Appellate

  • October 04, 2024

    Attys Tried To Coerce Client For Larger Fee, Texas Court Rules

    A Texas appeals court found that two attorneys tried to finagle a higher fee out of their client by threatening her with a lawsuit if she didn't fork over a larger amount than was specified in their contract, with the three-judge panel overruling all the attorneys' issues.

  • October 04, 2024

    Russia, Ex-Shareholders Look To NextEra In $50B Award Suit

    Russia and former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co. who are trying to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards against the Kremlin are disputing the significance of the D.C. Circuit's August opinion concluding that district courts have jurisdiction to enforce some $395 million in arbitral awards against Spain.

  • October 04, 2024

    Atty Who Defied License Ban Asks Court To Rethink Jail Time

    A disbarred attorney asked the Florida Supreme Court on Friday to reconsider its decision to send him to jail for 60 days for allegedly repeatedly practicing law without a license, including continuing to market himself as a licensed attorney.

  • October 04, 2024

    No Citizen Arrest Warrants In Ballot Case, Conn. Justices Say

    The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision declining to issue arrest warrants for two officials accused of mishandling ballots during a Democratic primary in Bridgeport, ruling that the three voters who brought the matter to the court lacked standing to appeal the denial.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Agrees To Hear Hamas Banking Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a Lebanese bank's bid to end a suit brought by victims of Hamas terrorist attacks, which the bank argued is settled because the victims waited too long to move to vacate a lower court's judgment in the bank's favor.

  • October 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Topples Verdict In Tire Design IP Litigation

    The Federal Circuit on Friday determined that a federal court in Chicago had it wrong about what kind of conduct in litigation is granted "absolute litigation privilege," upending a multimillion-dollar jury verdict on liability over language in settlement agreements in a dispute over tire designs.

  • October 04, 2024

    Election Litigation Looms Over New Supreme Court Term

    The U.S. Supreme Court justices return to the bench Monday for a new term, even as the dust continues to settle from the shifts in administrative law and foundational changes to presidential immunity that headlined their last sitting. But experts say any hope that this term may be calmer is wishful thinking, in large part due to all-but-certain litigation over the presidential election.

  • October 04, 2024

    State Fair Case Creates Tension For Gun And Property Rights

    The State Fair of Texas kicked off a week ago with its usual offerings of splashing neon and deep-fried Oreos, but with its opening the fair has become the center of a legal question the Texas Supreme Court may have difficulty wrangling as it seeks to sort out the tension between the rights of gun owners and property owners.

  • October 04, 2024

    11th Circ. Sends Tribal Loan Dispute Back For Arbitration

    An Eleventh Circuit panel has reversed and remanded a lower court's ruling that a Tampa-based consumer collection company cannot compel arbitration in a bid seeking payment on a tribally owned firm's loans, arguing provisions of the agreements require such proceedings under tribal and federal law.

  • October 04, 2024

    Oversight Dems Probe Chief Justice On Jan. 6 Case Handling

    Two House Democrats on the oversight committee questioned U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Friday on recent reporting he replaced Justice Samuel Alito as the author of a decision on a Jan. 6 case after the public learned the latter justice's wife flew flags at their homes with ties to the "Stop the Steal" movement.

  • October 04, 2024

    DC Circ. Wary Of Ga. Voting Ruling's FOIA Impact

    A D.C. Circuit panel seemed concerned Friday with the practical implications of a trial court's holding that the Freedom of Information Act compels the disclosure of the U.S. Department of Justice's communications with private co-litigants in lawsuits challenging a controversial Georgia voting law.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Nuclear Case Could Be Admin Law Blockbuster

    By agreeing to consider the federal government's authority to license temporary nuclear waste storage facilities, the U.S. Supreme Court can ease the uncertainty facing a resurgent U.S. nuclear industry as well as clarify limits it's recently placed on federal agency power, experts say.

