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Appellate

  • May 28, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Pot Smell Needs Link To Suspect For Search

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday found that the smell of cannabis alone is not enough to establish probable cause to arrest or search a person unless it can be linked by the arresting officer to the suspect.

  • May 28, 2025

    DOL Tells 5th Circ. It Will Craft New ESG Rule For 401(k) Plans

    The U.S. Department of Labor told the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that it will launch new rulemaking and move "as expeditiously as possible" to replace Biden administration regulations on whether fiduciaries can consider issues like climate change and social justice when choosing retirement plan investments.

  • May 28, 2025

    Feds Urge Supreme Court To Let 10th Circ. PBM Ruling Stand

    The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits and healthcare laws, arguing the case doesn't warrant further review from the justices.

  • May 28, 2025

    DOJ Tells Justices American Airlines Can't Renew JetBlue Pact

    The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Circuit correctly determined that American Airlines failed to prove at trial that its codeshare agreement with JetBlue in Boston and New York had procompetitive benefits, and the carrier's attempt to revive the alliance is moot anyway.

  • May 28, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Restores Floor Tiling Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday revived a lawsuit accusing a pair of flooring companies of infringing patents related to devices used in tile leveling and spacing, taking issue with how a lower court interpreted key claim terms.

  • May 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs 5-Year Sentence In $9.3M Ponzi Scheme

    The Fourth Circuit stood by a lower court's decision to imprison a North Carolina man for 63 months after he pled guilty to wire fraud and "use of manipulative and deceptive devices," concluding that the sentence is not unreasonable and was ordered after proper consideration of the public interest.

  • May 28, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Credit One Win In FCRA Investigation Suit

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a New York woman's lawsuit against Credit One Bank for allegedly failing to investigate identity theft claims against her mother, with a panel agreeing with the lower court that no reasonable investigation required under federal law conducted by the bank would have yielded different results.

  • May 28, 2025

    Smartmatic Says Fox Is Trying To 'Bury Proof' In Defamation Row

    Voting technology company Smartmatic has asked a New York state court to lift the "veil of secrecy" on evidence it alleges Fox News is trying to keep hidden from the public as it faces allegations of defamation related to conspiracy theories it aired about a stolen election in 2020.

  • May 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Finds Towers Watson's Merger Deals Not Covered

    Towers Watson's insurers have no obligation to pay out their remaining directors and officers coverage to help fund settlements resolving shareholder litigation over the company's merger with Willis, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday, saying the deals fall plainly within the scope of a so-called bump-up exclusion.

  • May 28, 2025

    Alex Jones Is 'Defending Journalists,' Texas Court Hears

    A Texas appeals court seemed taken aback after counsel for conspiracist Alex Jones claimed a $45 million default judgment relating to Jones' defamatory Sandy Hook statements should be thrown out, suggesting during oral arguments Jones was "thumbing [his] nose" at the trial court.

  • May 28, 2025

    Harvard To Give Slave Photos To Museum, Ending Legal Battle

    Harvard University on Wednesday settled a suit over the ownership of photographs of enslaved people taken for a racist 1850 study, agreeing to transfer the images to a museum and to pay an undisclosed sum to a woman who says she is a descendant of the subjects.

  • May 28, 2025

    DC Circ. Denies Steve Bannon's Bid For En Banc Rehearing

    Right-wing media figure Steve Bannon, who was a chief strategist during the first Trump administration, has been rebuffed in his bid for an en banc rehearing at the D.C. Circuit on his contempt of Congress conviction, a move his legal team deemed "overriding politicalization."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ga. Bank Wins Appellate Review Of Claim Against Law Firm

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review a dismissed portion of a bank's suit against law firm Stanley Esrey & Buckley LLP, after the bank argued it had sufficiently explained that it loaned millions of dollars to a woman who was later convicted of fraud based on the firm's "false assurances."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ex-Benghazi Investigator Sworn In As Interim NorCal US Atty

    A longtime Los Angeles attorney and former investigator into the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans was appointed on Tuesday as interim U.S. attorney in California's Northern District, where he'll be allowed to serve up to 120 days pending Senate confirmation.

  • May 28, 2025

    Ga. Lawyer Disbarred After Contract Forgery Probe

    A Georgia attorney was disbarred Wednesday for altering a contract at the heart of a commercial dispute in a failed attempt to deceive a trial court, as the state supreme court rejected his defenses for his "dishonesty, fraud, and deceit."

  • May 28, 2025

    Wash. Court Blocks Atty From Sharing Nonparty Client's File

    A Washington appeals court says an Evergreen State attorney may not disclose a client's confidential file for in-camera review to support his defense in an estate's legal malpractice case, finding the disclosure would go against the state's professional conduct rules.

  • May 28, 2025

    Trump Nominates Ex-Personal Atty Emil Bove For 3rd Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Emil Bove, his former criminal defense attorney who served as acting deputy attorney general, for the Third Circuit.

