Appellate

  • November 15, 2024

    Michael Jordan's Racing Team Seeks Speedy NASCAR Appeal

    Two NASCAR teams, including one owned by Michael Jordan, are hoping to sway the Fourth Circuit to fast-track their appeal of a lower court's decision to not grant their request to race next season, arguing that without an expedited process, a decision could come too late to matter.

  • November 15, 2024

    Ayahuasca Church Urges Justices To Hear Discovery Case

    An Arizona church that uses a psychedelic substance in its ceremonies has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider lower courts' rulings directing the church to turn over members' personal information to federal drug enforcement authorities.

  • November 15, 2024

    Another Paul Hastings Int'l Arbitration Atty Joins Linklaters

    Linklaters has added a senior counsel in Washington, D.C., who joins the firm's international arbitration practice from Paul Hastings LLP, weeks after that firm's international arbitration practice co-chair made a similar jump.

  • November 15, 2024

    Grassley To Take 'Traditional Approach' To Blue Slips

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is signaling he will keep the process in place for home state senators' approval of district court nominees, although in the past he has claimed discretion to move forward when he thinks there's no good reason to block a nominee. 

  • November 15, 2024

    Hospital Workers' 2nd Circ. Appeal May Wait For Deloitte Case

    Workers for Montefiore Medical Center seeking to revive retirement plan mismanagement allegations may see a delayed ruling in their case until another Second Circuit panel rules on similar claims against Deloitte, a panel judge said Friday during proceedings.

  • November 15, 2024

    Atty Who Called Mich. Judge 'Crazy' Secures New Hearing

    A criminal defense attorney found in contempt for calling a Michigan judge "crazy" during a hearing in his courtroom will get a new hearing because a different judge should have handled the contempt proceedings, a state appellate court panel has determined.

  • November 15, 2024

    UAW Local Defeats Black Worker's Race Bias Suit At 7th Circ.

    The Seventh Circuit refused to reinstate a suit from a Black former General Motors worker who said a United Auto Workers local ignored a grievance he filed alleging that race bias cost him his job, saying he failed to explain why it took him years to challenge the union's decision.

  • November 15, 2024

    Texas Justices Say Subpoena Can't Pause Roberson Death

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said that a group of bipartisan Lone Star State legislators can't use its committee's subpoena power to pause the execution of a man convicted based on a "shaken baby syndrome" diagnosis.

  • November 15, 2024

    Florida Bar Says Novel Ethics Case Doesn't Require Leniency

    Lack of precedent is not reason enough to allow a Florida lawyer to reduce his one-year suspension for a "punitive" fee hike, the Florida Bar told the state's high court, arguing that the court's initial reasoning for the discipline was sound and that the lawyer's motion for a rehearing misrepresented some of the facts.

  • November 15, 2024

    MVP: Williams & Connolly's Lisa S. Blatt

    Lisa S. Blatt of Williams & Connolly LLP's appellate practice won high-profile victories at the U.S. Supreme Court involving injunctions against employers and the scope of federal bribery law in corruption cases, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Appellate MVPs.

  • November 14, 2024

    DC Circ. Doubts Standing In Challenge To Grid Project Perk

    A D.C. Circuit panel expressed skepticism Thursday that a coalition of energy consumers have standing to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's grant of an abandonment incentive to the developer of an Iowa transmission project.

  • November 14, 2024

    7th Circ. Unsure Of Meta's Bid To Arbitrate Deceptive Ads Suit

    The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday whether it should allow Meta to steer a media company's ad deception antitrust claims away from court and into arbitration, saying the case seems to fall outside the agreement Meta is trying to enforce.

  • November 14, 2024

    Defense Attys Urge Justices To Narrow False Statement Law

    The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is supporting ex-Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella PC attorney and former Chicago alderman Patrick Thompson's bid to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for lying to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., arguing that the government's "broad" reading of the relevant statute infringes on constitutional rights.

  • November 14, 2024

    Biden Admin Backs Controversial Alaskan Land Swap, Road

    The Biden administration is backing a federal land swap that will allow a road to be built through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, while conservation groups and tribes say the move will cause major impacts to the area's migratory birds and cut off a food source for Indigenous communities.

