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Appellate
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September 25, 2024
7th Circ. Judge Surprised Key Argument Left In Footnote
A Seventh Circuit judge seemed unsure Wednesday whether an insurer for Sterigenics could avoid a $75 million legal bill for defending the company from pollution suits, noting that the insurer addressed "the biggest issue in the case" in just a single, vague footnote.
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September 25, 2024
Power Plant Insurers Take GE Arbitration Fight To 11th Circ.
Insurers for an Algerian power plant that sustained losses from a defective gas turbine told an Eleventh Circuit panel Wednesday that a lower court wrongly forced arbitration, arguing it was not subject to that provision as a third-party beneficiary in a services contract with General Electric.
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September 25, 2024
Meta Wants 'License' To Cover Up Past Events, Justices Told
Meta Platforms Inc. shareholders say the U.S. Supreme Court should not be swayed by the social media company's attempt to shake off a proposed class action tied to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, warning a high court ruling in favor of Facebook's parent company could give publicly traded companies "license to intentionally mislead investors."
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September 25, 2024
DC Circ. Judges Ask If It's Too Late To Fast-Track Gastro Drug
A panel of D.C. Circuit judges grilled an attorney for Vanda Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday over claims Vanda's gastroparesis drug was improperly denied fast-track designation by the Food and Drug Administration, questioning why the company declined to complete animal toxicological studies even after the FDA paused the drug's human trials.
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September 25, 2024
NFL's Race Bias Arbitrator Is Not Impartial, Ex-Coach Argues
The attorneys for former NFL head coach Brian Flores have warned the Second Circuit, which is hearing the league's appeal of a lower court decision keeping part of his proposed racial discrimination class action in federal court, that the NFL's choice of an arbitrator for the rest of his dispute is "an attempt to falsely create an appearance of impartiality."
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September 25, 2024
11th Circ. Weighs Sovereignty In Ala. Burial Ground Fight
An Eleventh Circuit judge on Wednesday described a lower court's ruling in a dispute between two tribes over an ancient Alabama burial site as problematic, arguing that it failed to evaluate sovereign immunity status on a claim-by-claim basis and instead lumped it together, against precedent.
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September 25, 2024
EPA Can't Justify Calif. Emissions Ruling, High Court Told
Republican-led states told the U.S. Supreme Court the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't justify a D.C. Circuit decision backing its authorization of a Clean Air Act waiver allowing California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for certain vehicles and run a zero-emissions vehicle program.
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September 25, 2024
Indianapolis Airport Gets Bathroom Door Hinge Suit Tossed
An Indiana state appeals panel threw out a suit Wednesday against the Indianapolis Airport Authority over a flyer who was injured at the airport, saying there was no evidence that the airport had constructive knowledge that the hinge on a restroom door that hit the woman was damaged.
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September 25, 2024
Slovenian Plane Parts Maker Escapes Fla. Fatal Crash Suit
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday threw out a wrongful death suit against a Slovenian aircraft parts manufacturer, saying an uncontroverted affidavit from the company showing it has no connections to the Sunshine State warrants dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
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September 25, 2024
E-Bike Maker Argues In Del. Supreme Court To Salvage Sale
An attorney for a private equity affiliate that beat a Barcelona-based electric scooter rental chain's attempt to force a closing on the scooter company's $100 million sale in Chancery Court told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday that the seller's current appeal ignores its own fatal contract breaches.
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September 25, 2024
Read Tells Mass. Justices Verdict Slip Not Needed To Acquit
Lawyers for Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman whose high-profile murder case garnered national attention before it ended in a mistrial, told the state's highest court that a retrial is barred by double jeopardy because some jurors revealed afterward that the panel had agreed to acquit — even if no formal verdict was announced.
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September 25, 2024
7th Circ. Doubts London Depo Should Trigger New Fraud Trial
Seventh Circuit judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of a former investment manager's bid for a new trial after he was convicted of bilking investors of roughly $10 million because he could not physically confront a key witness who testified via deposition in London, saying he failed to adequately object to the circumstance.
