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Appellate

  • May 15, 2025

    7th Circ. Doubts Officers' Vaccine Reporting Exemption Claim

    A Seventh Circuit panel seemed skeptical Thursday that a group of COVID-19 vaccine-exempt police officers in Chicago should be allowed to pursue religious discrimination claims targeting the suspensions and other adverse actions they faced for not reporting their vaccination status in the city's data portal. 

  • May 15, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Pausing Sweeping Injunctions In Birthright Case

    A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed eager Thursday to limit lower courts' use of universal injunctions generally, but several justices voiced concerns about the effect such a ruling would have on lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's executive order that aims to limit birthright citizenship.

  • May 15, 2025

    8th Circ. Finds No Error In Fentanyl Dealing Conviction

    The Eighth Circuit has refused to grant a new trial to a North Dakota man sentenced to over 15 years in prison for selling fentanyl with his father, finding a lower court was justified in keeping his father from testifying at trial.

  • May 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Anti-Trans Orgs Can Nix Youth Runaway Law

    Ninth Circuit judges questioned Thursday if anti-transgender groups and parents had standing to challenge a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for runaway teens seeking gender-affirming care, with one judge asking "where are the parents" who have been adversely affected.

  • May 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Questions University's Limits On Professor's Speech

    Two Ninth Circuit judges cast doubt on the University of Washington's defense in a First Amendment lawsuit on Thursday, questioning why the college would remove a professor's parody of a Native American land acknowledgment from his class syllabus while permitting him to broadcast the same opinions elsewhere in the academic setting.

  • May 15, 2025

    Colo. Justices To Weigh Self-Defense In At-Will Firings

    The Colorado Supreme Court will consider if the state's at-will employment doctrine has an exception allowing people to challenge their termination for actions taken in self-defense, in the case of a Circle K store clerk who was fired after a confrontation with a robber.

  • May 15, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. Affirms BNSF Railway's Win In Retaliation Suit

    The full Ninth Circuit upheld a win for BNSF Railway on Thursday in a now-deceased conductor's lawsuit alleging he was fired in retaliation for testing train cars' brakes, finding the railroad had met the high bar required for lawful firing under whistleblower protection law. 

  • May 15, 2025

    Ohio Court Upholds Home's $450K Value Based On Sale

    The Ohio tax appeals board didn't err in determining that a couple's home was correctly assessed at $450,000 based on its 2020 sale price, a state appeals court said in an opinion released Thursday.

  • May 15, 2025

    Conservatives Challenge Title Of Colo. Tax Cut Initiative

    A proposed Colorado ballot measure to reduce the state income tax rate by one-hundredth of a percentage point was assigned an unlawfully confusing title by a state board, the conservative activists behind the initiative charged in a petition to the state Supreme Court.

  • May 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Doubts Jurisdiction In Baristas' NLRB Challenge

    A D.C. Circuit panel expressed skepticism Thursday that it had any role in deciding two Starbucks workers' challenge to job protections for National Labor Relations Board members now that the agency agrees with the baristas' argument.

  • May 15, 2025

    Snap's Alice Win On Image Search Patents Gets Fed. Circ. OK

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a lawsuit accusing Snap of infringing a pair of patents related to image searches, affirming a lower court's decision that the claims were patent ineligible under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision.

  • May 15, 2025

    Amarin Tells Justices Hikma Has Gotten Far Ahead Of Itself

    Amarin Pharma urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to turn away a generic-drug maker's bid to get an induced infringement suit thrown out, saying the pleadings-stage case is "in its infancy" and that the company is looking for a "safe-harbor from having to litigate at all."

  • May 15, 2025

    Conn. Justice Warns DMV Rule May Destroy Towing Program

    If the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is correct in its interpretation of how towing companies can be paid for certain services, a state police program for clearing wrecks will evaporate because participating will not be profitable, a justice of the state Supreme Court warned Thursday.

  • May 15, 2025

    Fla. High Court Won't Rule On Condo Insurance Dispute

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to wade into a dispute between a Miami condominium and its insurer over a claim for damage caused by Hurricane Irma, leaving in place an appellate ruling that the association provided sufficient notice to the insurer that it intended to add or reopen its damage claim.

  • May 15, 2025

    Norfolk Southern Death Suit Can Go On With Delayed Estate Rep.

