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Appellate
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November 01, 2024
2nd Circ. Agrees Ed Sheeran Didn't Rip Off 'Let's Get It On'
A Second Circuit panel on Friday said Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not rip off Marvin Gaye's Motown classic "Let's Get It On," affirming a lower court's summary judgment order that concluded the musical building blocks of Gaye's song were not original enough to be protectable.
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November 01, 2024
Oil Group, Enviro Orgs Clash Over Offshore Drilling Plan
Environmental groups and the American Petroleum Institute filed sparring briefs in an appeal before the D.C. Circuit over the U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024-2029 offshore oil and gas leasing program, each arguing that the agency wasn't legally obligated to satisfy the other's demands.
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November 01, 2024
4 Appellate Arguments Benefits Attys Should Watch In Nov.
The Second Circuit will weigh battles over retirement plan fees and union benefit contributions, teachers will ask the Ninth Circuit to revive their suit over interest they say is owed on their retirement accounts and the Eleventh Circuit will mull a constitutional challenge to a Florida gender-affirming care ban. Here are four upcoming arguments that benefits lawyers should have on their radar.
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November 01, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Fed Funds And Securities Risks
The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Monday for its November arguments session, which will start off with a debate over whether the Federal Communications Commission telecom subsidy program involves federal funds subject to the False Claims Act, and on Tuesday how Medicare funding should be calculated for hospitals that serve large numbers of low-income patients.
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November 01, 2024
3 Things To Know About The NC Supreme Court Race
Democrats in North Carolina are hoping to preserve their shrinking presence on the North Carolina Supreme Court as Republicans look to flip another seat in the state's only high court race on Nov. 5.
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November 01, 2024
Meet The Florida Justices Up For Retention Votes
Justices Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso — the newest members of the Florida Supreme Court — will be on Tuesday's ballot in retention elections, giving Sunshine State voters a chance to decide whether to keep them on the bench for full six-year terms.
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November 01, 2024
Pennsylvania's Attorney General Race: Four Things To Know
In the race for Pennsylvania attorney general, a former county prosecutor and a two-term auditor general are facing off for the chance to be the Keystone State's top lawyer — both with ties to York, Pennsylvania, and Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg. But whether they'd be more at home in the office's criminal prosecution or civil litigation roles depends on the candidate.
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November 01, 2024
Garden State Father-Son Attys Must Face Enviro Group's Suit
The New Jersey state appeals court reinstated a lawsuit against a father-son pair of attorneys on Friday in which a nonprofit organization accused them of violating environmental rules on their properties on the Jersey shore.
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November 01, 2024
Off The Bench: Horse Racing Ruling Halted, Fla. Betting Deal
In this week's Off The Bench, supporters of the organization overseeing federal horse-racing laws got a helping hand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the feud between a Florida tribe and state casino interests ends in a truce, and the NBA wants the details of its disputed media rights deal kept out of the public eye.
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November 01, 2024
Ga. Justices Uphold Toss Of Lawmakers' Capitol Protest Suit
The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a former state lawmaker, a current state lawmaker and several others who argued that a law used to justify their arrests while protesting at the state Capitol was unconstitutionally overbroad.
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November 01, 2024
Ex-Gas Co. Worker Seeks Justices Review On 'Honest Belief'
A former mechanic for a Baltimore gas company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit decision that found it was not discriminatory for his ex-employer to fire him over an issue with time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act because the company believed he took the leave dishonestly.
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November 01, 2024
Michigan's Supreme Court Tosses Pandemic Powers Ruling
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday cast aside a ruling that invalidated a public health law used during the COVID-19 pandemic to curb gatherings and close restaurants, saying the issue is moot because orders issued under the law expired years ago.
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November 01, 2024
Law Firms Pour Money Into Texas Supreme Court Races
The races to fill three seats on the Texas Supreme Court have drawn thousands of dollars in campaign donations from BigLaw, midsize and small firms, with the largest sets of contributions mostly going to the Republican incumbents seeking reelection in Tuesday's matchups, a Law360 Pulse analysis has found.
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October 31, 2024
Ex-Goldman Exec Says 1MDB Judge Thwarted His Defense
Former Goldman Sachs executive Roger Ng on Thursday told the Second Circuit that his trial defense over the massive $6.5 billion 1MDB scheme was marred by the wrongful exclusion of video evidence that supported his claim that $35 million he received in alleged kickbacks was actually investment proceeds.
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October 31, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Boy Scouts' Ch. 11 Plan Row Tops Nov.
The future of the Boy Scouts of America's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan is set to be determined by the Third Circuit this month, with the court poised to consider whether recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent on bankruptcies and settlements allows the reopening of the plan.
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October 31, 2024
2nd Circ. Draws BDO Back In Investor Suit In Revised Opinion
The Second Circuit on Thursday reversed course in an amended opinion about an investor suit over financial restatements made by AmTrust Financial Services Inc., finding that auditor BDO USA LLP is not off the hook for certifying the insurer's financial statements.
