Expert Analysis

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

• Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

  

  Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

  

  Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

  

  Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

• Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

  

  Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

• Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

  

  Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

• Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

• Series

  Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

  

  In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

• High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

  

  In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

• Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

  

  The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

• How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

  

  Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens

  

  States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

  

  Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

  

  Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

• When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.