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Appellate
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July 31, 2025
NJ Justices Clarify Pension Beneficiary Designation Process
The Garden State's Police and Firemen's Retirement System improperly distributed more than $200,000 in unpaid pension benefits to the estranged spouse of a deceased Newark police officer, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday, ordering the money to be redirected to his estate.
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July 31, 2025
Anadarko Asks 5th Circ. To Back La. Suit Indemnity Win
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has asked the Fifth Circuit to uphold its indemnification win against an environmental remediation company in connection with a decade-old Louisiana kickback suit, writing that "one who makes his own bed must lie in it."
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July 31, 2025
Mich. Justices Say Employer Suit Limits Must Be Reasonable
The Michigan Supreme Court held Thursday that employment agreements that limit how much time employees have to sue their employer must be examined for reasonableness before they are enforced by courts.
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July 31, 2025
NJ Town Knocks Out Worker's $1.6M Disability Bias Win
A New Jersey appellate court scrapped a $1.6 million verdict Thursday for a township employee who said she was discriminated and retaliated against for taking leave to treat her anxiety, ruling the evidence presented at trial didn't justify the damages award.
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July 31, 2025
Fed. Circ. Judges Cast Doubts On Trump Tariff Powers
Several Federal Circuit judges raised concerns about whether President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act override constitutional and congressional authority during oral arguments Thursday in their questions to better understand the extent of the appeals court's review.
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July 31, 2025
3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In August
The Federal Circuit's argument calendar for August includes Brita's effort to revive a patent suit against water filter rivals that fell short at the U.S. International Trade Commission, and a prolific inventor's bid to undo a decision clearing Coca-Cola of infringing a beverage dispenser patent.
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July 31, 2025
4th Circ. Says Brokers Owe Atty Fees Over Case Removal Row
A unanimous Fourth Circuit panel has affirmed a South Carolina federal judge's order requiring several financial firms to pay more than $63,000 in legal fees for improperly trying to remove a securities class action to federal court for a second time, but said they don't have to pay additional fees to cover the cost of the appeal.
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July 31, 2025
Witness' Use Of 'Fraud' Doesn't Cancel TV Sports Exec's Verdict
The First Circuit rejected arguments by a former executive at the cable channel for the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins that a witness' use of the word "fraud" and testimony about his lavish spending tainted the jury that convicted him of a fake invoice scheme.
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July 31, 2025
8th Circ. Says Firm's Conspiracy Suit Wrongly Tossed
The Eighth Circuit on Thursday revived a law firm's suit alleging that the defendants in a wrongful death suit conspired to have the firm withdraw from that suit after raising false accusations, saying the trial court "took a trip back in time" to an older interpretation of court doctrine.
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July 31, 2025
Judges Speak Out On Rising Threats Amid Safety Concerns
Federal judges who have been at the center of some of the most high-profile litigation of the second Trump administration spoke publicly Thursday about threats they've faced after their rulings.
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July 31, 2025
Mass. Court Allows Consecutive Resentencing In Murder Case
Massachusetts' highest court has ruled that prosecutors may seek two consecutive life sentences with parole eligibility in a double murder case after outlawing life without parole sentences for defendants who committed crimes between the ages of 18 and 20-years-old.
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July 31, 2025
1st Circ. Denies Marathon Bomber's Bid To DQ Trial Judge
The First Circuit on Thursday denied a request by convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to have the judge who presided over his 2015 trial removed from conducting a probe into whether some of the jurors who sentenced him to death were biased.
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July 31, 2025
New Evidence Not Enough To Get Texas Inmate Off Death Row
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a death row inmate's habeas corpus petition, finding that although he claimed new evidence shows his victim's death during a robbery was unintentional, the information wouldn't have altered his conviction or sentence.
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July 31, 2025
6th Circ. Doubts Union Failed Fire Chief Accused Of Threats
A federal appellate panel appeared unlikely based on oral arguments Thursday to revive a suit by a former fire chief at a Michigan paper mill who allegedly threatened coworkers but claimed that the United Steelworkers shirked its representation duties by failing to fight the company's decision to fire him.
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July 31, 2025
Immigration Board Raises Bar To Fight State Drug Convictions
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that an individual fighting removal after being convicted on state drug charges has the burden of proving the law they were convicted under is broader than federal law to avoid deportation.
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July 31, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Google's Play Store Antitrust Trial Loss
A Ninth Circuit panel Thursday affirmed Epic Games' 2023 antitrust jury trial win, along with an injunction requiring Google to open its Google Play Store to rivals, backing a landmark finding that Google monopolized the Android app-distribution market.
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July 31, 2025
Split 3rd Circ. Expels Rutgers MBA Fraud Suit Over Standing
The plaintiff leading a proposed class action against Rutgers University for allegedly cooking its MBA rankings by fudging job placement statistics doesn't have standing because he was in a different part-time certificate program, a split Third Circuit has ruled, affirming a New Jersey federal court's decision.
