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Appellate
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September 08, 2025
Split Colo. Justices Back DA's Disbarment Over Judge Probe
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled to uphold a disciplinary board's disbarment of former 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley in a split 4-2 decision that found the issue of whether the presiding disciplinary judge should have recused himself a "close call."
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September 08, 2025
9th Circ. Axes Ruling Trader Joe's 'Weaponized Legal System'
A California federal judge hastily found that Trader Joe's cooked up borderline-frivolous theories of trademark infringement to punish union organizers, the Ninth Circuit held Monday, finding that union merchandise looks "strikingly similar" to the grocer's well-known logo.
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September 08, 2025
10th Circ. Backs Dentist's Murder, Insurance Fraud Convictions
A dentist convicted of murdering his wife on a hunting trip in Zambia to collect nearly $5 million in life insurance who became the subject of a Hulu documentary must continue to serve a life prison sentence for murder and insurance fraud, the Tenth Circuit ruled on Monday.
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September 08, 2025
'Disappointed' Alsup Wants More Info On $1.5B Anthropic Deal
U.S. District Judge William Alsup has declined to sign off on Anthropic's proposed $1.5 billion settlement with authors accusing the artificial intelligence developer of copyright infringement, saying he's "disappointed that counsel have left important questions" unanswered and instructing the parties to provide more information by the end of the month.
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September 08, 2025
3rd Circ. Revives Ex-Lecturer's Suit Over Alt-Right Views
The Third Circuit on Monday found school disruptions at the New Jersey Institute of Technology caused by a philosophy lecturer's comments don't outweigh his free speech rights, reversing the school's summary judgment win in the professor's lawsuit alleging NJIT violated his constitutional rights by refusing to renew his contract after his off-campus, alt-right comments drew national attention.
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September 08, 2025
DC Circ. Mulls Whether To Leave Whistleblower Rewardless
The D.C. Circuit didn't seem to think it was fair that the SEC refused a million dollar reward to a whistleblower who went to the media first, even though the judges hinted Monday they thought the agency might have been within its rights to do so.
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September 08, 2025
Immigration Board's Undoing Of Bond Practice Stuns Attys
A Board of Immigration Appeals decision to deny bond and require mandatory detention for anyone entering the U.S. unlawfully has stunned immigration attorneys, who say the upending of decades of precedent will leave few options beyond leaving the country.
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September 08, 2025
Split 4th Circ. Axes States' Challenge To Trump Admin Layoffs
A split Fourth Circuit panel held Monday that a coalition of states doesn't have standing to sue the Trump administration over the mass firing of thousands of probationary government employees, finding that it was the employees — not the states — who "suffered the brunt of the harm" underlying the case.
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September 08, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Illuminate Education Data Breach Suit
A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a proposed class action Monday filed against Illuminate Education Inc. by parents of children whose personal information may have been exposed in a massive data breach, holding the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that any harms were suffered.
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September 08, 2025
3rd Circ.'s Grid-Planning Ruling Will Coax States To Play Ball
A Third Circuit decision limiting states' ability to block transmission projects already greenlighted by regional grid operators could make a federal overhaul of transmission planning policies more appealing, even as several states and utilities pursue litigation to block the changes.
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September 08, 2025
Chamber Accuses Mich. Of 'Gamesmanship' In Pipeline Fight
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Supreme Court to rule that judges have the power to waive the deadline to transfer a lawsuit to federal court in special circumstances, saying Michigan shouldn't be allowed to play procedural games to keep a case against energy infrastructure firm Enbridge Energy LP in state court.
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September 08, 2025
Unions Knock 'Flawed' 4th Circ. Injunction Take In DOGE Row
A split Fourth Circuit panel's decision to vacate an injunction targeting the Department of Government Efficiency created a flawed framework for evaluating whether an injunction is appropriate, a coalition of unions argued Monday, asking the full Fourth Circuit to override the majority's "sharp departure from established precedents."
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September 08, 2025
Mayo Clinic Beats Suit Over Fatal Brain Hemorrhage
A Minnesota state appeals court ruled Monday that a lower court was within its rights to exclude an expert witness who couldn't identify a causal link between a pain medication the Mayo Clinic gave an amputation patient and a subsequent fatal brain hemorrhage.
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September 08, 2025
DC Circ. Probes Sovereign Immunity In Nazi Art Case
The D.C. Circuit on Monday grappled with whether claims asserted by the descendants of Hungarian Jewish art collectors over artwork stolen during the German occupation of Hungary are barred under sovereign immunity, focusing on how to delineate an "occupation."
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September 08, 2025
Atty In Judge Newman Suspension Feud Moves To DOJ
An attorney who has been representing Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman in the legal battle over her suspension has jumped from the New Civil Liberties Alliance to work at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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September 08, 2025
Barrett Talks Dobbs, Court's Role In New Book
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and declare there's no constitutional right to abortion in her new memoir, which also provides unique insight into her view of the judiciary's role in American democracy and her approach to interpreting law.
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September 08, 2025
11th Circ. Grants Cop Immunity Over Repeat 911 Caller Arrest
An Eleventh Circuit panel has ruled that a pair of cops are shielded by qualified immunity for arresting a woman who repeatedly called 911 to report gunfire in her neighborhood despite knowing that the guns were being fired on a legal shooting range.
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September 08, 2025
Securities Class Actions Had A Late Summer Appellate Bloom
While the later summer months are often a quiet time for the nation's courts, the federal appellate courts were hard at work this past July and August issuing important rulings on class certification standards for shareholder lawsuits and handing down split-panel decisions over the future of disclosure litigation.
