ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Appellate

  • May 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Finds Towers Watson's Merger Deals Not Covered

    Towers Watson's insurers have no obligation to pay out their remaining directors and officers coverage to help fund settlements resolving shareholder litigation over the company's merger with Willis, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday, saying the deals fall plainly within the scope of a so-called bump-up exclusion.

  • May 28, 2025

    Alex Jones Is 'Defending Journalists,' Texas Court Hears

    A Texas appeals court seemed taken aback after counsel for conspiracist Alex Jones claimed a $45 million default judgment relating to Jones' defamatory Sandy Hook statements should be thrown out, suggesting during oral arguments Jones was "thumbing [his] nose" at the trial court.

  • May 28, 2025

    Harvard To Give Slave Photos To Museum, Ending Legal Battle

    Harvard University on Wednesday settled a suit over the ownership of photographs of enslaved people taken for a racist 1850 study, agreeing to transfer the images to a museum and to pay an undisclosed sum to a woman who says she is a descendant of the subjects.

  • May 28, 2025

    DC Circ. Denies Steve Bannon's Bid For En Banc Rehearing

    Right-wing media figure Steve Bannon, who was a chief strategist during the first Trump administration, has been rebuffed in his bid for an en banc rehearing at the D.C. Circuit on his contempt of Congress conviction, a move his legal team deemed "overriding politicalization."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ga. Bank Wins Appellate Review Of Claim Against Law Firm

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review a dismissed portion of a bank's suit against law firm Stanley Esrey & Buckley LLP, after the bank argued it had sufficiently explained that it loaned millions of dollars to a woman who was later convicted of fraud based on the firm's "false assurances."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ex-Benghazi Investigator Sworn In As Interim NorCal US Atty

    A longtime Los Angeles attorney and former investigator into the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans was appointed on Tuesday as interim U.S. attorney in California's Northern District, where he'll be allowed to serve up to 120 days pending Senate confirmation.

  • May 28, 2025

    Ga. Lawyer Disbarred After Contract Forgery Probe

    A Georgia attorney was disbarred Wednesday for altering a contract at the heart of a commercial dispute in a failed attempt to deceive a trial court, as the state supreme court rejected his defenses for his "dishonesty, fraud, and deceit."

  • May 28, 2025

    Wash. Court Blocks Atty From Sharing Nonparty Client's File

    A Washington appeals court says an Evergreen State attorney may not disclose a client's confidential file for in-camera review to support his defense in an estate's legal malpractice case, finding the disclosure would go against the state's professional conduct rules.

  • May 28, 2025

    Trump Nominates Ex-Personal Atty Emil Bove For 3rd Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Emil Bove, his former criminal defense attorney who served as acting deputy attorney general, for the Third Circuit.

  • May 27, 2025

    1st Circ. Won't Revive Challenge To Federal Cannabis Ban

    The First Circuit on Tuesday refused to resurrect a suit challenging the long-standing federal prohibition of cannabis, rejecting the argument that the circumstances underlying a U.S. Supreme Court decision on cannabis policy had changed so much in the last 20 years that the precedent was no longer relevant.

  • May 27, 2025

    'Gone In 60 Seconds' IP Appeal 'Stalls At Starting Line'

    A Ninth Circuit panel held Tuesday that the customized Ford Mustangs called "Eleanor" that were featured in four films — most recently in the 2000 Nicolas Cage film "Gone in 60 Seconds" — is not a copyrightable character.

  • May 27, 2025

    Philly Children's Hospital Can't Undo $11.6M Med Mal Award

    A Pennsylvania appeals court panel on Tuesday affirmed an $11.6 million award in a suit accusing the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia of partially causing the death of a 4-year-old boy, saying there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.

  • May 27, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Producer's Defamation Claims Came Too Late

    The Eleventh Circuit refused Friday to revive a movie producer's defamation suit against The Hollywood Reporter over its article on his feud with a former business partner, ruling that a district court correctly applied California's statute of limitations, rather than Florida's, to dismiss the suit.

  • May 27, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Girl Scouts Race Bias Claim, Rejects Others

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive claims from former officers for a New York Girl Scouts chapter who said they suffered retaliation after complaining that the group misused pandemic relief loans, but held that one plaintiff can pursue racial bias allegations.

  • May 27, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Engineering Co. Win In Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive allegations that a Texas-based engineering services company infringed a half dozen patents related to oil and gas industry pipeline integrity testing, finding a lower court judge's interpretation of key patent terms was correct.

  • May 27, 2025

    Abbott, Paxton Escape Texas Vision Insurance Bill Dispute

    The Fifth Circuit has freed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton from a First Amendment challenge to a bill governing certain disclosures between vision insurers and optometrists.

  • May 27, 2025

    Colo. Justices Won't Hear Atty's Challenge To Law Firm NDA

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it will not consider an attorney's petition fighting her nondisclosure agreement with a prominent local law firm, ending her argument that the agreement violated a professional rule prohibiting firms from limiting an attorney's ability to practice law after ending an employment relationship.

