Appellate

  • June 27, 2024

    Tesla Error Doomed Bid To Arbitrate Race Bias Suit, Court Says

    Tesla must face a Black ex-employee's claims of race discrimination in court, a California appeals court ruled Wednesday, affirming a lower court's finding that the electric vehicle maker lost its chance to arbitrate the claims after it failed to pay arbitration fees on time.

  • June 27, 2024

    Criticism Of Fla. Judge's Order Is Free Speech, ACLU Says

    The American Civil Liberties Union came to the defense of two Florida attorneys facing discipline before the state's high court over critical remarks about an Orlando judge's order in a discrimination case, arguing that suspending their licenses for 30 days would violate the First Amendment.

  • June 27, 2024

    Justices' SEC Ruling Reaffirms Oil States For Patent Attys

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting the use of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative courts on Thursday did not address weedy issues that could have shaken up the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but it did "put a ribbon on" the justices' Oil States decision, attorneys said.

  • June 27, 2024

    High Court Liberals Warn Jarkesy's Reach Will Be Widespread

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of its in-house courts will have "momentous consequences" for dozens of agencies tasked with overseeing the electric grid, environmental regulations and consumer protection laws, the court's liberal wing has warned.

  • June 27, 2024

    Interest Groups Want To Join 6th Circ. Net Neutrality Appeals

    The Sixth Circuit should allow several public interest groups to intervene in the bundle of net neutrality challenges currently before the appellate court, in case there's an administration change and the FCC switches positions on the matter, those groups are arguing.

  • June 27, 2024

    EPA's State Smog Pollution Plan Down, Not Out Yet

    The U.S. Supreme Court flexed its muscles menacingly at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and blocked it from implementing an important air pollution control plan for several states, but experts say it's too early to completely write off the rule in question.

  • June 27, 2024

    Uber, Lyft Cut $175M Deal To End Mass. Worker Status Fight

    Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. on Thursday agreed to pay a combined $175 million and provide drivers with a suite of benefits to settle an employee classification lawsuit brought by the state of Massachusetts.

  • June 27, 2024

    Parole Challenge Ruling Was 'Error Twice Over,' 5th Circ. Told

    A Texas-led coalition of states told the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that a cost-benefit analysis a trial court considered before allowing a new Biden administration migrant parole program to continue is "error twice over," writing that such calculations are not for the court to make when it evaluates standing.

  • June 27, 2024

    Navy Wrongly Ended Deal Over Staffing Req, Fed. Circ. Told

    A U.S. Navy contractor has urged the Federal Circuit to overturn the branch's decision to cancel a support services task order for default, saying the Navy had imposed unjustified staffing requirements on the deal and wrongly sought to debar the company from contracting.

  • June 27, 2024

    Self-Defense Code Should Apply To UGA Case, Panel Says

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said Thursday that a superior court judge should not have voided two provisions of the University of Georgia's code of conduct during disciplinary proceedings over an off-campus fight between two students, one of whom cited self-defense in an attempt to avoid suspension.

  • June 27, 2024

    4th Circ. Dismisses Chinese Currency Issues In $3.6M Award

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday shut down an argument that enforcing a $3.6 million Hong Kong arbitral award would violate U.S. public policy by allowing the winning party to skirt Chinese currency controls, in a dispute stemming from the organization of a real estate development firm.

  • June 27, 2024

    Gov't Can Take Corrective Action 'At Any Time,' Fed. Circ. Told

    The federal government is urging the Federal Circuit to affirm a decision allowing a U.S. Department of Commerce corrective action on a $1.5 billion information technology deal during ongoing bid protests, saying government agencies can take such actions whenever they want.

  • June 27, 2024

    Union Says DC Circ.'s LMRDA Ruling Sets Bad Precedent

    A D.C. Circuit panel's holding that the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act could compel a letter carriers union to publish a union officer candidate's advertisement in its magazine sets a dangerous precedent, the union argued Thursday, urging the full D.C. Circuit to undo the panel's ruling.

