Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
June 11, 2025
Ex-Judges Urge High Court To Protect Right To Counsel
A group of six high-profile retired judges urged the Supreme Court to protect criminal defendants' right to consult with counsel during overnight trial recesses, saying a current "patchwork" of practices in this area is bad for judges as well as defendants.
-
June 11, 2025
Wash. Panel Grills Worker Family On $5M Asbestos Win Basis
A Washington appellate panel seemed skeptical Wednesday that a family's $5.5 million win against an industrial manufacturer could stand when it never made the asbestos-containing equipment at issue in the product liability case, with one judge also remarking the company had raised a "hard argument" on appeal.
-
June 11, 2025
9th Circ. Judge Doubts Apple ICloud Buyer's Storage Appeal
A Ninth Circuit judge on a panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of an Apple consumer's bid to revive a proposed class action alleging the tech giant shortchanged tens of millions of paying iCloud subscribers out of 5 gigabytes of the storage space, saying the consumer "got exactly what you were promised."
-
June 11, 2025
Del. Justices Press Atty On Earnout Damage Bid Despite Miss
Delaware Supreme Court justices focused on the basics Wednesday during data management venture STX Business Solutions LLC's bid to revive a suit that was tossed by the Court of Chancery in October and accused a buyer of skipping a profitable deal to avoid paying an "earnout" bonus of up to $5.5 million.
-
June 11, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Invalidation Of Agilent CRISPR Patents
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding every claim invalid in two Agilent Technologies patents on the gene-editing tool CRISPR, sealing a win for Synthego Corp., which has been accused of infringing them.
-
June 11, 2025
DC Circ. Pauses Habeas Order In Alien Enemies Act Case
The D.C. Circuit has agreed to briefly pause a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to give due process to Venezuelan immigrants deported from the U.S. to a Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act.
-
June 11, 2025
3rd Circ. Seems Skeptical Of NJ Town's Car Seizure Process
The Third Circuit seemed open Wednesday to a bid by Honda's leasing arm to have a Garden State town's towing ordinance deemed unconstitutional, with judges appearing doubtful that it adequately provides for due process.
-
June 11, 2025
Phone Search During Traffic Stop Aboveboard, 8th Circ. Says
A police officer's search of a registered sex offender's phone during a traffic stop that revealed images of child pornography was lawfully used as evidence in a trial that resulted in a more than 17-year prison sentence, the Eighth Circuit ruled Wednesday.
-
June 11, 2025
Assembly Line Co.'s Dispute Predated Policy, 6th Circ. Affirms
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision denying an assembly line technology designer's bid for insurance coverage of an underlying multimillion-dollar dispute with a customer, finding coverage was excluded because the conflict originated before the professional liability policy was purchased.
-
June 11, 2025
11th Circ. OK's Probationer's Malicious Prosecution Suit
The Eleventh Circuit said a man can continue with his suit against two Georgia probation officers accused of filing a false warrant application for his extradition back to the Peach State, affirming that the Fourth Amendment's protections are not limited to the officers' "narrow definition" of a criminal proceeding.
-
June 11, 2025
NFL Tells 9th Circ. $4.7B Sunday Ticket Verdict Rightly Nixed
The National Football League has told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court was right to toss a $4.7 billion jury verdict for claims that the league colluded to raise the price of the Sunday Ticket broadcast package on DirecTV, after the court found testimony from a pair of experts during trial was unreliable.
-
June 11, 2025
DOJ Legal Policy Chief, Adviser On Judge Selections, Resigns
Aaron Reitz, a top U.S. Department of Justice official who works on judicial nominations, announced Wednesday he's resigning after being confirmed for the role on March 26.
-
June 11, 2025
8th Circ. Probes NLRB's Process In Home Depot 'BLM' Ruling
An Eighth Circuit panel questioned Wednesday the process behind the National Labor Relations Board's ruling that Home Depot illegally forced out a worker for displaying the letters "BLM" on their apron but didn't tip its hand on whether this move was within the company's rights.
-
June 11, 2025
2nd Circ. Rules Girlfriend's Phone Search Didn't Violate Rights
The Second Circuit on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a New York man on charges over the receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material, rejecting claims that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when his girlfriend unlocked his phone, found illicit images and showed them to a police officer.Â
-
June 11, 2025
Sony Fights Feds' 'Bewildering' Support Of Cox's High Court Bid
Sony Music Entertainment and other music publishers questioned the federal government's "bewildering" support for Cox Communications Inc.'s challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court to a Fourth Circuit ruling affirming a contributory copyright infringement verdict against the internet service provider, saying only the verdict's vicarious liability finding should be reviewed.
