Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
July 19, 2024
Jury Finds Gibson The Rightful Owner Of Liberace Piano
A Boston federal jury on Friday affirmed Gibson Guitars' right to have Liberace's bedazzled 9-foot-long grand piano returned to it from a Massachusetts piano store to which it loaned the entertainer's iconic instrument more than a decade ago.
-
July 19, 2024
Rising Star: BCLP's Barbara A. Smith Tyson
Barbara A. Smith Tyson of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP claimed wins in two First Amendment cases involving Courthouse News Service and successfully convinced the Kansas Court of Appeals to dismiss personal injury claims accusing Walmart of administering a COVID-19 vaccine to a 15-year-old girl without parental consent, earning her a spot among the appellate attorneys under the age of 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 19, 2024
Draft Constitutional Amendment Would Ax Trump Immunity
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Friday released a draft of a constitutional amendment that would ensure no one is above the law, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that former President Donald Trump has immunity from official acts as president.
-
July 19, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Atty's Fee Appeal Too Early In Benefits Dispute
The Federal Circuit declined to reinstate an attorney's lawsuit seeking more than $38,000 in fees for his work representing a veteran in a benefits dispute with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, saying it can't yet rule on whether the attorney was wrongly denied the money.
-
July 18, 2024
5th Circ. Remands ESG Rule Row Citing Chevron's End
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday instructed a Texas federal court to reconsider a Biden administration rule allowing retirement plan advisers to consider environmental, social and governance factors when choosing investments, pointing to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have "upended" the legal landscape.
-
July 18, 2024
Fed. Circ. OKs Navy Deal Despite Contractor's Labor Unrest
The Federal Circuit denied Thursday a contractor's protest bids for U.S. Navy aircraft services contracts at two European bases, rejecting arguments that the lower court didn't properly consider the winning contractor's past labor violations and that the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the so-called Chevron doctrine "upends" the underlying decision.
-
July 18, 2024
Crypto Law Firm's SEC Challenge Met With Doubt At 9th Circ.
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of a law firm's quest for a judgment that its use of the crypto asset ether doesn't offend securities laws, questioning whether the firm has shown it faces enough of a threat from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep its case against the regulator alive.
-
July 18, 2024
8th Circ. Blocks Another Biden Student Debt Relief Plan
The Eighth Circuit has blocked the Biden administration from implementing another plan for student loan forgiveness while the appellate court considers a Missouri-led state alliance's injunction request, according to an order entered Thursday.
-
July 18, 2024
6th Circ. Sees 'Fundamental' Shift Post-Chevron In Title X Row
The toppling of Chevron deference set the tone for a Sixth Circuit hearing on Thursday as the court contemplated Tennessee's arguments that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services went beyond its statutory power when it introduced new requirements for family planning funding.
-
July 18, 2024
Florida Urges 11th Circ. To Allow Gender Law Despite Appeal
Florida officials have urged the Eleventh Circuit to immediately allow enforcement of a law restricting gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors and adults despite an appeal, saying that a lower court wrongly determined the law was discriminatory and that patients will be harmed if "life-altering" medical procedures are not outlawed.
-
July 18, 2024
Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.
-
July 18, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Tossing Of Ship Captain's Toxic Injury Suit
A former offshore supply vessel captain, who claims chemicals aboard caused his cancer and kidney failure, must sue his U.S. employer in England, the Fifth Circuit has ruled, saying the employment contract's forum selection clause is enforceable even after considering Louisiana's law which largely prohibits such clauses.
-
July 18, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Fired Doctor's COVID Vax Religious Bias Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a doctor's claims that Washington State University failed to accommodate his religious beliefs when it fired him from his residency for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling Thursday that U.S. Supreme Court precedent necessitates another look at his case.
-
July 18, 2024
Fed. Circ. OKs Gilstrap's Alice Ax Of Background Check Patent
The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap's invalidation of a background check patent for claiming only an abstract idea, as well as his refusal to award attorney fees to the small Texas city that prevailed in the case.
-
July 18, 2024
9th Circ. Signals Support For Alaska Salmon Fishery
A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday leaned toward allowing government-approved commercial salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska, with one judge saying the economic hardship indigenous communities would face without fishing outweighs the "enormous uncertainty" of impacts on a small population of orca whales that feed on the fish.
-
July 18, 2024
Google Warns Fed. Circ. Panel Backed Manipulating Damages
The Federal Circuit's decision to make Google pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent clears patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate" and ignore both market realities and apportionment, Google told the full court in a bid for rehearing.
-
July 18, 2024
SpaceX Tells 5th Circ. It Will Win Challenge To NLRB Structure
The Fifth Circuit should block claims that SpaceX violated labor law from proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board because the company has a good shot at winning its constitutional challenge to the agency's structure, SpaceX argued.
