Appellate

  • April 03, 2025

    Optum, Express Scripts Want Judge Ousted From Opioid MDL

    Pharmacy benefit managers Optum and Express Scripts say the Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation should recuse himself because he "regularly communicates" with plaintiffs' attorneys in the litigation and is biased in favor of plaintiffs, according to a motion filed Wednesday.

  • April 03, 2025

    6th Circ. Narrows Who Is 'Consumer' Under Video Privacy Law

    A decades-old federal privacy law aimed at protecting people's video rental history doesn't cover a Paramount digital newsletter subscriber who says his data was unlawfully shared with Meta Platforms, a split Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, determining the law only protects subscribers of audiovisual materials.

  • April 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Asks If Honor Society Jabs At Rival Are Free Speech

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed incredulous as it tried to make sense of a bitter fight between the two biggest community college honor societies in the nation, weighing during oral arguments Thursday whether allegedly malicious Wikipedia editing and accusations of embezzlement and sexual harassment count as commercial speech.

  • April 03, 2025

    Wash. Justices To Hear Amazon Chemical Suicide Suits

    The Washington Supreme Court will review whether Amazon can be sued under the state's product liability law for the online sale of a chemical that four people used to kill themselves, in cases brought by family members that were dismissed by a lower appellate court.

  • April 03, 2025

    Gun Website Can't Sue Facebook Over Removal, Panel Says

    A Pennsylvania appeals court said Thursday it won't order Facebook and Instagram to ​reinstate an online gun marketplace's banned social media accounts, saying there is no valid claim that a state agent violated the company's free speech rights.

  • April 03, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Reverses Exxon's $25M Insurance Win

    A Texas state appeals court reversed a $25 million judgment for Exxon Mobil on Thursday, finding that because of a policy exclusion, the company's excess insurer did not have to cover it in connection with a $35 million settlement following a deadly 2013 explosion at one of its facilities.

  • April 03, 2025

    Unvaxxed Firefighters Face Skeptical 9th Circ. In Firing Appeal

    A panel of Ninth Circuit judges questioned the argument made Thursday by eight Washington fire and rescue workers fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, challenging their claim that COVID-19 infections did not create an undue hardship for their department.

  • April 03, 2025

    Ex-Judge, Profs Ask Justices To Weigh 9th Circ. Ch. 7 Ruling

    A former bankruptcy judge and five law professors have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit opinion protecting the state of Montana from a real estate mogul and Montana ski resort founder's bid for damages over an involuntary Chapter 7 the state initiated.

  • April 03, 2025

    Photographer Wants Justices To Look At 'Server Test'

    A Los Angeles-based photographer has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review his failed lawsuit against a travel website over embedding Instagram posts, challenging the Ninth Circuit's "server test" for determining liability for online copyright infringement claims.

  • April 03, 2025

    Carnival Knew Of Assault Risks In Teen's Case, 11th Circ. Told

    An attorney representing a Canadian woman who was sexually assaulted aboard a Carnival ship as a teenager in 2019 urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reinstate her lawsuit against the cruise company, arguing that the incident was foreseeable given dozens of reports received years prior documenting similar events.

  • April 03, 2025

    Hospital Group Urges 4th Circ. To Undo Data Access Order

    Industry groups representing hospitals and health data companies have urged the Fourth Circuit to rethink its panel's dismissal of an appeal over an order forcing an electronic medical records company to let a nursing data company access patients' information, saying the order creates a financial burden on the healthcare system.

  • April 03, 2025

    Carrier Dealing Rule Is Fair, Maritime Regulator Tells DC Circ.

    The agency that regulates the U.S. international ocean transportation system had "ample authority" to issue a rule defining "unreasonable" refusals to negotiate on the part of ocean carriers, the regulator has argued in response to a challenge from an affected trade association.

  • April 03, 2025

    7th Circ. Doubts SuperValu's Bid To Lower $22.5M Pension Bill

    The Seventh Circuit appeared Thursday to lean against a grocery store's effort to lower its $22.5 million union pension bill, with multiple judges challenging the employer's argument that stores sold months before a complete fund withdrawal should be excluded from its annual payment calculation.

  • April 03, 2025

    Baby Food Suit Must Face Trial Or Calif. Panel, 9th Circ. Told

    Plum Organics buyers urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to ask the California Supreme Court to clarify Golden State's deception-by-omission law, or reverse Plum's summary judgment win and send to trial the consumers' allegations that the baby-food-maker failed to disclose potential toxins in its baby food products.

  • April 03, 2025

    Tribes, Great Lakes Group Seek Appeal Of Enbridge Decision

    Four tribes and a Great Lakes water protection group have asked the Michigan Supreme Court for leave to challenge a state public service commission decision as well as a subsequent appeals panel ruling that both favor Enbridge Energy's Line 5 tunnel project.

