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Appellate

  • July 30, 2025

    Justices Urged To OK Bankruptcy Courts As Tax Debt Venues

    Bankruptcy courts are authorized to decide the amount and legality of nondischargeable tax claims, an Indiana couple told the U.S. Supreme Court in a bid to overturn a Seventh Circuit ruling to the contrary.

  • July 30, 2025

    Calif. Tribe Says 70-Acre Casino Land Fight Must Continue

    The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are fighting a bid by a fellow California tribe to pause their challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior's decision to take 70 acres into trust for a casino project while a sovereign immunity order is appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

  • July 30, 2025

    Unauthorized Blood Draw Upends Fatal Crash Sentence In Pa.

    In a precedential ruling, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the rights of a man convicted of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol were violated because hospital staff took it upon themselves to conduct a blood draw without a warrant from law enforcement.

  • July 30, 2025

    11th Circ. Considers If TCPA's Fax Provisions Are 'Procedural'

    A doctor who sued two medical providers for allegedly sending more than 14,000 unsolicited fax advertisements in 2022 urged the Eleventh Circuit to overturn a district court's denial of class certification, arguing the lower court wrongly found users of online fax services lack standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. 

  • July 30, 2025

    Union Pension Fund Asks 8th Circ. To Strike GE's $230M Win

    A Missouri federal judge used the wrong approach when weighing GE's eligibility for a pension law exemption intended for construction employers, a union pension fund told the Eighth Circuit, saying the approach let GE skirt $230 million in pension obligations by painting an exaggerated picture of its construction employment.

  • July 30, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Quote From Earlier Case Doesn't Nix Sentence

    A federal judge who gave a Dominican citizen a stiffer sentence after a second arrest improperly failed to warn the defendant that he would quote from the first sentencing, but the Third Circuit on Wednesday denied a do-over because the defendant didn't show that having notice would have changed the outcome.

  • July 30, 2025

    RJR Gets New Trial, Undoing $8.1M Engle Progeny Verdict

    A Florida appeals panel on Wednesday upended an $8.1 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in an Engle progeny case, finding the trial court abused its discretion by instructing the jury on the Engle case's fraudulent concealment and conspiracy findings when this case did not involve those claims.

  • July 30, 2025

    Dem Senators Press 9th Circ. Pick On Gender Role Beliefs

    Eric Tung, a partner at Jones Day and nominee for the Ninth Circuit, faced questions from Democratic senators during his nomination hearing Wednesday about his views on gender roles, based on remarks he gave to the Yale Daily News in 2004, when he was in college.

  • July 30, 2025

    Housing Groups Want $30M Grant Case Kept In District Court

    A coalition of housing advocacy groups challenging the termination of $30 million in federal antidiscrimination grants asked the First Circuit on Wednesday to let the Massachusetts federal district court keep jurisdiction over the case, if only to keep it alive long enough to figure out next steps.

  • July 30, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Farm Worker's $2.5M Award For Amputation

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed a $2.5 million jury verdict favoring a former North Carolina farm worker who lost his lower leg to a grain silo auger, finding the farm tried to raise new arguments on appeal that were never before the district court.

  • July 30, 2025

    2nd Circ. Hands Clerk Another Shot At Free Speech Firing Suit

    A Second Circuit panel reinstated a suit Wednesday from a court clerk who claimed she was fired for aiding an investigation into an ethics complaint against her former boss, ruling the lower court incorrectly found that her duties as a government worker shielded her from constitutional protection.

  • July 30, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Urged To Undo Samsung Win In Patent Fight

    The owner of a touch screen patent has urged the Federal Circuit to revive its infringement lawsuit against Samsung, saying a Michigan federal judge got it wrong when analyzing who the patent belonged to when the case was filed.

  • July 30, 2025

    Ga. Law Firm Fights Bid To Keep Fee Fight Out Of Arbitration

    Georgia law firm Herman Jones LLP has pushed back on a former client's claim that it waived arbitration in a dispute over unpaid legal fees, arguing the trial court should not have had to rule on a free speech motion before sending the case to arbitration.

  • July 30, 2025

    Calif. Residents Urge Justices To Take Up Jury Trial Question

    A group of Humboldt County, California, property owners is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the group's appeal over the dismissal of its Seventh Amendment claim for a jury trial in a suit against the county alleging the county wrongly targeted the owners for illegal cannabis growth, saying the justices should reject the county's argument that the question is not ripe.

  • July 30, 2025

    DWI Test Legal Despite Old Notice, Texas Appeals Court Says

    A Texas appellate panel has found that a state trial court made a mistake in deciding to suppress blood test evidence showing a woman was drunk when she crashed into a parked trailer on an early morning in 2023.

  • July 30, 2025

    Grassley 'Offended' By Trump's Blue Slip Criticism

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday he was "surprised" and "offended" by President Donald Trump's post Tuesday night urging him to get rid of so-called blue slips, which are essentially vetoes for home state senators over U.S. attorney and district court nominee picks.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ex-LA Officer Can't Revive Suit Over COVID-19 Testing Costs

    A California appellate court Monday refused to revive a former Los Angeles police officer's suit claiming that he was denied due process when he was fired after refusing to comply with the city's COVID-19 policies, finding that the officer wasn't fired until after he made his case to the city.

  • July 29, 2025

    Axos Wants Justices To Undo Auditor's $1.5M Retaliation Win

    BofI Federal Bank, now operating as Axos Bank, has taken its dispute with a former auditor to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to vacate a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a $1.5 million jury verdict in favor of the auditor, who claimed he was fired for whistleblowing.

  • July 29, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Rejection Of Man's HPV Vaccine Claims

    A man who claimed vaccines he received as a teen, including one meant to guard against HPV, caused him to develop inflammatory bowel disease will receive no payments under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, the Federal Circuit ruled on Tuesday, affirming a determination that his theory that vaccines caused his illness is unsupported.

  • July 29, 2025

    5th Circ. Allows Challenge To Nonprofit Political Pro Bono Ban

    The Fifth Circuit said Monday a free speech nonprofit has the right to sue members of the Texas Ethics Commission in an attempt to conduct pro bono work for a political organization, saying the commissioners do not have sovereign immunity in their official roles and must face the suit.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Rehear Alaskan Willow Project Ruling

    Alaskan Native and environmental advocacy groups are asking the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing on its ruling to uphold the federal government's decision to evaluate only alternatives for the ConocoPhillips Willow project that they say will result in full development of the Arctic oil reservoir.

  • July 29, 2025

    Haynes Boone Power Team Keeps Winning At Fed. Circ.

    Debbie McComas and Angela Oliver have emerged as the duo to beat at the Federal Circuit, as the Haynes Boone partners have taken victories in each of the seven patent appeals between them they've argued this year.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ambulance Co. Can't Undo $2.3M Verdict In Wash. Crash Case

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel has affirmed an ambulance operator's $2.3 million trial court loss in a patient's family's wrongful death case over a crash, rejecting the company's argument that its crew was shielded from liability by a state law that protects first responders providing emergency medical services.

  • July 29, 2025

    Affirmed Energy Says FERC Unlawfully Cut Auction Rights

    Affirmed Energy LLC told the D.C. Circuit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can't justify orders approving PJM Interconnection LLC's proposal to bar energy efficiency resources from participating in its electricity capacity auctions.

  • July 29, 2025

    Conn. Prosecutors' Misstatements Doom Murder Conviction

    A Connecticut man who confessed to killing his apartment superintendent will get a second murder trial after the state's top court ruled in a split opinion Tuesday that prosecutors misstated the law about the defense's central theory during closing arguments and rebuttal.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

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