Appellate

  • September 20, 2024

    Vandalizing Doctor Gets $200K For Defeating Vengeful Suit

    A doctor who defaced the property of a real estate developer with graffiti can keep an award of more than $200,000 in attorney fees for defending himself from a suit that a judge found was filed out of vengeance, a Michigan appellate panel has ruled. 

  • September 20, 2024

    Doctor Can't Secure Disability Coverage, 3rd Circ. Affirms

    An ophthalmologist cannot secure total-disability benefits from his occupational disability insurer after he was diagnosed with a nerve condition preventing him from performing surgeries, the Third Circuit ruled, noting he still maintained his practice even after he stopped performing the surgeries.

  • September 20, 2024

    Mich. School Officials Keep Immunity In Oxford Shooting Suits

    A Michigan appellate court panel on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a pair of lawsuits alleging Oxford Community School and its employees were negligent in failing to prevent a teenager from shooting and killing four classmates and injuring seven others in 2021, saying no reasonable juror could determine anyone other than the shooter was responsible.

  • September 20, 2024

    Car Crash Claims Against Uber Sent To Arbitration

    A New Jersey appeals panel on Friday sent a couple's suit against Uber Technologies Inc. over a car accident to arbitration, finding that a user agreement for Uber Eats that includes an arbitration clause is valid and enforceable.

  • September 20, 2024

    'Free Karen Read' Protest Case Is Moot, 1st Circ. Says

    The First Circuit has bowed out of hearing a First Amendment challenge brought by protesters who gathered outside a business run by a witness in Karen Read's first trial for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, ruling that the dispute centering on the Massachusetts witness intimidation law was moot.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ex-Healthcare Exec Can't Sue GC Over Probe Advice

    A former Baxter International treasurer who was fired amid an investigation into improper foreign exchange transactions was correctly blocked from pursuing claims against the healthcare company and its general counsel over advice he received on navigating the probe, an Illinois appellate panel said Friday.

  • September 20, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Late-Reported Malpractice Claim

    An insurance carrier had no obligation to defend or indemnify a Massachusetts attorney who failed to report a malpractice lawsuit for more than a year, the First Circuit said, affirming a lower court's decision to vacate a $1.1 million jury verdict against the insurer.

  • September 20, 2024

    Avenatti Seeks Top Court Review Of Daniels ID Theft Verdict

    Incarcerated celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction for misappropriating money from ex-client Stormy Daniels, claiming the Second Circuit's decision upholding the verdict runs afoul of precedent for identity-theft cases.

  • September 20, 2024

    What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For The Courts

    During his speech in Milwaukee in July accepting the Republican nomination for president, former President Donald Trump called Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida a "highly respected federal judge" and touted her ruling a few days earlier throwing out the "fake" case against him involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

  • September 20, 2024

    Chevron's Demise May Not Bring Deluge Courts Had Feared

    Though the death of Chevron deference has opened a door to attacking administrative decisions, the expected uptick in litigation probably won't threaten to clog federal courts, numerous administrative law experts told Law360.

  • September 20, 2024

    Court Rejects Jerry Sandusky's Atty Pressure Tactics Theory

    A Pennsylvania state appeals court has denied convicted pedophile and former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's latest request for a retrial, rejecting his claims that new evidence showed accusers were pressured by an attorney to sue and that several underwent "repressed memory therapy" in order to recount false memories of abuse.

  • September 20, 2024

    Drew Eckl Battles Ex-Firm Attys Over Fees Arbitration

    Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP and breakaway firm Burke Moore Law Group LLP filed competing briefs with the Georgia Court of Appeals this week, as Drew Eckl fought to uphold a trial court's ruling that Burke Moore must arbitrate a dispute over fees earned by its name partners when they left to start their own shop.

  • September 20, 2024

    Off The Bench: Favre Flops, Dolan Escapes, Betting Cos. Sued

    In this week's Off The Bench, retired quarterback Brett Favre can't revive a defamation suit against fellow NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, New York Knicks owner James Dolan is spared from federal sex-trafficking claims, and two sports-betting giants face new suits over their use of MLB player images.

  • September 20, 2024

    Trump Again Asks To Delay Evidence In DC Election Suit

    Attorneys for former President Donald Trump again asked the Washington, D.C., federal judge overseeing his election interference case to push back a highly anticipated evidentiary filing from prosecutors, saying special counsel Jack Smith's office shouldn't be allowed to publicly lay out evidence until the court addresses Trump's concerns about the scope of discovery.

