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Appellate

  • August 28, 2025

    Trump Admin Backs Harvard Foreign Student Ban At 1st Circ.

    The Trump administration defended its attempt to bar foreign students from enrolling at Harvard University, telling the First Circuit in a brief filed Thursday that a federal judge who blocked the move has no business second-guessing immigration decisions made by the executive branch. 

  • August 28, 2025

    Baltimore Med Mal Atty Appeals $25M Extortion Conviction

    A medical malpractice attorney in Baltimore who was convicted in federal court in April of attempting to extort $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System has asked the Fourth Circuit to review his conviction, saying he was unfit to represent himself at trial.

  • August 28, 2025

    Justices Asked To Limit Private Investment Fund Suits

    A group of investment funds seeking to fend off a challenge from an activist investor are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling in the case that would end the ability of private parties to file contractual disputes under the Investment Company Act.

  • August 28, 2025

    Judge Rejects Reed Smith's Sanctions Bid In Doc Feud

    A New York federal judge has ordered the new owner of international shipping company Eletson to turn over documents requested by competitor Levona as the latter company looks to vacate an allegedly fraudulent $102 million arbitral award, while also ruling that Reed Smith LLP's threat of sanctions is unfounded.

  • August 28, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs Calculation Redo On $11M Fund Exit Liability

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday backed a Michigan federal judge's determination that a pension fund's actuary must recalculate a paving company's withdrawal liability, citing recently clarified precedent and agreeing that an $11 million sum was erroneously calculated.

  • August 28, 2025

    Flawed Jury Verdict Negates Rape Conviction In Mass.

    A man sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape during a home invasion robbery must be retried for the attack or sentenced for the lesser crime of rape because the jury didn't specify which theory it adopted in convicting him, Massachusetts' highest court said Thursday.

  • August 28, 2025

    Appeals Court Reverses $2.1M Injunction Against Oil Broker

    A Texas state appeals court reversed a temporary injunction barring a crude oil broker from transferring $2.1 million in assets it was paid for oil supplied by its partner, saying the trial court incorrectly determined that the company faced insolvency.

  • August 28, 2025

    Court Blocks Bid To Keep Everglades Detention Center Open

    A Florida federal judge denied a bid to halt a preliminary injunction requiring the government to cease operations at an Everglades immigration detention center, ruling no new evidence was shown that its detainees are dangerous or why a facility must be placed in that particular location. 

  • August 28, 2025

    Sonos Gets Fed. Circ. To Revive IP From $33M Google Verdict

    A California federal judge wrongly invalidated claims of Sonos Inc. speaker patents after its $32.5 million jury trial win over Google LLC, the Federal Circuit said Thursday as it largely reversed the judge's holding.

  • August 28, 2025

    Tribal Members Seek 5th Circ. Redo In San Antonio Park Row

    Two members of a Native American church are asking the Fifth Circuit to rehear its appeal, which looks to block the restoration of a San Antonio park, saying that if left uncorrected, the opinion will leave religious believers vulnerable and sow confusion among district courts.

  • August 28, 2025

    Drug Use, Crimes Not Reasons To Escape $760K Bite Judgment

    An Indiana appeals court on Thursday refused to vacate a $760,000 default judgment against a woman who was sued for failing to supervise her dog when it mauled a neighbor, saying that the drug use and criminal proceedings she blames for missing notice of the suit are not excusable neglect.

  • August 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Reinstates Copyright Suit Over Liturgical Song

    The Ninth Circuit has revived a copyright suit by a songwriter who claimed that elements of his liturgical song were copied by a Christian songwriter, ruling that even though some evidence was rightly excluded, there were still triable elements to the case.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ill. High Court Says Murder Case Can't Be Given To New Judge

    A divided Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that appeals courts in the state are not allowed under the high court's rules to send cases back to trial with instructions to reassign the case to a new judge without proving either bias or prejudice from the prior judge.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ga.'s Chief Justice Warns Of AI's Risks To Trial Evidence

    As generative artificial intelligence tools have become widely accessible, Georgia's chief justice said Thursday he's worried about how the technology can be used to manipulate and distort evidence presented in court and what the judiciary can do to prevent that. 

  • August 28, 2025

    1st Circ. OKs Terminating Ex-Pharma VP's Disability Benefits

    The First Circuit said Synta Pharmaceuticals' benefits administrator may terminate the benefits of a former executive after deeming that his significant weight loss, six-day-a-week pickleball hobby, and travels to far-flung places like Africa showed he was no longer disabled.

  • August 28, 2025

    PBGC Must Reconsider Bakery Union's $132M Bailout Bid

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. must formally reexamine whether union bakery drivers can collect $132 million from a federal pension rescue program, a New York federal judge said Thursday after lifting a stay on the order following the Second Circuit's decision to reject the agency's rehearing bid.

  • August 28, 2025

    Fla. Justices Reject Carole Baskin's Defamation Appeal

    The Florida Supreme Court declined Thursday to take up the appeal of a decision reviving defamation claims against "Tiger King" star Carole Baskin over statements on YouTube claiming her missing husband's former assistant embezzled $600,000.

  • August 28, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Upend Toss Of Flu Vaccine Injury Claim

    The Federal Circuit won't revive a man's vaccine injury claim after it was rejected by a special master at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, finding the decision that his injuries were caused by a separate infection was not arbitrary or capricious.

  • August 27, 2025

    DOJ Throws Lifeline To J&J At 3rd Circ. After $1.6B FCA Loss

    A district judge made multiple errors in an opinion and jury instructions underpinning a staggering False Claims Act verdict tied to Johnson & Johnson's drug marketing practices, and a fresh look is needed "under a correct view of the law," the U.S. Department of Justice told the Third Circuit on Wednesday.

