Appellate

  • October 09, 2024

    Ex-NC Govs. Back Cooper In Power Struggle With Lawmakers

    Five former governors of North Carolina have thrown their support behind the current Democratic governor as he wrestles with Republican lawmakers over appointment powers, telling the state appeals court that the legislature has trampled on "bedrock constitutional principle" by seeking to divest the governor of his ability to select members of executive branch agencies.

  • October 09, 2024

    Paul Hastings Adds Former Asst. US Solicitor General

    Global firm Paul Hastings LLP announced Wednesday that a former assistant to the U.S. solicitor general is joining the firm to strengthen its appellate and Supreme Court practice.

  • October 08, 2024

    Del. Justices Revive Margolis Edelstein Malpractice Suit

    The full Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday revived GMG Insurance Agency's malpractice suit claiming Margolis Edelstein's incompetence caused the insurer to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, saying there are still disputed facts about whether the law firm's representation fell below the requisite standards.

  • October 08, 2024

    Wash. Families Claim Judicial Bias In Tribal Eviction Saga

    A trial judge for Washington state's Nooksack Indian Tribe has paused a series of evictions against a group of families after they argued judges on a tribal appeals court were biased for ruling they can be removed from homes purchased using a federal tax credit program.

  • October 08, 2024

    'Alarming' AI Might Aid Research In Patent Fights, Judge Says

    A Federal Circuit judge on Tuesday told law school students at the University of California, Berkeley that while he finds artificial intelligence tools "a little alarming and frightening," he could see how they might be useful for finding prior art in patent disputes.

  • October 08, 2024

    RFK Jr. Tells 5th Circ. Biden Admin Is Working To Censor Him

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed reluctant to buy Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s argument that it was bound by a case overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, with one judge saying it shouldn't follow an opinion the nation's highest court had decried as "yuck, yuck, yuck" during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • October 08, 2024

    Ex-Uber Exec's Actions Smell Like Cover-Up, 9th Circ. Judge Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of Uber's ex-security chief's effort to overturn his convictions for obstructing an investigation into an Uber data breach, with one judge saying the defendant's abrupt changes to Uber's policies "does smell to me like a cover-up."

  • October 08, 2024

    ND Secretary Of State Can Skip Arguments In VRA Row

    The Eighth Circuit is excusing North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe from participating in upcoming arguments in his attempt to reverse a lower court's order that required state lawmakers to correct Section 2 Voting Rights Act violations against two tribes, according to a Monday order from the court.

  • October 08, 2024

    5th Circ. Urged To Seal Industry Win Over CFPB Exam Policy

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups on Monday defended their Texas federal court win against a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policy to expand the agency's anti-discrimination oversight, telling the Fifth Circuit that the agency's effort to reverse its loss is revealingly substance-light.

  • October 08, 2024

    Pro Golfer Looks To 2nd Circ. For Second Swing At NYC

    A PGA Tour golfer who suffered "severe and permanent injuries" is taking his trip-and-fall lawsuit against the city of New York back to the Second Circuit, looking to bypass the finding of a federal judge in Manhattan who found that the city was never put on notice about the dangers of the crosswalk that allegedly caused his fall.

  • October 08, 2024

    Dem Rep. Reintroduces Death Row Appeal Bill

    U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., announced Tuesday that he is reintroducing a bill that would ensure inmates on death row would have the opportunity to present new evidence pointing to their innocence.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fla. Court Revives Nursing Home Death Suit

    A Florida state appeals court on Tuesday revived a wrongful death suit seeking to hold an assisted living facility liable for a resident's death after she got into an altercation with another resident.

  • October 08, 2024

    ITC Erred With Oil Drilling Tech IP Ruling, Fed. Circ. Told

    US Synthetic Corp. on Tuesday urged the Federal Circuit to reverse a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that allows rivals to import a diamond oil drilling tool material the Utah-based company says infringes its intellectual property, arguing the agency wrongly found its drilling technology invention is abstract and patent-ineligible.

  • October 08, 2024

    Wash. Atty Off Hook For Malpractice In Cannabis Seizure Case

    A Seattle-area woman whose property was seized during a marijuana raid can't sue her attorney for malpractice, a Washington appeals court has ruled, saying her lawyer's failure to challenge the search warrant — which she said was established on cannabis odor alone — wasn't the reason she lost her forfeiture hearing.

  • October 08, 2024

    Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?