  • November 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Pummels Judicial Integrity Critics

    Fifth Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones co-opted a panel discussion Thursday to denounce the rise in criticism over purported judge shopping, especially in relation to Texas judges who handled a large portion of lawsuits challenging Biden administration policies, and called on legal groups to do more to defend the judiciary's integrity.

  • November 14, 2024

    Canadian Standards Group Asks High Court To Rethink IP Ruling

    A Canada-based standards development group wants the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge to a Fifth Circuit decision that handed a win to a Canadian man the group said was selling copies of its copyrighted standards.

  • November 14, 2024

    Giuliani Can't End Dominion Exec's Suit Over Election Lies

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday ruled Rudy Giuliani can't dismiss a former Dominion Voting executive's defamation suit under anti-SLAPP law, largely carrying over the reasoning of its prior decision on a similar appeal by the Trump campaign and other defendants in the same case.

  • November 14, 2024

    United Urges 7th Circ. To Back Vax Mandate Suit Dismissal

    The Seventh Circuit shouldn't disturb a district court's decision to toss a lawsuit from former employees challenging United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccination mandate because they've either forfeited or improperly supported all their arguments on the issue, the airline argued Thursday.

  • November 14, 2024

    Patient's Trial Testimony Doomed Med Mal Case, Panel Says

    A New Jersey appeals court on Thursday affirmed a doctor's mistrial win in a suit alleging that he failed to diagnose a woman's diabetes, causing serious injuries, saying the woman's own admission on the witness stand made it clear that her claims were untimely.

  • November 14, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Axes Student's Bias Suit Over Right-Wing Beliefs

    An equally divided en banc Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a high school student's race discrimination suit against his Texas school district, finding that most of the bullying the student allegedly experienced was based on his support of President-elect Donald Trump and conservative viewpoints, not his race.

  • November 14, 2024

    Hemp Companies Take NJ Challenge To 3rd Circ.

    A group of companies that manufacture and sell hemp products is urging the Third Circuit to take a second look at an order that blocked part of a New Jersey law that regulates the sale of intoxicating hemp products, despite seemingly scoring a favorable outcome at the trial level.

  • November 14, 2024

    Scooter Victim Can't Show Lime Had Duty Of Care, Panel Says

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of a woman's negligence suit against an electric scooter company after she was hit by a scooter driver, finding the company's decision to rent out the scooters does not create a duty to protect the public from people's unsafe use of them.

  • November 14, 2024

    Judge Slams Gov't For Resisting LA Campus Housing Orders

    A California federal judge has told the federal government that it can't "resist accountability," rejecting a bid to stay court-ordered construction of housing for military veterans on a Los Angeles campus.

  • November 14, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Touch GoPro Patent Eligibility Argument

    The full Federal Circuit decided Thursday not to look further into arguments from GoPro Inc. that a September panel ruling on patents asserted against the camera company created "a breathtaking expansion of subject-matter eligibility."

  • November 14, 2024

    Wash. Justices Seem Split On Cannabis Co. Wage Suit

    The Washington State Supreme Court wrestled Thursday with whether the state labor department jumped the gun on filing an unpaid-wages suit against a marijuana company, with one justice questioning if the department exceeded its powers and another expressing concern that lax enforcement would allow companies to skip payments for years.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Courts Will Still Defer To Feds On Nat'l Security

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    Agencies with trade responsibilities may be less affected by Chevron’s demise because of the special deference courts have shown when hearing international trade cases involving national security, foreign policy or the president’s constitutional authority to direct such matters, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What 7th Circ. Collective Actions Ruling Means For Employers

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    With the Seventh Circuit’s recent Fair Labor Standards Act ruling in Vanegas v. Signet Builders, a majority of federal appellate courts that have addressed the jurisdictional scope of employee collective actions now follow the U.S. Supreme Court's limiting precedent, bolstering an employer defense in circuits that have yet to weigh in, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

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    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

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    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

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