Ƶ

Appellate

  • May 19, 2025

    Cheesesteak Shop Owner's Sentence For Tax Scheme Vacated

    A Philadelphia cheesesteak shop owner sentenced to almost two years in prison for a conspiracy to pay employees under the table could get a lighter sentence after the Third Circuit ruled he was wrongly given extra time for swaying workers who were actually in on the tax scheme.

  • May 19, 2025

    5th Circ. Says EPA Flubbed Texas Air Finding, Must Redo

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Friday said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency erred in determining that two Texas counties had failed to meet air quality standards for sulfur dioxide, handing a victory to the state and Vistra Corp.

  • May 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Family's Win In Suit Over Denied Benefits

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend a guild member's win in his lawsuit challenging his healthcare plan's decision to deny coverage for his son's mental health treatments, but said a lower court was wrong to award the family additional damages on their breach of fiduciary duty claim.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices OK Tossing Copyright Case Against Ta-Nehisi Coates

    A man who says author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates copied his work without permission lost his case at the U.S. Supreme Court after a majority of the justices recused themselves from the dispute.

  • May 19, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sides With Samsung In PTAB Fight With Power2B

    Samsung on Monday won a fight at the Federal Circuit over Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions regarding a pair of patents on stylus detection technology, finding all the challenged claims were unpatentable.

  • May 19, 2025

    Calif. Landowners Seek Review Of 7th Amendment Precedent

    A group of Northern California landowners has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case arguing that the constitutional right to a jury trial should apply in instances of local law enforcement issuing civil penalties for alleged illicit marijuana growing.

  • May 19, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sends TM Fight Over Perfume Mark Back To TTAB

    The Federal Circuit on Monday found that a trademark tribunal wrongly dismissed Sferra Fine Linens' opposition to Sfera Joven's trademark application, remanding the case with a directive that some of the likelihood-of-confusion factors be reanalyzed.

  • May 19, 2025

    NY AG Blasts Ski Resort Owner's Antitrust Fixes

    The New York Attorney General's Office has told a state court that alternative fixes being offered by a ski resort owner found to have violated antitrust law by buying and closing a competitor would "entrench the very monopoly" the court found illegal.

  • May 19, 2025

    Fla. Judge Resigns Amid Call For Removal Over 'Bigot' Remark

    A Florida judge who accused her opponent of antisemitism and bigotry said she will resign from the bench after the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission "reluctantly, but of necessity" recommend her removal.

  • May 19, 2025

    Doc Loses 4th Circ. Fight Over $5.5M Order After FCA Deal

    A North Carolina district court was right to reject a doctor and his wife's request to overturn or modify a $5.5 million judgment against them for allegedly hiding assets after settling a previous False Claims Act case with the government, the Fourth Circuit ruled Monday.

  • May 19, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Pauses Halt On Trump's Union Rights Order

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel greenlighted President Donald Trump's request to pause a lower court decision that blocked the implementation of an executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees, concluding the injunction ruling "ties the government's hands."

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Pass On Insurers' Tribal Jurisdiction Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a Ninth Circuit decision ordering insurers to litigate the Suquamish Tribe's COVID-19 coverage claims in tribal court in a case that addressed tribal jurisdiction over nonmember insurance companies, according to a Monday order list.

  • May 19, 2025

    'Stark' Pay Data May Revive NY Court Interpreters' Bias Suit

    Second Circuit judges Monday signaled interest in reviving a pay discrimination case brought by interpreters working for the New York State Unified Court System, as one jurist remarked on "stark" data showing they're "underpaid" and voiced curiosity about what discovery might reveal.

