ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Appellate

  • May 23, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Judge Misapplied Fair Use In Copyright Case

    A Manhattan federal judge misunderstood the fair use doctrine when she dismissed a photographer's copyright lawsuit against a website that published one of her images, the Second Circuit said in a Friday ruling that directed the lower court to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

  • May 23, 2025

    Prudential Urges 3rd Circ. To Back Win In 401(k) Suit

    A New Jersey district court correctly tossed a suit in which a class of workers claimed they were shorted millions of dollars in their retirement plans, Prudential told the Third Circuit, arguing that it made cautious decisions in its fiduciary process.

  • May 23, 2025

    Alex Jones Says $45.1M Sandy Hook Verdict Unconstitutional

    Infowars host Alex Jones' newest attorneys have asked a Texas appeals court to overturn a $45.1 million defamation verdict awarded to Sandy Hook families, arguing the default judgment was unconstitutionally issued after limited discovery and that the award violates Texas law limiting punitive damages compared to actual harm.

  • May 23, 2025

    Chief Justice Pauses DOGE's FOIA Discovery For Now

    Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused discovery Friday into whether the Department of Government Efficiency is an agency subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, giving the initiative a short reprieve as the U.S. Supreme Court considers DOGE's bid to more fully halt a purported "fishing expedition."

  • May 23, 2025

    Texas Atty Still Disbarred For Failing To Report Client's Death

    A Texas appeals court has upheld the disbarment of an attorney who was found by a jury to have engaged in professional misconduct, in part, by failing to report the death of a client he had represented in an attempt to recover the value of bounced checks.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law Prof Rebuked For Trying To End Sister's Conservatorship

    Colorado appellate judges have said a Northwestern University law professor lacked standing to request termination of a conservatorship over his sister, citing the professor stealing at least $1.5 million from his sister's inheritance and calling him "the antithesis" of a person interested in her welfare.

  • May 23, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Affirms Ax Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Suit

    A split D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday the dismissal of claims by former Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page that the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and former top officials violated privacy statutes in surveilling him as part of a Russian election interference probe.

  • May 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Force ERISA 401(k) Suit Arbitration

    A Los Angeles-based investment management company urged the Ninth Circuit to force individual arbitration of an ex-worker's proposed class action alleging 401(k) mismanagement, arguing a lower court incorrectly concluded an arbitration provision in employees' retirement plan wasn't enforceable because it waived statutory rights under federal benefits law.

  • May 23, 2025

    My So-Called Retirement: Some IP Lawyers Just Can't Quit

    When patent partner Terry Rea set out to retire, the onetime acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had her eyes on the independence that retirement promises — flexible hours, fewer deadlines and less stress over having lots of people counting on you.

  • May 23, 2025

    DeSantis Taps Ex-Governor's Office Atty For Appellate Seat

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed his former chief deputy general counsel to the First District Court of Appeal bench in Tallahassee.

  • May 23, 2025

    Mich. Justices To Hear Law Firm's Roof 'Addition' Appeal

    Michigan's highest court said it will review whether a law firm office building's new roof was an addition to the property for the purposes of evaluating taxable value, meaning the property's value could increase beyond a 5% cap. 

  • May 23, 2025

    Philly Firm Dodges DQ Despite 'Troubling' Discovery Conduct

    Philadelphia-based construction law specialists Horn Williamson LLC can't be disqualified from a batch of negligence lawsuits against home builder Toll Brothers Inc. over "troubling" misconduct involving third-party subpoenas, a Pennsylvania Superior Court said Friday.

  • May 23, 2025

    Boston Not Liable Over School Shooting, Appeals Court Says

    The city of Boston is not liable for injuries to a high school student shot by a classmate while being dismissed early to attend a funeral, nor for the trauma experienced by his mother and younger siblings who were also in the line of fire, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Friday.

  • May 23, 2025

    Mich. Justices Agree To Hear Insurer's PIP Benefits Appeal

    The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to review a split lower court's finding that an auto insurer must provide personal injury protection, or PIP, benefits to a policyholder's son who was injured in an out-of-state tractor-trailer crash.

  • May 23, 2025

    Former AG Garland Returns To Arnold & Porter

    Former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has returned to Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, where he worked early in his career, the firm announced Friday.

  • May 23, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Partly Revives Allstate Challenge To Tech Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Friday threw out the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Allstate failed to show the invalidity of two claims in a patent on cellphone sensors that can tell if a vehicle has accelerated or crashed, telling the board to take another look.

  • May 23, 2025

    Off The Bench: Tennis Officials, NCAA Stay On The Defensive

    In this week's Off The Bench, tennis players face pushback from the governing bodies they are accusing of antitrust violations, college basketball players claiming the NCAA exploited them want their class action revived, and a baseball player seeking one last year to play in college hits another legal roadblock.

  • May 23, 2025

    Southwest Flight Attendant Fights To Revive Nixed Sanctions

    A flight attendant urged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its move to axe a contempt order against Southwest Airlines in her wrongful termination suit, arguing it shouldn't be scrapped just because the panel took issue with court-ordered religious liberty training for Southwest attorneys.

