Appellate

  • September 03, 2024

    EPA Should Have Rethought Smog Plan, DC Circ. Told

    U.S. Steel Corp. told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was obligated to rethink its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states once courts partially blocked the plan's implementation, saying those decisions vindicate arguments that the rule can't be legally crafted.

  • September 03, 2024

    Advocates Urge 8th Circ. To Keep Iowa Arrest Law Blocked

    Immigration lawyers and advocates for domestic violence survivors slammed Iowa's defense of a state law authorizing the arrest of immigrants who reentered the country after deportation, telling the Eighth Circuit that the immigrants may have obtained humanitarian protections after removal.

  • September 03, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Tax Lien Pro Rata Share In Bankruptcy Sale

    The bankruptcy court is not authorized to use the pro rata method to allocate proceeds between the IRS and an estate with a tax lien for unpaid taxes and penalties, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying there is nothing in bankruptcy law that explicitly allows this approach.

  • September 03, 2024

    Gov't Backs 9th Circ. Bid To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court applied the wrong standard when tossing a pair of class actions accusing the maker of Invisalign of monopolizing markets for clear dental aligners and teeth scanners.

  • September 03, 2024

    Apartment Co. Asks 9th Circ. To Toss NLRB Wage Talk Ruling

    An Arizona property management company has urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a National Labor Relations Board decision finding the company unlawfully fired a worker who talked about wages, joining a chorus of employers arguing the labor agency is unconstitutionally structured.

  • September 03, 2024

    Debtor's Late-Filing Case Should Be Reviewed, Justices Told

    Tax experts urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision that found late-filed returns prevented a taxpayer from discharging his federal tax debt in bankruptcy, saying the case reflects a decades-long debate that has split the circuits three ways.

  • September 03, 2024

    Criminal Lawyers Group Backs YSL Atty In Contempt Appeal

    The American Board of Criminal Lawyers told the Georgia Supreme Court that one of its fellows, an attorney defending rapper Young Thug in a racketeering trial, shouldn't have been held in contempt for refusing to divulge to a state judge how he learned about the judge's improper meeting with prosecutors and a key witness.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ex-Teacher Asks 7th Circ. To Revive Bias Fight Over Pronouns

    An evangelical teacher urged the Seventh Circuit to revive his religious bias lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully fired for refusing to use transgender students' gender-affirming names and pronouns, arguing a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision backs keeping his case in court.

  • September 03, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Dissolves La. Voting Consent Decree

    An 11-member majority of the Fifth Circuit dissolved a 30-year-old voting consent decree over how justices are elected to Louisiana's highest court, finding in a split en banc opinion that the state has "satisfied its obligations."

  • September 03, 2024

    NJ Judiciary Expands Public Access To Briefs, Hearings

    The New Jersey judiciary will begin livestreaming oral arguments before the Superior Court's Appellate Division and posting briefs for the Appellate Division and the state Supreme Court online in September, according to an announcement Tuesday.

  • September 03, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Father-Son Duo's COVID Fraud Conviction

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday refused to walk back the convictions of a father-son duo who were found guilty of fraudulently obtaining $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds, finding there was sufficient evidence to bolster the guilty verdicts and the trial court did not otherwise make a mistake in allowing their prior counsel to be questioned at trial.

  • September 03, 2024

    DC Circ. Rejects EPA's 'New' Boiler Emission Limits

    The D.C. Circuit said Tuesday that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating emissions from boilers used at industrial plants, universities and hospitals improperly classified some sources as "new" even though they existed before the regulations were proposed.

  • September 03, 2024

    Justices Urged To Revive Movie Site TM Suit Against BofA

    The Tenth Circuit employed "an analysis devoid of context whose conclusions contradicted themselves" when it found Bank of America Corp. had not infringed a movie website owner's trademark with its virtual assistant "Erica," the site owner has told the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • September 03, 2024

    Texas Judge On Joining New Statewide Appellate Court

    As he moves from his seat as the first jurist to sit on the Lone Star State's 480th District Court bench to a place on Texas' newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals, Justice Scott Field is well-prepared to "hit the ground running."

  • September 03, 2024

    Texas Justice On Moving To The New 15th Appeals Court

    This month, Texas business courts gavel in for the first time and a newly created appellate court, the Fifteenth District, will begin accepting business court appeals as well as disputes on appeal that include the Lone Star State or a state entity as a party.

