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Appellate
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July 23, 2025
Wash. Counties Can Sue State Over Public Defense Funding
A Washington state appeals court has ruled that a coalition of counties has standing to sue the state to force it to provide adequate funding for indigent defense services, saying the coalition had shown that it had been harmed by the current funding system.
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July 23, 2025
Fed. Circ. Deems 'Kist' And 'Sunkist' Marks Confusingly Alike
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a trademark tribunal's conclusion that "Kist" and "Sunkist" soft drink marks were not confusingly similar, saying the board was wrong to distinguish the goods by focusing on images of red lips and the sun in marketing materials for the products.
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July 23, 2025
Split Conn. High Court OKs Eyewitness ID In Armed Robbery
Connecticut's Supreme Court has narrowly ruled that in the case of a masked armed robbery at a Smashburger, though a victim may have been scared, high, not wearing glasses and directed toward a suspect, her identification of the perpetrator was reliable.
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July 23, 2025
ACLU's Brief Rejected In Ex-Yale Student's Defamation Suit
The ACLU's Connecticut litigation arm and five other legal advocacy groups cannot file friend-of-the-court briefs in former Yale University student Saifullah Khan's defamation case against 16 others that filed a rejected amici brief in a separate state Supreme Court matter, a state appeals court has ruled.
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July 23, 2025
Firm Can't Arbitrate After Filing Suit, 4th Circ. Says
A Maryland law firm and a debt buyer cannot force a debt collection dispute into arbitration, the Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday, finding they waived their right to arbitrate when they filed their own collective action.
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July 23, 2025
7th Circ. Revives Part Of Solar Firm's Panama Grid Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld an Illinois federal judge's ruling that Spanish energy company Avanzalia Solar could not pursue its claims that Goldwind Americas blocked and delayed access to the Panamanian power grid.
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July 23, 2025
Tort Report: Panera Settles Last Of 'Charged Lemonade' Suits
The final resolution of a handful of injury suits over Panera Bread's caffeinated lemonade drink and the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a medical malpractice case lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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July 23, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs Decision Clearing Seismic Bracing In IP Case
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday said it won't revive an intellectual property lawsuit SME Steel Contractors launched against a company founded by its former head engineer, finding that a lower court rightly sided with the newer company on patent, copyright and other claims it had faced.
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July 23, 2025
8th Circ. Denies Bar Owner Coverage For Ex-Husband's Arson
An insurer for a Minnesota bar has no duty to cover a nearly $2 million fire intentionally caused by one of the owners, the Eighth Circuit ruled, rejecting the other co-owner's argument that the "innocent co-insured doctrine" extended to the bar's corresponding corporate entities.
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July 23, 2025
Sen. Collins Opposes Bove For 3rd Circ. Over Bias Concerns
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will oppose the confirmation of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also indicated her likely opposition.
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July 23, 2025
NJ Power Broker Blasts AG's Bid To Revive RICO Case
Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III on Wednesday urged a New Jersey appeals court to affirm the dismissal of the state's explosive racketeering indictment, arguing the trial court was right to toss the charges because there are no factual allegations in the indictment that amount to a crime.
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July 23, 2025
High Court Lets Trump Fire CPSC Members, For Now
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump could fire three members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, even though a Maryland federal judge found that the president lacked authority to remove them without cause.
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July 23, 2025
2nd Circ. Orders Review Of Sealed Epstein Case Docs
The Second Circuit on Wednesday vacated rulings denying requests to unseal materials in a defamation case tied to deceased financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, ordering a New York district court to review certain filings after determining they're considered judicial documents and presumed to be public.
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July 23, 2025
Apple Tells 9th Circ. Birthright Ruling Scraps Epic's Injunction
Apple Inc. told the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in litigation challenging President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order means that a nationwide injunction and civil contempt order in Epic Games Inc.'s antitrust case over Apple's App Store policies cannot stand.
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July 23, 2025
4th Circ. Says Gov't Is Immune From Contractor Negligence Suit
The Fourth Circuit said the Defense Intelligence Agency is immune from a polygraph examiner's suit alleging an employee's negligence caused her to get into a car accident outside the agency's offices, affirming a Virginia federal judge's dismissal of her suit.
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July 23, 2025
NJ Justices Back AG Takeover Of Paterson Police Dept.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin acted within his authority when he took control of the troubled police department of the state's third-largest city in 2023, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday.
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July 23, 2025
Mass. Justices Order 2nd Look At Murder Testimony
A Massachusetts judge who presided over a 2020 murder trial abused his discretion by relying on the opinion of law enforcement officers about the credibility of a witness with potentially exculpatory testimony rather than hear from him directly, the state's highest court said Wednesday.
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July 23, 2025
5th Circ. Finds Enclave Doctrine Blocks Asbestos Claims
The Fifth Circuit has held that the federal enclave doctrine blocks the bulk of a military family's claims in a suit alleging their housing at Randolph Air Force Base had mold and asbestos, while affirming a $91,000 damages award against the housing managers.
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July 23, 2025
8th Circ. Wipes Out Pot-Smoking Gun Owner's Conviction
The Eighth Circuit has vacated a man's conviction for possessing a firearm as an unlawful drug user, saying the trial court failed to determine that his use of cannabis made him dangerous to others or pose a credible threat with the firearm.
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July 23, 2025
Spurning Outsiders, Trump Expands Role In Picking Judges
President Donald Trump is tightly controlling judicial nominations in his second term, eschewing guidance from mainstream groups and instead relying on close advisers and vetting candidates himself.
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July 22, 2025
FCA Draws Heavy Constitutional Fire After $1.6B J&J Verdict
Reeling from a record fraud verdict tied to drug promotion practices, Johnson & Johnson is pursuing a sweeping constitutional challenge to the False Claims Act, and in filings this week at the Third Circuit, major industry allies rallied behind its views of whistleblower litigants usurping executive branch power.
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July 22, 2025
9th Circ. OKs Toss Of U-Visa Holder's Status Adjustment Suit
Federal district courts can't review discretionary denials of nonimmigrant visa holders' bids to adjust to lawful permanent resident status, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday in a published opinion refusing to revive a Mexican woman's lawsuit that challenged her green card denial.
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July 22, 2025
Justices Urged To Hear Ill. Freight Broker Negligence Fight
A man who was injured in an Illinois trucking accident urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to address conflicting court decisions on whether federal law shields freight brokers from state-based negligence and personal injury claims, saying broker and logistics giant C.H. Robinson cannot evade liability.
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July 22, 2025
DC Circ. Denies AP's Bid To Rehear White House Press Ban
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday refused to reconsider a split panel's decision reinstating a White House directive banning the Associated Press from the Oval Office and other restricted spaces, with one circuit judge explaining that the requirements for an en banc review were not met.
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July 22, 2025
Bipartisan Bill Aims To Protect Judges From Rising Threats
Representatives Lucy McBath, D-Ga., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Tuesday reintroduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to better protect state and local judges from threats and violence that are "becoming increasingly more common" against the judiciary.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication
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.
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Justices' Charter School Tie Delays Church-State Reckoning
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.
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When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility
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.
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Florida Case Could Redefine Construction Defect Damages
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.
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2 NY Rulings May Stem Foreign Co. Derivative Suits
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.
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8th Circ. Ruling Highlights Complicated Remote Work Analysis
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.