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Appellate
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May 23, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Ch. 13 Plan Against Debt Bifurcation Appeal
The Ninth Circuit rejected a mortgage lender's bid to overturn a California couple's bankruptcy plan, ruling their recalculated home value qualified them for Chapter 13 despite initial estimates exceeding the unsecured debt limit.
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May 23, 2025
NJ Panel Revives Ex-Nursing Director's Discrimination Suit
A New Jersey appeals court panel on Friday revived a former Capital Health nursing director's suit alleging the state nurses association discriminated against her for receiving treatment for alcoholism, finding that the trial court could hear her complaint.
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May 23, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Judge Misapplied Fair Use In Copyright Case
A Manhattan federal judge misunderstood the fair use doctrine when she dismissed a photographer's copyright lawsuit against a website that published one of her images, the Second Circuit said in a Friday ruling that directed the lower court to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
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May 23, 2025
Prudential Urges 3rd Circ. To Back Win In 401(k) Suit
A New Jersey district court correctly tossed a suit in which a class of workers claimed they were shorted millions of dollars in their retirement plans, Prudential told the Third Circuit, arguing that it made cautious decisions in its fiduciary process.
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May 23, 2025
Alex Jones Says $45.1M Sandy Hook Verdict Unconstitutional
Infowars host Alex Jones' newest attorneys have asked a Texas appeals court to overturn a $45.1 million defamation verdict awarded to Sandy Hook families, arguing the default judgment was unconstitutionally issued after limited discovery and that the award violates Texas law limiting punitive damages compared to actual harm.
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May 23, 2025
Chief Justice Pauses DOGE's FOIA Discovery For Now
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused discovery Friday into whether the Department of Government Efficiency is an agency subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, giving the initiative a short reprieve as the U.S. Supreme Court considers DOGE's bid to more fully halt a purported "fishing expedition."
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May 23, 2025
Texas Atty Still Disbarred For Failing To Report Client's Death
A Texas appeals court has upheld the disbarment of an attorney who was found by a jury to have engaged in professional misconduct, in part, by failing to report the death of a client he had represented in an attempt to recover the value of bounced checks.
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May 23, 2025
Law Prof Rebuked For Trying To End Sister's Conservatorship
Colorado appellate judges have said a Northwestern University law professor lacked standing to request termination of a conservatorship over his sister, citing the professor stealing at least $1.5 million from his sister's inheritance and calling him "the antithesis" of a person interested in her welfare.
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May 23, 2025
Split DC Circ. Affirms Ax Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Suit
A split D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday the dismissal of claims by former Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page that the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and former top officials violated privacy statutes in surveilling him as part of a Russian election interference probe.
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May 23, 2025
9th Circ. Urged To Force ERISA 401(k) Suit Arbitration
A Los Angeles-based investment management company urged the Ninth Circuit to force individual arbitration of an ex-worker's proposed class action alleging 401(k) mismanagement, arguing a lower court incorrectly concluded an arbitration provision in employees' retirement plan wasn't enforceable because it waived statutory rights under federal benefits law.
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May 23, 2025
My So-Called Retirement: Some IP Lawyers Just Can't Quit
When patent partner Terry Rea set out to retire, the onetime acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had her eyes on the independence that retirement promises — flexible hours, fewer deadlines and less stress over having lots of people counting on you.
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May 23, 2025
DeSantis Taps Ex-Governor's Office Atty For Appellate Seat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed his former chief deputy general counsel to the First District Court of Appeal bench in Tallahassee.
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May 23, 2025
Mich. Justices To Hear Law Firm's Roof 'Addition' Appeal
Michigan's highest court said it will review whether a law firm office building's new roof was an addition to the property for the purposes of evaluating taxable value, meaning the property's value could increase beyond a 5% cap.
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May 23, 2025
Philly Firm Dodges DQ Despite 'Troubling' Discovery Conduct
Philadelphia-based construction law specialists Horn Williamson LLC can't be disqualified from a batch of negligence lawsuits against home builder Toll Brothers Inc. over "troubling" misconduct involving third-party subpoenas, a Pennsylvania Superior Court said Friday.
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May 23, 2025
Boston Not Liable Over School Shooting, Appeals Court Says
The city of Boston is not liable for injuries to a high school student shot by a classmate while being dismissed early to attend a funeral, nor for the trauma experienced by his mother and younger siblings who were also in the line of fire, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Friday.
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May 23, 2025
Mich. Justices Agree To Hear Insurer's PIP Benefits Appeal
The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to review a split lower court's finding that an auto insurer must provide personal injury protection, or PIP, benefits to a policyholder's son who was injured in an out-of-state tractor-trailer crash.
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May 23, 2025
Former AG Garland Returns To Arnold & Porter
Former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has returned to Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, where he worked early in his career, the firm announced Friday.
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May 23, 2025
Fed. Circ. Partly Revives Allstate Challenge To Tech Patent
The Federal Circuit on Friday threw out the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Allstate failed to show the invalidity of two claims in a patent on cellphone sensors that can tell if a vehicle has accelerated or crashed, telling the board to take another look.
