Public Policy

  • August 06, 2024

    Seattle Atty, Judge Lead Contested Wash. State Justice Race

    A Seattle attorney and a municipal judge were leading late Tuesday in a four-way primary race for a contested seat on the Washington State Supreme Court.

  • August 06, 2024

    From Vets To Labor: The Policies VP Pick Walz Has Backed

    Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Kamala Harris' pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate pairs her with a state leader and former lawmaker who has advocated for veterans' rights and public education while also championing a more progressive agenda, from cannabis legalization to abortion care access to stronger union rights.

  • August 06, 2024

    Microsoft's Dechert Attys Slam Delta On Outage Suit Threat

    Microsoft's attorneys at Dechert LLP fired back Tuesday at Delta Air Lines' recent threat to pursue litigation to recoup hundreds of millions in losses from last month's global CrowdStrike outage, saying the airline repeatedly refused Microsoft's offer for technical assistance.

  • August 06, 2024

    Enviro Groups Seek Penalties For Suncor Refinery Pollution

    Environmental justice groups sued Suncor Energy USA Inc. on Tuesday seeking civil penalties on behalf of people exposed to air pollution near an oil refinery, contending that federal and state regulators have failed to stop the company's ongoing Clean Air Act violations.

  • August 06, 2024

    NTSB Door Plug Hearing Spotlights Boeing Production Gaps

    Boeing still hasn't pinpointed who removed and reinstalled the door plug that subsequently blew off a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines in January, as the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday examined what employees described as disjointed protocols and high-pressure production lines.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Told Edwards Filed Safe Harbor Suit With Bad Intent

    The Federal Circuit rightfully held Meril Life Sciences was protected by a patent safe harbor when bringing its preapproval transcatheter heart valve system to an industry conference and that Edwards Lifesciences' attempts to prove otherwise are just delay tactics, Meril told the full court.

  • August 06, 2024

    Ohio Judge Upholds Law Limiting Gender Care, Sports Access

    An Ohio judge on Tuesday allowed the state to begin enforcing a law that restricts gender-affirming care for minors and bans transgender girls' participation in female sports, siding with the state and determining that the law is a legitimate attempt to protect children.

  • August 06, 2024

    Wash. Again Sues GEO Group Over ICE Detention Inspections

    Washington state's health department has again sued The GEO Group, alleging that the private prison contractor has illegally blocked health officials from entering an ICE facility to investigate a rash of suicide attempts and hundreds of reports of unhealthy conditions.

  • August 06, 2024

    New Bill Would Create 400K-Acre National Monument In Ariz.

    A bill introduced by a ranking member of the House natural resources committee looks to protect 400,000 acres in southern Arizona while declaring the site with ties to at least 13 federally recognized tribes a national monument.

  • August 06, 2024

    EPA Seeks DC Circ. Remand Of Good Neighbor Plan

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit to let it take a second look at its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states, arguing a remand is necessary to solve issues recently identified by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • August 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Says CIA Can No-Admit, No-Deny Gitmo Docs

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the CIA could refuse to confirm the existence of documents related to its control of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, rejecting a military lawyer's arguments that those records were already public knowledge.

  • August 06, 2024

    Colo. Judges Probe Broadcaster's Liability For On-Air Claims

    Colorado appellate judges on Tuesday asked a former executive for Dominion Voting Systems to explain how exactly a radio broadcaster is liable in a defamation suit over on-air statements alleging the former executive was responsible for rigging the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump.

  • August 06, 2024

    NYC Prof Found Guilty Of Acting As A Secret Chinese Spy

    A Brooklyn federal jury on Tuesday unanimously convicted an academic and author of secretly acting as an agent of the Chinese government by feeding information about Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy activists to China's intel service, following a weeklong jury trial, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fox TV Knocks Media Group's Petition Against Philly License

    Fox TV pressed the Federal Communications Commission to reject an advocacy group's bid for a hearing on its Philadelphia station's license over claims it knowingly aired election falsehoods, arguing the petition still lacks merit despite a year of pressure on the agency.

  • August 06, 2024

    Cable Biz Likely To Oppose Cybersecurity Reporting Rules

    Cable providers bristled at federal agencies' plans to impose new requirements aimed at beefing up network security, arguing that rules for reporting cyberattacks within certain time frames and sharing detailed security plans would be overly burdensome.

