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Appellate
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October 24, 2024
High Court Asked To Toss Texas Stay Of Green Card Rule
An immigrant rights group asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to wipe out a Texas order freezing a new program that would allow certain noncitizen relatives of U.S. citizens to stay in the country while seeking green cards, arguing the court improperly used a procedural tool to effectively issue injunctive relief.
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October 24, 2024
Bank Groups Appeal Loss In Suit Over CFPB Small Biz Rules
Lender trade groups that sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its reporting requirements for small businesses have appealed to the Fifth Circuit after a Texas federal judge granted the bureau's request for summary judgment in August.
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October 24, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Healthcare Arbitrations Were Properly Halted
The Second Circuit affirmed Thursday that a lower court properly halted a group of healthcare providers from pursuing thousands of arbitrations against State Farm as part of an alleged massive fraudulent scheme, ruling in a novel opinion the injunction did not violate federal arbitration law.
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October 24, 2024
IP Forecast: Inhibrx Co-Founder Faces Biotech Secrets Trial
A Wilmington federal jury next week will hear a trade secrets lawsuit that accuses a biotech executive of helping himself to confidential information about cancer treatment antibodies while being employed as an expert in an unrelated $200 million arbitration proceeding. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.
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October 24, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives Lenovo Bid For SEP Anti-Suit Injunction
The Federal Circuit on Thursday gave Lenovo a new shot at securing an order that could bar Ericsson from enforcing injunctions in South America amid the companies' globe-spanning standard-essential patent dispute, faulting a lower court's reasoning for rejecting Lenovo's request.
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October 24, 2024
No Tax Break For Bad Debt Investors, Wash. Justices Say
The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday that a group of funds that buy and sell distressed credit card debt can't claim a state business tax deduction on investment income because those investments were not incidental to their main business purpose.
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October 24, 2024
Trade Orgs Back Google's Bid For 9th Circ. Play Store Pause
Trade groups and cybersecurity experts have told the Ninth Circuit to extend the pause on the mandate forcing Google to open up its Play Store and help rival app stores compete through that distribution mechanism, backing Google with amicus briefs warning of major disruptions to the app ecosystem.
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October 24, 2024
7th Circ. Doubts Satanic Temple Can Wage Abortion Fight
A Seventh Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday that the Satanic Temple had standing to challenge Indiana's near-complete abortion ban, with questioning turning contentious when one judge pointed out that the religious organization would be blocked from providing abortion drugs through telehealth appointments even without the law.
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October 24, 2024
Judges Doubt 'Troublesome' Comments Warrant New Trial
Washington appellate judges appeared skeptical Thursday that a handful of comments could've triggered jury bias and tainted the trial of a Palestinian woman's medical malpractice case, though one judge called it "troublesome" that defense counsel told jurors the accused doctor was "from this part of the world."
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October 24, 2024
Wash. High Court Lets Anti-Tax Ballot Measure Show Impact
Elections officials are permitted to place financial disclosure information next to a Washington state ballot measure that would repeal the state's tax on capital gains, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding a trial court.
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October 24, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Crypto Theft Coverage
The Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court's ruling that an individual's homeowners policy didn't cover his loss of $170,000 in cryptocurrency to an alleged scam, agreeing with a Virginia federal court that the loss didn't constitute a "direct physical loss."
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October 24, 2024
FCC Won't Hold Off Prison Phone Rate Caps During Suits
The Federal Communications Commission has turned down three bids for the agency to shelve new prison phone service rate caps during legal appeals of the FCC's rule, saying such lawsuits are unlikely to prevail.
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October 24, 2024
DOJ Pushes Justices To Revive Bid-Rigging Conviction
Federal prosecutors told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Fourth Circuit got it wrong last year when it vacated the bid-rigging conviction of aluminum pipe maker Contech's former executive, arguing Wednesday that agreements between firms can be per se unlawful even when they have a vertical relationship.
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October 24, 2024
Enviro Attys Must Teach Judges Science, Wash. Justice Says
Attorneys shouldn't assume that judges are up to speed on scientific evidence that they're reviewing and instead should work on building judges' knowledge and helping them "feel smart," a Washington Supreme Court justice told environmental lawyers on Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Colo. Justices Hesitant To Extend Personhood To Elephants
Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared unlikely Thursday to grant habeas corpus rights to elephants in a zoo, repeatedly asking an animal rights group seeking to send the elephants to a sanctuary where the court should draw the line on personhood.
