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Appellate

  • September 02, 2025

    Chinese Tire-Maker Is Cut Loose From Wrongful Death Suit

    A Texas appellate panel has dismissed claims against a Chinese tire manufacturer in a wrongful death suit alleging that a defective tire caused a fatal truck accident, saying the trial court was wrong to find that it had enough contacts with the state to support jurisdiction.

  • September 02, 2025

    11th Circ. Affirms Slashing Ex-Braves' $47M Easement Break

    A $47 million conservation easement deduction for a partnership founded by two former Atlanta Braves players was overvalued, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday, saying none of the partnership's arguments undermined the U.S. Tax Court's finding that the easement property was worth far less than it claimed.

  • September 02, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Ill. Law Barring Guns On Public Transportation

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a provision of Illinois' concealed carry law that forbids licensees from carrying firearms on public transportation, saying the law doesn't violate the Second Amendment and is "comfortably situated in a centuries-old practice of limiting firearms in sensitive and crowded, confined places."

  • September 02, 2025

    Jury Misled On Tax Fraud Conspiracy Charge, 10th Circ. Rules

    The Tenth Circuit overturned Tuesday a conviction against a man who did not report trust income on his personal tax returns, saying the New Mexico district court erred in presenting instructions on the conspiracy charges to both the jury and defendant's counsel.

  • September 02, 2025

    FERC Faces 4th Circ. Heat Over Grid Policy Revamp

    A coalition of utilities and Republican-led states have told the Fourth Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent overhaul of its regional transmission policy exceeds its authority, while consumer and clean energy advocates said that the agency didn't go far enough.

  • September 02, 2025

    Trump Will Seek Fast-Track High Court Review Of Tariff Suit

    The federal government will seek an expedited appeal and ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court as early as Wednesday, President Donald Trump said Tuesday during a press conference at which he blasted the Federal Circuit's majority opinion determining his emergency tariffs unlawful.

  • September 02, 2025

    Pa. Panel Finds Search Of Phone In Drug Case Improper

    In a precedential ruling, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that police officers' viewing, reading, and photographing a suspected drug dealer's cellphone constituted an improper search, rejecting prosecutors' claims that investigators merely observed incriminating text messages pop up on the screen without manipulation.

  • September 02, 2025

    3rd Circ. Probes Jurisdiction In Dispute Over NJ US Atty

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday ordered defendants and the federal government to make a case for the appeals court's jurisdiction over a district court's ruling disqualifying acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases, saying the court "ordinarily lacks jurisdiction" over pretrial orders in criminal cases.

  • September 02, 2025

    3rd Circ. Wants NJ Justices' Input On Judicial Privacy Law

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to address whether the state's judicial privacy law requires a mental state for purported infractions, a question that could prove crucial for data brokers facing dozens of lawsuits over their alleged violations of the statute.

  • September 02, 2025

    Sysco Keeps Trial Win In Motorcycle Accident Injury Suit

    A Massachusetts appeals panel on Tuesday refused to order a new trial in a man's suit against Sysco Corp. and one of its drivers over a motorcycle accident that resulted in the loss of his leg, leaving in place a jury verdict clearing Sysco and putting the liability on another driver.

  • September 02, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Stop Dance Teachers From Using 'Inspire' TM

    A charter school failed to convince the Fourth Circuit to block two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, with a panel finding Tuesday that the school's trademark infringement and false advertising claims didn't have enough juice.

  • September 02, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs X In Arb. Fees In Severance Case

    Courts can't sort out who pays arbitration fees, and employers' refusal to pay such fees isn't a failure to arbitrate, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, siding with X in a case accusing the social media platform of owing workers severance.

  • September 02, 2025

    'Never My Intention' To Defy Justices, Judge In NIH Case Says

    A veteran Massachusetts jurist on Tuesday responded to suggestions by two U.S. Supreme Court justices that he had defied the high court by going ahead with a bench trial on two challenges to the Trump administration's cuts to National Institutes of Health research grants, saying he would never intentionally disregard precedent.

  • September 02, 2025

    Ex-Clerk For Philly Judge Joins Eckert Seamans Bench

    An attorney who clerked for more than 12 years for a Philadelphia federal judge plans to use his insight into judicial decision-making to advise clients on litigation matters, following his recent move back to private practice with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC.

  • August 29, 2025

    Split Fed. Circ. Backs Limits On Presidential Tariff Powers

    The Federal Circuit held that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs were improperly imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which it said makes no mention of "tariff," "duties" or "tax."

  • August 29, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs CNN Win In Dershowitz Defamation Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit Friday upheld a Florida federal judge's ruling that freed CNN from Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz's $300 million defamation suit, saying Dershowitz presented no evidence that the news network acted with actual malice when covering his defense of President Donald Trump's 2020 impeachment trial.

  • August 29, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Prosecution Laches In Affirming Hyatt Loss

    The Federal Circuit on Friday shot down prolific inventor Gilbert Hyatt's bid to discard a doctrine that can render a patent unenforceable based on delays the owner made during prosecution.

  • August 29, 2025

    8th Circ.'s 'Erie Guess' Affirms Apt. Co.'s $27M Insurance Win

    A partially split Eighth Circuit panel affirmed an apartment complex's $27 million jury award against Travelers Insurance, holding that an expert's testimony about the presence of carcinogenetic soot is sufficient to support the verdict that a fire on the property caused "direct physical loss of or damage to" unburned sections.