  • May 19, 2025

    2 Menendez Associates Must Await Appeal Behind Bars

    The Second Circuit rejected bids by two of the businessmen convicted of bribing ex-U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez to avoid prison pending their appeal on a blockbuster corruption conviction.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Decline GOP Bid To Challenge Michigan Voting Laws

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away Michigan legislators who sued over election measures adopted by Great Lakes State voters, leaving in place a Sixth Circuit ruling that the individual lawmakers lacked standing.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Allow End Of Temporary Protections For Venezuelans

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration may rescind temporary protected status for Venezuelans, lifting a California federal judge's order requiring the government to keep Biden-era removal protections and work authorizations in place during a legal battle over a policy change.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear White Ga. Coach's Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an Eleventh Circuit decision that ended a white Georgia high school football coach's claims that Black school board members declined to renew his contract on account of his race.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Decline Fireworks Co.'s Challenge To CPSC Notices

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a firework importer's challenge to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notices that said the products violated federal standards, leaving in place a Fourth Circuit decision that informal agency notices are not final actions under the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • May 19, 2025

    High Court Won't Hear Insurer's Calif. COVID Tribal Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up an insurance company's bid to undo a Ninth Circuit ruling affirming that the Cabazon Band of Cahullia Indians' tribal court has jurisdiction over its members' suit that seeks millions in COVID-19 pandemic loss coverage after its California casino temporarily closed.

  • May 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Judges Skeptical Of Blockade On Ƶ Mass Layoffs

    A D.C. Circuit panel majority Friday sounded inclined to lift lower court restrictions on what the Trump administration contends is its lawful push to "radically downsize" the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, potentially clearing the way for mass layoffs of its staff.

  • May 16, 2025

    Woman Can't Get Bond After Arrest Near Border, Board Rules

    The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed Friday that a woman who Interpol wanted to be arrested is ineligible for release on bond, rejecting her contention that she was detained near the border under a certain section of federal immigration law that allows for her release.

  • May 16, 2025

    Name Mix-Up Costs Lender Property Claim, 5th Circ. Says

    A name mix-up in a petition will cost a lending company its claim to an interest in property forfeited in a criminal fraud case, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, agreeing with a Texas federal judge that the drafting error was fatal.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Nicaraguan Family's Asylum Bid

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday revived a Nicaraguan family's bid for deportation relief, saying an immigration judge improperly handled their claims of persecution stemming from a mother's participation in a 2018 march protesting the country's Ortega regime.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Mulls DOJ Shield Of Jones Day VW Documents

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday questioned whether it could force the U.S. Department of Justice to hand over confidential Volkswagen documents it obtained through a grand jury subpoena that were part of Jones Day's internal investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.

  • May 16, 2025

    Florida Wrongly Took Unclaimed Funds, 11th Circ. Rules

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday revived a Florida couple's proposed class action over unclaimed property, vacating a lower court's judgment that a $26.24 insurance premium refund they were owed was assumed to be abandoned before it was transferred into state custody.

Expert Analysis

  • Colo. Anti-SLAPP Cases Highlight Dismiss Standard Disparity

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    “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'

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Insights From 2024 Fed. Circ. Statistics

    Author Photo

    Looking at stats from the Federal Circuit's decisions in 219 Patent Trial and Appeal Board appeals last year sheds light on potential trends and strategy considerations that could improve appeals' chances of success, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Will Independent Federal Agencies Remain Independent?

    Author Photo

    For 90 years, members of multimember independent federal agencies have relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. establishing the security of their positions — but as the Trump administration attempts to overturn this understanding, it is unclear how the high court will respond, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.

  • High Court Sentencing Case Presents Legal Fork In The Road

    Author Photo

    On Feb. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Esteras v. U.S. about the factors trial courts may consider when imposing a sentence of imprisonment after revoking supervised release, and the justices’ eventual decision may prioritize either discretion or originalism, says Michael Freedman at The Freedman Firm.

  • Del. Justices' D&O Ruling Clarifies 'Related' Claim Analysis

    Author Photo

    In its recent decision in the Alexion Pharmaceuticals coverage case, the Delaware Supreme Court adopted a "meaningful linkage" standard for relatedness analysis, providing further guidance to Delaware policyholders on how to navigate those directors and officers insurance disputes, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal appellate court class certification decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving breach of life insurance contracts, constitutional violations of inmates and more.

  • Defense Strategies For Politically Charged Prosecutions

    Author Photo

    Politically charged prosecutions have captured the headlines in recent years, providing lessons for defense counsel on how to navigate the distinct challenges, and seize the unique opportunities, such cases present, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!