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Appellate
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September 09, 2025
Atty Flashes Weed In NC High Court To Challenge Odor Test
A defense attorney on Tuesday pulled out a bag of weed in front of North Carolina's seven justices and a courtroom full of sheriffs to illustrate the outcome of letting officers conduct warrantless searches based on the smell of pot alone, saying such a test doesn't work in the age of legalized hemp.
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September 09, 2025
Mich. Appeals Court Unsure It Can Force Through Stalled Bills
A Michigan state appeals court panel wrestled Tuesday with whether courts have the power to compel members of the state's House of Representatives to deliver to the governor legislation that was passed last year by their political opponents.
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September 09, 2025
7 Enviro Cases To Watch At The Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a slew of environmental cases for the coming term, including jurisdiction disputes in pipeline and pollution cases, a challenge to a Washington state climate change law and Monsanto's bid to undo a $1.2 million weed killer cancer award.
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September 09, 2025
Pa. Panel Won't Nix Hospice Co. COVID Infection Suit
A Pennsylvania Superior Court on Tuesday refused to throw out a suit by an elderly couple alleging a physical therapist and her employer negligently infected them with COVID-19, finding the claims are not blocked by federal health emergency laws.
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September 09, 2025
7th Circ. Questions Decertifying Amazon Makeup Try-On Class
Two judges on a Seventh Circuit panel seemed skeptical Tuesday that individual location questions or the risk of a substantial damages award require reversing a district court decision certifying a 160,000-member class in a biometric privacy suit targeting a virtual makeup try-on feature in Amazon's app.
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September 09, 2025
Calif. Bashes EPA's Effort To Toss Truck Emissions Petitions
California, along with a group of states and cities, urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's motion to dismiss petitions challenging Clean Air Act waivers allowing the Golden State to make its own truck emissions standards, saying separate litigation should first play out.
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September 09, 2025
5th Circ. Backs Texas University In Medical Leave Suit
The Fifth Circuit upheld Texas Christian University's win over a former employee's lawsuit claiming she was fired for taking medical leave, saying she failed to show she was eligible for federally protected time off to take care of her mental health.
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September 09, 2025
Omni Must Pay Atty Fees Over 'Troubling' Conduct In FCA Suit
A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered a medical practice to pay legal fees to a lab it accused of False Claims Act violations, ruling its claims were "clearly vexatious" because the provider knowingly ordered medically unnecessary tests to support its suit.
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September 09, 2025
Wash. Justices Doubt Amazon's Stance On Chemical Suicides
Washington Supreme Court justices hinted on Tuesday at reviving a series of lawsuits against Amazon for allowing online sales of a chemical used in suicides, suggesting the plaintiff families' cases are strengthened by the alleged promotion of a suicide manual on the product page for sodium nitrite.
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September 09, 2025
Fed. Circ. Revives Realtek's Fee Bid In Semiconductor IP Feud
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday faulted U.S. District Judge Alan Albright for denying Realtek Semiconductor Corp.'s request for fees following the dismissal of a patent infringement suit against it, saying the semiconductor company is the prevailing party even if the accusing company willingly abandoned the case.
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September 09, 2025
9th Circ. Declines To Block Most Of Social Media Addiction Law
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday largely rejected a tech trade group's effort to block California from enforcing a law barring online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, saying a requirement to hide "likes" and share counts must be enjoined but challenges to other provisions are either unripe or fact-intensive.
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September 09, 2025
Pa. Justices Seem Split On Uber's 'Clickwrap' Arbitration Link
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court appeared unsure about whether arbitration agreements linked in apps like Uber adequately inform consumers that they're giving up the right to a jury trial by using services, with some justices commenting during oral arguments Tuesday that more explicit warnings couldn't hurt and others saying they could muddle the state's contract laws.
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September 09, 2025
Pa. Court Orders Resentencing In 2 DUI Cases Over Treatment
A pair of drunk-driving cases in Pennsylvania will be sent back to the lower courts for resentencing after a state appeals court ruled Tuesday that recently decided state Supreme Court precedent requires prosecutors to prove in front of a jury that the drivers had previously completed a drunk-driving program in order to apply sentencing enhancements.
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September 09, 2025
2nd Circ. Sends Prevailing Wage Questions To NY Panel
Fire alarm testers and inspectors are eligible for prevailing wages under New York law, but the state appeals court should mull whether employment contracts need to specify the wages and whether employers can limit the statute of limitations, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.
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September 09, 2025
Russia Keeps Fighting $34M Ukraine Gas Award At DC Circ.
The Russian Federation has asked the D.C. Circuit to reject efforts by Ukrainian gas companies, including Stabil LLC, to enforce a $34 million arbitral award, disputing once again that an arbitration agreement was ever formed and arguing that the country has foreign sovereign immunity.
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September 09, 2025
11th Circ. Told Insurers Wrongly Denied $5.6M To Railroad Co.
A Florida railroad company incurred minimal losses from Hurricane Irma in 2017 because it took measures to protect its property, but insurers unfairly used the preventive efforts to justify denying coverage for $5.6 million worth of costs under an all-risk policy, it told an Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday.
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September 09, 2025
Fed Circ. Won't Revive Ex-DOI Worker's Military Bias Case
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive a former U.S. Department of the Interior employee's allegations that he was denied promotions because he's an Air Force veteran, ruling the claims were precluded by a 2008 settlement agreement and 2022 appeals court decision.
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September 09, 2025
11th Circ. Urged To Revisit Pause Of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Suit
Environmental groups and a Florida tribe challenging the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" have asked the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider its order pausing the case while Florida appeals a preliminary injunction, arguing that it is "overbroad, unnecessary and prejudicial."
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September 09, 2025
Full 11th Circ. Backs Health Plan's Gender Care Exclusions
The Eleventh Circuit struck down a win Tuesday for a transgender sheriff's deputy who sued a Georgia county health plan after it refused to pay for gender-affirming surgery, saying the challenged coverage exclusion did not violate federal anti-discrimination law.
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September 09, 2025
Roberts Pauses Foreign Aid Distribution For Now
Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday temporarily stayed a lower court's order requiring the Trump administration to release roughly $4 billion in frozen foreign aid while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a longer-term solution.
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September 09, 2025
Meghan Markle's Sister Asks For Revival Of Defamation Suit
An attorney for Meghan Markle's half-sister urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to revive her defamation claims against the duchess, arguing that while individual remarks made during an Oprah Winfrey interview and a Netflix documentary series were not actionable, together they amounted to a smear campaign.
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September 09, 2025
Post-Chevron, DC Circ. Again Backs FERC Solar Ruling
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday stuck to a decision backing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's conclusion that a hybrid solar facility qualified for small-scale power producer perks, following a U.S. Supreme Court-ordered rethink due to the elimination of the so-called Chevron deference.
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September 09, 2025
DA Willis, Lawmakers Cite Novel Fight In Constitutional Clash
A Georgia Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case and Willis stressed to the state Supreme Court the novel nature of their dispute over a subpoena ordering her to testify, while they took competing sides on the constitutional issues at stake.
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September 09, 2025
1st Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend Heating Oil Class Action
An insurer for a heating oil company must defend the company in a Massachusetts class action accusing it of damaging customers' heating equipment by adding too much biodiesel to its heating oil, the First Circuit ruled, finding the company's provision of the oil to customers constituted separate occurrences.
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September 09, 2025
Justices Grant Fast-Track Review For Trump Tariff Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court will fast-track its consideration of the government's appeal of a Federal Circuit ruling that President Donald Trump's tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are unlawful, according to a Tuesday order.
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.