Appellate

Featured

Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.
March 18, 2025
Chief Justice Decries Impeachment Talk Amid WH Attacks

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for the judge in the Venezuelan deportation case to be impeached as his administration escalates attacks on the judiciary. The president's demand was followed by a rare public statement from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who condemned calls for impeachment over disagreements with judges' court decisions.
March 18, 2025
DC Circuit Denies Copyright For AI-Created Artwork

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the U.S. Copyright Office's refusal to register an artwork created by an artificial intelligence model, saying the government correctly concluded that copyright law protects only works from humans.
March 17, 2025
US Chamber Says FCA Qui Tam Provisions Unconstitutional

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday endorsed a legal challenge aimed at bringing down the whistleblower provisions in the False Claims Act, arguing there is a "manifest conflict between the modern FCA's qui tam provisions and Article II's text."
March 17, 2025
Novartis Nabs Partial Ban Against MSN's Heart Drug Generic

Novartis AG succeeded Monday in blocking a competitor from potentially selling a similar-looking generic drug for treating heart failure, with a New Jersey federal judge remarking that MSN Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. "could have distinguished its pills," though she was less convinced that the name "Novadoz" was confusingly similar to "Novartis."
March 17, 2025
Biz Groups Push For High Court Review Of Cisco Spying Case

National business groups are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision reviving a suit from a class of Falun Gong practitioners alleging that Cisco aided in the Chinese government's crackdown on the religious movement, claiming that the circuit's ruling could chill foreign investment and disadvantage American companies.
March 17, 2025
Insurers Fight For Arbitration In La. Hurricane Damage Dispute

A group of insurers is urging the Fifth Circuit to send its dispute with a Louisiana municipality over coverage for property damage caused by a pair of Category 4 hurricanes to arbitration, despite an opposing ruling last fall by the state's top court.
March 17, 2025
4th Circ. Revives Tenant's FCRA Suit Over Disputed Debt

The Fourth Circuit has revived a tenant's lawsuit over an allegedly bogus charge from her landlord, ruling that collection agencies are not exempt from their obligation to investigate Fair Credit Reporting Act claims if they involve a legal dispute.
March 17, 2025
NJ Justices Deem Commissions Protected Under Wage Law

The New Jersey Supreme Court clarified in a unanimous opinion Monday that workers who make commissions are subject to state wage law protections, handing a win to an employee who sold more than $32 million in personal protective equipment during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 17, 2025
Del. Corporate Law Rework Has Roots In 2 Academic Papers

A proposed overhaul of Delaware's corporations law that has rocked the First State's legal world has its origins in two works published in 2021 and 2001, written by some of the same jurists who helped draft legislation driven by alarm over corporate charter exits and shareholder suits.
March 17, 2025
9th Circ. Says Capital One Cyberattacker Sentence Too Light

A split Ninth Circuit panel Monday said a lower court judge was too lenient in sentencing a former Amazon.com Inc. coder to probation for orchestrating one of the nation's latest data breach crimes, finding that the district court judge erred in finding her actions were not "malicious."
March 17, 2025
Judge Questions DOJ Timing Of Deportations After Injunction

U.S. Chief District Judge James Boasberg admonished the Trump administration Monday for its seeming noncompliance with an oral order to turn around flights carrying Venezuelans who were deported under a presidential proclamation invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
March 17, 2025
DC Circ. Skeptical Of Killing $200M Toll Road Arbitration Award

The D.C. Circuit seemed to have its doubts Monday about the Peruvian city of Lima's argument that it should overturn the confirmation of a $200 million arbitral award over a failed toll road construction project because the lower court ignored its claim that the contract was acquired via bribe.
March 17, 2025
Tort Report: Fatal Hippo Attack Prompts Suit Against Tour Co.

A lawsuit over a woman's death from a hippo attack and the latest on a Fox News sex assault case lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
March 17, 2025
Judge Ikuta's Sr. Status Plans Give Trump 9th Circ. Opening

U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta of the Ninth Circuit will be taking semi-retired status upon appointment of her successor, a court representative confirmed to Law360 on Monday.
March 17, 2025
Burger King Workers Defend Revived No-Poach Case

Burger King employees are defending their proposed class action over the fast-food chain's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements, as the restaurant urges a Florida federal court to toss the claims despite an appeals court reviving them in 2022.
March 17, 2025
IPRs Are Going Too Far, Fed. Circ. Told In Samsung Dispute