  • May 27, 2025

    1st Circ. Won't Revive Challenge To Federal Cannabis Ban

    The First Circuit on Tuesday refused to resurrect a suit challenging the long-standing federal prohibition of cannabis, rejecting the argument that the circumstances underlying a U.S. Supreme Court decision on cannabis policy had changed so much in the last 20 years that the precedent was no longer relevant.

  • May 27, 2025

    'Gone In 60 Seconds' IP Appeal 'Stalls At Starting Line'

    A Ninth Circuit panel held Tuesday that the customized Ford Mustangs called "Eleanor" that were featured in four films — most recently in the 2000 Nicolas Cage film "Gone in 60 Seconds" — is not a copyrightable character.

  • May 27, 2025

    Philly Children's Hospital Can't Undo $11.6M Med Mal Award

    A Pennsylvania appeals court panel on Tuesday affirmed an $11.6 million award in a suit accusing the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia of partially causing the death of a 4-year-old boy, saying there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.

  • May 27, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Producer's Defamation Claims Came Too Late

    The Eleventh Circuit refused Friday to revive a movie producer's defamation suit against The Hollywood Reporter over its article on his feud with a former business partner, ruling that a district court correctly applied California's statute of limitations, rather than Florida's, to dismiss the suit.

  • May 27, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Girl Scouts Race Bias Claim, Rejects Others

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive claims from former officers for a New York Girl Scouts chapter who said they suffered retaliation after complaining that the group misused pandemic relief loans, but held that one plaintiff can pursue racial bias allegations.

  • May 27, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Engineering Co. Win In Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive allegations that a Texas-based engineering services company infringed a half dozen patents related to oil and gas industry pipeline integrity testing, finding a lower court judge's interpretation of key patent terms was correct.

  • May 27, 2025

    Abbott, Paxton Escape Texas Vision Insurance Bill Dispute

    The Fifth Circuit has freed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton from a First Amendment challenge to a bill governing certain disclosures between vision insurers and optometrists.

  • May 27, 2025

    Colo. Justices Won't Hear Atty's Challenge To Law Firm NDA

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it will not consider an attorney's petition fighting her nondisclosure agreement with a prominent local law firm, ending her argument that the agreement violated a professional rule prohibiting firms from limiting an attorney's ability to practice law after ending an employment relationship.

Expert Analysis

  • Del. Justices' D&O Ruling Clarifies 'Related' Claim Analysis

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    In its recent decision in the Alexion Pharmaceuticals coverage case, the Delaware Supreme Court adopted a "meaningful linkage" standard for relatedness analysis, providing further guidance to Delaware policyholders on how to navigate those directors and officers insurance disputes, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal appellate court class certification decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving breach of life insurance contracts, constitutional violations of inmates and more.

  • Defense Strategies For Politically Charged Prosecutions

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    Politically charged prosecutions have captured the headlines in recent years, providing lessons for defense counsel on how to navigate the distinct challenges, and seize the unique opportunities, such cases present, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • Axed ALJ Removal Protections Mark Big Shift For NLRB

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    A D.C. federal court's recent decision in VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. National Labor Relations Board removed long-standing tenure protections for administrative law judges by finding they must be removable at will by the NLRB, marking a significant shift in the agency's ability to prosecute and adjudicate cases, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications

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    While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • 3 Potential Developments That May Alter US Patent Rights

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    The Federal Circuit's upcoming decision in EcoFactor v. Google, pending legislation before Congress and the appointment of a new U.S Patent and Trademark Office director all have significant potential to strengthen or weaken patent rights, say attorneys at McKool Smith.

  • 11th Circ. TCPA Ruling Signals Erosion Of Judicial Deference

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    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently came to the rescue of the lead generation industry, striking down new regulations that were set to go into effect on Jan. 27, a decision consistent with federal courts' recent willingness to review administrative decisions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Ill. Ruling Could Influence Future Data Breach Cases

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's recent decision in Petta v. Christie Business Holding, which was based solely on standing, establishes an important benchmark for the viability of Illinois-based lawsuits arising out of data security incidents that defendants can cite in future cases, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • The Rising Need For The Selective Prosecution Defense

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    In a political climate where criminal and civil prosecution on the basis of political affiliation, constitutionally protected speech or other arbitrary classification is increasingly likely, existing precedent shows why judges should be more open to allowing a selective prosecution defense, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Corp. Transparency Act's Future Under Treasury's Bessent

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    The Corporate Transparency Act’s ultimate fate faced uncertain terms at the end of 2024, but new U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statements and actions so far demonstrate that he does not intend to ignore the law, though he may attempt to make modifications, say attorneys at Taylor English.

  • Serta Ruling Further Narrows Equitable Mootness In 5th Circ.

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    The Fifth's Circuit recent Serta bankruptcy decision represents a further hardening of its view of the equitable mootness doctrine, and may set up a U.S. Supreme Court review of the doctrine in the near future, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • Takeaways From Oral Argument In High Court Trademark Case

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    Unpacking oral arguments from Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers, which the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on this year, sheds light on the ways in which the decision could significantly affect trademark infringement plaintiffs' ability to receive monetary damages, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

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