Appellate

  • March 12, 2025

    Property Tax Can Fund Retired Cops' Insurance, Panel Says

    A Michigan state appeals court on Tuesday said property taxes imposed by four municipalities to cover the cost of health insurance for retired firefighters and police officers are not illegal, finding a law established before a constitutional amendment barring new taxes without a public vote allowed taxation for broad retirement benefits.

  • March 12, 2025

    White House Urged To Back Patent Eligibility Bill To Aid AI

    The Council for Innovation Promotion has urged the Trump administration to support a legislative overhaul of patent eligibility law and reconsider patent office guidance on the issue as the White House aims to ensure the U.S. plays a dominant role in artificial intelligence.

  • March 12, 2025

    Drew Eckl Can't Keep Breakaway Firm In Arbitration Over Fees

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday found that Burke Moore Law Group LLP — founded by former Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP partners and others — cannot be subject to arbitration over fees between Drew Eckl and those ex-firm partners since Burke Moore did not sign the agreement at issue.

  • March 12, 2025

    Group To Study ABA Accreditation Req. For Fla. Bar Exam

    The Florida Supreme Court said Wednesday it would convene a workgroup to reconsider a rule requiring applicants for the state bar exam to have graduated from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, citing concerns about the ABA's accreditation standards on racial and ethnic diversity and the organization's "active political engagement."

  • March 12, 2025

    2nd Circ. Upholds Sanctions In Chinese Billionaire's Ch. 11

    The Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday torpedoed an appeal from the daughter of bankrupt Chinese exile Miles Guo — also known as Ho Won Kwok — and her attorney seeking to overturn a nearly $83,400 discovery sanction, saying the contempt ruling was merited.

  • March 12, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Finds No Confusion Between Firebull, Fireball TMs

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board correctly found there is no likelihood of confusion between a distillery's pending bid to register Bullshine Firebull and Sazerac Brands' Fireball marks, the Federal Circuit said in a precedential opinion Wednesday that also affirmed the board's conclusion that Fireball is not generic.

  • March 12, 2025

    Ga. Appeals Court Backs Class Cert. In Vehicle Booting Case

    A Georgia Court of Appeals panel backed a truck driver's bid for class certification in a suit that alleges an Atlanta-based impound company unlawfully booted over 1,000 vehicles without authorization from local governments.

  • March 12, 2025

    Luxottica Drops Appeal On ERISA Suit's Arbitrability

    Luxottica shuttered its appeal of a New York federal judge's order that the company could not compel arbitration of a worker's representative claims that it violated federal benefits law by using outdated mortality data to calculate pensions benefits.

  • March 12, 2025

    Steptoe Hires National Security Veteran In New York

    Steptoe LLP has hired a former Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP attorney known for his defense of Guantanamo Bay detainees and other high-profile national security matters, who joined the firm in New York as a partner.

  • March 12, 2025

    Energy Co. Asks Justices To Skip On Inspector's OT Case

    Energy industry service provider Killick Group told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Fifth Circuit correctly considered a pipeline inspector an independent contractor because he had autonomy in his job, urging the justices to stay out of the worker's overtime case.

  • March 11, 2025

    Payday Lenders Want One More High Court Bout With CFPB

    Payday lender groups have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to again take up their challenge to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule finalized during President Donald Trump's first term, this time seeking an appeal focused on the rule's allegedly "tainted" origin.

  • March 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Ends Group's Challenge To Great Lakes Fishing Pact

    The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a nonprofit's challenge to a pact between Native American tribes and the state of Michigan for allegedly lacking guardrails to prevent overfishing in the Great Lakes, finding it lacked jurisdiction since the nonprofit never intervened in the case and only filed amicus curiae briefs.

  • March 11, 2025

    Medical Device Co. Seeks Fed. Circ. Redo Over Patent Trial

    A medical device manufacturer is asking the full Federal Circuit to reconsider a panel decision reviving a patent infringement case against it, arguing a lower court judge was fine to allow tardy testimony from a witness who took its side.

  • March 11, 2025

    Musk Opens Del. Appeal To Recover $56B In Tesla Pay

    Elon Musk on Tuesday launched his Delaware Supreme Court appeal aimed at a Court of Chancery decision that had short-circuited the electric car company's 10-year, $55.6 billion compensation plan for the celebrity CEO.

  • March 11, 2025

    Ga. Appeals Court Backs Stroke Patient's $75M Med Mal Win

    A Georgia appellate panel has affirmed a $75 million verdict won by a stroke patient who alleged that his doctors at an Atlanta-area emergency room failed to diagnose his condition in time to save him from developing complete bodily paralysis.

