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Appellate
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May 27, 2025
2nd Circ. Revives Girl Scouts Race Bias Claim, Rejects Others
The Second Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive claims from former officers for a New York Girl Scouts chapter who said they suffered retaliation after complaining that the group misused pandemic relief loans, but held that one plaintiff can pursue racial bias allegations.
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May 27, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs Engineering Co. Win In Patent Fight
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive allegations that a Texas-based engineering services company infringed a half dozen patents related to oil and gas industry pipeline integrity testing, finding a lower court judge's interpretation of key patent terms was correct.
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May 27, 2025
Abbott, Paxton Escape Texas Vision Insurance Bill Dispute
The Fifth Circuit has freed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton from a First Amendment challenge to a bill governing certain disclosures between vision insurers and optometrists.
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May 27, 2025
Colo. Justices Won't Hear Atty's Challenge To Law Firm NDA
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it will not consider an attorney's petition fighting her nondisclosure agreement with a prominent local law firm, ending her argument that the agreement violated a professional rule prohibiting firms from limiting an attorney's ability to practice law after ending an employment relationship.
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May 27, 2025
1st Circ. Axes NLRB's Northeastern Police Bargaining Order
The First Circuit quashed a National Labor Relations Board decision ordering Northeastern University in Boston to negotiate with a union representing campus police department employees, determining the board strayed from precedent when finding sergeants are not supervisors under federal labor law.
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May 27, 2025
Gorsuch Says Oak Flat Ruling Will Harm Native Generations
The Supreme Court's decision to deny an Apache nonprofit's petition that looked to save a centuries-old Arizona Indigenous worship site from destruction to make way for a multibillion-dollar copper mine is a grievous mistake with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations, Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a Tuesday dissent.
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May 27, 2025
Bayer, Monsanto On Hook For $611M Roundup Cancer Awards
A Missouri appellate panel Tuesday affirmed a trial court's $611 million award reduced from a jury's $1.56 billion verdict for three people who claimed their cancer was caused by Bayer unit Monsanto Co.'s Roundup weedkiller, saying a law professor's testimony about a Ninth Circuit decision was not prejudicial.
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May 27, 2025
11th Circ. Won't Revisit FCC Ownership Ruling
The Eleventh Circuit won't take a second whack at its order upholding a Federal Communications Commission finding that Gray Television had broken agency ownership consolidation rules by owning one too many stations in Anchorage, Alaska.
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May 27, 2025
Feds Tell 11th Circ. 'No Error' In Ga. Bid-Rigging Conviction
Federal prosecutors urged the Eleventh Circuit Friday to uphold the bid-rigging and price-fixing convictions of one of two brothers accused of manipulating the coastal Georgia concrete market, arguing his push for a new trial is a "virtual carbon copy" of one a district court already rejected.
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May 27, 2025
NC Justices Say Doc Is Employee, Not Official With Immunity
The North Carolina Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision that a University of North Carolina professor had public-official immunity in a defamation suit over an investigation into a colleague's going-away party, holding he is an employee of a public agency, not a public official entitled to immunity.
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May 27, 2025
Chancery Footnotes Raise Post-SB 21 Stir In Delaware
A Delaware vice chancellor has created a stir with expansive opinion footnotes pushing back on the state Supreme Court's rejection of a controller's liability to stockholders after rechartering a business in more board-friendly Nevada, close on the heels of a bitter legislative debate over reworking Delaware corporate law.
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May 27, 2025
Tort Report: 'High-Low' Deal Nets Plaintiff Extra $10M
A last-minute "high-low" agreement that turned out to be a stroke of genius by lawyers for an injured motorcyclist and a $26 million verdict for a crash caused by a postal worker lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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May 27, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Tribes', Green Groups' Power Line Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a lawsuit challenging the federal government's decision to allow a 520-mile power line route through cultural sites, saying in a published opinion that a coalition of tribes and conservation groups plausibly alleged the government authorized construction before properly identifying historic sites the project affected.
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May 27, 2025
Fed. Circ. Faults PTAB Again For Upholding Lighting Patent
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday faulted for the second time a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling rejecting challenges to a decorative lighting patent, saying the board wrongly concluded there wasn't a motivation to combine prior art in order to reduce the cost of copper in the lighting system.
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May 27, 2025
Ariz. Asks Justices To Skip Tax Fight Over Plant On Tribe Land
Arizona's tax agency urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on a power company's claims that property taxes were illegally levied on a power plant it owns on tribal land, saying the justices have consistently upheld taxes on tribal reservations that solely fall on non-Native Americans.
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May 27, 2025
5th Circ. Passes On Arbitration Appeal In Fire Damage Dispute
A Louisiana property owner cannot appeal a lower court's decision ordering it to arbitrate its fire damage claims with various insurers, both foreign and domestic, the Fifth Circuit ruled, finding it lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
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May 27, 2025
Ill. Panel Says Man Can't Keep Guns Bought During Injunction
An Illinois man cannot possess or register assault weapons he purchased during a period of time that the enforcement of Illinois' ban on such rifles was blocked by a federal court, an intermediary appellate panel ruled Friday.
