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Appellate

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Tosses FCC Dems' Local Media Ownership Rule

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday threw out local media ownership rules passed a year and a half ago by Democrats on a split Federal Communications Commission vote.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Wins 9th Circ. Block On Order Providing Reorg Plans

    The Ninth Circuit greenlighted the Trump administration's request to pause a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over its layoff and reorganization plans in the case disputing whether the president can lawfully reshape federal agencies without congressional approval.

  • July 23, 2025

    Mich. Panel Orders Hearing In 'Confession Tapes' Murder Case

    A woman whose story was featured in a Netflix television series on false confessions has won a new hearing on the reliability of her murder confession and the methods used to investigate her daughter's 2002 death in a house fire.  

  • July 23, 2025

    False Ad Ruling Expanded Patent Law, Crocs Tells Justices

    Shoemaker Crocs Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a Federal Circuit decision reviving false advertising claims that its shoes were made with "patented, proprietary, and exclusive" materials that weren't actually patented, arguing that the ruling would allow an "end run" around Congress' limitations on false marking suits.

  • July 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Questions Officials On Search: 'Pretty Darn Obvious'

    Sixth Circuit judges on Wednesday grilled Michigan zoning and building officials seeking immunity from an improper-search lawsuit, repeatedly suggesting it was "obvious" the officials should have known they were crossing property lines to look at dwellings and areas protected by the Fourth Amendment.

  • July 23, 2025

    NJ Panel Tosses Conviction Over Fair Trial Violation

    A New Jersey state appeals panel has reversed the conviction of a man found guilty of weapons violations and criminal restraint, finding that it was unfair of prosecutors to tell his jury that the defendant's daily attendance at the trial indicated he was fabricating testimony.

  • July 23, 2025

    Creek High Court Grants Freedmen Descendants Citizenship

    The (Muscogee) Creek Nation Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's decision to give citizenship to two descendants of those once enslaved by the tribe, saying a 19th century treaty that required the Five Civilized Tribes to abolish slavery should have applied to their applications seven years ago.

  • July 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Partially Revives UPS Workers' Wage Claims

    Four former United Parcel Service seasonal employees supported their claims for unpaid wages and late payments after their termination, a Ninth Circuit panel said Wednesday, but ruled that their breach of contract claims are preempted by federal labor law.

  • July 23, 2025

    11th Circ. Throws Cold Water On Ga. County's Spaceport Suit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel signaled Wednesday that it was not buying a Georgia county's claims that it should be able to claw back $2.6 million it put down on a property where it intended to construct a commercial spaceport after the county's voters repealed authorization for the project in a referendum.

  • July 23, 2025

    SEC Asks 8th Circ. To Rule On Abandoned Climate Regs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday to decide the fate of Biden-era climate disclosure rules that the agency has said it will no longer defend against challenges brought by Republican-led states and business interests.

  • July 23, 2025

    4th Circ. OKs Firing Of Worker After Pregnancy Complications

    The Fourth Circuit upheld a win for media giant Nexstar in a former account executive's pregnancy disability discrimination suit, finding the accommodations she'd proposed for her postpartum health issues were not reasonable for the company.

  • July 23, 2025

    Wash. Counties Can Sue State Over Public Defense Funding

    A Washington state appeals court has ruled that a coalition of counties has standing to sue the state to force it to provide adequate funding for indigent defense services, saying the coalition had shown that it had been harmed by the current funding system.

  • July 23, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Deems 'Kist' And 'Sunkist' Marks Confusingly Alike

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a trademark tribunal's conclusion that "Kist" and "Sunkist" soft drink marks were not confusingly similar, saying the board was wrong to distinguish the goods by focusing on images of red lips and the sun in marketing materials for the products.

  • July 23, 2025

    Split Conn. High Court OKs Eyewitness ID In Armed Robbery

    Connecticut's Supreme Court has narrowly ruled that in the case of a masked armed robbery at a Smashburger, though a victim may have been scared, high, not wearing glasses and directed toward a suspect, her identification of the perpetrator was reliable.