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September 08, 2025
11th Circ. Says Cos.' 20-Year Contract Fight Properly Ended
The Eleventh Circuit won't revive fastener and components supplier Whitesell Corp.'s contract fight with household appliance maker Electrolux and a lawn and garden equipment-maker spinoff company, saying it will not disturb various court rulings that led to a nearly $9 million jury verdict after 20 years of litigation.
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September 08, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Dismissal Of 'Penny Dreadful' IP Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss a suit brought by a woman who claimed her writings on an online role-playing forum were used to create a character in the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful," saying the resemblance between her characters and Showtime's wasn't obvious enough to preclude coincidence.
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September 08, 2025
Grassley Blocked On Quick US Attorney Confirmations
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tried Monday to quickly confirm 10 nominees for U.S. attorneys, but was blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
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September 08, 2025
Phillips 66 Faces Retrial After 'Improper' Infringement Theory
The Federal Circuit on Monday ordered a new trial over allegations that Phillips 66 infringed Magēmā Technology's oil refinery patents, saying in a precedential opinion that a Texas federal court wrongfully concluded that Phillips' noninfringement theory was harmless, as it had also found the theory "improper and prejudicial."
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September 08, 2025
Biz Groups Ask Justices To Shield Freight Brokers From Suits
Business and trucking trade groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to smooth out splintered circuit court rulings that have exposed freight brokers to patchwork liability for state-based negligence claims, saying there could be lasting disruptions to the supply chain if the justices don't intervene.
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September 08, 2025
Exxon, BP, Others Keep Dismissal Of Pa. Benzene Suit
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday refused to reinstate a woman's suit alleging that products from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Products North America Inc. and others exposed her husband to benzene, leading to his death, ruling the trial court rightly found that North Carolina is the far better venue.
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September 08, 2025
Del. Gov. Defends Corp. Law Overhaul In Pending Appeal
Delaware's governor has weighed in strongly against a state Supreme Court challenge to legislation approved earlier this year barring damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals, arguing that nothing in the measure unconstitutionally limits court powers.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.
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What To Do When Congress And DOJ Both Come Knocking
As recently seen in the news, clients may find themselves facing parallel U.S. Department of Justice and congressional investigations, requiring a comprehensive response that considers the different challenges posed by each, say attorneys at Friedman Kaplan.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure
While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.
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Eye Drop Ruling Clarifies Importance Of Patent Phrasing
The Federal Circuit's recent ruling in Eye Therapies v. Slayback, rejecting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation of "consisting essentially of," highlights the importance of using clear and consistent terms throughout a patent's filing history to shield it against future challenges, says Liliana Di Nola-Baron at Panitch Schwarze.
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Midyear Rewind: How Courts Are Reshaping VPPA Standards
The first half of 2025 saw a series of cases interpreting the Video Privacy Protection Act as applied to website tracking technologies, including three appellate rulings deepening circuit splits on what qualifies as personally identifiable information and who qualifies as a consumer under the statute, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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How Justices' Ruling On NEPA Reviews Is Playing Out
Since the U.S. Supreme Court's May decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, narrowing the scope of agencies' required reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, the effects of the ruling are starting to become visible in the actions of lower courts and the agencies themselves, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw
As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.
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Reverse Bias Rulings Offer Warning About DEI Quotas
Several recent holdings confirm that targeted or quota-based diversity programs can substantiate reverse discrimination claims, especially when coupled with an adverse action, so employers should exercise caution before implementing such policies in order to mitigate litigation risk, says Noah Bunzl at Tarter Krinsky.
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4th Circ. Favors Plain Meaning In Bump-Up D&O Ruling
The Fourth Circuit's latest denial of indemnity coverage in Towers Watson v. National Union Fire Insurance and its previous ruling in this case lay out a pragmatic approach to bump-up provisions that avoids hypertechnical constructions to limit the effect of a policy's plain meaning, say attorneys at Kennedys.
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A Look At Key 5th Circ. White Collar Rulings So Far This Year
In the first half of 2025, the Fifth Circuit has decided numerous cases of particular import to white collar practitioners, which collectively underscore the critical importance of meticulous recordbuilding, procedural compliance and strategic litigation choices at every stage of a case, says Joe Magliolo at Jackson Walker.
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High Court Cert Spotlights Varying Tests For Federal Removal
A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to review Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, a case involving the federal officer removal statute, highlights three other recent circuit court decisions raising federal removal questions, and serves as a reminder that defendants are the masters of removal actions, says Varun Aery at Hollingsworth.
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Rule 23 Class Certification Matters In Settlements, Too
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. CASA Inc. highlighted requirements for certifying classes for litigation in federal court, but counsel must also understand how Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure may affect certifying classes for settlement purposes, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Privity, Pressure, Procedural Traps
Three recent decisions from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims offer fresh lessons for contractors navigating the procedural edge of Contract Disputes Act litigation, says Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth.
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Series
Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.
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3rd Circ. Bias Ruling Offers Safety Policy Exception Lessons
The Third Circuit's decision in Smith v. City of Atlantic City, partially reinstating a religious bias suit over a policy requiring firefighters to be clean-shaven, cautions employers on the legal risk of including practical or discretionary exceptions in safety procedures, say Joseph Quinn and Mark Schaeffer at Cozen O'Connor.