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July 31, 2025
Energy Co. Tells 4th Circ. Land Access Needed For Power Line
A Public Service Energy Group unit trying to build a 67-mile transmission line in Maryland asked the Fourth Circuit to deny property owners' bid to keep it off their lands, arguing it has a right to complete surveys needed for regulatory approvals.
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July 31, 2025
2nd Circ. Vacates OpenSea Crypto Insider Trading Conviction
The Second Circuit on Thursday overturned the fraud conviction of a former OpenSea manager accused of insider trading on nonfungible token sales on his employer's platform, finding that a Manhattan jury may have convicted him "based on conduct that it found to be unethical rather than fraudulent."
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July 30, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Upend Investors' Class Cert. In J&J Talc Suit
A split Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a New Jersey federal judge's class certification order in a Johnson & Johnson investor action alleging the company artificially inflated its stock price by failing to disclose cancer risks associated with its talcum powder products, finding the lower court did not err in concluding that common issues predominate in the suit.
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July 30, 2025
Wash. Ex-Officer's Conviction Upheld In Plot To Shoot Him
A former Washington corrections officer cannot overturn conspiracy convictions for persuading his sister to shoot him at work, a state appellate panel has ruled.
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July 30, 2025
2nd Circ. Backs Live Well Founder's Bond Fraud Convictions
The Second Circuit affirmed convictions for Live Well's founder for inducing lenders to extend credit by jacking up bond valuations to increase its debt and borrow against it, ruling Wednesday jurors had enough evidence to determine he misrepresented the value of collateral to secure loans and did so with fraudulent intent.
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July 30, 2025
High Court Urged To Review Ineffective-Counsel Case
A man who threatened to sue his civil lawyer for malpractice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case and find that such a situation creates an automatic conflict of interest when the same lawyer was also defending him in a criminal case.
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July 30, 2025
11th Circ. Revives Ga. Atty's Race Bias Suit Against State Bar
The Eleventh Circuit has revived a Georgia attorney's suit accusing the state's bar association of racial bias, finding that a district court wrongly dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
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July 30, 2025
No Philly Clause Is Valid In Med Mal Case, Pa. Panel Says
A Pennsylvania appellate panel said Wednesday that a contract a patient signed before surgery mandating that any legal actions must be heard in Bucks County is valid and enforceable, affirming a trial court's transfer of the medical malpractice suit from plaintiff-friendly Philadelphia County.
Expert Analysis
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7th Circ. Insurance Ruling Resolves Major Jurisdictional Issue
The Seventh Circuit recently confirmed in StarStone Insurance v. Chicago that attorney fees and costs paid as part of a settlement are covered — while unexpectedly raising and answering a question of first impression about federal jurisdiction over foreign entities, says Lara Langeneckert at Barnes & Thornburg.
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DOJ May Rethink Banning Firearms For Marijuana Users
In light of various federal circuit court decisions and an executive order from President Donald Trump, U.S. Department of Justice enforcement policy now may be on the verge of changing decidedly in favor of marijuana users' gun rights, and could foreshadow additional marijuana-friendly reforms, says Jacob Raver at Dentons.
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EDNY Ruling May Limit Some FARA Conspiracy Charges
Though the Eastern District of New York’s recent U.S. v. Sun decision upheld Foreign Agents Registration Act charges against a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, its recognition of an affirmative legislative policy to exempt some officials may help defendants charged with related conspiracies, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard
District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Fla. Workers' Comp Ruling Ups Bar For Emotional Injury Suits
A Florida appellate court’s recent opinion in Steak 'N Shake v. Spears requires that employees solely claiming emotional distress seek workers’ compensation before suing their employers, closing a potential loophole and reducing the potential proliferation of such disputes in Florida courts, says Rob Rogers at Kirwin Norris.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Spearin, Overpayments, Jurisdiction
Edward Arnold at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions addressing the limits of the Spearin doctrine in design-build contracts, the government's ability to recoup overpayments after a termination for convenience, and the Contract Disputes Act's strict and nonwaivable jurisdictional rules.
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What Calif. Appeals Split Means For Litigating PAGA Claims
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.
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Series
Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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NY Case Shows How LLC Agreements Can Be Amended
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.
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If Justices Accept, Maxwell Case May Clarify Meaning Of 'US'
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.
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The State Of Play In Copyright Protection For Floor Plans
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.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech
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.
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Opinion
Legacy Of 3 Justices Should Guide Transgender Rights Ruling
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.
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How IPR Estoppel Ruling May Clash With PTAB Landscape
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.
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Texas Ruling Emphasizes Limits Of Franchisors' Liability
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.