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Appellate

  • June 02, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Skeptical Applicant-Admitted Art Requires Expert

    Shockwave Medical Inc. didn't find enthusiastic support at the Federal Circuit on Monday as its attorney argued that applicant admitted prior art had to be coupled with expert testimony at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • June 02, 2025

    A Jury Says Fortress Controls VLSI. What Now?

    A Texas federal jury has concluded that Fortress Investment Group controls VLSI Technology, which could be a game-changing step in the patent company's multibillion-dollar patent fight with Intel. Here's how the jury's narrow finding could play into the widespread litigation.

  • June 02, 2025

    Iowa Taking Fight Over E-Cigarette Law To 8th Circ.

    Iowa's Department of Revenue is taking a decision blocking it from enforcing a new law prohibiting the sale of many e-cigarettes to the Eighth Circuit, according to documents filed recently in Iowa federal court.

  • June 02, 2025

    1st Circ. Largely Backs Convictions For Cop Union Kickbacks

    The First Circuit on Monday mostly upheld the convictions of a former Massachusetts state police union president and a Beacon Hill lobbyist who were found guilty of running a kickback scheme, but ordered new sentencing hearings for them after vacating some of the guilty findings.

  • June 02, 2025

    Crypto Business Loses Bid To Arbitrate $1M Refund Fight

    A California state appeals court has affirmed an order denying arbitration between an investment firm and a Cayman Islands cryptocurrency business, ruling that the court, not an arbitrator, had to decide the dispute's proper venue since the parties disagreed over whether an arbitration agreement existed.

  • June 02, 2025

    Trump Renews Call For Justices To Lift Gov't Overhaul Pause

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to lift a California federal judge's order barring the implementation of layoffs and reorganization plans at various federal departments and agencies, arguing the order imposes nonexistent congressional limits on his presidential authority.

  • June 02, 2025

    Florida Court Tosses $28M Verdict Over Ignored Mandate

    A Florida appeals court has vacated a $28 million verdict and ordered a new, bifurcated damages trial in a suit over a car accident, saying the trial court ignored a previous appeals court's mandate to keep evidence that the at-fault driver was drunk out of the compensatory-damages phase.

  • June 02, 2025

    White House Asks DC Circ. To Halt Tariff Injunction

    The White House on Monday asked the D.C. Circuit to hit pause on a lower court ruling that found President Donald Trump's tariffs unlawful, arguing the "legally indefensible preliminary injunction" would impede sensitive trade negotiations if left unchecked.

  • June 02, 2025

    Chinese Rival Shouldn't Get Code Docs, Micron Tells Justices

    Micron Technology Inc. is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Chinese semiconductor competitor from accessing paper copies of sensitive source code during patent infringement litigation, asserting in a petition that a lower court "ignored completely the national-security concerns tied up" in the dispute.

  • June 02, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Court Backs Police In Pot Smell Search Dispute

    A Florida state appeals court has found that the smell of fresh cannabis can be enough to support probable cause for a car search in an area known for crime and drug trafficking, reversing a trial court order that suppressed evidence obtained in such a search.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Panel Urged To Back $17M Honda Seatbelt Verdict

    A Georgia man whose wife was killed after being ejected from her Honda SUV asked a Georgia appellate panel Monday to uphold a $17 million verdict against the automaker, urging the court to reject Honda's arguments that it was wrongly denied the chance to defend itself after its attorneys introduced prohibited materials at the trial's opening.

  • June 02, 2025

    SAP Seeks High Court Review Of Revived Tying Claims

    German software giant SAP on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a Ninth Circuit decision that resuscitated tying claims brought by U.S. rival Teradata, saying the issue of antitrust liability badly needs the court's attention in matters relating to modern, technologically integrated products.

  • June 02, 2025

    8th Circ. OKs Nix Of Suit On Iowa's Quitting Of COVID Benefits

    The Eighth Circuit backed the dismissal of a proposed class action claiming Iowa violated workers' rights by prematurely pulling out of federal pandemic unemployment assistance programs, ruling Monday that the benefits they sought weren't protected by the U.S. Constitution.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices' Rail Order Irrelevant To Merger Row, DC Circ. Told

    Chicago suburbs challenging federal approval of Canadian Pacific's merger with Kansas City Southern urged the D.C. Circuit on Monday to pay no heed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting government environmental reviews, arguing their own case challenges "other" deficiencies in addition to a failed consideration of broader climate impacts.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Urged To Reject Bid Disputing IRS Crypto Summons

    The U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case of a bitcoin investor who claimed the IRS violated his privacy when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange, the government argued, saying the case is a poor vehicle for addressing concerns about digital-era transactions.

  • June 02, 2025

    Man Sentenced To 50-To-Life As Teen Wins Bid For Review

    A California appellate panel has revived a man's bid to be resentenced for a murder he committed as a teenager, ruling that his 50-years-to-life sentence is effectively the same as life without parole and qualifies for review under a state law aimed at juvenile offenders.