  • September 20, 2024

    Illinois Justices Affirm Fired Attorneys' $1.7M Fee Award

    The Illinois Supreme Court held Thursday that two attorneys who represented clients in contentious proceedings over family assets are entitled to $1.7 million in fees for nearly a year and a half of legal work they did before they were terminated, reversing an appellate court that found their attorney-client agreement void.

  • September 20, 2024

    IRS Must Credit Overpayments, Couple Tell 5th Circ.

    A couple claiming they should be allowed to sue the IRS for a roughly $500,000 tax refund in federal court because they overpaid their taxes told the Fifth Circuit that the agency is out of time to challenge their overpayments and must credit their account.

  • September 20, 2024

    High Court Refuses To Put Jill Stein Back On Nevada Ballot

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Nevada Green Party's request to have Jill Stein's name reinstated on the state's presidential ballot Friday, allowing the Silver State to exclude the minor party from its general election after it filed the wrong form at the direction of state officials.

  • September 19, 2024

    NC Justices Seem OK With Original Ouster Of Cursing Clerk

    North Carolina Supreme Court justices appeared willing to rule on Thursday that a county clerk was lawfully removed from office by a replacement for a recused judge after the clerk allegedly cursed a judge's name on an accidental phone call.

  • September 19, 2024

    Why Justice Thomas' Gifts Probe Is Likely Taking So Long

    The federal judiciary's governing body has spent more than a year reviewing complaints alleging U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas unlawfully failed to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel. Ethics watchdogs argue it's time to wrap up the investigation, but politics — in every sense of the word — may cause further delay.

  • September 19, 2024

    CFTC Warns Of 'Profound' Harm In Election Betting Appeal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fought Thursday to prevent an online trading platform from offering betting on election outcomes while the agency appeals a trial court ruling that allowed the futures contracts to go live, warning the D.C. Circuit that the "high-stakes" event contracts threaten serious harm to election integrity.

  • September 19, 2024

    Texas Med Mal Law Axes Crash Suit Against Ambulance Driver

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday narrowly tossed a suit accusing an ambulance driver of causing a motorist's crash injuries after running a red light, saying the suit can be considered a medical malpractice case, which requires a medical expert's report.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ill. Justices Affirm $2.1M Verdict In Blood Clot Death Suit

    The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday declined to overturn a jury's $2.1 million verdict in a medical malpractice suit accusing a doctor of causing a patient's death, saying the widower's award for "material services" was recoverable even though he remarried about a year after his wife's death.

  • September 19, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Flip Fraud Convictions Over Unseen Jury

    The Fourth Circuit has refused to overturn two men's investment-fraud convictions over complaints that COVID safety protocols made the jury invisible to the public, but vacated part of one sentence because probation conditions weren't adequately spelled out.

  • September 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Disbarred Atty Mooted Appeal With Guilty Plea

    The Tenth Circuit dismissed a disbarred immigration attorney's efforts at obtaining an injunction that would force a state court to appoint counsel for her in a forgery case, saying Thursday that she mooted her own appeal by pleading guilty.

  • September 19, 2024

    8th Circ. Says No Detention Time Limit For Deportees

    The Eighth Circuit has ruled that a district court wrongly determined that the due process rights of an Ivory Coast native convicted of robbery were violated after he spent a year in federal custody waiting for a removal decision.

Expert Analysis

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Perspectives

    High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform

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    Though advocates for civil forfeiture reform did not prevail in Culley v. Marshall last month, concerns voiced by a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices potentially leave the door open to consider stricter limits in future cases, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • Perspectives

    NY Chief Judge Spotlights Need To Strengthen Public Defense

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    In a recent concurrence in People v. Watkins, New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson called attention to the necessity for greater investment in public defense services, highlighting not only the urgency of current crises, but the need to embrace a more ambitious vision of equal right to counsel, says Corey Stoughton at Selendy Gay.

  • The Fed. Circ. In May: A Major Shift In Design Patent Law

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    The Federal Circuit's recent en banc decision in LKQ v. GM overruled three decades of precedent and adopted a new standard for assessing the obviousness of design patents, leaving many questions unanswered, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.

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