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Appellate

  • August 05, 2025

    Fed. Hazmat Law Doesn't Bar Negligence Suit, 2nd Circ. Says

    A Connecticut federal judge was wrong to find that the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act preempted a propane company's common-law negligence and recklessness claims over damage it suffered from a heating oil spill, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday in restoring a lawsuit seeking more than $500,000 to cover remediation costs.

  • August 05, 2025

    McDermott Investors Say One Class Is Enough In Fraud Case

    An employee retirement plan leading an investor class action against McDermott International Inc. asked the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday to reverse an order certifying two subclasses of investors based on whether they held stock before or after a 2018 merger.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ill. Appeals Court Backs Counsel Redo In Battery Case

    An Illinois state appeals court has ruled that a man found guilty of domestic battery is entitled to a trial court hearing on a motion he personally lodged claiming his attorney was ineffective and that he was unfairly denied the hearing because of how he filed the request.

  • August 05, 2025

    2nd Circ. Nixes Madoff Feeder Fund Clawback Suits

    About 300 clawback lawsuits filed by the liquidators of British Virgin Islands-based funds that invested in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities should be dismissed, a Second Circuit panel said on Tuesday, finding the deals were protected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code's safe harbor for securities transactions.

  • August 05, 2025

    Homeowners Policy Doesn't Cover Shooting, 6th Circ. Says

    State Farm has no duty to defend or indemnify a man facing wrongful death claims after he unintentionally shot and killed a woman in a domestic dispute, the Sixth Circuit affirmed Tuesday, finding that his intentional gunshots still created a foreseeable risk of harm and thus weren't an insurable accident.

  • August 05, 2025

    Infant Death Suit Reinstated Against Texas Hospital, Doctors

    A Texas appeals panel on Tuesday reinstated a couple's suit against Texas Children's Hospital and doctors with Baylor College of Medicine over the death of their 5-week-old infant, finding the trial court abused its discretion in finding their expert report was insufficient to support their claims.

  • August 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Upholds Reincarceration Following Release Mistake

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the lower court in the district did not violate the civil rights of a man who served 27 additional months in prison after the D.C. Department of Corrections accidentally released him and only discovered the error while he was incarcerated again for a different matter.

  • August 05, 2025

    Pa. Court Says State Can Suspend DUI Suspect's License

    In a precedential ruling, Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court has found that a state law stripping those suspected of DUI of their driver's licenses for one year if they refuse to be tested for intoxicating substances is constitutional, despite a driver's contrary assertions.

  • August 05, 2025

    RI Urges 1st Circ. To Toss Challenge To Pot License Regime

    Rhode Island cannabis regulators on Tuesday urged the First Circuit to uphold the dismissal of a Florida entrepreneur's challenge to the state's marijuana licensure program and to reject his bid to have the case remanded back to lower district court.

  • August 05, 2025

    4th Circ. Faults Board For Shallow Review Of Asylum Case

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday partially revived a Salvadoran woman's claim for asylum, finding that the Board of Immigration Appeals failed to properly assess whether she belonged to a legally protected social group.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ghislaine Maxwell Slams Feds' Bid To Unseal Grand Jury Docs

    Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking children for late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, urged a New York federal judge Tuesday to deny the government's bid to unseal grand jury transcripts, saying release of the sealed materials could jeopardize the appeal of her 2021 conviction.

  • August 05, 2025

    Yacht Listing Co. Tells 11th Circ. Sellers Agree To Arbitrate

    A yacht listing service told the Eleventh Circuit that sellers agree to arbitrate any claims related to the platform when a broker lists their vessel, as it looks to force arbitration in a case accusing it of conspiring with others to inflate broker fees.

  • August 05, 2025

    Tenn. Executes Man With Intellectual Disability For 3 Murders

    Tennessee on Tuesday executed Byron Black, who the state conceded had an intellectual disability and should have been removed from death row, for a 1988 triple murder.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Patent Examiner Fights USPTO Exclusion At High Court

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review his exclusion from practicing before the agency, saying the justices should look at issues relating to a suspension he received and also federal civil rights protections.

  • August 05, 2025

    Gas Breaks Can't Justify Russian Fertilizer Duties, Fed. Circ. Told

    The federal government improperly concluded that EuroChem's Russian imports to the U.S. were subject to countervailing duties because of natural gas subsidies those products benefited from, counsel representing the company told the Federal Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • August 05, 2025

    Law Profs Urge 11th Circ. To Toss Judge-Shopping Sanctions

    A group of seven law school professors is urging the Eleventh Circuit to toss a sanctions ruling against three attorneys for judge shopping, arguing that federal law does not forbid the practice and citing the "potentially chilling effect the order will have on counsel, especially those involved in pro bono representation."

  • August 05, 2025

    NJ Court Clarifies Sentencing Guidelines For Weapons Charge

    First-degree unlawful possession of a handgun does not automatically activate the mandatory parole disqualifiers of the Graves Act, a cornerstone of New Jersey's firearm sentencing framework, the state's highest court ruled Tuesday.

  • August 05, 2025

    Charlotte Bar Shares Blame For Fatal Shooting, NC Panel Told

    The estate of a shooting victim has doubled down on its efforts in a North Carolina appellate court to revive wrongful death claims against a bar accused of overserving the shooter, arguing the lower court ruled on foreseeability too early in the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    Mass. Appellate Court Upholds Atty's $1M Fee Win

    An attorney's $1.17 million judgment against a former client for unpaid legal fees was affirmed Tuesday by a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court, which also found that the client had waited too long to lodge a legal malpractice claim.

  • August 05, 2025

    Approach The Bench: Justice Wecht On Judicial Campaigns

    If running for judicial office often requires walking the line of being a sitting jurist and a politician, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht is no stranger to that tightrope.

  • August 05, 2025

    Alaska Airlines Can't Nix Flight Attendant's Surgery Win

    A Washington state appeals court won't disturb a jury's finding that a flight attendant was entitled to coverage of a spine surgery for an injury she sustained while working for Alaska Airlines, saying the trial court judge rightly rejected the airline's proposed jury instruction for its confusion.

  • August 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Remands Yukos' $50B Award Suit Against Russia

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday ordered a lower court to reconsider Russia's bid to escape a long-running case to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards issued to former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co., ruling the court must independently determine whether an underlying arbitration agreement exists.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Supreme Court Clerk, AG Counselor Joins Haynes Boone

    Haynes Boone announced Tuesday that it has added a partner who has clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court justices and served as counselor to the U.S. attorney general.

  • August 04, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Rival Vegas Newspapers' Deal Was Not Legal 

    The Ninth Circuit handed a win to a Las Vegas newspaper formerly owned by the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson in antitrust litigation accusing the daily of trying to ruin its liberal rival, saying Monday that the papers' joint operating agreement should be dissolved as "unlawful and unenforceable."

  • August 04, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Appeal Over Mexican Bank Discovery Looks Moot

    The Fifth Circuit pushed a Mexican businessman to explain how his appeal was not moot after a special master was appointed to review documents relating to an alleged fraud against Mexican financial institutions, saying Monday the businessman has seemingly already gotten the relief he sought.

Expert Analysis

  • 7th Circ. Insurance Ruling Resolves Major Jurisdictional Issue

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    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.

  • DOJ May Rethink Banning Firearms For Marijuana Users

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    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.

  • EDNY Ruling May Limit Some FARA Conspiracy Charges

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    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.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    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.

  • Fla. Workers' Comp Ruling Ups Bar For Emotional Injury Suits

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    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.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Spearin, Overpayments, Jurisdiction

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    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.

  • 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.

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