  • June 02, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Let Skier Enforce Pulled Settlement Offer

    The Second Circuit isn't letting an injured skier enforce a settlement he attempted to accept just before a jury sided with the ski resort he was suing, with the appellate court finding Friday that his positions are inconsistent and that allowing enforcement would be unfair.

  • June 02, 2025

    Minn. Justices Prod Humana On Pharmacy Benefit Sourcing

    Minnesota Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of a Humana subsidiary's arguments that sales of pharmacy benefit services attributed to the state should be sourced to a Humana unit based in Wisconsin.

  • June 02, 2025

    Judge Out Of Line In Undoing $1M LSD Verdict, 5th Circ. Told

    A man who became a quadriplegic after ingesting LSD told the Fifth Circuit that a Houston judge didn't have the authority to undo a jury's decision putting an insurance company on the hook for his $1 million injury settlement.

  • June 02, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Religious Bias Suit Over Fire Dept. Beard Ban

    The Third Circuit ruled that Atlantic City, New Jersey, may have been able to accommodate a fire department worker who wanted to grow a beard under his Christian beliefs, partially reinstating the worker's suit claiming he was illegally denied a carveout to the grooming policy.

  • June 02, 2025

    Report Finds Del. Court Jumbo Fees Rival Federal System

    Delaware's corporation law courts have overshadowed the entire federal court system for some class attorney fees based on multiples of usual rate benchmarks, according to two Stanford Law School researchers whose findings have already caught the attention of a top state lawmaker.

  • June 02, 2025

    Third Round Of Fixes Sought In Botched Calif. Bar Exam

    The California state bar's committee of bar examiners has approved two additional remedies in an effort to help applicants who failed the troubled February exam, including asking the state Supreme Court to approve a further scoring adjustment that would bring the passing rate up to about 63%.

  • June 02, 2025

    Justices Want Gov't View On Duke Energy Monopoly Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General on Monday to provide the government's view on a ruling that revived antitrust claims accusing Duke Energy of squeezing a rival out of the power market in North Carolina.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Appeals Court To Review Arbitration Of Firm Fee Fight

    The Georgia state court of appeals on Monday agreed to consider whether a law firm's lawsuit against its former client over legal fees should move forward in the trial court that ordered the case to arbitration, with both sides accusing the other of "gamesmanship."

  • June 02, 2025

    Judicial Clerk Boycott May Be Unethical, Circ. Judge Says

    A North Dakota federal judge's pledge not to hire law clerks from Columbia University because of the school's response to campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza may "cross an important line," the Eighth Circuit's chief judge said, even as he dismissed an ethics complaint stemming from the boycott.

Expert Analysis

  • Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL

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    In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Why Trade Cases May Put Maple Leaf Deference On Review

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    When litigation challenging the president’s trade actions reaches the Federal Circuit, the court will have to reevaluate the Maple Leaf standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision limiting Chevron-like deference to cases involving statutory provisions in which Congress delegated discretionary authority to the executive branch, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • A Look At Probabilistic Tracing After High Court's Slack Ruling

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    Recent decisions following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Slack v. Pirani have increased the difficulty of pleading Securities Act claims for securities issued in direct listings by rejecting the use of statistical probabilities to establish that share purchases were traceable to a challenged registration statement, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • How To Address FCA Risk After 4th Circ. Ruling On DEI Orders

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    Following the Fourth Circuit's ruling in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, which freed the administration to enforce executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, government contractors should take stock of potentially unlawful DEI programs, given their heightened risk under the False Claims Act, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Del. Dispatch: Open Issues After Corp. Law Amendments

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    Recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law represent a significant change in the future structuring of boards and how the First State will approach conflicted transactions, but Delaware courts may interpret the amendments narrowly, limiting their impact, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • What Del. Supreme Court LKQ Decision Means For M&A Deals

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in LKQ v. Rutledge greatly increases the enforceability of forfeiture-for-competition provisions, representing an important affirmation of earlier precedent and making it likely that such agreements will become more common in M&A transactions, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • How High Court's Cornell Decision Will Affect ERISA Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cunningham v. Cornell, characterizing prohibited transaction exemptions as affirmative defenses, sets the bar very low for initiating Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation, and will likely affect many plan sponsors with similar service agreements, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The first quarter of 2025 was filled with the refinement of old theories in the property and casualty space, including in vehicle valuation, time to seek appraisal and materials depreciation, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Aid Consistent Interpretation Of ADA

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    In Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District, the Second Circuit joined the majority of circuits by holding that an employee's ability to perform their job without an accommodation does not disqualify them from receiving one, marking a notable step toward uniform application of the Americans with Disabilities Act nationwide, says Michelle Grant at Wilson Elser.

  • EPA's Proposed GHG Reform Could Hinder Climate Regulation

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    The Trump administration will reconsider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which could leave the U.S. federal government with no statutory authority whatsoever to regulate climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: Forfeiting Claim Construction On Appeal

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Wash World v. Belanger last month confirms the importance of fair notice to the district court when determining forfeiture of an argument on appeal in the context of patent claim construction, allowing appellants to better gauge the appropriate framing of arguments that may be presented, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

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