  • October 08, 2024

    GOP, Trade Groups Urge 6th Circ. To Void Highway GHG Rule

    Republican lawmakers and construction trade groups are urging the Sixth Circuit to snuff out for good a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.

  • October 08, 2024

    Uber Tells 9th Circ. JPML Can't Consolidate Assault Cases

    Uber Technologies Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to find that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and a district judge erred in refusing to enforce Uber's "non-consolidation" clause with passengers, arguing the contractual provision binds federal courts and prohibits the JPML from the centralization of sexual-assault litigation before a single judge.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Mulls Trade Dress Fight Over Pink Hip Devices

    A Federal Circuit panel wrestled Tuesday with arguments from a German medical supplier that "late-breaking research" shows why the appearance of the color pink in a part of hip joint implants is not as functional as the company used to claim in the marketplace.

  • October 08, 2024

    Justices Cast Favorable Eye On ATF's Ghost Gun Rule

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared to side with the federal government's position that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule regulating so-called ghost gun kits was wrongly invalidated by a lower appeals court, with several justices responding favorably to the feds' arguments.

  • October 08, 2024

    Enviro Groups Seek To Overturn Nuclear Plant Renewal Rules

    Anti-nuclear power groups are challenging new nuclear power plant license renewal rules from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, telling the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the changes violate federal environmental protection law.

  • October 08, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive 1-800 Contacts, Warby Parker Row

    A Second Circuit panel affirmed a ruling Tuesday that found eyewear retailer Warby Parker did not infringe 1-800 Contacts Inc.'s trademarks by purchasing ads on search engines using its competitor's keywords.

  • October 08, 2024

    Coolant Cos. Challenging HFC Rules Meet Skeptical DC Circ.

    A D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday seemed dubious of coolant industry challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's omission of 2020 market data in calculating the agency's framework for phasing down climate-harming hydrofluorocarbons.

  • October 08, 2024

    1st Circ. Says 'Nothing We Can Do' To Help Salvadoran Family

    The First Circuit on Monday rejected a petition for asylum from a Salvadoran family fleeing MS-13 gang violence, acknowledging that the issue is "rampant" in the Central American country but saying their hands are tied from helping the petitioners.

  • October 08, 2024

    New Testimony Can't Revive Seattle Police Pursuit Crash Suit

    A Washington state appeals court won't upend a verdict clearing the city of Seattle from liability in a suit by a woman injured in a car accident after the man driving her vehicle fled the police, finding that testimony taken after one of the officers involved died by suicide would not have altered the case's outcome.

  • October 08, 2024

    Solo Cup Maker Must Face Suit Over Worker's Shooting Death

    Solo Cup Operating Corp. can't escape a wrongful death lawsuit accusing it of negligently hiring a worker who killed a fellow employee in a dispute over $400, a Georgia appeals court ruled, saying the incident is clearly not covered by the state's workers compensation law.

Expert Analysis

  • What's In The Cards For CFTC's Election Betting Case

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    A D.C. federal judge's Sept. 12 ruling, allowing KalshiEx to offer derivative contracts trading on the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections over objections from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, could mark a watershed moment in the permissibility of election betting if upheld on appeal, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • IP Concerns For Manufacturing Semiconductors In Low Orbit

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    With space habitation companies working to launch private space stations in the near future, semiconductor manufacturers aiming to execute research and development in low or microgravity must consider the unique claim drafting and patent protection issues that will emerge, says Greg Miraglia at Quinn Emanuel.

  • How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns

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    Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.

  • 3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim

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    The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation

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    Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • 7 Takeaways For Companies After Justices' Bribery Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Snyder v. U.S. decision this summer, holding that a federal law does not criminalize after-the-fact gratuities made to public officials, raises some key considerations for companies that engage with state, local and tribal governments, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Courts Will Still Defer To Feds On Nat'l Security

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    Agencies with trade responsibilities may be less affected by Chevron’s demise because of the special deference courts have shown when hearing international trade cases involving national security, foreign policy or the president’s constitutional authority to direct such matters, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What 7th Circ. Collective Actions Ruling Means For Employers

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    With the Seventh Circuit’s recent Fair Labor Standards Act ruling in Vanegas v. Signet Builders, a majority of federal appellate courts that have addressed the jurisdictional scope of employee collective actions now follow the U.S. Supreme Court's limiting precedent, bolstering an employer defense in circuits that have yet to weigh in, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

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