several Sherwin-Williams Co. paint coating patents after a jury trial, and properly barred inconsistent assertions from the company, the Federal Circuit held Thursday.

  • July 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rehear State Farm Auto Policy Coverage Row

    A three-judge panel in the Eleventh Circuit said Thursday they won't rehear their decision dismissing a proposed class action brought by a State Farm policyholder alleging that the insurer's denial of coverage for her medical expenses following a car accident was based on an ambiguous "reasonableness" standard.

  • July 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Asked To Toss Execs' Dinar Fraud Convictions

    Three executives of an Atlanta-based dinar exchange convicted of fraud after an advertising partner hyped the Iraqi currency by claiming its price could soar urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss their convictions Thursday, arguing jurors should have been told the difference between fraud and deceit.

  • July 25, 2024

    DC Panel Upholds FDA's Win Against Ipsen's Generics Suit

    A D.C. panel declined to revive Ipsen's challenge to regulators' refusal to classify its acromegaly drug as a biologic, which would have blocked generic versions of it, finding Thursday the drug's active ingredient doesn't meet the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act's definition of a protein to be considered a biologic.

  • July 25, 2024

    1st Circ. Leery Of Fishing Industry Challenge To Wind Farm

    A First Circuit panel on Thursday appeared unlikely to disturb a district court's rulings affirming a series of approvals for a massive wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, questioning procedural claims by fishing industry groups and whether they have standing to sue.

  • July 25, 2024

    DA Says Trump Immunity Ruling Doesn't Affect NY Convictions

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a New York judge Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling has no bearing on Donald Trump's conviction in his hush-money case since the charges relate to unofficial acts.

  • July 25, 2024

    Justices Urged To Hear Red State Bid To End Climate Torts

    Industry groups and conservative think tanks urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a novel request by 19 Republican-led states to nix climate change torts brought by rival state governments against fossil fuel companies, arguing the rival states' claims violate the constitutional bounds of state authority.

  • July 25, 2024

    Rising Star: Kirkland's Devin Anderson

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner Devin Anderson led a former high school football coach to victory at the U.S. Supreme Court after he was not rehired by the district, which took issue with his practice of praying publicly on the field after games, earning him a spot among appellate attorneys under age 40 honored as Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 25, 2024

    6th Circ. Asks Union If Steel Co. Must Pay 'Double' Benefits

    During oral arguments Thursday in a "messy, complex" union fringe benefits dispute, a Sixth Circuit panel questioned whether ruling for a union pension fund would require a steel contractor to pay benefits twice for out-of-state workers. 

  • July 25, 2024

    Ex-Ga. City Manager Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Race Bias Suit

    A white former city manager on Thursday asked the Eleventh Circuit to revive his race bias suit against Cordele, Georgia, and its commission chair, arguing the district court that oversaw the case held him to an improper evidentiary standard in dismissing his claims.

  • July 25, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Justices Urged To Revisit FCC Fund After 5th Circ. Ruling

    Free-market groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to take another look at their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's low-income and rural subsidy programs after the Fifth Circuit ruled the system was unconstitutional.

  • July 25, 2024

    Wash. High Court Tosses Nurse's Religious Bias Lawsuit

    A state-run residential care facility was allowed to fire a nurse who kept requesting religious leave after the facility had already given her nine days off to practice nondenominational Christianity — seven more religious days than its union contract required, Washington state's high court ruled Thursday.

  • July 25, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Questions GM's Arbitration Argument Delay

    A Sixth Circuit judge pressed General Motors on Thursday about why it waited three years to argue that some plaintiffs were bound by arbitration agreements in a class action over allegedly defective transmissions, saying a major car company should be aware most consumers sign such contracts.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Perspectives

    High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform

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    Though advocates for civil forfeiture reform did not prevail in Culley v. Marshall last month, concerns voiced by a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices potentially leave the door open to consider stricter limits in future cases, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • Perspectives

    NY Chief Judge Spotlights Need To Strengthen Public Defense

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    In a recent concurrence in People v. Watkins, New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson called attention to the necessity for greater investment in public defense services, highlighting not only the urgency of current crises, but the need to embrace a more ambitious vision of equal right to counsel, says Corey Stoughton at Selendy Gay.

  • The Fed. Circ. In May: A Major Shift In Design Patent Law

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    The Federal Circuit's recent en banc decision in LKQ v. GM overruled three decades of precedent and adopted a new standard for assessing the obviousness of design patents, leaving many questions unanswered, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

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