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September 25, 2024
Workplace Protections Bill For Judiciary Reintroduced
Lawmakers from both parties and chambers announced on Wednesday they've reintroduced a bill to increase workplace protections for federal judiciary employees.
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September 25, 2024
Cannabis Co., Investor Must Take Contract Suit Back To Court
A Washington appeals panel has reversed a summary judgment in favor of an investor who alleged that a cannabis grower and seller breached an agreement to buy out his stock following a dispute, saying that while the contract is enforceable, there remain questions about whether that contract was breached.
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September 25, 2024
Mass. Gov. Nominates New Chief Justice At Appeals Court
Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice Amy Lyn Blake has been nominated to take over as chief justice of the court, Gov. Maura Healey's office announced Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Helene Forcing Shutdown Of Almost Every Courthouse In Fla.
The vast majority of courthouses in Florida will be closed on Thursday in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Helene, in the largest shutdown since Hurricane Irma in 2017.
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September 25, 2024
NJ High Court To Review Judicial Privacy Law In Media Case
The New Jersey Supreme Court will consider whether a municipality overstepped by using the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law to stop a journalist from publishing an article about the city's police director's address, according to a recently filed order.
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September 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Take Up Prosecutor's Outside Counsel Hires
The Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments in a dispute over the Macomb County prosecuting attorney's power to retain outside law firms for general legal advice.
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September 25, 2024
2nd Circ. Eyes New Trial In Yale Retirement Fee Fight
The Second Circuit appeared inclined Wednesday to revive a class action against Yale University from employees alleging their $5.5 billion retirement plan was mismanaged, as all three judges on the panel pointed out possible issues with jury instructions before a post-trial verdict in Yale's favor in 2023.
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September 25, 2024
10th Circ. Revives Amazon Worker's Overtime Suit
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday flipped a district court decision tossing an overtime suit against Amazon, saying that the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling that holiday pay must be part of overtime calculations solves a worker's appeal.
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September 25, 2024
Ex-NY Congressman Argues He Can Be A Fair Federal Judge
President Joe Biden's nominee for the Northern District of New York told lawmakers on Wednesday that his previous stint as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives won't impact his role as an objective federal judge.
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September 25, 2024
Full Fed. Circ. To Tackle Patent Damages In $20M Google Case
The full Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will review a panel's holding that Google must pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent, after the tech giant said the court has allowed patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate."
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September 24, 2024
Full 9th Circ. Vaporizes First-To-File Precedent For FCA Suits
The full Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overruled circuit precedent and held that the so-called first-to-file rule governing False Claims Act cases is not jurisdictional, meaning that courts can't toss a whistleblower action on jurisdictional grounds rooted in the first-to-file provision.
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September 24, 2024
11th Circ. Weighs 'Good Cause' In Franchise Termination Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday considered whether Hyundai Motor Corp. acted with "good cause" when it terminated a franchise owner's dealership contracts over sexual assault charges against the franchise owner's son, with arguments largely focused on whether the carmaker acted with "good cause."
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September 24, 2024
Cat In The Hat, 'Trashy' Books Mulled In Redo Of Library Row
The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday pressed a group of library patrons on whether Texas libraries already routinely engage in viewpoint discrimination through the process of weeding out outdated or unpopular library books during a lengthy discussion of hypotheticals surrounding The Cat in the Hat and the books that 19th-century Americans considered "trashy."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State
Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.
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Differences In Enforcing Oral Settlements In NJ And Pa.
New Jersey mediations should incorporate new best practices for settlement agreements after a recent state appellate court ruling eliminated the enforceability of oral-only settlements, setting New Jersey at odds with Pennsylvania’s established willingness to enforce unwritten agreements that were clearly intended to be binding, say Thomas Wilkinson and Thomas DePaola at Cozen O'Connor.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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Series
After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector
The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.