Appellate

  • July 25, 2024

    SEC Seeks To Narrow Attack On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday that conservative groups objecting to a Nasdaq rule mandating the disclosure of board diversity data can no longer complain about the exchange's offer to help companies recruit applicable candidates because that offer has expired, mooting at least one aspect of a broader attack against the rule.

  • July 25, 2024

    FCC Keeps Chin Up, But Chevron Woes Won't Soon Fade

    After the U.S. Supreme Court term stampeded over long-established elements of administrative law this summer, the future of several major Federal Communications Commission initiatives was cast into doubt, but the agency says it's still optimistic it can navigate the new challenges.

  • July 25, 2024

    Mich. Justices Roll Back MedMal Plaintiffs' Expert Limits

    A split Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday partly overturned a nearly 20-year-old standard that made it harder for medical malpractice plaintiffs to introduce expert testimony, as dissenting justices warned the change could unleash a cascade of new appeals.

  • July 25, 2024

    Newsom Cites High Court In Ordering Encampments Cleared

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state property while providing outreach services to homeless residents following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave governments broader authority to ban camping in public.

  • July 25, 2024

    Radiologist Leans On Muldrow At 1st Circ. Bias Arguments

     A newly minted First Circuit judge dove enthusiastically into his first oral argument session Thursday, lobbing questions at a Boston medical center and a radiologist who said her discrimination and whistleblower case should be revived in part because of an April U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • July 25, 2024

    NC High Court Signals End To College Building Access Row

    The Tar Heel State's Supreme Court this week unpaused a legal battle between North Carolina State University and a cancer-stricken professor after the two said they had resolved a dispute over testing for carcinogens in a campus building.

  • July 25, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Penn. Jury Invalidating Sherwin-Williams IP

    A Pennsylvania federal judge rightfully invalidated claims of several Sherwin-Williams Co. paint coating patents after a jury trial, and properly barred inconsistent assertions from the company, the Federal Circuit held Thursday.

  • July 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rehear State Farm Auto Policy Coverage Row

    A three-judge panel in the Eleventh Circuit said Thursday they won't rehear their decision dismissing a proposed class action brought by a State Farm policyholder alleging that the insurer's denial of coverage for her medical expenses following a car accident was based on an ambiguous "reasonableness" standard.

  • July 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Asked To Toss Execs' Dinar Fraud Convictions

    Three executives of an Atlanta-based dinar exchange convicted of fraud after an advertising partner hyped the Iraqi currency by claiming its price could soar urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss their convictions Thursday, arguing jurors should have been told the difference between fraud and deceit.

  • July 25, 2024

    DC Panel Upholds FDA's Win Against Ipsen's Generics Suit

    A D.C. panel declined to revive Ipsen's challenge to regulators' refusal to classify its acromegaly drug as a biologic, which would have blocked generic versions of it, finding Thursday the drug's active ingredient doesn't meet the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act's definition of a protein to be considered a biologic.

  • July 25, 2024

    1st Circ. Leery Of Fishing Industry Challenge To Wind Farm

    A First Circuit panel on Thursday appeared unlikely to disturb a district court's rulings affirming a series of approvals for a massive wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, questioning procedural claims by fishing industry groups and whether they have standing to sue.

  • July 25, 2024

    DA Says Trump Immunity Ruling Doesn't Affect NY Convictions

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a New York judge Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling has no bearing on Donald Trump's fraud conviction in his hush-money case since the charges relate to unofficial acts.

  • July 25, 2024

    Justices Urged To Hear Red State Bid To End Climate Torts

    Industry groups and conservative think tanks urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a novel request by 19 Republican-led states to nix climate change torts brought by rival state governments against fossil fuel companies, arguing the rival states' claims violate the constitutional bounds of state authority.

  • July 25, 2024

    Rising Star: Kirkland's Devin Anderson

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner Devin Anderson led a former high school football coach to victory at the U.S. Supreme Court after he was not rehired by the district, which took issue with his practice of praying publicly on the field after games, earning him a spot among appellate attorneys under age 40 honored as Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 25, 2024

    6th Circ. Asks Union If Steel Co. Must Pay 'Double' Benefits

    During oral arguments Thursday in a "messy, complex" union fringe benefits dispute, a Sixth Circuit panel questioned whether ruling for a union pension fund would require a steel contractor to pay benefits twice for out-of-state workers. 

  • July 25, 2024

    Ex-Ga. City Manager Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Race Bias Suit

    A white former city manager on Thursday asked the Eleventh Circuit to revive his race bias suit against Cordele, Georgia, and its commission chair, arguing the district court that oversaw the case held him to an improper evidentiary standard in dismissing his claims.

  • July 25, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Justices Urged To Revisit FCC Fund After 5th Circ. Ruling

    Free-market groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to take another look at their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's low-income and rural subsidy programs after the Fifth Circuit ruled the system was unconstitutional.

  • July 25, 2024

    Wash. High Court Tosses Nurse's Religious Bias Lawsuit

    A state-run residential care facility was allowed to fire a nurse who kept requesting religious leave after the facility had already given her nine days off to practice nondenominational Christianity — seven more religious days than its union contract required, Washington state's high court ruled Thursday.

  • July 25, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Questions GM's Arbitration Argument Delay

    A Sixth Circuit judge pressed General Motors on Thursday about why it waited three years to argue that some plaintiffs were bound by arbitration agreements in a class action over allegedly defective transmissions, saying a major car company should be aware most consumers sign such contracts.

  • July 25, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Axes 'Trump Too Small' Holding After Justices' Rule

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday vacated its 2022 ruling that California attorney Steve Elster should be allowed to register "Trump Too Small" as a trademark after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded he could not because the "names clause" of the Lanham Act prohibits registering a name as a mark without that person's permission.

  • July 25, 2024

    Ohio Board Incorrectly Calculated Land, Improvement Value

    An Ohio warehouse property had its land value incorrectly increased to $1.2 million, from $715,000, a state appeals court ruled Thursday after finding no evidence was presented that warranted a change in its value.

  • July 25, 2024

    The 5 Biggest Mass. Top Court Rulings Of 2024 So Far

    It was an eventful first half of 2024 for Massachusetts' top appellate panel, which issued a landmark sentencing ruling, weighed in on time limits in civil cases and addressed whether an attorney falling asleep mid-trial is grounds for a successful appeal.

  • July 25, 2024

    Calif. Appeals Court Revives Roadside Attraction Challenges

    A California state appeals court revived two suits targeting San Benito County approvals for a roadside attraction proposed to be built along Highway 101, holding that the Center for Biological Diversity and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band filed timely challenges to the so-called Betabel Road project.

  • July 25, 2024

    Dems, And Now Biden, Contemplate Supreme Court Reform

    On the heels of President Joe Biden saying he will push for U.S. Supreme Court reform in the final months of his presidency, two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday rallied to promote a bill that would increase the number of seats on the court from nine to 13.

  • July 25, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Tax Official Cites 'Just Cause' To Challenge Firing

    A former high-level legal director at the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has asked the state's intermediate appellate court to reverse her termination, saying the agency, an employment review board and a state trial court judge all failed to apply "just cause" standards to her firing as a managerial worker.

Expert Analysis

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech

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    Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.

  • Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    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.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    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.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now

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    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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