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Appellate
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November 25, 2024
Attys Fight Sanctions In Dropped Bob Dylan Abuse Suit
An attorney for two solo practitioners sanctioned for not turning over discovery material in a now-abandoned sexual assault suit against Bob Dylan told Second Circuit judges Monday that "lawyers are not their clients," arguing that the pair never personally disregarded a court order or instructed their client to do so.
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November 25, 2024
Cornell Workers Tell Justices To Nix 2nd Circ. ERISA Reading
A group of Cornell University workers told the U.S. Supreme Court the Second Circuit improperly looked beyond federal benefits law to back the tossing of their lawsuit alleging their retirement plans were mismanaged, arguing the statute's prohibited transaction provision requires plan sponsors to show they deserve an exemption.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Nix Removal Relief After Cannabinoid Conviction
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition from a Mexican citizen and U.S. resident seeking relief from a Board of Immigration Appeals order which determined his deportation from the country was justified due partly to a Texas conviction for possessing a synthetic cannabinoid.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Takings Clause Claim For Wrecked House
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a woman's petition seeking to review a Fifth Circuit decision that held McKinney, Texas, did not need to compensate her for destroying her home while resolving a hostage situation with an armed fugitive.
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November 25, 2024
Jack Smith Drops Trump's Federal Cases
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday moved to drop the federal prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump in D.C. and Florida, citing long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president while insisting that the government "stands fully behind" the merits of the charges.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Pass On Ex-Atty's Puerto Rico Bribery Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the bribery convictions of a former attorney who solicited and accepted payments from an environmental contractor to influence three Puerto Rican mayors and helped the contractor secure government contracts worth millions of dollars.
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November 25, 2024
High Court Refuses To Review FDA Cigarette Warning Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said that it won't take up a challenge to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring larger warnings on cigarette boxes, in a suit brought by tobacco companies.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Reject Patent Case Challenging Newman Suspension
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal by a company that owns a background check patent invalidated for claiming only an abstract idea and that argued it was deprived of a fair hearing at the Federal Circuit due to the suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Turn Away $10M Tanker Seizure Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not review a petition asking it to resolve if courts are bound by "hard-and-fast" rules limiting their inquiry into whether a property can be seized to enforce a maritime debt, an issue the petitioner argued affected "fundamental principles of admiralty law."
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November 25, 2024
Justices Turn Away Suit Over Data Extraction Award
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a petition asking it to resolve whether a court or an arbitrator should decide the preclusive effect of a prior judgment, in a case stemming from a soured data extraction services contract involving a mortgage industry data analytics firm.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Won't Review Mich. Gun Range Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed gun range's challenge to a Michigan town's zoning denial, denying its petition over Second Amendment protections for firearm training.
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November 24, 2024
Full Fed. Circ. To Rethink AI Contractor's Win In $376M Fight
The full Federal Circuit agreed Friday to rehear a high-profile decision that revived an artificial intelligence company's protest over its exclusion from a $376.4 million procurement, seeking to clarify who counts as an "interested party" that can protest contract awards.
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November 22, 2024
Del Monte's 'Fruit Naturals' Label Not Deceptive, 9th Circ. Says
The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to revive a California woman's proposed class action accusing Del Monte Foods of falsely advertising fruit cups as being "natural" despite containing synthetic preservatives, saying a reasonable consumer would know to read the products' back label to confirm the ingredients.
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November 22, 2024
Split DC Circ. Punts On FINRA's Constitutionality
A partially divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday blocked the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority from removing Alpine Securities Corp. from its membership rolls while the corporation sues in federal court to challenge the agency's constitutionality, which the appeals court declined to remark on.
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November 22, 2024
Pam Bondi's 'Greatest Hits' As Florida Attorney General
In her eight years as attorney general of Florida, Pam Bondi — who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as attorney general — took on pill mills and telemarketing scams targeting the state's large elderly population, while also leading GOP state efforts to battle the Obama administration.
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November 22, 2024
Retirement Contributions Found Not Disposable In Ch. 13
A split Ninth Circuit on Friday held that voluntary contributions to employer-managed retirement plans are not disposable income under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, reversing a lower court's decision that required a debtor to include $484 in monthly retirement contributions in her disposable income.
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November 22, 2024
Taco Bell's 'Inconsistent' Stance Revives Fla. Fall Suit
A Florida state appellate court on Friday reversed a ruling that tossed a slip-and-fall injury lawsuit against Taco Bell, citing the restaurant's "logically inconsistent" position admitting that a customer ignored a freshly mopped restroom floor but proceeded to dispute that the floor was actually wet.
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November 22, 2024
Texas Justices Say Court Bungled Ruling In Abortion Case
The Texas Supreme Court said Friday a lower appellate court tried to "prematurely drag the judiciary into highly contentious and politicized debates" around abortion without analyzing a key standing issue, jeopardizing Planned Parenthood's and other abortion rights groups' bid to invalidate the controversial Texas Heartbeat Act.
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November 22, 2024
11th Circ. Panel Weighs Remanding Florida Trans Health Fight
The Eleventh Circuit on Friday appeared unlikely to affirm a lower court's ruling to invalidate a Florida state law banning Medicaid payments for gender-affirming medical care, with two judges on the panel asking attorneys for specifics about additional analysis of discriminatory factors on a potential remand.
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November 22, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Sullivan & Cromwell's Morgan Ratner
Morgan L. Ratner has emerged as a leader of the U.S. Supreme Court bar's next generation, and she attributes her ascent to brilliant mentors, a laid-back argument style, an aversion to overconfidence and a firm commitment to clear principles in every case — even if that means reluctantly telling the chief justice, as she once did, that a hypothetical cat stuck in a tree shouldn't be saved.
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November 22, 2024
Texas Supreme Court Sends 130-Car Pileup Suit To Trial
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition from several defendants involved in a fatal 130-car ice storm pileup in Fort Worth to temporarily stay an upcoming trial date, teeing up the trial to begin in January, almost four years after the tragedy.
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November 22, 2024
Service Fees Not 'Incidental' To Debt Collection, 11th Circ. Told
Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse two Florida lower court judgments finding it violated debt collection practices with a fee to process phone or internet payments, saying it's not an illegal "incidental" charge because the borrower is paying for an optional service.
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November 22, 2024
Calif. Panel Affirms Six Flags' Trial Win In Coaster Injury Case
Six Flags isn't liable for a woman's injury after her hand was crushed by a railing while waiting to get on the Twisted Colossus roller coaster, California appellate justices said Thursday, finding the park didn't have a heightened duty of care since she was injured before she got on the ride.
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November 22, 2024
Texas Panel Says Gender-Affirming Surgery Suit Too Late
A Texas appellate court has backed a counselor's win in a lawsuit from a former client who came to regret undergoing a double mastectomy following the counselor's recommendation for gender-affirming surgery, finding the claims were time-barred.
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November 22, 2024
Nissan Automatic Brake Classes Dismantled By 6th Circ.
A Sixth Circuit panel vacated class certification Friday for Nissan drivers who say their cars' automatic braking system activates unnecessarily, finding the trial judge failed to grapple with software upgrades that may have fixed the alleged flaw for some of the class vehicles.
Expert Analysis
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3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling
A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied
Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.