  • July 23, 2025

    ACLU's Brief Rejected In Ex-Yale Student's Defamation Suit 

    The ACLU's Connecticut litigation arm and five other legal advocacy groups cannot file friend-of-the-court briefs in former Yale University student Saifullah Khan's defamation case against 16 others that filed a rejected amici brief in a separate state Supreme Court matter, a state appeals court has ruled.

  • July 23, 2025

    Firm Can't Arbitrate After Filing Suit, 4th Circ. Says

    A Maryland law firm and a debt buyer cannot force a debt collection dispute into arbitration, the Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday, finding they waived their right to arbitrate when they filed their own collective action.

  • July 23, 2025

    7th Circ. Revives Part Of Solar Firm's Panama Grid Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld an Illinois federal judge's ruling that Spanish energy company Avanzalia Solar could not pursue its claims that Goldwind Americas blocked and delayed access to the Panamanian power grid.

  • July 23, 2025

    Tort Report: Panera Settles Last Of 'Charged Lemonade' Suits

    The final resolution of a handful of injury suits over Panera Bread's caffeinated lemonade drink and the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a medical malpractice case lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • July 23, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Decision Clearing Seismic Bracing In IP Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday said it won't revive an intellectual property lawsuit SME Steel Contractors launched against a company founded by its former head engineer, finding that a lower court rightly sided with the newer company on patent, copyright and other claims it had faced.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Denies Bar Owner Coverage For Ex-Husband's Arson

    An insurer for a Minnesota bar has no duty to cover a nearly $2 million fire intentionally caused by one of the owners, the Eighth Circuit ruled, rejecting the other co-owner's argument that the "innocent co-insured doctrine" extended to the bar's corresponding corporate entities.

  • July 23, 2025

    Sen. Collins Opposes Bove For 3rd Circ. Over Bias Concerns

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will oppose the confirmation of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also indicated her likely opposition.

  • July 23, 2025

    NJ Power Broker Blasts AG's Bid To Revive RICO Case

    Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III on Wednesday urged a New Jersey appeals court to affirm the dismissal of the state's explosive racketeering indictment, arguing the trial court was right to toss the charges because there are no factual allegations in the indictment that amount to a crime.

  • July 23, 2025

    High Court Lets Trump Fire CPSC Members, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump could fire three members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, even though a Maryland federal judge found that the president lacked authority to remove them without cause.

  • July 23, 2025

    2nd Circ. Orders Review Of Sealed Epstein Case Docs

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday vacated rulings denying requests to unseal materials in a defamation case tied to deceased financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, ordering a New York district court to review certain filings after determining they're considered judicial documents and presumed to be public.

  • July 23, 2025

    Apple Tells 9th Circ. Birthright Ruling Scraps Epic's Injunction

    Apple Inc. told the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in litigation challenging President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order means that a nationwide injunction and civil contempt order in Epic Games Inc.'s antitrust case over Apple's App Store policies cannot stand.

Expert Analysis

  • A Word On Ensuring Precision In Patent Claim Construction

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Express Mobile v. Meta Platforms, overruling the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation of the term "style," highlights the importance of articulating claim constructions that are as clear as possible, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • How Latest High Court Rulings Refine Employment Law

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    The 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court term did not radically rewrite employment law, but sharpened focus on textual fidelity, procedural rigor and the boundaries of statutory relief, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Diversity, Equity, Indictment? Contractor Risks After Kousisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to sustain wire fraud charges related to fraudulent inducement, may extend criminal liability to government contractors that make false diversity, equity and inclusion certifications, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. Customs Ruling A Limited Win For FCA Plaintiffs

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    While the decision last month in Island Industries v. Sigma may be welcome news for False Claims Act relators, under binding precedent courts within the Ninth Circuit still do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate customs-based FCA claims pursued by the government, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Quantifying Trading-Based Damages Using Price Impact

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increasingly rely on price impact analyses to demonstrate pecuniary harm from trading-related misconduct, meaning measuring price impact will be helpful in challenging SEC disgorgement, determining appropriate remedies, and assessing loss causation and damages in private litigation, says Vyacheslav Fos at Boston College and Erin Smith at Compass Lexecon.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

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