  • August 29, 2025

    Mass. Panel Suppresses Child Rape Evidence Due To Delay

    A panel of the Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court has decided to suppress evidence of child rape in the form of images on a foster father's cellphone, finding Friday that an officer waited months too long to obtain a search warrant for the device in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ga. County Stuck With $2.6M Spaceport Bill After Referendum

    A Georgia county remains on the hook for $2.6 million it put down on land it purchased from a Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary in the hopes of building a spaceport before irate citizens killed the effort in a referendum, the Eleventh Circuit said Friday, ruling that the vote couldn't retroactively void the county's contractual obligations.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ohio Appeals Common Carrier, Public Utility Bid For Google

    The Ohio Attorney General's Office said that enforcers have appealed a pair of state court rulings that refused to subject Google to heightened oversight by declaring its search engine a common carrier or a public utility.

  • August 29, 2025

    Justices Urged To Take Home Designer's Copyright Case

    A home designer wants the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to rulings that let real estate agents off the hook on claims they infringed his copyrights, saying the justices should reexamine the lower courts' analysis of fair use.

  • August 29, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs Biden Gulf Drilling Plan Amid Trump Revamp

    The D.C. Circuit rejected environmental groups' bid to scale back the U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024-2029 offshore oil and gas leasing program, finding the plan satisfied all legal requirements.

  • August 29, 2025

    Judge Newman's Suspension Extended Once Again

    Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension from hearing cases was extended by another year on Friday, in a unanimous opinion by the appeals court's 11 other judges.

  • August 29, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Revives Suit Over $2.1B Robinhood IPO

    A divided Ninth Circuit on Friday revived a proposed investor class action suit accusing Robinhood Markets Inc. of failing to disclose a downturn in user interest ahead of its $2.1 billion initial public offering, ruling that corporations planning to go public have a duty to disclose material financial information even from quarters that have just ended.

Expert Analysis

  • What Calif. Appeals Split Means For Litigating PAGA Claims

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    After two recent California state appeals court rulings diverged on whether a former employee with untimely individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act can maintain a representative action, practitioners' strategic agility will be key to managing risk and achieving favorable outcomes in PAGA litigation, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • NY Case Shows How LLC Agreements Can Be Amended

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    The New York Court of Appeals in Behler v. Tao recently held that a merger clause contained in an amended limited liability company agreement superseded and extinguished an alleged oral agreement between the parties, highlighting the importance of determining early how and when an LLC agreement may be amended, says Kerrin Klein at Olshan Frome.

  • If Justices Accept, Maxwell Case May Clarify Meaning Of 'US'

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take up Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, it could clarify the meaning of “United States” in the context of plea agreements, and a plain language interpretation of the term would offer criminal defendants fairness and finality, say attorneys at Kudman Trachten.

  • The State Of Play In Copyright Protection For Floor Plans

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    With questions over copyright protections for floor plans potentially teed up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys in the real estate industry should take steps to clarify and strengthen clients' rights and reduce the risk of litigation, says Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    Legacy Of 3 Justices Should Guide Transgender Rights Ruling

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    Three Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices — Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter — gave rise to a jurisprudence of personal liberty that courts today invoke to protect gender-affirming care, and with the court now poised to decide U.S. v. Skrmetti, it must follow the path that they set, says Greg Fosheim at McDermott.

  • How IPR Estoppel Ruling May Clash With PTAB Landscape

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    Though the Federal Circuit's narrowing of inter partes review estoppel in Ingenico v. Ioengine might encourage more petitions, tougher standards for discretionary denial established by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could be a counterbalancing factor, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Texas Ruling Emphasizes Limits Of Franchisors' Liability

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    The Texas Supreme Court's recent ruling in Massage Heights Franchising v. Hagman, holding that a franchisor was not liable to a customer for the actions of a franchisee's employee, helps clarify the relative roles and responsibilities of the parties in such situations — and the limits of franchisors' duty of care, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • Justices' Charter School Tie Delays Church-State Reckoning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent deadlock in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board v. Drummond, blocking the creation of the nation’s first religious charter school, preserved the separation of church and state for now, but offered little reassurance about its continued viability, says Jeffrey Sultanik at Fox Rothschild.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Florida Case Could Redefine Construction Defect Damages

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    If a Florida appellate court overturns the trial court in a pending construction contract dispute, the state could experience a seismic shift in construction defect damages, effectively leaving homeowners and developers with an incomplete remedy, says Andrew Gold at Akerman.

  • 2 NY Rulings May Stem Foreign Co. Derivative Suits

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    In recent decades, shareholders have challenged the internal affairs doctrine by bringing a series of derivative actions in New York state court on behalf of foreign corporations, but the New York Court of Appeals' recent rulings in Ezrasons v. Rudd and Haussmann v. Baumann should slow that trend, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 8th Circ. Ruling Highlights Complicated Remote Work Analysis

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent opinion in Kuklenski v. Medtronic USA demonstrates that the applicability of employment laws to remote workers is often a fact-driven analysis, highlighting several parameters to consider when evaluating what state and local laws may apply to employees who work remotely, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

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