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Appellate

  • May 21, 2025

    Ga. Judge Tells Ethics Panel No Harm Meant In Family Cases

    An Atlanta trial judge facing allegations that she intervened on behalf of her uncle in a legal proceeding and had a woman locked in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing took the stand Wednesday before Georgia's judicial watchdog, saying she would have done things differently in hindsight.

  • May 21, 2025

    AbbVie Gets Victory In Allergan Shareholder Suit Upheld

    An Illinois state appellate panel said Wednesday that a trial court properly dismissed a shareholder class action against biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. that accused the drugmaker of issuing unregistered shares to investors after acquiring Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan.

  • May 21, 2025

    Army Contract Protest Dismissed Over Filing Violations

    Multiple missed filing deadlines and public filings containing confidential information, despite repeated warnings, provided grounds to dismiss a Virginia company's challenge of a U.S. Army contract award for information technology services, a Court of Federal Claims Judge said Wednesday.

  • May 21, 2025

    6th Circ. Revives Yacht Co.'s ERISA Health Fee Claims

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday revived a Michigan yacht company's federal benefits lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, holding that a lower court wrongly tossed allegations that excessive healthcare fees breached fiduciary duties and caused prohibited transactions.

  • May 21, 2025

    Texas Bills To Watch Before The End Of The 2025 Session

    With less than two weeks remaining in the Texas legislative session, lawmakers will hit several deadlines in the coming days that will seal the fate of bills surrounding legal procedure, abortion, artificial intelligence and other topics.

  • May 21, 2025

    ITC Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Rehear Lashify Dispute

    The U.S. International Trade Commission wants the Federal Circuit to rethink its finding that the commission was wrongly prohibiting domestic expenses related to sales, marketing and other activities from allowing companies to pursue ITC patent cases.

  • May 21, 2025

    'Only God Knows My Name': 11th Circ. OKs Doe's Conviction

    The 11th Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of a man who refused to be identified by immigration officials, saying, "Only God knows my name," ruling the lower court correctly held the criminal statute he was charged under applied to him although it couldn't prove he lawfully entered the country. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Immigrant Groups Appeal Denied Bid To Halt IRS-ICE Deal

    Immigrant advocacy groups on Wednesday appealed a D.C. federal judge's order denying their bid to block the IRS from sharing taxpayer data with immigration enforcement agencies, with their counsel warning "it will be too late" once the information is shared.

  • May 21, 2025

    Airplane Parts Cos. Urge NC Justices To Revive Crash Appeal

    A pair of airplane parts makers urged the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday to bring back their appeal seeking to dismiss claims brought against them over a fatal 2015 plane crash, arguing the state justices should clarify when interlocutory appeals are warranted and correct what they called "patently wrong" reasoning at the lower courts.

  • May 21, 2025

    Full Fed. Circ. Undoes $20M Google Loss, Orders New Trial

    The full Federal Circuit on Wednesday ordered a new damages trial in a case where a jury told Google LLC to pay $20 million for infringing an EcoFactor Inc. thermostat patent, ruling that the testimony of EcoFactor's damages expert was unreliable and should not have been admitted.

  • May 21, 2025

    Mich. Justices Won't Hear Hotels' Water Rate Appeal

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review a Michigan town's water and sewer rates, rejecting an appeal from a group of hotels and restaurants that alleged a rate hike was an unconstitutional tax.

  • May 21, 2025

    11th Circ. Blocks Fla. Credit Union's Arbitration Bid In Fee Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday denied a Florida credit union's bid to force arbitration in a proposed class action alleging it wrongly charged overdraft fees, saying its checking account agreements didn't require the parties to settle the case out of court.

  • May 21, 2025

    Court Won't Revive Mental Health Class Suit Against Fla. Blue

    A Florida appeals court Wednesday declined to revive a proposed class suit by state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan alleging the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.

  • May 21, 2025

    Pa. Justices To Mull State DOT Liability For Hanging Branches

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide if the state Department of Transportation should be immune to wrongful-death claims stemming from a large tree branch that overhung a PennDOT road but grew from a tree on land owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the court announced Wednesday.

  • May 21, 2025

    Democrats Wary of Nominees' Pledge To Honor Court Orders

    Nominees for top roles at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security fended off questions from Democrats on Wednesday about the Trump administration's willingness to defy court orders and pledged that the White House would at least follow rulings of the Supreme Court.

  • May 21, 2025

    NRA Asks Justices To End Fla.'s Age Limit On Gun Sales

    The National Rifle Association is taking its fight against Florida's prohibition on gun sales to anyone under 21 up to the U.S. Supreme Court, telling the justices that a circuit split makes the Eleventh Circuit's March decision upholding the ban ripe for review.