  • September 01, 2024

    Jackson Sees No 'Reason' To Not Enforce High Court Ethics

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Sunday that she's seen no "persuasive reason" why members of the nation's highest court shouldn't be held to an enforceable code of conduct, becoming the second justice to publicly endorse proposed ethics reform following a year of heightened public scrutiny.

  • August 30, 2024

    Pa. Court Affirms Ex-Eagle's $43.5M Knee Injury Verdict

    Former Philadelphia Eagles team captain Chris Maragos gets to keep the $43.5 million he won in a medical malpractice trial over doctors' treatment of a knee injury that ended his playing career, after a state appeals panel on Friday ruled that the jury verdict was supported by the evidence.

  • August 30, 2024

    Pa. County's Voting Machine Inspections Cost It $1M In Fees

    A Pennsylvania county whose commissioners violated a court order by allowing outside inspectors to access its voting machines should pay Dominion Voting Systems and the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth more than $1 million in legal fees as part of the state supreme court's sanctions, an appellate judge recommended Friday.

  • August 30, 2024

    Vets, Attys Urge Supreme Court To Topple Feres Doctrine

    Veterans groups and lawmakers contend it's "high time" for the U.S. Supreme Court to scrap its 74-year-old doctrine prohibiting military service members and their families from suing the U.S. for negligence, arguing the vague rule has left soldiers with fewer rights than prisoners and noncitizens.

  • August 30, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Review PTAB Estoppel Rule Case

    A Federal Circuit ruling that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions can render patent claims invalid in later U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceedings is "contrary to the patent laws and congressional intent," a patent owner said Friday seeking rehearing in a case that could increase scrutiny of some patents.

  • August 30, 2024

    $100M Deal Finally Ends MoneyGram Unclaimed Property Fight

    Delaware will be giving back more than $100 million from uncashed MoneyGram checks to the states where they were bought after finally reaching a settlement with 29 other states that took the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • August 30, 2024

    Don't Halt Smelter Pollution Suit For Appeal, 8th Circ. Told

    Hundreds of Peruvian citizens urged the Eighth Circuit on Thursday not to pause a 17-year-old pollution case for a high court appeal requested by the billionaire owner of a smelter, arguing that the justices were unlikely to overturn rulings allowing the case to proceed.

  • August 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Double Software Co.'s $13.5M Trade Secret Win

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday affirmed a lower court's denial of a request by software company Proofpoint Inc. for exemplary damages that could have doubled its $13.5 million trade secret theft verdict, ruling that any error the district court made in denying the damages is harmless.

  • August 30, 2024

    Partnership Can't Save Premature Tax Court Appeal, Feds Say

    The IRS is urging the Eleventh Circuit to throw out a Tax Court appeal that a partnership formed by two former Atlanta Braves players filed over a slashed $47.6 million conservation easement deduction, since the appeal was improperly filed before a final decision was entered.

  • August 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Appeals courts have awakened from summertime slumber and crammed their early autumn calendars with arguments of national significance, which Law360 previews in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. We're also recapping August's top appellate decisions, exploring new polling about U.S. Supreme Court opinions and testing your knowledge of Fifth Circuit history.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Limit Discovery In Int'l Arbitration

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    The Second Circuit's recent Webuild v. WSP decision, affirming a discovery order's nullification in arbitration between Webuild and the government of Panama, demonstrates courts' unwillingness to find that arbitral tribunals in investor-state cases fall within the scope of the discovery statute, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Patent Lessons From 5 Federal Circuit Reversals In June

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    A look at June cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court highlights a potential path for branded drugmakers to sue generic-drug makers for off-label uses, potential downsides of violating a pretrial order offering testimony, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • NY Ruling Offers A Foreclosure Road Map For Lenders

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    A New York appellate court recently upheld a summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial lender's foreclosure in U.S. Bank v. 1226 Evergreen Bapaz, illustrating the proofs lenders will need to prosecute a foreclosure action, especially where the plaintiff is an assignee of the originating lender, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Preserving Payment Rights

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    Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions that together illustrate the importance of keeping accurate records and adhering to contractual procedures to avoid inadvertently waiving contractual rights to cost reimbursements or nonroutine payments.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance

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    A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

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