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October 24, 2024
Ga. Elections Official To Appeal Certification 'Discretion' Loss
A Fulton County, Georgia, elections official who recently lost a lawsuit in which she tried to assert her purported "discretion" to certify vote results said Wednesday she plans to appeal the decision to the state's Court of Appeals.
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October 24, 2024
TikTok Won't Get 3rd Circ. Rehearing Of Section 230 Ruling
The Third Circuit on Wednesday turned down TikTok's request for an en banc rehearing of a panel decision that the social media company's "For You Page" algorithm isn't entitled to immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a case over a 10-year-old's death.
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October 24, 2024
EPA Can't Rush Truck Electrification, DC Circ. Hears
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a trucking industry group have thrown their support behind challengers' attempts to upend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is trying to accomplish too much too soon.
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October 24, 2024
Meet The Candidates Vying For Texas Supreme Court Seats
A trio of Republican incumbents are looking to maintain the full GOP makeup of the Texas Supreme Court in next month's general election amid challenges from Democratic candidates looking for promotions from lower state courts.
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October 24, 2024
DC Circ. Ruling Endangers Distressed Texas Area, Port Says
The owner of the Port of Brownsville in Texas is urging the D.C. Circuit to consider the devastating impacts a panel's decision to vacate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reauthorization orders for two major liquefied natural gas projects threatens to impose on the region.
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October 24, 2024
Incoming NJ Judge Wins Appellate Ruling To Collect Pension
A former deputy attorney general and Camden County prosecutor will be able to collect her state pension while serving on the Superior Court of New Jersey, a state appeals court ruled Thursday in a published opinion.
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October 24, 2024
Pot Processor Can't Get Reversal Of Ohio License Denial
An Ohio state appeals court won't let a would-be cannabis processor undo the denial of its bid for a provisional processing license, saying there's no indication that the state regulators abused their discretion in scoring the company low regarding security and contamination risks.
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October 24, 2024
Conn. High Court Snapshot: $13M Tax Appeals, Will Dispute
The Connecticut Supreme Court's second term of the 2024-2025 season will commence Monday with a dispute over whether an attorney bungled a will that sought to divide a $845,368 TD Ameritrade account among five beneficiaries, only one of whom received any cash.
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October 24, 2024
Pa. Justices OK In-Person Votes For Nixed Mail-In Ballots
Voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania whose mail-in ballots are rejected as defective and uncountable haven't technically "voted," and can replace those votes with provisional ballots to be verified and counted, a split state Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday.
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October 24, 2024
Atty Escapes Suspension Over $1M Fee Bid For $125K Awards
A Pennsylvania Supreme Court panel on Thursday denied a 90-day suspension recommendation by the Disciplinary Board against a Lackawanna County personal injury attorney who filed a petition for more than $1 million in attorney fees from an insurance company he sued on behalf of his client.
Expert Analysis
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Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store
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.
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Opinion
More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals
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.
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Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies
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.
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Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView
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.
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What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs
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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Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address
The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks
The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.
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Series
After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges
The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court
As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.
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Opinion
3rd. Circ. Got It Right On Cancer Warning Claims Preemption
The Third Circuit's recent, eminently sensible ruling in a failure-to-warn case against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto, holding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act preempts state law claims, provides a road map that other courts should adopt, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance
Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.
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The Fed. Circ. In August: Secret Sales And Public Disclosures
Two recent Federal Circuit rulings — Sanho v. Kaijet and Celanese International v. ITC — highlight that inventors should publicly and promptly disclose their inventions, as a secret sale will not suffice as a disclosure, and file their patent applications within a year of public disclosure, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.
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The State Law Landscape After Justices' Social Media Ruling
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent NetChoice ruling on social media platforms’ First Amendment rights, it’s still unclear if state content moderation laws are constitutional, leaving online operators to face a patchwork of regulation, and the potential for the issue to return to the high court, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance
An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.