  • April 03, 2025

    Senate Confirms Trump Nominee For Solicitor General

    The Senate voted 52-45, along party lines, on Thursday to confirm Dean John Sauer, a former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, to be solicitor general of the United States.

  • April 03, 2025

    DC Circ. Steps In To Pause CFPB Order As Judge Denies Stay

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday put a temporary, limited hold on a federal judge's preliminary injunction barring further cuts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, even as the judge herself largely denied a Trump administration bid to stay it for appeal.

  • April 03, 2025

    Fulton Bank Keeps $7.7M Win In Pa. Development Loan Fight

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court has affirmed a $7.7 million judgment in favor of Fulton Bank in legal battle with developers over construction loans used to build a manufactured home community, reasoning the companies' arguments that they were entitled to a jury trial didn't move the needle in their favor.

  • April 03, 2025

    Ex-Cop Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Bias Suit Against Fla. City

    A former Opa-Locka, Florida, police officer has urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive her gender and age discrimination suit against the city over her termination after she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • April 03, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Backs UT Royalty Award In Pet Co. Suit

    A Texas appellate court on Thursday refused to undo a lower court's ruling over the amount a pet healthcare company owes in unpaid royalties to the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System for veterinary testing products.

  • April 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Shriners' Firing Of Unvaxxed Workers

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a lawsuit accusing Shriners Hospitals for Children of wrongfully firing employees who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, shooting down terminated workers' contention that the hospital, acting for the government, violated their right to refuse a vaccine through a mandatory vaccination policy.

  • April 03, 2025

    Justices' Ruling Empowers FDA To Rein In Vapes, Experts Say

    A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming federal regulators' authority to deny marketing applications for flavored vapes was noted as a victory for federal agency autonomy, but vaping industry interests said it could remove a crucial harm reduction tool.

  • April 03, 2025

    NC Panel Scraps Subrogation Suit Over Misidentified Plaintiff

    An insurer for a Hardee's restaurant can't revive its subrogation suit over a 2019 fire after it accidentally misnamed itself in the complaint, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled, finding the incorrectly identified plaintiff lacked standing to sue, and the complaint was a "nullity."

  • April 03, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sides With USPTO In 'Atypical' Patent Appeal

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday tossed an "atypical" appeal from an inventor challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of claims in a patent he applied for that would have expired before it could have even been issued.

  • April 03, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs $10M Gas Royalty Judgment Against Antero

    A Sixth Circuit panel affirmed an Ohio district court ruling holding that Antero Resources Corp. underpaid a class of Buckeye State landowners $10 million by improperly deducting costs from their natural gas royalties.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail CFPB

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide

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    If upheld on appeal, Vetter v. Resnik, a recent ruling from a Louisiana federal court, could extend the geographical scope of U.S. copyright termination rights to foreign territories, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards

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    Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Provides Guidance On 363 Asset Sales

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    HE v. Avadim Holdings, a recent ruling from the District of Delaware, underscores the principle that rejection of executory contracts does not unwind completed transfers of property and the importance of clear and precise language in sale orders and asset purchase agreements in bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • FLSA Ruling Shows Split Over Court Approval Of Settlements

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    A Kentucky federal court's recent ruling in Bazemore v. Papa John's highlights a growing trend of courts finding they are not required, or even authorized, to approve private settlements releasing Fair Labor Standards Act claims, underscoring a jurisdictional split and open questions that practitioners need to grapple with, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dewberry v. Dewberry hones in on the question of how a defendant's affiliates' profits should be treated under the Lanham Act, and should remind trademark litigants and practitioners that issues involving monetary relief should be treated seriously, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court

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    The Trump administration is likely to drop the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas after its review of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rule, but any outcome will be significant for institutions participating in programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • When Reincorporation Out Of Del. Isn't A Good Idea

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    While recent high-profile corporate moves out of Delaware have prompted discussion about the benefits of incorporation elsewhere, for many, remaining in the First State may be the right decision due to its deep body of business law, tradition of nonjury trials and other factors, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Perspectives

    11th Circ. Ruling Shows How AEDPA Limits Habeas Relief

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision to uphold an Alabama man's death sentence reveals how the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act can prevent meaningful review and has eroded the power of habeas corpus petitions by forcing federal courts to pay extraordinary deference to state-level rulings, says Paul Shechtman at Yale Law School.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Future Of The Superfund PFAS Rule

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent grant of a pause in litigation while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the Biden-era designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous" under the Superfund law creates new uncertainty for companies — but more lawsuits are likely as long as the rule remains in effect, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

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