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Appellate

  • July 22, 2025

    Zynga PTAB Win Upheld As Fed. Circ. Finds No 'Shenanigans'

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of an IGT gambling patent challenged by mobile game maker Zynga, saying the board did not engage in unlawful "shenanigans" by reviewing the patent after an earlier dispute between the parties.

  • July 22, 2025

    ND Fights Tribes' High Court Bid To Stay Voting Rights Order

    North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to deny a bid by two North Dakota tribes to pause an Eighth Circuit decision that vacated their challenge to two state voting laws, arguing the tribes have not established a likelihood of reversal.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Bank Worker's 401(k) Suit Must Be Arbitrated, 5th Circ. Told

    A Laredo, Texas-based bank told the Fifth Circuit Monday that a former worker should be forced to arbitrate a proposed class action claiming the company failed to prudently invest employee retirement funds, even though the provision was added after his employment ended.

  • July 22, 2025

    Antitrust Fight Over Puerto Rico Baseball Partially Revived

    The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of federal antitrust claims from the former owner of a Puerto Rico-based baseball team over a league's efforts to remove him, citing the longstanding U.S. Supreme Court exemption for the sport, but revived claims under local antitrust law.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Boeing Engineer's Racial Bias Appeal Divides Wash. Panel

    A Washington state appellate judge appeared doubtful on Tuesday of an ex-Boeing engineer's claims that he was targeted for his Middle Eastern background, citing an internal probe purportedly justifying his firing, while another panelist suggested that the company is missing "linchpin" evidence to preserve its trial court win in the case.

  • July 22, 2025

    Mo. High Court Says Counties Can't Tax Pot In Certain Areas

    Counties can't add their own taxes on sales of adult-use cannabis in incorporated areas such as cities that impose their own tax, Missouri's highest court said Tuesday, reversing a lower court decision that upheld the county taxes.

  • July 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Intervene In Pipe Liner Discovery Dispute

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday rejected German packaging company Buergofol GmbH's bid to override a South Dakota federal court's decision saying pipe liner company Omega Liner Co. Inc. can obtain certain information in discovery as part of a patent infringement suit against Omega.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ohio Justices Accept AG's Bid To Limit Care For Trans Youths

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review an appeals court's finding that portions of a state law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youths are unconstitutional. 

  • July 22, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Let Union Derail Order To Arbitrate BNSF Battle

    An arbitration panel must review a Teamsters unit's claims that BNSF Railway Co. illegally subcontracted maintenance-of-way work that could go to union members, the Eighth Circuit ruled, concluding the court lacks jurisdiction because the dispute involves interpreting collective bargaining agreements.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge OK To Make Own ID Of Bank Robber, 9th Circ. Rules

    A San Diego bank robber did not have his right to a fair trial violated when the judge trying his case used her own judgment to identify him as the person shown committing the crimes in surveillance video, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Medicaid Fraud Conviction, 17-Year Sentence

    A North Carolina lab owner lost his bid Tuesday to overturn his healthcare fraud conviction after the Fourth Circuit found evidence against him to be sufficient and the terms of his sentence reasonable.

  • July 22, 2025

    NC Hospital Says Dropped Malpractice Claim Dooms 2004 Suit

    A North Carolina hospital is asking state appellate judges to determine whether a hospital can face claims of negligently credentialing a doctor if the plaintiffs have dropped the underlying medical malpractice allegation against the physician.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Won't Stay Highland Ch. 11 Over Charity Fraud Probe

    A Texas bankruptcy judge has refused to stay the Chapter 11 case of Highland Capital LP in whole or in part, denying a pair of requests from the state of Texas and from a trust affiliated with ex-CEO James Dondero after finding the reason for their requests irrelevant to the case.

  • July 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Lets End Of Afghan Protected Status Move Forward

    The Fourth Circuit has lifted an administrative stay blocking the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for Afghans and Cameroonians, allowing those efforts to move forward while the litigation proceeds.