A late 1990s tech developer suing Samsung over LED patent claims wants the full Federal Circuit to "confirm the limits Congress placed" on patent challenges, after a panel decided that the patent board could accept patent applications that are not publicly accessible as prior art.
March 17, 2025
4 Suits Benefits Attys Should Watch As ESG Pressures Persist

A New York City pension fund recently escaped a proposed class action challenging its decision to divest nearly $4 billion in fossil fuel stocks, but experts say potential liability related to environmental, social and governance investment factors in retirement plan investment decisions is on the rise. Here are four suits involving challenges to employee retirement plan investing and ESG that attorneys say they're watching after New York City escaped a suit from its workers.
March 17, 2025
Wash. AG Backs Tribe's $400M Trespass Win Against BNSF

The state of Washington has said the Ninth Circuit should uphold a trial judge's ruling that BNSF Railway Co. owes nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing in an amicus brief the railroad must be held accountable for perpetuating "a pattern of disregard for the sovereignty of Native people."
March 17, 2025
Calif. Panel Sides With Tribe In Hotel Construction Fight

A California appeals panel has sided with a Native American tribe in its decision to reverse a lower court ruling and invalidate the city of Clearlake's approval of a hotel project on tribal land, finding that the city failed to comply with a state environmental law.
March 17, 2025
Full 7th Circ. Won't Revive Suit Over Late Medicaid Payments

The full Seventh Circuit has answered the "enormous question" of whether a Chicago hospital can sue the state of Illinois to force the managed-care organizations it contracts with to make timely Medicaid payments, concluding the hospital doesn't have a federal right to prompt payments for fear of turning federal trial courts into "de facto Medicaid claims processors."
March 17, 2025
9th Circ. Judge Urges Review Of Asylum Credibility Precedent

The Ninth Circuit on Monday declined to review an Indian national's bid to revive an asylum claim deemed noncredible, with one judge calling on the court to revisit precedent that restricts immigration judges' ability to reject questionable asylum claims.
March 17, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Won't Halt Federal Workers Reinstatement Order

A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied President Donald Trump's administration an immediate administrative stay of a California district court order requiring reinstatement of some probationary federal workers fired from six agencies, the majority saying a pause "would disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head."
March 17, 2025
Colo. Justices Reject Bid To Toss Election Defamation Suit

Colorado's justices have rejected petitions from President Donald Trump's campaign and conservative media personalities arguing that a former Dominion Voting executive's defamation suit should be tossed under a state anti-SLAPP law, according to an en banc order Monday declining to review the case.
March 17, 2025
Vague Settlement Can't Free Insurer From Asbestos Claims

An insurer that says its policies' limits were exhausted while paying over $5 million toward an asbestos injury settlement on behalf of BNSF Railway failed to show it actually went over its limits, a Texas appeals court found.
March 17, 2025
Union, Green Groups Fight EPA Bid To Redo Biden TSCA Rule

Labor unions and green groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's bid to reconsider a Biden-era rule that strengthened regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks.

Editor's Picks

12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks

FINAL UPDATE January 14, 2025 | President Joe Biden put 235 lifetime judges on the federal bench which added to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, whose confirmed judicial nominees were 84% white and 76% male.

Expert Analysis

1st Circ. IMessage Ruling Illustrates Wire Fraud Circuit Split

The First Circuit’s recent decision that text messages exchanged wholly within Massachusetts but transmitted by the internet count as interstate commerce spotlights a split in how circuits interpret intrastate actions under the federal wire fraud statute, perhaps prompting U.S. Supreme Court review, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.
Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.
Cleanup Claim Characterization Key For Timeliness Inquiry

The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, determining that ARCO's contribution claim was timely, highlights the importance of accurately characterizing a claim for recoupment of environmental cleanup costs as a cost-recovery action or contribution to avoid dismissal or recharacterization of the claim, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.
A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.
A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues

Federal money laundering cases are on the rise, often involving lengthy prison sentences for defendants who have little to no criminal history, but a closer look at the statistics and case law reveal some potentially valuable arguments that defense attorneys should keep in their arsenal, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.
Justices Likely To Issue Narrow Ruling In $1.3B Award Dispute

After last week's argument in Devas v. Antrix, the Supreme Court appears likely to reverse the holding that minimum contacts are required before a federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign state and remand the case for further litigation on other important constitutional questions, say attorneys at Cleary.
Pleading Rules At Stake In High Court Hamas Banking Case

While a case between victims of Hamas terrorist attacks and a Lebanese bank, recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, appears to ask a narrow question of which civil procedure rules apply to requests to reopen final judgments, how the justices rule could drastically change pleading strategies for future plaintiffs, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.
What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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

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'

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

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

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

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

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.