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May 27, 2025
Crypto Exec's IRS Privacy Appeal Tossed By 5th Circ.
A cryptocurrency executive who sought to quash IRS summonses for his bank records must wait at least until the U.S. government decides whether to bring legal proceedings against him before he can appeal a ruling denying his request to block the agency's demands, the Fifth Circuit said Tuesday.
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May 27, 2025
DC Circ. Backs FERC In NY Grid Upgrade Cost Fight
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's refusal to allow New York utilities to earn investment returns from grid upgrades, saying the agency reasonably concluded that shifting from the current nonprofit approach was unwarranted.
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May 27, 2025
6th Circ. Urged To Revive FedEx, Kellogg Pension Suits
FedEx and Kellogg retirees urged the Sixth Circuit to revive two proposed class actions alleging their ex-employers' use of outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged the value of their pension annuity benefits, arguing that definitions of the term "actuarial equivalent" from the time federal benefits law was enacted supported their appeals.
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May 27, 2025
Split 5th Circ. Tosses NLRB's 12-Year-Old Back Pay Order
A split Fifth Circuit panel has denied the National Labor Relations Board's request to enforce a 2013 back pay order against a Louisiana plumbing company, with the majority saying it's unfair to make a mom-and-pop shop that's recovering from two floods pay out roughly $100,000 over a decade-old matter.
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May 27, 2025
Philly Atty Suspended 3 Years For Sexual Conduct With Client
Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Brian Dooley Kent has been suspended from the practice of law for three years for engaging in sexual conduct with a client he represented while investigating claims against the Church of Scientology.
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May 27, 2025
Justices Will Consider Judges' Limits Under First Step Act
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear arguments in a case that could determine how much discretion trial judges have when considering whether to reduce defendants' sentences under the First Step Act.
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May 27, 2025
Tesla Asks Delaware Justices To Slash $176M Class Atty Fee
Attorneys for Tesla Inc. have told Delaware's Supreme Court that counsel for stockholders who secured a disputed $735 million in savings from director cash and options rollbacks deserve less than the $176.2 million fee awarded the team.
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May 27, 2025
Fla. Justices Urged To Stop Agency's Prosecution 'Overreach'
A man accused of election fraud has filed his opening brief with the Florida Supreme Court over claims that the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution doesn't have the authority to pursue the charges against him, calling the organization a "creature of limited jurisdiction."
Expert Analysis
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Strategies To Limit Inherent Damage Of Multidefendant Trials
As shown by the recent fraud convictions of two executives at the now-shuttered education startup Frank, multidefendant criminal trials pose unique obstacles, but with some planning, defense counsel can mitigate the harm and maximize the chances of a good outcome, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Patent Takeaways In Fed. Circ.'s 1st Machine Learning Ruling
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Recentive Analytics v. Fox, a case of first impression affirming the invalidity of patents that applied general machine learning methods to conventional tasks, serves as a cautionary guide for patent practitioners navigating the complexities of machine learning inventions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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AT&T Decision May Establish Framework To Block FCC Fines
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in AT&T v. FCC upends the commission's authority to impose certain civil penalties, reinforcing constitutional safeguards against administrative overreach, and opening avenues for telecommunications and technology providers to challenge forfeiture orders, say attorneys at HWG.
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Series
Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.
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Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook
The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.
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High Court's Ruling May Not Stop Ghost Gun Makers
In Bondi v. VanDerStok, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Gun Control Act applies to untraceable "ghost gun" kits under certain circumstances — but companies that produce these kits may still be able to use creative regulatory workarounds to evade government oversight, says Samuel Bassett at Minton Bassett.
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Justices' Labcorp Questions Explore Class Cert. Tensions
At the recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis, the justices' questioning highlighted a fundamental tension between constitutional standing requirements, the procedural framework of Rule 23, and the practical challenges of managing large, diverse classes in complex litigation, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Immunity Waiver Ruling A Setback For Ch. 7 Trustees
While governmental units should welcome the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Miller restricting the reach of the Bankruptcy Code's sovereign immunity waiver, Chapter 7 trustees now have a limited ability to maximize bankruptcy estates, says Dan Prieto at Jones Day.
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Wash. Justices' Moonlight Ruling Should Caution Employers
The Washington Supreme Court's recent decision in David v. Freedom Vans, which limited when employers can restrict low-wage workers from moonlighting, underscores the need for employers to narrowly tailor restrictive covenants, ensuring that they are reasonable and allow for workforce mobility, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers
If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw
While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.
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Calif. Smoke Claim Ruling Gives Insurers Support On Denials
Far from being an outlier among ash, soot and smoke coverage cases, a California appellate court's recent opinion in Gharibian v. Wawanesa General Insurance reinforces the principle that policyholders must establish entitlement to coverage as a threshold matter, while supporting denials of coverage for meritless claims, says Kyle Espinola at Zelle.
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Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds
The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them
Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.
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5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape
In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.