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Appellate
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September 17, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs Rejection Of Sterling Silver Patent App
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of a bid for a patent on a silver alloy resistant to corrosion, backing the agency's finding that the application lacked enough written description.
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September 17, 2025
7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition
During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.
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September 17, 2025
3rd Circ. Panel Puzzled By Economics Of NCAA Eligibility
The introduction of compensation for college athletes may have changed the economic effects of the NCAA's eligibility rules, but a Third Circuit panel wondered Wednesday whether enough analysis on the specific effects had been done to justify suspending one of those rules for a Rutgers University football player.
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September 17, 2025
Coaches Ask For Lower Court Redo On 'Sham' NFL Arbitration
Arguing that a recent Second Circuit ruling supports their position that arbitration overseen by the NFL commissioner cannot be impartial, three former NFL coaches have asked the district court judge who sent part of their proposed racial discrimination class action to arbitration two years ago to again reconsider that decision.
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September 17, 2025
Split 3rd Circ. Says Cell Search Didn't Violate Suspect's Rights
A split Third Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a woman's protections against self-incrimination weren't violated when she allowed police officers to search her phone after requesting an attorney following her arrest for drug dealing, holding that evidence on the phone ultimately used against her was properly admitted because the search was voluntary.
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September 17, 2025
Del. High Court Probes Reviving Gellert Seitz Malpractice Case
A Delaware justice took aim at an argument she seemed to suggest wasn't fleshed out enough in appellate filings as a homebuilder's attorney urged the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to undo Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC's win in a legal malpractice case.
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September 17, 2025
Substitute Expert Testimony Is Hearsay, Mass. Justices Rule
Trial prosecutors' use of a state crime lab supervisor to introduce results of drug tests performed by a former subordinate violated the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause, the Massachusetts high court said Wednesday, in a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for the use of forensic evidence.
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September 17, 2025
NCDOT Dodges Liability In Fatal Snowstorm Accident
The North Carolina Department of Transportation was freed Wednesday from having to contribute to wrongful death settlements of over $1.6 million after a North Carolina Court of Appeals panel found the department to be immune under the Emergency Management Act.
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September 17, 2025
Insurer Says Parkland Mass Shooting Was Multiple Occurrences
Evanston Insurance Co. told the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday that a lower court erred when it said the term "occurrences" in an excess policy for the Broward Sheriff's Office was ambiguous and granted a win to the insured, which argued the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, school was one occurrence, not several.
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September 17, 2025
Pot Entrepreneur Pushes 4th Circ. To Rehear Licensing Fight
A California cannabis entrepreneur has asked the Fourth Circuit to rehear her case after a panel rejected her bid to upend Maryland's marijuana social equity licensing program, arguing that the appellate judges' ruling turned on multiple errors of law and fact.
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September 17, 2025
Fed. Circ. Revives Hard Disk Patent Suit Against Seagate
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday threw out a Pennsylvania federal jury's finding that computer hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology did not infringe a patent on magnetic material used in computer hard disk drives, finding the lower court gave jurors an incorrect claim construction.
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September 17, 2025
Shipbuilders Ask Justices To Weigh 4th Circ. No-Poach Ruling
Shipbuilders and designers accused of conspiring to suppress industry wages urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit decision that revived a proposed class action against them, saying the allegedly untimely antitrust claims threaten ruinous damages.
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September 17, 2025
Venezuelan Bondholder Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Suit
The holder of a $43.2 million judgment against Venezuela over defaulted bonds asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to revive its suit seeking to gain control of various Miami properties controlled by a wealthy businessman accused of bribing Venezuelan officials.
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September 17, 2025
Md. Hemp Cos. Plan To Challenge Cannabis Law At 4th Circ.
A group of hemp companies challenging Maryland's cannabis policies told a federal judge Tuesday that they plan to appeal a pair of recent adverse rulings, citing in part a new federal appellate ruling that pot sellers are entitled to constitutional protections.
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September 17, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Revisit $9M Nurse Misclassification Ruling
The Fourth Circuit will not reconsider a panel decision keeping in place a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company the U.S. Department of Labor accused of misclassifying more than 1,000 nurses as independent contractors, the appeals court said.
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September 17, 2025
Yale Health System Settles $435M Hospital Sale Suit
Yale New Haven Health Services Corp., Connecticut's largest hospital system, has reached a settlement in principle with bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. that would resolve a $435 million contract dispute over the sale of several hospitals in the state.
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September 17, 2025
Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution
More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."
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September 16, 2025
Dr.'s COVID Falsehoods Are Free Speech, Wash. Panel Says
A Washington state appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the Washington Medical Commission overstepped its authority by punishing a doctor for COVID-19 falsehoods he published to his blog, but affirmed the commission's decision to discipline him for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.
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September 16, 2025
6th Circ. Backs Liability Theory In Kia, Hyundai Car Theft Suits
A split Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday held that a lower court erred in rejecting that Kia and Hyundai could be liable for victims' injuries from crashes involving vehicles stolen amid a TikTok-inspired wave of thefts, finding "theft-related accidents" could be considered "hazards that make a car's design defective.