  • May 27, 2025

    1st Circ. Axes NLRB's Northeastern Police Bargaining Order

    The First Circuit quashed a National Labor Relations Board decision ordering Northeastern University in Boston to negotiate with a union representing campus police department employees, determining the board strayed from precedent when finding sergeants are not supervisors under federal labor law.

  • May 27, 2025

    Gorsuch Says Oak Flat Ruling Will Harm Native Generations

    The Supreme Court's decision to deny an Apache nonprofit's petition that looked to save a centuries-old Arizona Indigenous worship site from destruction to make way for a multibillion-dollar copper mine is a grievous mistake with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations, Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a Tuesday dissent.

  • May 27, 2025

    Bayer, Monsanto On Hook For $611M Roundup Cancer Awards

    A Missouri appellate panel Tuesday affirmed a trial court's $611 million award reduced from a jury's $1.56 billion verdict for three people who claimed their cancer was caused by Bayer unit Monsanto Co.'s Roundup weedkiller, saying a law professor's testimony about a Ninth Circuit decision was not prejudicial.

  • May 27, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Revisit FCC Ownership Ruling

    The Eleventh Circuit won't take a second whack at its order upholding a Federal Communications Commission finding that Gray Television had broken agency ownership consolidation rules by owning one too many stations in Anchorage, Alaska.

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. 'No Error' In Ga. Bid-Rigging Conviction

    Federal prosecutors urged the Eleventh Circuit Friday to uphold the bid-rigging and price-fixing convictions of one of two brothers accused of manipulating the coastal Georgia concrete market, arguing his push for a new trial is a "virtual carbon copy" of one a district court already rejected.

  • May 27, 2025

    NC Justices Say Doc Is Employee, Not Official With Immunity

    The North Carolina Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision that a University of North Carolina professor had public-official immunity in a defamation suit over an investigation into a colleague's going-away party, holding he is an employee of a public agency, not a public official entitled to immunity.

  • May 27, 2025

    Chancery Footnotes Raise Post-SB 21 Stir In Delaware

    A Delaware vice chancellor has created a stir with expansive opinion footnotes pushing back on the state Supreme Court's rejection of a controller's liability to stockholders after rechartering a business in more board-friendly Nevada, close on the heels of a bitter legislative debate over reworking Delaware corporate law.

  • May 27, 2025

    Tort Report: 'High-Low' Deal Nets Plaintiff Extra $10M

    A last-minute "high-low" agreement that turned out to be a stroke of genius by lawyers for an injured motorcyclist and a $26 million verdict for a crash caused by a postal worker lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

    Author Photo

    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

    Author Photo

    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

    Author Photo

    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide

    Author Photo

    If upheld on appeal, Vetter v. Resnik, a recent ruling from a Louisiana federal court, could extend the geographical scope of U.S. copyright termination rights to foreign territories, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards

    Author Photo

    Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Provides Guidance On 363 Asset Sales

    Author Photo

    HE v. Avadim Holdings, a recent ruling from the District of Delaware, underscores the principle that rejection of executory contracts does not unwind completed transfers of property and the importance of clear and precise language in sale orders and asset purchase agreements in bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • FLSA Ruling Shows Split Over Court Approval Of Settlements

    Author Photo

    A Kentucky federal court's recent ruling in Bazemore v. Papa John's highlights a growing trend of courts finding they are not required, or even authorized, to approve private settlements releasing Fair Labor Standards Act claims, underscoring a jurisdictional split and open questions that practitioners need to grapple with, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dewberry v. Dewberry hones in on the question of how a defendant's affiliates' profits should be treated under the Lanham Act, and should remind trademark litigants and practitioners that issues involving monetary relief should be treated seriously, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration is likely to drop the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas after its review of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rule, but any outcome will be significant for institutions participating in programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • When Reincorporation Out Of Del. Isn't A Good Idea

    Author Photo

    While recent high-profile corporate moves out of Delaware have prompted discussion about the benefits of incorporation elsewhere, for many, remaining in the First State may be the right decision due to its deep body of business law, tradition of nonjury trials and other factors, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Perspectives

    11th Circ. Ruling Shows How AEDPA Limits Habeas Relief

    Author Photo

    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision to uphold an Alabama man's death sentence reveals how the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act can prevent meaningful review and has eroded the power of habeas corpus petitions by forcing federal courts to pay extraordinary deference to state-level rulings, says Paul Shechtman at Yale Law School.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Future Of The Superfund PFAS Rule

    Author Photo

    The D.C. Circuit's recent grant of a pause in litigation while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the Biden-era designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous" under the Superfund law creates new uncertainty for companies — but more lawsuits are likely as long as the rule remains in effect, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from
    Author Photo

    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

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!