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October 31, 2024
Judge Suggests Condo Builder's $19M Jury Win Should Stand
A Washington appeals court judge asked Thursday why a $19 million trial verdict in favor of Skanska USA Building Inc. should be overturned, saying determining the facts in the condo project construction dispute that led to the verdict seemed like something for the jury to answer.
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October 31, 2024
GOP Groups Urge 11th Circ. To Restore Ga. Election Law
National and Georgia state Republican political committees have pressed the Eleventh Circuit to overturn a lower court's order that paused controversial portions of a Peach State election bill, arguing the law is legal and needed to ensure secure elections.
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October 31, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Naturalized Citizens Owed Adequate Counsel
The full Second Circuit determined Thursday that a naturalized U.S. citizen considering whether to enter a guilty plea has a constitutional right to be advised by counsel that they may lose their citizenship as a result.
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October 31, 2024
NY Court Urged To Reject 'Audacious' Shareholder Test Cases
Leading business groups have come to the aid of Bayer AG and Barclays PLC as the companies seek to fend off a pair of "audacious" test cases that have landed in New York's highest court, with the groups arguing that allowing the lawsuits to move forward would flood the state court with derivative lawsuits against foreign companies and overturn decades of precedent.
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October 31, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Invalidation Of 3 Centripetal Patents
The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a set of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that found three Centripetal Networks patents that cover detecting network threats were invalid, agreeing they were too obvious to warrant patent protection.
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October 31, 2024
$268K Fee Challenge Nixed In 9th Circ. Chevron Award Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its order slapping a six-figure fine against a Seattle attorney for fabricating a news article to bolster his clients' efforts to enforce an allegedly fraudulent $18 billion arbitral award against Chevron, effectively ending the long-running saga for now.
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October 31, 2024
1st Circ. Urged To Rethink Ruling On Maine Cannabis Grow
The First Circuit should reconsider its decision to allow the prosecution of a Maine marijuana entrepreneur whom the Feds say was operating an illicit grow site, arguing that it's unclear how far a licensed operator can stray from state cannabis law before federal law enforcement can get involved.
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October 31, 2024
EPA Can't Declare La. Deadline Extension Invalid, 5th Circ. Told
A Louisiana neoprene maker on Wednesday told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to invalidate a two-year compliance deadline extension that the state granted to the company, which is being sued by the EPA.
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October 31, 2024
4th Circ. Told Door-Maker's $10M Claim Double-Dips Coverage
A Travelers unit says it shouldn't have to fork over $10 million in excess coverage to a North Carolina door manufacturer that paid $39.5 million to settle a securities class action, telling the Fourth Circuit that the case stems from a flurry of antitrust litigation that began before its policy went into effect.
Expert Analysis
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Series
After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC
Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.
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Fed. Circ. Patent Ruling Clarifies Section 101 Procedures
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Mobile Acuity v. Blippar affirming a dismissal at the pleading stage illustrates important considerations and potential pitfalls for both filing and opposing a Section 101 motion to dismiss, say Thomas Sprankling and Vikram Iyer at WilmerHale.
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What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires
Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.
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Calif. Ruling Clarifying Paystub Compliance Is Win For Cos.
In rare good news for California employers, the state Supreme Court recently clarified that workers couldn’t win extra penalties in wage and hour cases by claiming their employer intentionally violated state paystub law if the employer believed it had complied in good faith, say Drei Munar and Kirk Hornbeck at Hunton.
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Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling
The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
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Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support
A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.
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Series
After Chevron: The Future Of AI And Copyright Law
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule the Chevron doctrine, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry may seek to shift the balance of power to courts to exercise more independent statutory interpretation without constraints from the U.S. Copyright Office, says Greg Derin at Signature Resolution.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.
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Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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3 Presidential Privilege Questions After Trump Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. U.S., carving out a new evidentiary privilege for presidents, leaves unanswered several key questions concerning whether this new privilege is waivable or subject to various exceptions, says Jeremy Bates at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss the muted nature of the property and casualty insurance class action space in the second quarter of the year, with no large waves made in labor depreciation and total-loss vehicle class actions, but a new offensive theory emerging for insurance companies.
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What To Know About Major Fla. Civil Procedure Rule Changes
The Florida Supreme Court recently amended the state's Rules of Civil Procedure, touching on pretrial procedure, discovery, motion and trial practice, and while the amendments are intended to streamline cases, the breadth of the changes may initially present some litigation growing pains, say Brian Briz, Benjamin Tyler and Yarenis Cruz at Holland & Knight.
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Prior Art Takeaways From Fed. Circ. Public Disclosure Ruling
While the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Sanho v. Kaijet clarified that a private sale is not a public disclosure under patent law, there remains significant room for advocacy, as the opinion lacked meaningful guidance on how to satisfy the public disclosure exception to prior art, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
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Perspectives
2 High Court Rulings Boost Protections Against Gov't Reprisal
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Gonzalez v. Trevino and Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon significantly strengthen legal protections against retaliatory arrests and malicious prosecution, and establish clear precedents that promote accountability in law enforcement, say Corey Stoughton and Amanda Miner at Selendy Gay.