  • October 04, 2024

    DOL Urges 11th Circ. To Back Arbitration Denial In ESOP Row

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject arbitration in a proposed class action alleging a legal technology firm undervalued company shares when it shut down its employee stock ownership plan, arguing that the arbitration provision clashed with federal benefits law.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky

    In many ways, Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP has traveled a tried-and-true path — Harvard, elite clerkships, BigLaw — to the upper echelons of U.S. Supreme Court advocacy. But his route to the forefront of the bar's next generation has been less conventional than it might appear, and he spoke with Law360 about how he's climbed so high — and how he excels by avoiding rhetoric that "judges really, really hate."

  • October 04, 2024

    Enviro Group Drops EPA Fight Over Colo. Refinery Permit

    The Center for Biological Diversity agreed to end its Tenth Circuit challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's refusal to object to a series of state permit changes for a Denver-area oil refinery, according to a Friday court filing.

  • October 04, 2024

    Denver Charity Drops Fraudulent Grant Coverage Fight

    A Denver-based nonprofit has agreed to drop its suit over insurance coverage for $349,000 in grants it gave to a different charity whose founder was accused by Colorado authorities of lying about its nonprofit status, according to court filings Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Pause EPA's Iron Plant Rule

    A D.C. Circuit panel rejected bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. to stay a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emissions standards for their taconite iron ore processing facilities.

  • October 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Boeing Contractual Cost Accounting Case

    The Federal Circuit on Friday revived Boeing's suit claiming the Defense Contract Management Agency wrongly adjusted contractual cost claims using a regulation that clashes with a federal cost accounting statute, finding the case was essentially a contract dispute and not a disallowed regulatory challenge.

  • October 04, 2024

    Up First At High Court: Civil Rights, Ghost Guns, Atty Fees

    The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes Monday to start a brand-new term, with the justices first hearing arguments related to prerequisites for litigating federal rights in state courts, ghost gun regulations, and whether a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial after a state admits that prosecutorial misconduct might have led to his conviction.

  • October 04, 2024

    Panel Agrees Atty 'Acted Incompetently' In Filing Slipup

    Connecticut's Statewide Grievance Committee had clear and convincing evidence that civil litigation attorney John W. Mills of Mills & Cahill LLC acted incompetently in failing to name his client's business as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against her accountant's estate or provide proof of her individual damages, a state appellate panel ruled Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Class Decertification In Unpaid Wages Dispute

    The Seventh Circuit declined to upend an order decertifying a class of satellite technicians who accused their employer of shorting them on overtime wages, agreeing that class treatment is improper because of the myriad differences between workers.

  • October 04, 2024

    NY Appeals Court Won't Trim Sex Abuse Coverage Dispute

    A New York state appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling declining to dismiss The Rockefeller University's claims that its insurers acted in bad faith and conducted deceptive trade practices while handling the university's coverage request for underlying allegations of sexual abuse.

  • October 04, 2024

    5th Circ. Names Judge Behind Abortion Pill Ruling As New Chief

    U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod became chief judge of the Fifth Circuit on Friday, rising to the top of the appellate court after a nearly two-decade tenure there marked by high-profile decisions on abortion medication and gun regulations.

  • October 04, 2024

    NJ Court Removes Judge Who Admitted Sex Harassment

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has removed a municipal judge and barred him from holding judicial office in the state again after accusations that he sexually harassed female court staff members after becoming drunk at an office party.

  • October 04, 2024

    Colo. Attys May Release Files Without Waiving Lien On Clients

    A Colorado appellate panel has found that attorneys who hold liens on documents due to unpaid client bills will not waive their rights to enforcement if they release certain files, issuing a precedential opinion designed to help trial courts determine when such liens are enforceable and when they might be lifted.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    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.

  • Differences In Enforcing Oral Settlements In NJ And Pa.

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    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.

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    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.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    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.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • 7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws

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    The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.

  • Accidental Death Ruling Shows ERISA Review Standard's Pull

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    The Eleventh Circuit’s recent accidental death insurance ruling in Goldfarb v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance illustrates how an arbitrary and capricious standard of review in Employee Retirement Income Security Act denial-of-benefits cases creates a steep uphill battle for benefit claimants, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in two major abortion-related cases this term largely preserve the status quo for now, but leave federal preemption, the Comstock Act and in vitro fertilization in limbo, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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