  • August 27, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Afghan Central Bank Immune From Attachment

    A divided Second Circuit panel upheld a lower court's decision rejecting plaintiffs' attempt to confirm a prejudgment attachment order concerning "blocked" funds held by the Afghan central bank, holding that the funds are immune from seizure under federal law.

  • August 27, 2025

    DC Circ. Told Quick Removals For Parolees Rightly Blocked

    The D.C. Circuit should not allow the Trump administration to "destroy" the promise that the federal government made to immigrant parolees during the Biden administration by subjecting them to expedited removal, an advocacy group told the appellate court.

  • August 27, 2025

    Quinn Emanuel Fights Uphill To Collect On LA's $280K Bill

    A Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP attorney on criticized a California appellate panel's tentative ruling affirming a court's order that the firm cannot collect roughly $280,000 in legal bills from Los Angeles County, saying Wednesday it gives "short shift" to the firm's arguments and "myopically" misses "the forest for the trees, frankly."

  • August 27, 2025

    Pipe Importer Wants $26M Fraud Ruling Paused For Appeal

    A New Jersey-based pipe importer asked the Ninth Circuit to pause a decision affirming a $26 million fraud judgment entered against it for making false statements on customs forms to avoid paying tariffs while it appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • August 27, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Special Master In NFL Concussion Fee Fight

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision that rejected awarding a law firm $3,000 in fees for representing a retired NFL player in his concussion injury litigation against the league, finding a special master properly applied Pennsylvania's lien law.

  • August 27, 2025

    Ameritas Urges Ga. Justices To Void 'Life Wager' Policy

    Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. urged the Supreme Court of Georgia Wednesday to hold that a trust that purchased a woman's investor-backed life insurance policy years after it was written can't collect after her death, warning the court that allowing the trust to do so would provoke "a run" of third-party policies in the state.

Expert Analysis

  • 3rd Circ. FMLA Suit Revival Offers Notice Rule Lessons

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    In Walker v. SEPTA, the Third Circuit reinstated a former Philadelphia bus driver's Family and Medical Leave Act lawsuit, finding the notice standard is not particularly onerous, which underscores employers' responsibilities to recognize and document leave requests, and to avoid penalizing workers for protected absences, say Fiona Ong and Leah Shepherd at Ogletree.

  • Utility Agency Suits May Rise As Calif. Justices Nix Deference

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    A recent California Supreme Court ruling rejecting the uniquely deferential standard of review accorded to California Public Utilities Commission decisions interpreting the Public Utilities Code will incentivize more litigation against the agency, as long as litigants can show their challenges meet certain requirements, says Thaila Sundaresan at Davis Wright.

  • 2 Appellate Rulings Offer Clickwrap Enforcement Road Map

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    Two recent decisions from the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits in cases involving Experian signal that federal appellate courts are recognizing clickwrap agreements' power in spite of their simplicity, and offer practical advice on how companies can sufficiently demonstrate notice and assent when attempting to enforce contractual terms, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

  • Fleeing Or Just Leaving Quickly? 2nd Circ. Says It Depends

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    The Second Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Bardakova decision adopted a new approach for determining whether a defendant who commits a crime in the U.S., and then leaves and remains abroad, intends to avoid prosecution — making it more difficult to argue against the fugitive disentitlement doctrine in most cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used AI

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    After a semester using generative artificial intelligence tools with students in an entrepreneurship law clinic, we came away with numerous observations about the opportunities and challenges such tools present to new transactional lawyers, say professors at Cornell Law School.

  • What Patent Claim 'Invalidity' Means In Different Forums

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    A recent Federal Circuit order allowing a patent suit to proceed despite similar claims being invalidated in an inter partes review underscores how fractured the patent litigation landscape has become, leading to critical nuances in how district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission and Patent Trial and Appeal Board treat invalidity, says Jason Hoffman at BakerHostetler.

  • Reel Justice: 'Eddington' Spotlights Social Media Evidence

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    In the neo-Western black comedy “Eddington” released last month, social media is a character unto itself, highlighting how the boundaries between digital and real-world conduct can become blurred, thereby posing evidentiary challenges in criminal prosecutions, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • 8th Circ. Rulings Show Employer ADA Risks In Fitness Tests

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    Two recent Eighth Circuit decisions reviving lawsuits brought by former Union Pacific employees offer guidance for navigating compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, serving as a cautionary tale for employers that use broad fitness-for-duty screening programs and highlighting the importance of individualized assessments, says Masood Ali at Segal McCambridge.

  • Rebuttal

    BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation

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    A recent Law360 op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.

  • 9th Circ. Leaves Scope Of CIPA Applicability Unclear

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    Three recent Ninth Circuit decisions declined to directly address whether all of the California Invasion of Privacy Act's provisions actually apply to internet activity, and given this uncertainty, companies should heed five recommendations when seeking to minimize CIPA litigation risk, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

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    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • What Insurers Must Know About New La. Proof Of Loss Law

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    Insurers that comply with all the requirements under a Louisiana law effective this month may condition claim payments on receipt of proof of loss statements, but those that overlook even one prerequisite risk penalties and late payments, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal

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    After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses key takeaways from federal appellate decisions involving topics including antitrust, immigration, consumer fraud, birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, and product defects.

  • A Look At Justices' Rare Decision Not To Limit Agency Powers

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    The Supreme Court's recent denial of Alpine's cert petition in its long-running case against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sends a strong signal that litigation strategies dependent on the elimination of government agencies merit caution, even from a court that lately hasn't been shy about paring back agency authority, say attorneys at Venable.

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