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Appellate

  • July 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Court Can't Nix Discovery Evidence In FCA Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday revived a whistleblower lawsuit that said moving companies conspired to defraud the U.S. General Services Administration, saying a lower court can't dismiss an amended complaint while ignoring information obtained through discovery.

  • July 25, 2025

    OpenAI Urges 9th Circ. To Ax Injunction In Trademark Dispute

    OpenAI has asked the Ninth Circuit to vacate an injunction temporarily blocking it from using the trademark associated with acquired competitor IO Products Inc., slamming the litigation as a "transparent attempt to exploit the recent merger announcement."

  • July 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives Kraft Heinz Suit Over Safety Complaints

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday overturned a win for Kraft Heinz Inc. in a suit by a former worker at a meatpacking plant who alleged that he'd been fired for reporting safety issues, saying the district court wrongly concluded that a separate disciplinary investigation was the sole reason he was terminated.

  • July 25, 2025

    DC Circ. Pauses Order Reinstating 2 NCUA Members

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday intervened and granted the Trump administration's request to pause a Washington federal judge's order reinstating two National Credit Union Administration board members fired by President Donald Trump, after the federal judge declined to pause the order himself.

  • July 25, 2025

    Kalshi Tells 3rd Circ. Fed Law Bars NJ From Restricting Its Biz

    Sports betting company Kalshi's so-called prediction market that allows users to wager on the outcome of real-world events counts as a federal derivative exchange and, as a result, can't be regulated by state enforcers, the gambling company told the Third Circuit.

  • July 25, 2025

    Texas Justices Leave Atty Fees In UDJA Cases Alone, For Now

    The Texas Supreme Court declined to take up a case dealing with attorney fees in suits where a court defines a legal relationship, but in a Friday opinion one justice wrote that the court will eventually need to address how jurisdiction plays into the issue.

  • July 25, 2025

    Drivers Ask 9th Circ. To Revive Fiat Chrysler Gear Shift Suit

    Chrysler drivers are asking the Ninth Circuit to revive their proposed class action alleging defective gear shifters in Fiat Chrysler vehicles, in a bid to overcome a California federal court's finding that the injury is hypothetical.

  • July 25, 2025

    Sports & Betting Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    Certain court cases have become staples on both the midyear and end-of-year must-watch lists in sports and betting at Law360. One that seemed best positioned to finally fall off the list, as it turns out, is far from over: the multibillion-dollar NCAA settlement regarding name, image and likeness payments and revenue sharing with hundreds of thousands of college athletes. A handful of other suits from past years will also continue to bear watching through the end of 2025.

  • July 25, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Suit Against Wash. Youth Gender Care Laws

    A Ninth Circuit panel has unanimously declined to revive a challenge to a Washington state law allowing shelters to help runaway teens seek gender-affirming treatment without notifying their parents, ruling on Friday that the plaintiff parents and anti-trans advocacy groups haven't shown actual or imminent harm from the statute.

  • July 25, 2025

    9th Circ.: Gila River Tribe-Farmer Water Fight Not Over

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled a federal judge prematurely sided with the Gila River Indian Community in a water rights dispute, finding future fact-finding is needed before ordering Arizona farmers to shut off wells that allegedly draw water from the river.

  • July 25, 2025

    Helicopter Crash Suit Belongs In New Zealand, Calif. Court Says

    Survivors of a helicopter crash cannot sue the U.S.-based companies that manufactured the aircraft in Los Angeles County, a California appeals court said Thursday, affirming a trial court's finding that it makes more sense for New Zealand courts to handle the case because that's where the crash happened and where the passengers live.

  • July 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Overturns Funding Model For SEC Database

    The Eleventh Circuit sent the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission back to the drawing board on Friday to chart a path forward for its $500 million market surveillance tool, telling the regulator that it was unreasonable to potentially force broker-dealers to fund the entire project.

  • July 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Revive Unraised Claims In Immigration Appeal

    The Third Circuit has rejected a Guatemalan mother and son's bid to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of asylum and other removal protections, ruling that the board's summary affirmance of the underlying immigration judge's decision can't revive unexhausted claims.

  • July 25, 2025

    Ohio Court Tosses Sentence In Pot Case Over Phone Search

    An Ohio state court abused its discretion when it imposed the maximum possible jail sentence on a man who pled guilty to marijuana charges, a state appellate court has ruled, saying the judge improperly penalized the defendant for refusing to allow police to search his cell phone.

  • July 25, 2025

    Fluoride Fans Tell 9th Circ. To Preserve Drinking Water Use

    A pro-fluoride group is supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fight to overturn a California federal judge's ruling that current limits on the chemical in drinking water aren't protective enough.

  • July 25, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs Life Insurer's Denial Of Disability Benefits

    A life insurance company did not abuse its discretion in discontinuing long-term disability benefits to a former employee of a payroll software provider after a review of updated medical records, the Fifth Circuit said, finding that substantial evidence supported the insurer's decision.

  • July 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Sends Power Plant Labor Row Back To Arbitration

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that Wheeling Power Co.'s attempt to vacate an arbitrator's finding of liability in favor of a coal plant's labor union was premature because the decision wasn't final when Wheeling Power took the issue to court.

  • July 25, 2025

    8th Circ. Lifts Online Ban For Convict With 'Abhorrent' Views

    A Minnesota man sentenced to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun should be allowed online in accordance with his First Amendment rights, though he had used the internet to research mass shootings and terrorist groups, the Eighth Circuit ruled Friday.

  • July 25, 2025

    Appeal Clock Starts After Restitution Determined, Panel Rules

    In a precedential decision Friday, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that a sentence involving restitution isn't final until the financial penalty is actually set, making that the date when the appellate clock starts ticking.

  • July 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Review $3.2M Wawa Breach Fee Award

    The Third Circuit on Thursday won't revisit its prior decision upholding $3.2 million in fees to plaintiffs' counsel in a case that secured a $12 million deal for Wawa shoppers affected by a data breach after attorney Ted Frank argued the fees were disproportionate to the class' recovery.

  • July 25, 2025

    Texas Inmate Seeks To Stop Execution In Shaken Baby Case

    A Texas death row prisoner convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter under the controversial shaken baby syndrome theory has asked the state's top criminal appeals court to halt his upcoming execution, arguing new evidence discredits the diagnosis, his attorney said Friday.

  • July 25, 2025

    NY Court Sides With Junior Investors In RMBS Trust Dispute

    A New York state court resolved a dispute between bondholders in 34 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts about how to handle repayment of principal amounts deferred during the 2008 financial crisis, siding with junior bondholders after a 17-day bench trial.

  • July 25, 2025

    Fed. Prison Bureau Not Violating FOIA Rules, DC Circ. Says

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday published an opinion finding the Federal Bureau of Prisons is not taking unreasonably long to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for incarcerated people's disciplinary or educational records, despite having a separate, expedited process for medical records.

  • July 25, 2025

    'Yellowstone' Creator's Ranch Dispute Heading Back To Trial

    A Texas appeals court affirmed a finding that the former owner of a $10 million ranch knew about a roof leak before selling the property to "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan, but found there was insufficient evidence to back up a jury's damages award and ordered a new trial.

  • July 25, 2025

    Texas Farmer Not Owed For Border Wall Costs, 5th Circ. Says

    A Texas farmer isn't owed compensation for a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border wall that the government built on her land in 2008, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

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    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption

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    Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 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.

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