  • July 22, 2025

    IP Notebook: Cox Piracy Appeal, Ugliest House, Keyword Feud

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Cox Communications Inc.'s appeal regarding the liability of internet service providers for their customers' music piracy has prompted defendants to request stays in separate intellectual property litigation until the question is resolved, but plaintiffs say that's no reason for delays.

  • July 22, 2025

    Mich. Court Changes Course To Uphold Terrorist Threat Law

    A Michigan law that criminalizes terrorism threats is constitutional, a state appellate panel has ruled, marking a reversal months after the law was struck down in a case involving a social media message threatening a school shooting.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

    An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.

  • July 22, 2025

    1st Circ. Nixes $15.5M Haitian Torture Judgment, Narrows Law

    The First Circuit has tossed a $15.5 million judgment awarded to the victims and survivors of political violence allegedly orchestrated by a former Haitian mayor, and narrowed the legal options for foreign nationals seeking damages for acts that occurred outside the United States.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ethics Appeal Over Columbia Letter Nixed As Judge Joins USDA

    In its first decision of 2025, the Judicial Conference's conduct committee on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council's decision to toss ethics claims against a U.S. Court of International Trade judge who threatened not to hire law clerks from Columbia University over the school's handling of Israel protests.

  • July 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Affirms $190M Trademark Verdict Against Vivint

    Smart home software company Vivint on Tuesday lost its appeal seeking to overturn a nearly $190 million verdict in which a North Carolina jury found it liable for deceiving customers of a rival local security company, with the Fourth Circuit finding there was enough evidence to support the award.

  • July 22, 2025

    Transportation Cases To Watch: Midyear Report 2025

    Litigation concerning whether local delivery drivers qualify as transportation workers exempt from arbitration and clashes over the scope of federal preemption in personal injury cases involving freight brokers and motor carriers are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are watching in the latter half of 2025.

  • July 22, 2025

    Missouri Solicitor General, State Judge Secure Federal Seats

    The Senate confirmed two nominees on Tuesday to serve on Missouri federal courts.

  • July 21, 2025

    Revived Effort To Break Up 9th Circ. Makes Its Way To Senate

    Idaho Republicans have reintroduced a U.S. Senate bill that looks to split up the Ninth Circuit and create a new Twelfth Circuit, according to an announcement made Monday, roughly nearly seven months after a similar bill was introduced in the House.

  • July 21, 2025

    Trump Asks DC Circ. To Block FTC Dem's Reinstatement

    The Trump administration on Monday asked the D.C. Circuit to pause a Thursday order restoring a fired Federal Trade Commission Democrat's job, arguing that the ruling defies recent U.S. Supreme Court orders staying similar reinstatements at other independent agencies.

  • July 21, 2025

    Insurer Can't Get New Trial After $1.75M Loss, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a $1.75 million verdict a Georgia church won against its insurance company in a storm damage coverage dispute, ruling that the insurer largely abandoned its defenses against the judgment before the case ever landed in front of the appellate panel.

Expert Analysis

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Rocket Mortgage Appeal May Push Justices To Curb Classes

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    Should the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear Alig v. Rocket Mortgage, the resulting decision could limit class sizes based on commonality under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Evidence as opposed to standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, say attorneys at Carr Maloney.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Shifts In Parallel Proceedings Strategy

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    Dynamics are changing between the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and federal courts, with two recent discretionary denials and one Federal Circuit decision offering takeaways for both patent owners and challengers navigating parallel proceedings, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • What Businesses Need To Know To Avoid VPPA Class Actions

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    Divergent rulings by the Second, Sixth and Seventh Circuits about the scope of the Video Privacy Protection Act have highlighted the difficulty of applying a statute conceived to regulate the now-obsolete brick-and-mortar video store sector in today's internet economy, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

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    The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

  • FLSA Interpretation Patterns Emerge 1 Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, four distinct avenues of judicial decision-making have taken shape among lower courts that are responding to their newfound freedom in interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act through U.S. Department of Labor regulations, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

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    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

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