  • August 06, 2024

    Conn. AG Says Utility Misconstrued Power Plant Cleanup Deal

    The Connecticut Attorney General's Office has told a state court that The United Illuminating Co., now part of Avangrid Inc., raised inapplicable defenses to an environmental cleanup lawsuit by misconstruing an earlier consent decree as a "contract" the government could breach as the utility remediated an abandoned New Haven power plant.

  • August 06, 2024

    EPA Emergency Bans Pesticide Chem Over Risks To Unborn

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it's imposing an emergency ban on all pesticide products that contain a chemical used since the 1950s that it says puts fetuses at risk of thyroid problems and a cascade of other health issues.

  • August 06, 2024

    NC Hospital Gets New Shot At Emergency Dept. Plan Approval

    A state appellate panel on Tuesday unraveled a decision overturning approval for a freestanding emergency department in rural North Carolina, ruling that an administrative law judge misapplied precedent when deciding whether a state agency's failure to hold a public hearing prejudiced the decision-making process. 

  • August 06, 2024

    CFPB Pans Bid For 5th Circ. To Reopen Payday Rule Fight

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged the Fifth Circuit to deny a rehearing bid for a payday loan industry rule challenge that previously foundered at the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing it's time to put the long-running case to bed.

  • August 06, 2024

    Wind Tower Co. Asks Full Fed. Circ. To Revisit Subsidy Duties

    A Federal Circuit panel wrongly concluded that a 10% depreciation rate for deducting costs related to manufacturing facilities set by Canadian law was an unfair trade subsidy that justified countervailing trade duties, a wind tower manufacturer told the court in seeking a rehearing.

  • August 06, 2024

    Powell, Trump Attys Seek To Halt Mich. Bar Discipline Cases

    Sidney Powell and other attorneys behind a legal challenge to Michigan's 2020 presidential election results want bar discipline proceedings paused while they ask the Michigan Supreme Court to step in and dismiss the professional misconduct complaints.

  • August 06, 2024

    Dem Lawmakers Back FTC's Kroger-Albertsons Challenge

    A group of Democratic lawmakers is supporting the Federal Trade Commission in its suit to block Kroger's $25 billion acquisition of Albertsons, telling an Oregon federal judge in a friend-of-the-court brief that the agency's fears the deal would harm grocery workers and consumers are well-founded.

  • August 06, 2024

    NJ Justices Remove 'Routine' Barrier To Compressor Hub

    The New Jersey state appeals court misinterpreted the word "routine" in a decision that paused a plan for a natural gas compressor station in the Highlands Preservation Area, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

  • August 06, 2024

    Elon Musk's X Sues CVS, Mars, Ads Group Claiming 'Boycott'

    Elon Musk's X Corp. sued the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, Mars Inc., CVS Health and Ørsted in Texas federal court Tuesday, inspired by a House Judiciary Committee Republican staffer report decrying efforts to avoid advertising next to hate speech and other "disfavored" content as an anticompetitive group boycott.

  • August 06, 2024

    SEC Decries Coinbase's 'Sweeping' Discovery Demand

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has urged a New York federal judge to deny crypto exchange Coinbase's "additional, sweeping" request for all documents and communications the regulator may have made surrounding how securities laws apply to digital assets, arguing most of the documents are privileged or irrelevant to the case.

Expert Analysis

  • Tricky Venue Issues Persist In Fortenberry Prosecution Redo

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    Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was recently indicted for a second time after the Ninth Circuit tossed his previous conviction for improper venue, but the case, now pending in the District of Columbia, continues to illustrate the complexities of proper venue in "false statement scheme" prosecutions, says Kevin Coleman at Covington.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • 1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case

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    The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.

  • CFPB's New Registration Rule Will Intensify Nonbank Scrutiny

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized nonbank registration rule aimed at cracking down on repeat offenders poses significant compliance challenges and enforcement risks for nonbank financial firms, and may be particularly onerous for smaller firms, say Ketan Bhirud and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change

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    The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed

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    The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Good News For Gov't Contractors In Litigation

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    The net result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Chevron deference is that individuals, contractors and companies bringing procurement-related cases against the government will have new pathways toward success, say Joseph Berger and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

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    The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls

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    Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

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