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September 16, 2025
$300M Hyatt Rewards Tax Ruling Criticized By 7th Circ. Judge
A Seventh Circuit judge took issue Tuesday with a U.S. Tax Court's finding that Hyatt should report $300 million in rewards program fund revenue, saying the decision seemed to focus on a factor that was shot down by decades-old legal precedent.
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September 16, 2025
'It's Confidential': Judiciary Chair Mum On Court System Strife
The federal judiciary's leaders heard sharp criticism at a private meeting Tuesday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing willingness to block lower court decisions, according to remarks released publicly, and one of those leaders subsequently deflected requests for details during an official briefing.
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September 16, 2025
Miami Shipping Co. Asks Justices To Eye Cuba Seizure Suits
A Miami-based global shipper has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision reviving litigation in which the former owner of land near a Cuban port accused the company of "trafficking" in seized property, saying it wants clarity on the parameters of Helms-Burton Act suits.
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September 16, 2025
Military Contractor Tells Justices To Nix Army Vet's Injury Suit
Fluor Corp. has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a suit seeking to hold the defense contractor liable for a military veteran's injuries sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, saying federal law preempts the state-based injury claims.
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September 16, 2025
DOJ Fights Court Order To Reinstate NCUA Board Members
The Trump administration has told the D.C. Circuit that the president had the right to remove two National Credit Union Administration board members at will, and that a lower court was wrong to reinstate them and read extra job protections into the law.
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September 16, 2025
NC Justices Hear Clash Over Property Compensation Suits
Landowners' cases challenging their payouts for seized property threaten to upend North Carolina's jurisprudence, bury it in litigation and overly inflate damages owed if lower courts' rulings are left undisturbed, the state's Supreme Court was told Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.
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The Crucial Question Left Unanswered In EpicentRx Decision
The California Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in EpicentRx Inc. v. Superior Court, resolving a dispute regarding the enforceability of forum selection clauses, but the question remains whether private companies can trust that courts will continue to consistently enforce forum selection clauses in corporate charters, says John Yow at Yow PC.
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5 Key Steps To Prepare For Oral Arguments
Whether presenting oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court or a local county judge, effective preparation includes the same essential ingredients, from organizing arguments in blocks to maximizing the potential of mock exercises, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.
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Maryland High Court Ruling Clarifies Claim Assignment
In its recent opinion in Featherfall Restoration, the Maryland Supreme Court reemphasized a policyholder's ability to assign a claim despite the presence of general liability policy language requiring an insurer's written consent, nevertheless highlighting the importance of specific wording, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
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Why EpicentRx Ruling Is A Major Win For Business Certainty
The California Supreme Court's recent decision in EpicentRx v. Superior Court removes a significant source of uncertainty that plagued commercial litigation in California by clarifying that forum selection clauses shouldn't be invalidated solely because the selected forum lacks the right to a jury trial, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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9th Circ. Finding That NFTs Are Goods Will Change TM Law
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Yuga Labs v. Ripps establishes that NFTs have real, commercial value under U.S. federal trademark law, a new legal precedent that may significantly influence intellectual property enforcement and marketplace policies regarding digital assets going forward, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw
As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.
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Union Interference Lessons From 5th Circ. Apple Ruling
The Fifth Circuit's recent holding that Apple did not violate the National Labor Relations Act during a store's union organizing drive provides guidance on what constitutes coercive interrogation and clarifies how consistently enforced workplace policies may be applied to union literature, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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3 Rulings Show Hurdles To Proving Market Manipulation Fraud
Three recent conviction reversals from New York federal courts highlight the challenges that prosecutors face in establishing fraud and market manipulation allegations, suggesting that courts are increasingly reluctant to find criminal liability when novel theories are advanced, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Drafting M&A Docs After Delaware Corp. Law Amendments
Attorneys at Greenberg Traurig discuss how the March and June amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law affect the drafting of corporate and M&A documents, including board resolutions, governing documents, and books and records demands.
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Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession
Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.
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High Court E-Cig Ruling Opens Door For FDA Challenges
There will likely be more challenges to marketing denial orders brought before the Fifth Circuit following the Supreme Court's recent ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., where litigants have generally had greater success, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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NY Ruling Eases Admission Of Medical Record Evidence
A New York appellate court’s recent ruling in Pillco v. 160 Dikeman clarifies the standard for evaluating accident-related entries from medical records, likely making it easier to admit these statements into evidence at trial, says Shawn Schatzle at Lewis Brisbois.
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How 9th Circ. Customs Ruling Is Affecting FCA Litigation
The Ninth Circuit’s recent Island Industries decision holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over whistleblower suits involving import duties has set the stage for the False Claims Act to be a key weapon on the customs enforcement battlefield, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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2nd Circ. Ruling Gives Banks Shield From Terrorism Liability
A recent Second Circuit dismissal strengthens the position of international banks facing claims they indirectly helped terrorist organizations and provides clearer guidance on the boundaries of secondary liability, but doesn't provide absolute immunity, say attorneys at Freshfields.