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Appellate

  • June 17, 2025

    1st Circ. Says Ex-Santander Loan Officer Can't Bypass ERISA

    A former high-earning mortgage development officer for Santander Bank cannot attempt an "end run" around the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by pursuing civil claims under Rhode Island state law over her 2022 firing, a First Circuit panel has ruled.

  • June 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Undoes PTAB Win For Tech Giants On Web Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday threw out the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision that invalidated claims in an Express Mobile patent covering ways to build a website, handing a loss to patent challengers Meta, Google and others.

  • June 17, 2025

    NJ Supreme Court Rejects Judicial Privacy Law Challenge

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a journalist's constitutional challenge to the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law, finding it serves "a state interest of the highest order" in seeking to keep certain public officials out of harm's way.

  • June 17, 2025

    Sam's Club $310M Tobacco Tax Bill OK'd By Ill. Appeals Panel

    A Sam's Club outlet in Illinois was correctly assessed $310 million for its failure to pay county tobacco taxes on cigarettes it sold to out-of-county retailers, a state appeals panel said in a judgment, reversing a circuit court decision.

  • June 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Seems Inclined To Uphold FedEx Race Bias Win

    A Black fired FedEx driver may not have laid out sufficient evidence to get his race discrimination and retaliation suit revived, a Second Circuit panel indicated Tuesday, with one judge saying she wasn't sure how the facts he had presented would be enough for an initial case.

  • June 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Weighs Harms In Post-Pandemic School Funds Fight

    The Second Circuit asked Tuesday if the federal government would be irreparably harmed if ordered to continue hundreds of millions of dollars of ongoing education-related COVID-19 pandemic recovery funding, as it mulled an order barring the Trump administration from cutting off the money.

  • June 16, 2025

    Asian Bar Groups Jump Into Fight Over Trump Birthright Ban

    The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and dozens of other affiliated legal organizations urged the First Circuit on Monday to uphold a Massachusetts federal judge's decision blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying the White House order is unconstitutional and would "disproportionately harm" Asian American communities.

  • June 16, 2025

    DOJ Says Naval Academy Admissions Policy Case Is Moot

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked the Fourth Circuit to toss an appeal challenging the U.S. Naval Academy's consideration of race in admissions because the school has since changed its admissions program "so that race and ethnicity are no longer considered in any way at any point."

  • June 16, 2025

    NJ Justices OK Grand Jury Investigations Of Clergy Abuse

    New Jersey can empanel a special grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday, saying that no case law or court rule allows a judge to prohibit a grand jury inquiry before it has even begun.

  • June 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Faults Ax Of Patent Targeted By Nintendo, Others

    The Federal Circuit on Monday vacated Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating claims in a computer security patent asserted against Nintendo, Roku and Vizio, saying the board didn't give enough weight to "substantial" licenses for the patent when finding it obvious.

  • June 16, 2025

    NY Seeks To Move Feds' Climate Superfund Suit Upstate

    The Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York's climate change Superfund law should be transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District, where it can join a similar lawsuit lodged by several Republican-led states, New York told a federal judge.

  • June 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Upholds Revival Of Naval Engineers' No-Poach Case

    The Fourth Circuit has kept its revival of a no-poach wage-fixing case against some of the nation's biggest warship makers intact, rejecting a petition to rehear the case en banc after a three-judge panel kicked it back to district court last month.

  • June 16, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery this past week sought answers in the high-stakes battle over the constitutionality of newly enacted Delaware corporation law amendments, which will hitch a ride to the state's Supreme Court via a suit contesting a $117 million acquisition of Clearway Energy Inc. by its majority shareholder.

  • June 16, 2025

    Pa. Court Revives Suit Over Patient's Bad Drug Reaction

    A Pennsylvania appellate panel on Monday reinstated a suit accusing a doctor of causing a patient's fainting and subsequent broken leg due to negligently prescribed medication, saying the trial court erroneously approved a dismissal bid that a different judge previously rejected.

  • June 16, 2025

    Texas Panel Says NY Law Applies In Tornado Coverage Row

    An Illinois-based company must litigate its insurance coverage battle over merchandise damage from a Dallas tornado under New York law, a Texas appeals court affirmed, finding the company's "legal injury" took place in New York.

  • June 16, 2025

    Faulty Gilstrap Instructions Sink $300M Apple Patent Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Monday vacated a $300 million patent infringement jury verdict against Apple, saying the technology company's right to a unanimous verdict was violated by an Eastern District of Texas judge's instructions that lumped all asserted patents into one bulk infringement question.