-
June 11, 2025
Firm Tells NC Panel To Rethink Ex-Partner's Retroactive Care
Cranfill Sumner LLP has asked a North Carolina appellate panel to rethink a single issue from the court's sweeping workers' compensation ruling last month favoring a former partner, saying there is not enough evidence to support granting him retroactive attendant care for his disability.
-
June 11, 2025
Mass. Gov. Nominates Probate Court Justice To Appeals Court
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday nominated Probate and Family Court Justice Jennifer M. Allen to the state's intermediate appellate court.
-
June 11, 2025
3rd Circ. Sends Dow Pollution Suit Back To NJ State Court
The Third Circuit on Wednesday said New Jersey's lawsuit accusing Dow Chemical Co. of causing widespread groundwater pollution through a product containing a potentially cancer-causing compound should be heard in state court, rejecting the chemical company's argument that it was acting under the direction of the federal government.
-
June 11, 2025
1st Circ. Won't Rethink Split Ruling On Atty's Stock Scheme
A First Circuit panel won't rethink its 2-1 decision that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could keep its pretrial win against a Connecticut attorney who sold unregistered penny stocks, according to an order from the appellate court.
-
June 11, 2025
Union Pacific Can Appeal BIPA Retroactivity At 7th Circ.
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday allowed Union Pacific to pursue an early appeal of her finding that a recent amendment to Illinois' biometric privacy law limiting companies' exposure does not apply retroactively, recognizing the "novelty and complexity of the legal issue" and allowing the Seventh Circuit the opportunity to weigh in.
-
June 11, 2025
Houston Atty Says Rival's Client Files Aren't Trade Secrets
A Houston attorney accused of stealing another lawyer's files in an attempt to recruit clients to file malpractice suits told a Texas appellate court that his rival "misrepresents facts to support his false narrative" that the information constituted trade secrets.
-
June 11, 2025
Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision
If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.
-
June 11, 2025
Del. Justices OK Early Review Of New Corp. Liability Shield
Delaware's justices agreed to a fast-tracked state constitutional review Wednesday for questions in a Court of Chancery case affected by state legislation approved in March that expanded and made retroactive "safe harbor" liability shields for conflicted corporate directors or controllers.
-
June 11, 2025
Trump Presses 2nd Circ. To Federalize Hush Money Appeal
Counsel for President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Second Circuit to take over the appeal of his New York state hush money conviction post-trial, saying a federal judge in Manhattan wrongly denied removal, and the landscape has now changed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision.
-
June 11, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Retirement Funds Can't Pay Arbitration Award
The Second Circuit refused to let a Japanese video game company raid retirement accounts established by an American game development executive to pay part of a $23.3 million arbitration award related to an intellectual property dispute, ruling the funds are protected by federal benefits law.
Expert Analysis
-
Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them
Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.
-
5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape
In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
-
How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients
Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
-
Tracking The Evolution Of Liability Management Exercises
As liability management exercises face increasing legal scrutiny, understanding the history of these debt restructuring tools can help explain how the playbook keeps adapting — and why the next move is always just one ruling or transaction away, say attorneys at Weil.
-
Navigating Florida's Bad Faith Reforms After Appellate Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision is among the first to interpret two significant amendments to the state's insurance bad faith law, and its holding that one of the statutes could not apply retroactively may affect insurers' interpretation of the other statute, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
-
3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims
Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.
-
Series
Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.
-
A New Tool For Assessing Kickback Risks In Health Marketing
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in U.S. v. Sorensen, reversing a conviction after trial of a durable medical equipment distributor, highlights two principle considerations for determining whether payments to marketers in healthcare are unlawful under the Anti-Kickback Statute, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard Mullin.
-
Maximizing Employer Defenses After Calif. Meal Waiver Ruling
A California state appeals court's recent decision in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, finding that revocable meal period waivers prospectively signed by employees are enforceable, offers employers four steps to proactively reduce their exposure to meal period claims and bolster their defenses in a potential lawsuit, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.
-
Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law
Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.
-
Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL
In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.
-
Why Trade Cases May Put Maple Leaf Deference On Review
When litigation challenging the president’s trade actions reaches the Federal Circuit, the court will have to reevaluate the Maple Leaf standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision limiting Chevron-like deference to cases involving statutory provisions in which Congress delegated discretionary authority to the executive branch, say attorneys at Wiley.
-
A Look At Probabilistic Tracing After High Court's Slack Ruling
Recent decisions following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Slack v. Pirani have increased the difficulty of pleading Securities Act claims for securities issued in direct listings by rejecting the use of statistical probabilities to establish that share purchases were traceable to a challenged registration statement, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.
-
Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
-
How To Address FCA Risk After 4th Circ. Ruling On DEI Orders
Following the Fourth Circuit's ruling in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, which freed the administration to enforce executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, government contractors should take stock of potentially unlawful DEI programs, given their heightened risk under the False Claims Act, say attorneys at Sidley.