Appellate

  • February 04, 2025

    Mich. Supreme Court Says City's Electricity Fee Is Illegal Tax

    A franchise fee added to East Lansing, Michigan, residents' energy bills is a disguised tax, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying the fee was used to raise revenue for the city without first being approved by voters.

  • February 04, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Gov't Properly Ended USCIS Lease After Flood

    The Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal government reasonably terminated a lease for a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office because of water damage, saying the lease allowed the government to determine when the office was untenantable.

  • February 04, 2025

    1st Circ. Doubts Arbitration Bid 4 Years Into Au Pair Wage Row

    The First Circuit on Tuesday questioned an au pair placement agency's assertion that it is still entitled to force wage violation claims into arbitration in Switzerland despite more than four years of U.S. litigation and one prior trip to the appellate court.

  • February 04, 2025

    4th Circ. Keeps NC Judge's Ballot Battle In State Court

    The Fourth Circuit will let a North Carolina state court decide the fate of a contested associate justice race that remains unresolved months after the election, but the panel left the door open for a district court to decide any leftover federal constitutional issues.

  • February 04, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs Biden's Gov't Contractor Wage Hike

    The Fifth Circuit upended on Tuesday a ruling that blocked an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour, saying former President Joe Biden acted within his authority when he put forward the regulation because it was intended to promote economy and efficiency.

  • February 04, 2025

    Severance Pact Sinks Ex-Mercedes Exec's Age, Race Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Tuesday of a former executive's suit claiming the financial arm of Mercedes-Benz pushed her out of the company due to age and racial bias, rejecting her argument that a severance agreement she signed before suing the business wasn't enforceable.

  • February 04, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Adopt 'Consensus' On Officers' Immunity

    A Georgia woman who was subjected to a strip and cavity search while visiting her husband in prison urged the full Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to build on its prior ruling that her rights had been violated and to sweep away the prison officials' defenses of qualified immunity.

  • February 04, 2025

    NJ Wildlife Regulator Is Unconstitutional, Ex-Legislator Argues

    A former New Jersey state senator urged an appeals court Tuesday to revive his nonprofit company's suit challenging the constitutionality of the state's hunting and fishing regulatory agency, arguing it's the only policymaking body in the state controlled by a single private organization.

  • February 04, 2025

    NLRB Attys Won't Address Member Removal In 5th Circ. Row

    National Labor Relations Board attorneys told the Fifth Circuit that they won't defend NLRB members' firing protections at a Feb. 5 hearing on the agency's constitutionality in the wake of the president's removal of a board member and appointment of a new acting prosecutor.

  • February 04, 2025

    Apple Asks DC Circ. To Pause Google Search Case For Appeal

    Apple has asked the D.C. Circuit to pause the remedies phase of the landmark monopolization case targeting Google's search dominance, arguing it needs to intervene to protect its contracts with Google that are worth billions of dollars each year.

  • February 04, 2025

    6th Circ. Urged To Back $600M Train Derailment Deal

    Norfolk Southern and East Palestine, Ohio, residents defended a $600 million class settlement in Sixth Circuit briefs Monday, saying the deal provides meaningful relief to people and businesses impacted by a 2023 train derailment and release of toxic chemicals.

  • February 04, 2025

    US, Osage Nation Fight Bid To Stay $4.2M Wind Farm Order

    The U.S. government is fighting a bid by Enel Green Power North America to stay a $4.2 million judgment and permanent injunction that requires it to remove 84 wind turbines from the Osage Nation's reservation, arguing that the company is unlikely to prevail in a Tenth Circuit appeal.

  • February 04, 2025

    Docs Say DEA Didn't Put All Documents In Pot Hearing Record

    A group of doctors who had petitioned to halt the Drug Enforcement Administration's hearings on whether to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act are asking the D.C. Circuit to order the agency to add documents to the record that they say have been wrongly excluded.