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May 23, 2025
Off The Bench: Tennis Officials, NCAA Stay On The Defensive
In this week's Off The Bench, tennis players face pushback from the governing bodies they are accusing of antitrust violations, college basketball players claiming the NCAA exploited them want their class action revived, and a baseball player seeking one last year to play in college hits another legal roadblock.
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May 23, 2025
Southwest Flight Attendant Fights To Revive Nixed Sanctions
A flight attendant urged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its move to axe a contempt order against Southwest Airlines in her wrongful termination suit, arguing it shouldn't be scrapped just because the panel took issue with court-ordered religious liberty training for Southwest attorneys.
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May 23, 2025
Lindberg Urges NC Panel To Rebuff 'Ambush' Sanctions Bid
A convicted billionaire seeking to unravel a receivership order against him has urged the North Carolina Court of Appeals not to scrap his case as a sanction for alleged procedural violations, saying the only gamesmanship afoot is opposing counsel's monthslong "radio silence."
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May 23, 2025
FTC Finally Drops Challenge To Microsoft-Activision Deal
The Federal Trade Commission has dropped its in-house case seeking to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion purchase of video game developer Activision Blizzard, after its Ninth Circuit loss earlier this month, ending a lingering challenge to a deal that closed in late 2023.
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May 22, 2025
Ga. Judge Threated Atty Over Custody Case, Ethics Panel Told
A Georgia attorney told the state's judicial watchdog Thursday that a trial judge improperly called her to discuss her child custody case, gave her preferential scheduling due to their membership in the same sorority and then threatened to take her child from her after she filed a recusal motion.
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May 22, 2025
Insurers Say La. Hotel Can't Appeal Fire Damage Fight
A group of insurers has told the Fifth Circuit that it can't review a March order by a Louisiana federal judge instructing a New Orleans hotel to arbitrate its fire damage claims, slamming the hotel owner's argument that it has a constitutional right to pursue an appeal.
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May 22, 2025
Fed. Circ. Ruling Will Spark More Patent Damages Fights
The full Federal Circuit's decision Wednesday ordering a new trial in a patent case against Google LLC and finding the plaintiff's damages expert unreliable is likely to lead to greater scrutiny of patent damages testimony and more attempts to get it thrown out, attorneys say.
Expert Analysis
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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Del. Supreme Court TripAdvisor Ruling May Limit 'MFW Creep'
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Maffei v. Palkon ruling regarding TripAdvisor's proposed reincorporation to Nevada potentially signals a turning point in the trend of expanding the protections from Kahn v. M&F Worldwide to other types of transactions, says Andrew J. Haile at Elon University.
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9th Circ. Draws The Line On Software As A Derivative Work
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Oracle International v. Rimini Street clarifies the meaning of derivative work under the Copyright Act, and when a work based upon a preexisting item doesn't constitute a derivative, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.
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As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In
Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.
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How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work
Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.
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Justices' Certiorari Denial Leaves Interstate Tax Questions
Since the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review a Philadelphia resident’s claim that her Delaware state income taxes should be credited against her city wage tax liabilities, constitutional questions about state and local tax distinctions linger, and some states may continue to apply Supreme Court precedent differently, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Trending At The PTAB: Insights From 2024 Fed. Circ. Statistics
Looking at stats from the Federal Circuit's decisions in 219 Patent Trial and Appeal Board appeals last year sheds light on potential trends and strategy considerations that could improve appeals' chances of success, say attorneys at Finnegan.
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Will Independent Federal Agencies Remain Independent?
For 90 years, members of multimember independent federal agencies have relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. establishing the security of their positions — but as the Trump administration attempts to overturn this understanding, it is unclear how the high court will respond, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.
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High Court Sentencing Case Presents Legal Fork In The Road
On Feb. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Esteras v. U.S. about the factors trial courts may consider when imposing a sentence of imprisonment after revoking supervised release, and the justices’ eventual decision may prioritize either discretion or originalism, says Michael Freedman at The Freedman Firm.
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Del. Justices' D&O Ruling Clarifies 'Related' Claim Analysis
In its recent decision in the Alexion Pharmaceuticals coverage case, the Delaware Supreme Court adopted a "meaningful linkage" standard for relatedness analysis, providing further guidance to Delaware policyholders on how to navigate those directors and officers insurance disputes, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal appellate court class certification decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving breach of life insurance contracts, constitutional violations of inmates and more.
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Defense Strategies For Politically Charged Prosecutions
Politically charged prosecutions have captured the headlines in recent years, providing lessons for defense counsel on how to navigate the distinct challenges, and seize the unique opportunities, such cases present, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Series
Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.
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Axed ALJ Removal Protections Mark Big Shift For NLRB
A D.C. federal court's recent decision in VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. National Labor Relations Board removed long-standing tenure protections for administrative law judges by finding they must be removable at will by the NLRB, marking a significant shift in the agency's ability to prosecute and adjudicate cases, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications
While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.