  • June 16, 2025

    Gaming Group Backs High Court Fight In Wash. Compact Row

    The California Gaming Association is backing a casino owner and operator in its U.S. Supreme Court bid to undo a Ninth Circuit ruling dismissing the company's challenge to Washington state tribal gaming compacts, arguing the nonprofit has an interest in ensuring its members can pursue their legal claims.

  • June 16, 2025

    Dems Push DHS To Restart DACA Applications Nationwide

    U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 40 other Senate Democrats are looking to ensure the Trump administration is following a Fifth Circuit decision that limited a block on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program solely to Texas.

  • June 16, 2025

    Texas Justices Say Park Repairs Trump Native Religion Claims

    A law forbidding Texas from enacting rules to curtail certain religious services does not extend to its preservation and management of publicly owned lands, the state Supreme Court said, weighing in on a Fifth Circuit dispute between Native American church members and the city of San Antonio over access to a local park.

  • June 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Reverses False Ad Verdict Against ThermoLife

    The Federal Circuit on Monday reversed a Florida federal court's decision that ThermoLife falsely promoted amino acid products used in supplements and engaged in unfair competition, but backed a sanctions award over a licensing agreement issue.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ohio Tells 6th Circ. PBM Case Doesn't Target Federal Work

    Ohio urged the Sixth Circuit to send its case accusing Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of driving up prescription drug prices through rebate schemes back to state court, arguing the case doesn't target any federal government work by the pharmacy benefit managers.

  • June 16, 2025

    Colo. Justices Allow Malicious Prosecution Case To Proceed

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled unanimously that a plaintiff may still have probable cause in a malicious prosecution case even if they were unable to win in the original case at summary judgment.

  • June 16, 2025

    Live Nation Arbitration Firm Defends Its 'Flexible' Approach

    Live Nation's chosen arbitration firm is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the concert giant's bid to force concertgoers into arbitration, arguing its procedures are fair, and it was wrongly dinged for what the Ninth Circuit called "internally inconsistent, poorly drafted" arbitration rules.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Injured Worker Bound By Past Pleadings

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld an early win for an auto transport company and one of its drivers who allegedly injured another employee in a crash, ruling that his only path to resolving the dispute ran through the Peach State's workers' compensation statute.

  • June 16, 2025

    Fla. Court OKs Atty Fees To Associations In Rent Control Suit

    A Florida state appellate court reinstated a lawsuit brought by real estate groups against a county rent control measure saying they're owed attorney fees and costs as a "collateral legal consequence" of a challenge to a local ordinance that is preempted by state law.

Expert Analysis

  • Cleanup Claim Characterization Key For Timeliness Inquiry

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    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, determining that ARCO's contribution claim was timely, highlights the importance of accurately characterizing a claim for recoupment of environmental cleanup costs as a cost-recovery action or contribution to avoid dismissal or recharacterization of the claim, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues

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    Federal money laundering cases are on the rise, often involving lengthy prison sentences for defendants who have little to no criminal history, but a closer look at the statistics and case law reveal some potentially valuable arguments that defense attorneys should keep in their arsenal, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • Justices Likely To Issue Narrow Ruling In $1.3B Award Dispute

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    After last week's argument in Devas v. Antrix, the Supreme Court appears likely to reverse the holding that minimum contacts are required before a federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign state and remand the case for further litigation on other important constitutional questions, say attorneys at Cleary. 

  • Pleading Rules At Stake In High Court Hamas Banking Case

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    While a case between victims of Hamas terrorist attacks and a Lebanese bank, recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, appears to ask a narrow question of which civil procedure rules apply to requests to reopen final judgments, how the justices rule could drastically change pleading strategies for future plaintiffs, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide

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    If upheld on appeal, Vetter v. Resnik, a recent ruling from a Louisiana federal court, could extend the geographical scope of U.S. copyright termination rights to foreign territories, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards

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    Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Provides Guidance On 363 Asset Sales

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    HE v. Avadim Holdings, a recent ruling from the District of Delaware, underscores the principle that rejection of executory contracts does not unwind completed transfers of property and the importance of clear and precise language in sale orders and asset purchase agreements in bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • FLSA Ruling Shows Split Over Court Approval Of Settlements

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    A Kentucky federal court's recent ruling in Bazemore v. Papa John's highlights a growing trend of courts finding they are not required, or even authorized, to approve private settlements releasing Fair Labor Standards Act claims, underscoring a jurisdictional split and open questions that practitioners need to grapple with, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dewberry v. Dewberry hones in on the question of how a defendant's affiliates' profits should be treated under the Lanham Act, and should remind trademark litigants and practitioners that issues involving monetary relief should be treated seriously, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court

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    The Trump administration is likely to drop the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas after its review of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rule, but any outcome will be significant for institutions participating in programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

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