  • February 04, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Alleging Faked Therapy Notes

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday sided with a whistleblower who accused her former employer of creating fake notes about addiction therapy sessions that never happened, finding that she had sufficiently detailed the allegations and connected the dots to defeat a motion to dismiss.

  • February 04, 2025

    Boeing Supplier Tells 5th Circ. To Ax Texas Biz Records Law

    Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems Inc. cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent in urging the Fifth Circuit to uphold a lower court finding that a Texas statute requiring businesses to immediately comply with the state's demand to examine business records is facially unconstitutional.

  • February 04, 2025

    Mellon Heir's Estate Defends $29M Tax Refund Request

    A Pittsburgh billionaire made a "bona fide" deal to indemnify the trustees for his Mellon family millions as he drained a family trust account, so a $200 million settlement to partly replenish the fund for his heirs should be deductible and produce a $29 million refund of his Pennsylvania estate taxes, the estate's lawyer told a state appellate court Tuesday.

  • February 04, 2025

    Trans Deputy's Bias Case Hits Headwinds At 11th Circ.

    The full Eleventh Circuit grappled Tuesday with whether a county health plan's coverage exclusions for gender-affirming surgery conflicted with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision, with several judges taking issue with a panel's ruling that found coverage denials for a transgender employee's vaginoplasty amounted to unlawful discrimination.

  • February 04, 2025

    Appellate Group Of The Year: Jones Day

    Jones Day spent 2024 stacking up wins in some of the highest-profile and controversial appellate cases of the year, representing everyone from election betting market Kalshi to gun manufacturers and a state legislature accused of racial gerrymandering, all reasons it was picked as one of the 2024 Law360 Appellate Groups of the Year.

  • February 04, 2025

    3rd Circ. Urged To Nix Tax On $191M In Family Pharma Feud

    A pharmaceutical company's $191 million payment settling a family feud over shares of the business did not include imputed interest triggering higher taxes as the U.S. government claims, a trust for family members who received the money told the Third Circuit.

  • February 04, 2025

    Holtzman Vogel Adds Election Law Talent In Arizona, Virginia

    Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC has hired six attorneys in offices across the United States, including some based in Arizona and Virginia who focus their practices on election and constitutional law issues.

  • February 04, 2025

    NJ Atty Avoids Disbarment After Bank Fraud Conviction

    A New Jersey attorney who was disbarred in New York and Colorado after copping to participating in a bank fraud conspiracy in 2017 has been handed a three-year license suspension in the Garden State, retroactive to the date of her guilty plea.

  • February 03, 2025

    6th Circ. Axes $650M Judgment Against CVS, Walgreens

    The Sixth Circuit has vacated two Ohio counties' $650 million win against CVS Health, Walgreens and Walmart, an expected decision that comes after the Ohio Supreme Court found that the state's product liability law doesn't allow for public nuisance claims to be brought over the opioid crisis.

  • February 03, 2025

    Google Fights Uphill To Scrap Antitrust Verdict At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical on Monday of Google's bid to throw out Epic Games' antitrust trial win and injunction requiring Google to open its Play Store to rivals following Epic Games' partial antitrust loss against Apple, with each judge doubting that the Apple ruling is necessarily preclusive.

  • February 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Panel Split On NLRB Case After Post-Loper Remand

    Members of a Fifth Circuit panel appeared split Monday about whether to once again uphold a National Labor Relations Board decision letting its acting prosecutor pull a pending suit in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to scale back courts' deference to federal agencies.

  • February 03, 2025

    Del. Justices Agree Conduent Fraud Verdict Wasn't Proper

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a Superior Court judge's ruling setting aside a jury verdict that Delaware-chartered Conduent State Healthcare LLC tried to defraud insurers after paying a $236 million Medicaid settlement in Texas.

Expert Analysis

  • In Terror Case, DC Circ. Must Weigh Justices' Twitter Ruling

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    When the D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in AstraZeneca UK v. Atchley, how the court interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh will have a significant impact on future claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling

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    A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied

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    Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

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    Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

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    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

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    In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

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    The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

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