  • May 21, 2025

    DOGE Seeks High Court's Help In Ducking FOIA Discovery

    The Department of Government Efficiency asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt discovery into whether it's an agency subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, arguing a Washington, D.C., federal judge has improperly authorized a "fishing expedition" into the internal workings of a presidential advisory entity.

  • May 21, 2025

    Clerk Shouldn't Have Deemed Injury Suit Late, Pa. Court Rules

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled in a precedential opinion that a county prothonotary clerk did not have the authority to reject an injury lawsuit against a resort as lacking the proper signatures or as untimely after the filing sat in the courthouse for five days, with the appellate court reviving the case for further proceedings.

  • May 21, 2025

    NC Panel Sides With County In Builder's Service Fee Spat

    North Carolina's intermediate appeals court on Wednesday backed a county's interpretation of an ordinance allowing it to collect water service fees from a homebuilder, reasoning that the builder's residential neighborhood is a "new development" subject to the law.

  • May 21, 2025

    11th Circ. Lets Man Seek Rare Writ To Fight $21M Restitution

    A former payroll director serving time for defrauding hospitals in an employment tax scheme can challenge his $21 million restitution by pursuing a rare legal remedy, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, saying the fact that he's in custody doesn't make him ineligible to apply.

  • May 21, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Rules 'Vetements' Generic, Bars Clothing TM

    The Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of trademark registrations for "Vetements" for clothes, saying in a precedential opinion Wednesday that because the word means clothing in French, the applied-for marks are generic and therefore can't be registered.

  • May 21, 2025

    Democracy Forward Adds Another Ex-DOJ Hand

    Legal advocacy group Democracy Forward has added a former deputy associate U.S. attorney general and co-chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at WilmerHale to its ranks of former U.S. Department of Justice litigators.

  • May 21, 2025

    Fla. Atty Says NC Bar Has No Power To Discipline Him

    A Florida attorney facing claims he filed a baseless suit to collect attorney fees for his former firm from a pair of intellectually disabled brothers whom his ex-partner defrauded told the North Carolina state appeals court that the state bar has no jurisdiction to bring an enforcement action against him.

  • May 20, 2025

    'Not A Denny's': 5th Circ. Judge Chides High Court Stopwatch

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday expedited a case brought by Venezuelans who are accused of being gang members and who are challenging the use of a 1798 wartime law to deport them to an El Salvador prison, with one judge chastising the U.S. Supreme Court's majority for allowing the appeal to move forward.

  • May 20, 2025

    Subpoena For Alleged Trans Care Must Stand, Texas Says

    A Texas appeals court on Tuesday pressed the state to explain why the principle of sovereign immunity should stop patients who potentially received gender affirming care from trying to block a subpoena, saying during oral arguments a challenge to a subpoena seems to fall outside sovereign immunity.

Expert Analysis

  • Patent Ruling Sheds Light On Printed Matter Doctrine

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    Patent attorneys should pay attention to the claim language highlighted in Ioengine v. Ingenico, where the Federal Circuit held that program code was not printed matter, but essentially instructions or content, and therefore not subject to the printed matter doctrine for patent challenges, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Calif. Justices' Options In Insurance Exhaustion Case

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    Fox Paine v. Twin City Fire Insurance may serve as the California Supreme Court's opportunity to firmly establish precedent with respect to a strict adherence to excess insurance policies' exhaustion provisions when the language is clear and explicit, says Aiden Spencer at Langsam Stevens.

  • Justices Could Stitch Up ERISA Circuit Split With Cornell Case

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    In Cunningham v. Cornell, scheduled for oral arguments next week, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to provide uniform pleading standards for Section 1106(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the lack of which has vexed circuit courts and benefits counsel for years, says Scott Tippett at Offit Kurman.

  • Considering The Status Of The US Doctrine Of Patent Misuse

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision and a U.K. Court of Appeal decision demonstrate the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment has had on the principle that post-patent-expiration royalty payments amount to patent misuse, not only in the U.S. but in English courts as well, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

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    State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • The Compliance Trends And Imperatives On Tap In 2025

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    The corporate ethics and compliance landscape is rapidly evolving, posing challenges from conflicting stakeholder expectations to technological disruptions, and businesses will need to explore human-centered, data-driven and evidence-based practices, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Finally Add Clarity To Section 101

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    With both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introducing bills to provide guidance on what qualifies as patentable subject matter under the Patent Act, Congress will hopefully put an end at last to 10 years of uncertainty surrounding the question, says David Carstens at Carstens Allen.

  • 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2025

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    Although advertisers are encouraged by the incoming Trump administration's focus on deregulation, this year could feel like wading through uncharted waters, and decreased federal government regulation may mean increased state regulation, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

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    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

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    There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Certification, Lateness, SBA Eligibility

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Cody Fisher at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that address the treatment of a proposal that was timely submitted but received late, and highlight nuances of certification and small business eligibility requirements.

  • How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking

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    An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.

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