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court has found in an en banc precedential opinion that a woman can pursue claims against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. over her husband's cancer and death despite not petitioning to become the representative of his estate until after the statute of limitations expired.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judicial Aide's NY Sex Abuse Suit May Survive, Panel Hints

    A New York state appellate panel has voiced doubts that a former judicial secretary's sex abuse lawsuit should have been dismissed, challenging the state court system's arguments that it didn't employ her and thus can't be held liable for any harms she suffered.

  • May 15, 2025

    Ex-Ohio Speaker Wins More Time To Retool Bribery Appeal

    The Sixth Circuit Thursday granted former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder more time to iron out his bid for the court to reconsider its refusal to vacate his bribery conviction over the FirstEnergy nuclear bailout scandal that got him sentenced to 20 years in prison.

  • May 15, 2025

    Fla. Atty Suspended For 2 Years For Fracturing Wife's Nose

    Florida's highest court on Thursday suspended the law license of an Orlando-based attorney over fracturing his wife's nose for two years, rejecting a recommendation of only 90 days after finding that his conduct "reflects adversely on his continued fitness to practice" in the legal profession.

  • May 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds Fla. Atty's COVID Relief Fraud Conviction

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld the 75-month sentence given to a Florida lawyer for a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme, finding that the lower court did not err by admitting a co-conspirator's testimony about a threat the attorney allegedly made.

  • May 15, 2025

    Minn. Justices Affirm $9M Medical Building Tax Valuation

    A Minnesota medical building was correctly valued by the state tax court, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, affirming a decision that boosted the building's original valuation by more than $1 million.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judge Recuses After Atty's Conviction Partially Overturned

    The Boston federal judge who oversaw the trial of an attorney charged with bribing a Massachusetts police chief to secure a local marijuana license recused himself from the case Thursday, after the First Circuit vacated most of the convictions and ordered the lawyer to be resentenced on the remaining guilty finding.

  • May 15, 2025

    Immigration Board Says Email Notice Counts Even If Unread

    The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that email notifications sent through the Executive Office for Immigration Review's case portal constitute sufficient notice of briefing schedules — even if those emails are never opened — placing the burden on attorneys to monitor their inboxes and spam folders.

  • May 15, 2025

    Hawaii Justices Won't Review Honolulu Property Class Case

    The Hawaii Supreme Court declined to review an appellate court decision that found a special Honolulu property class did not violate the state and country's equal protection clause.

  • May 15, 2025

    Asset-Rich Menendez Associate Must Pony Up $1.8M Fine

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday refused to adjust the payment schedule for a $1.75 million criminal fine for a New Jersey businessman who was convicted of bribing former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, citing his plentiful assets.

  • May 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Samsung Must Face Battery Suit In Texas

    A divided Fifth Circuit panel has revived a man's claims against South Korea-based Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. in a suit over an exploding e-cigarette battery, finding the company's marketing to industrial companies in Texas is enough of a connection to the state to grant jurisdiction.

Expert Analysis

  • What SDNY Judge Can And Can't Do In Adams Case

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    The federal judge in the Southern District of New York overseeing the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams deferred making a decision on the government's motion to dismiss the indictment, and while he does have limited authority to deny the motion, that would ultimately be a futile gesture, says Ethan Greenberg at Anderson Kill.

  • Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove

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    The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Expropriation Claims After Justices' Holocaust Asset Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Hungary v. Simon, rejecting Holocaust survivors' claims against the Hungarian government under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception, continues the trend of narrowly interpreting that exception and offers important guidance for future plaintiffs considering such claims, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Questions Remain After Justices' Narrow E-Rate FCA Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wisconsin Bell, holding that requests for reimbursement from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are subject to False Claims Act liability, resolves one important question but leaves several others open, says Jason Neal at HWG.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Colo. Anti-SLAPP Cases Highlight Dismiss Standard Disparity

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    A pair of recent decisions from the Colorado Court of Appeals highlights two disparate standards for courts evaluating anti-SLAPP motions: one that requires a court to accept the plaintiff's evidence as true and another that allows the court to assess its merits, says Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane.

  • Appealing An Interlocutory Order On Insurer Duty To Defend

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    A recent First Circuit decision on a motion regarding an insurer's duty to defend underlying litigation highlights how policyholders may be able to pursue immediate appeals of interlocutory orders, especially in light of other circuit courts' stances on this issue, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “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.

  • Del. Supreme Court TripAdvisor Ruling May Limit 'MFW Creep'

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    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.

  • 9th Circ. Draws The Line On Software As A Derivative Work

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    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.

  • As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

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    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.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    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.

  • Justices' Certiorari Denial Leaves Interstate Tax Questions

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    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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