-
July 18, 2024
Menendez Appeal Could Make Hay From Bribery Case Law
Sen. Robert Menendez's planned "aggressive" appeal will almost certainly include broadsides against his novel foreign-agent conviction and attempt to capitalize on the U.S. Supreme Court's proven appetite for bribery cases, experts say.
-
July 18, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Panel Backs Restoring DHS Bond Rule
A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a Department of Homeland Security rule barring some immigration surety firms from posting bonds for detained border-crossers Thursday, saying the rule's 2021 ratification by current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cured any defects with its original introduction in 2020.
-
July 18, 2024
Judge Won't Pause Sanctions In Byju's Ch. 11
A Delaware district court Thursday ruled hedge fund Camshaft Capital Fund LP cannot hold off a contempt order from a Delaware bankruptcy court in the Chapter 11 case of Byju's Alpha while it appeals the sanctions, finding that it could avoid sanctions if it complied with a court order.
-
July 18, 2024
Miner Seeks Atty Fees After 4th Circ. DOL Judges Ruling
A former miner urged the Fourth Circuit to approve approximately $21,000 in attorney fees in his case seeking benefits for his black lung disease, saying he has been unable to reach a settlement with an engineering company that challenged the appointment of two U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges.
-
July 18, 2024
LegitScript Asks 9th Circ. To Ax Price-Checker Antitrust Suit
LegitScript has told the Ninth Circuit that PharmacyChecker cannot bring antitrust claims for allegedly having its price-checking website blacklisted because the bulk of its business is geared towards helping people illegally import prescription drugs.
-
July 18, 2024
Bank Exec's Tax Tip Case Wrongly Axed, Estate Tells DC Circ.
The estate of a Dutch bank executive asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn a U.S. Tax Court decision denying him a whistleblower award for reporting on tax avoidance schemes, saying the lower court improperly relied on proposed regulations from the Internal Revenue Service.
-
July 18, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Deflate Air Mattress Patent Upheld At PTAB
The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's conclusion that no claims of a Sun Pleasure Co. air mattress patent are invalid based on the grounds asserted by a Chinese company.
-
July 18, 2024
Texas Psychiatric Patient's Head Trauma Suit Can Go Forward
A Texas appeals court has revived a man's claims against a doctor who he said failed to diagnose and treat a head injury while he was a psychiatric patient, saying the trial court was wrong to find his allegations had no basis in fact.
Expert Analysis
-
What The Justices' Copyright Damages Ruling Didn't Address
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Warner Chappell v. Nealy clarified when a copyright owner may recover damages in jurisdictions that apply the so-called discovery rule, it did not settle the overriding question of whether the Copyright Act even permits applying the rule, say Ivy Estoesta and William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.
-
Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
-
TTAB Ruling Raises Foreign-Language Mark Questions
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision to cancel the Veuve Olivier registration due to its similarity to Veuve Clicquot brings new focus to the treatment of foreign terms and the doctrine of foreign equivalents, say attorneys at Finnegan.
-
A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
-
What A Louisiana Ruling Means For Pipeline Crossings
After a Louisiana appeals court's recent ruling on a conflict between two pipeline projects, operators and developers should review pipeline crossings to ensure that they occur at safe distances — and keep in mind the value of crossing agreements for protecting both sides in case of a dispute, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
-
Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
-
Opinion
Climate Change Shouldn't Be Litigated Under State Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court should reverse the Hawaii Supreme Court's October decision in Honolulu v. Sunoco that Hawaii could apply state law to emissions generated outside the state, because it would lead to a barrage of cases seeking to resolve a worldwide problem according to 50 different variations of state law, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
-
Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures
The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
Key Antitrust Class Certification Questions Remain Unclear
The U.S. Supreme Court, by recently rejecting certiorari in Visa v. National ATM, turned down the opportunity to clarify how to analyze disputed evidence bearing on the certification of antitrust class actions, leaving the applicable standards unclear instead of resolving this split of authority, says Jonathan Berman at Jones Day.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
What's Notable In JAMS' New Mass Arbitration Rules
The Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services’ recently released guidelines, coming on the heels of similar American Arbitration Association amendments, suggests that mass arbitrations will remain an efficient means for consumers to vindicate their rights against companies, say Jonathan Waisnor and Brandon Heitmann at Labaton Keller.
-
Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape
Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.
-
'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
-
Justices Clarify FAA But Leave Behind Important Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Bissonnette v. LePage firmly shuts the door on any argument that the Federal Arbitration Act's Section 1 exemption is limited to transportation workers whose employers transport goods on behalf of others, but two major issues remain unresolved, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.
-
Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?
Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.