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ Justices Say NY Doc Can't Be On Med Mal Verdict Form

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an anesthesiologist accused of causing a patient's death during surgery can't have the verdict sheet at the upcoming trial apportion blame to a New York doctor who was never named as a party in the suit.

  • March 11, 2025

    Conn. Judge Puzzled By Agency's 'Flip-Flop' On Rehab Permit

    A Connecticut appellate judge said Tuesday that a state agency's recommendation to reject a residential substance use treatment facility in the town of Kent, followed by its "flip-flop" to approve the plan without any changes to the underlying facts, "truly puzzles me."

  • March 11, 2025

    More ITC Patent Cases Expected After Fed. Circ. 'Sea Change'

    A recent Federal Circuit decision discarding the U.S. International Trade Commission's limits on what types of domestic expenses qualify a company to bring a patent suit at the agency marks a pronounced shift that will likely spur considerably more ITC cases, attorneys say.

  • March 11, 2025

    5th Circ. Hopes For 'Sanity' In Backing Legal Malpractice Arb.

    Untangling a "ridiculous" arbitration proceeding that produced four contradictory awards in a legal malpractice dispute, the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed three awards and most of another, adding that the parties are "free to arbitrate another day" in the hope that their disagreements will be resolved "for the sake of sanity."

  • March 11, 2025

    J&J Tells 3rd Circ. No Price Impact In Talc Concealment Suit

    Johnson & Johnson urged the Third Circuit on Tuesday to undo class certification of investor claims that the company inflated its stock price by failing to disclose cancer risks associated with its talcum powder products, arguing that the investors could not have relied upon its alleged misrepresentations because there was no impact on the stock market's price.

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ Residents Push To Repackage Contaminated Water Claims

    Residents of National Park, New Jersey, asked a state appellate court panel for permission to revive and amend their proposed class claims over contaminated water, arguing Tuesday that the allegations are a matter for tort law, not contract law.

  • March 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Panel Won't Renew Wash. Nurse's Employment Suit

    A Ninth Circuit Panel has declined to revive a nurse's employment suit against the University of Washington Medical Center, finding a poor performance review wasn't enough to form the basis of a discrimination claim against the Seattle hospital.

  • March 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Revisit FCC's Tanked Net Neutrality Rules

    The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday turned down a bid by public interest groups for a full-court rehearing of January's decision to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

  • March 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Asks If It Should Duck Enbridge Pipeline Fight

    A Sixth Circuit panel has asked if it should pause or reject altogether Enbridge Energy LP's lawsuit challenging Michigan's efforts to shutter a pipeline because of a pending state court case, requesting briefs ahead of oral arguments next week.

  • March 11, 2025

    Logistics Co. Tells Texas Justices Attys Undercut Rail Deal

    An energy logistics company has told the Texas Supreme Court that lawyers who allegedly helped undermine a business deal shouldn't get to skate out of a legal malpractice lawsuit, arguing in a Monday petition the case belongs before a jury.

Expert Analysis

  • Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

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    State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • The Compliance Trends And Imperatives On Tap In 2025

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    The corporate ethics and compliance landscape is rapidly evolving, posing challenges from conflicting stakeholder expectations to technological disruptions, and businesses will need to explore human-centered, data-driven and evidence-based practices, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Finally Add Clarity To Section 101

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    With both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introducing bills to provide guidance on what qualifies as patentable subject matter under the Patent Act, Congress will hopefully put an end at last to 10 years of uncertainty surrounding the question, says David Carstens at Carstens Allen.

  • 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2025

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    Although advertisers are encouraged by the incoming Trump administration's focus on deregulation, this year could feel like wading through uncharted waters, and decreased federal government regulation may mean increased state regulation, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

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    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

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    There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Certification, Lateness, SBA Eligibility

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Cody Fisher at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that address the treatment of a proposal that was timely submitted but received late, and highlight nuances of certification and small business eligibility requirements.

  • How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking

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    An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw several significant developments in the fourth quarter of 2024, including a landmark Uniform Commercial Code ruling, adjustments to the state's Homebuyer Plus Program and the launch of the state's first women-led bank, says attorney Alex Durst.

  • 6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025

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    This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Curb The Drug Price Negotiation Program

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    The Inflation Reduction Act's drug price negotiation program upends incentive structures that drive medical innovation, and courts must act appropriately to avoid devastating consequences for American healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, says Jeff Stier at the Consumer Choice Center.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

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