  • June 27, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Ax Of United Therapeutics' Drug Patent

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that claims in a United Therapeutics Corp. high blood pressure drug patent challenged by Liquidia Technologies were invalid as obvious, even though Liquidia's petition included an expert declaration that did not have a required oath.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ala. Must Hand Over Felon Voting Records, 11th Circ. Says

    In a split decision, an Eleventh Circuit panel ruled that Alabama can't block a Birmingham ministry from accessing lists of convicted felons barred from voting, finding that the public disclosure provision of the National Voter Registration Act "squarely covers" the records the group sued over.

  • June 27, 2024

    Titanic Purdue Ruling Shifts The Balance Of Power In Ch. 11

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Sackler family's liability shield in the Chapter 11 plan of Purdue Pharma LP not only eliminates a key tool to resolve mass tort liabilities through bankruptcy, it gives claimants more leverage and fundamentally changes the insolvency landscape in future cases, experts tell Law360.

  • June 27, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Robinhood Investors' Meme Stock Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court's dismissal of an investor antitrust suit against Robinhood Markets and Citadel Securities, holding that the investors failed to allege any plausible anti-competitive effects that occurred as a result of the platforms allegedly conspiring to restrict trades of "meme" stocks like GameStop in 2021.

  • June 27, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Wood Treatment Injury Coverage Row

    An insurer must cover the maker of a wood treatment product in a suit over a man's cancer diagnosis following decades of exposure to the chemical, the Fourth Circuit said Thursday in a published opinion reversing a lower court's finding.

  • June 27, 2024

    EU High Court Upends Servier Decrease Of Pay-For-Delay Fine

    French pharmaceutical giant Servier is back on the hook for all but €2.4 million ($2.57 million) of a more than €300 million European Union antitrust fine after the European Court of Justice upended a lower court decision that had reduced the penalty by over €100 million.

  • June 27, 2024

    Mich. Top Court Won't Fast-Track Fiat Supplier's Pricing Fight

    The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected a petition from one of Fiat Chrysler's suppliers, Kamax, for an immediate audience in front of the state's top court after Kamax was ordered by a judge to continue producing parts for the automaker at a loss.

  • June 27, 2024

    Hospitals' Charity Care Does Not Equal Taking, NJ Panel Rules

    A New Jersey appellate panel Thursday rejected a group of Garden State hospitals' challenge to a lower court's finding that a state requirement to treat patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay does not amount to constitutional taking, ruling that they failed to show evidence of physical taking of hospital property.

  • June 27, 2024

    AG Says Trump Recusal Bid Relies On 'Distortion Of Facts'

    New York's attorney general says Donald Trump is relying on a "distortion of facts" in seeking to oust the judge who ordered the former president to pay $465 million in penalties in his civil fraud case.

  • June 27, 2024

    Calif. Justices Say Patient's Choice A Factor In Product Cases

    The California Supreme Court has sided with a woman alleging that a shock therapy device made by Somatics LLC caused her permanent injuries, saying she can establish that her injuries were caused by a lack of warning as long as she shows that a prudent patient would have declined treatment upon hearing a warning. 

  • June 27, 2024

    Free-Speech Orgs Tell DC Circ. TikTok Ban Is Prior Restraint

    A collection of free speech and press groups has urged the D.C. Circuit to strike down Congress' TikTok sale-or-ban law, calling the statute a "direct and serious threat" to First Amendment freedoms in an amicus brief.

  • June 27, 2024

    Yale Tells 2nd Circ. Workers Aren't Owed ERISA Jury Trial

    Yale University told the Second Circuit a group of workers can't be granted a new jury trial in their suit claiming their $5.5 billion retirement plan was loaded with high fees, stating high court precedent says they're ineligible for a jury trial under the relief they're seeking.

Expert Analysis

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.

  • Strategies For Defense Attys To Subpoena A Nonparty Witness

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    Federal criminal defendants seeking to subpoena potentially exculpatory information from nonparty witnesses must satisfy a stringent standard and should consider several often overlooked arguments to assure courts they’re not engaging in a fishing expedition, says James Roberts at Schlam Stone.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule

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    The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

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