  • May 23, 2025

    Lindberg Urges NC Panel To Rebuff 'Ambush' Sanctions Bid

    A convicted billionaire seeking to unravel a receivership order against him has urged the North Carolina Court of Appeals not to scrap his case as a sanction for alleged procedural violations, saying the only gamesmanship afoot is opposing counsel's monthslong "radio silence."

  • May 23, 2025

    FTC Finally Drops Challenge To Microsoft-Activision Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission has dropped its in-house case seeking to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion purchase of video game developer Activision Blizzard, after its Ninth Circuit loss earlier this month, ending a lingering challenge to a deal that closed in late 2023.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ga. Judge Threated Atty Over Custody Case, Ethics Panel Told

    A Georgia attorney told the state's judicial watchdog Thursday that a trial judge improperly called her to discuss her child custody case, gave her preferential scheduling due to their membership in the same sorority and then threatened to take her child from her after she filed a recusal motion.

  • May 22, 2025

    Insurers Say La. Hotel Can't Appeal Fire Damage Fight

    A group of insurers has told the Fifth Circuit that it can't review a March order by a Louisiana federal judge instructing a New Orleans hotel to arbitrate its fire damage claims, slamming the hotel owner's argument that it has a constitutional right to pursue an appeal.

  • May 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Ruling Will Spark More Patent Damages Fights

    The full Federal Circuit's decision Wednesday ordering a new trial in a patent case against Google LLC and finding the plaintiff's damages expert unreliable is likely to lead to greater scrutiny of patent damages testimony and more attempts to get it thrown out, attorneys say.

  • May 22, 2025

    Bilfinger Urges NC Justices To Skip Cargill Arbitration Case

    International construction company Bilfinger is urging North Carolina's top court not to review a decision nixing Cargill's bid to revive arbitration it initiated in a dispute stemming from a construction contract, disputing the food conglomerate's argument that the case raises novel issues.

  • May 22, 2025

    Wash. Justices Undo Landlord Win In Eviction Answer Dispute

    Washington's highest court overturned a Seattle-area landlord's eviction victory on Thursday, saying any tenant who responds to a summons with a written "notice of appearance" can't be hit with a default judgment for failing to file an answer in an unlawful detainer action.

Expert Analysis

  • Fed. Circ. Inherency Ruling Refines Obviousness Framework

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's December decision in Cytiva v. JSR has definitively eliminated the requirement of "reasonable expectation of success" analysis for inherent properties in obviousness determinations, while providing some key clarifications for patent practitioners, says Lawrence Kass at Steptoe.

  • Opinion

    Commercial Tree Thinning Should Be Part of Wildfire Control

    Author Photo

    The devastating wildfires currently afflicting California make it clear that the U.S. Forest Service should step up its use of methods including commercial tree removal to lower fire risk — but litigation that drags on for years stymies many of these efforts and endangers the public, says Jeffrey Beelaert at Givens Pursley.

  • The 5 Most Important Bid Protest Decisions Of 2024

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Court of Federal Claims and the Government Accountability Office issued five noteworthy bid protest decisions in 2024 that will likely have a continuing impact on questions concerning standing, timeliness, corporate transactions and more, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • High Court Could Further Limit Deference With TCPA Fax Case

    Author Photo

    The Supreme Court's decision to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a case involving alleged junk faxes that centers whether district courts are bound by Federal Communications Commission rules, offers the court a chance to possibly further limit the judicial deference afforded to federal agency interpretations of statutes, says Samantha Duke at Rumberger Kirk.

  • Future Of Crypto-Asset Classification Is In 2nd Circ.'s Hands

    Author Photo

    A definitive ruling from the Second Circuit in a rare interlocutory appeal in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing court battle with Coinbase could finally establish clear guidelines on the classification of digital assets, influencing how they are regulated and traded in the U.S., say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

    Author Photo

    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • More Environmental Claims, More Greenwashing Challenges

    Author Photo

    As companies prepare for the 2025 greenwashing landscape, they should take heed of a D.C. appellate decision that shows that environmental claims are increasingly subject to attack and provides plaintiffs with a playbook for challenging corporate claims of sustainability, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Calif. Cannabis Decision Deepens Commerce Clause Divide

    Author Photo

    In Peridot Tree v. Sacramento, the Eastern District of California joined a growing minority of courts that have found the dormant commerce clause inapplicable to state-regulated marijuana, and the Ninth Circuit will soon provide important guidance on this issue, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • A Defendant's Guide To 4 Common ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ Discovery Tactics

    Author Photo

    With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent flurry of new lawsuits showing no signs of stopping, defendants should know the bureau's most relied-upon discovery strategies — and be prepared to resist them, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • What Employment Bias Litigation Looks Like After Muldrow

    Author Photo

    Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court created an undemanding standard for discrimination claims in Muldrow v. St. Louis, Eric Schnapper at the University of Washington discusses how the Title VII litigation landscape has changed and what to expect moving forward.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.

  • Royal Canin Ruling Won't Transform Removal Jurisdiction

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Royal Canin USA v. Wullschleger means that federal district courts must now remand whenever an amended complaint excises grounds for federal jurisdiction — but given existing litigation strategy and case law trends, this may ultimately preserve, rather than alter, the status quo, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: Nov. And Dec. Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving takings clause violations, breach of contract with banks, life insurance policies, employment and automobile defects.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

    Author Photo

    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!