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Appellate
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May 22, 2025
High Court Declines To Narrow Reach Of Federal Fraud Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that using deceptive means to induce a business transaction may still be a crime even if the defendant doesn't seek to cause economic loss, a departure from earlier decisions that have narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes.
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May 22, 2025
Split Supreme Court Blocks 1st Religious Charter School
A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thursday an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school, leaving open questions about the constitutionality of excluding religious groups from participating in publicly funded charter school programs.
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May 21, 2025
OCC 'Erred Across The Board,' Ex-Wells Fargo Exec Says
A former Wells Fargo risk officer has asked the Eighth Circuit to vacate steep sanctions that a top U.S. regulator imposed over her alleged role in the bank's fake accounts scandal, arguing she has been unfairly scapegoated and unconstitutionally prosecuted.
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May 21, 2025
Fox Accuses Smartmatic Of Destroying 'Critical' Evidence
Fox News on Wednesday called for Smartmatic to be sanctioned, claiming that nearly two-dozen executives and other employees at the voting tech company destroyed "critical" evidence related to the company's defamation case against the television network, an accusation that comes a week after Smartmatic said Fox deleted relevant texts.
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May 21, 2025
Judge Prolongs Pause On Trump's HUD, DOT Grant DEI Limits
A Washington federal judge Wednesday extended a block on federal grant conditions limiting homelessness aid and transportation funding to recipients who align with the Trump administration's policies against diversity and inclusion programming, as nearly two dozen localities joined New York, San Francisco and others challenging the terms.
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May 21, 2025
Calif. Justices Weigh Strict Arbitration Fee Law's Validity
Counsel for a food supply company urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to find the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a state statute automatically waiving arbitration rights for a party that doesn't timely pay arbitration fees, saying the law is so draconian that even an earthquake wouldn't excuse late payment.
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May 21, 2025
'DIY' Rape Kit Ban Challenge Seems To Leave 9th Circ. Split
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over a company's appeal in its case challenging Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, with one judge remarking the product "doesn't do a whole heck of a lot" if the evidence isn't admissible in court. Â
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May 21, 2025
FTC Urges 8th Circ. Not To Pause In-House PBM Case
The Eighth Circuit should once again say no to a request to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing three pharmacy benefit managers of hiking up the price of insulin to line their own pockets, the agency has told the appellate court.
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May 21, 2025
The Status Of Biden-Era Immigration Suits: A Roundup
Following the presidential transition, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss suits brought by the Biden administration challenging state immigration enforcement measures in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma, leaving the status of those cases up in the air.
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May 21, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Revive Khashoggi Widow's Surveillance Suit
The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday said a Virginia federal judge properly tossed a lawsuit from the widow of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi alleging NSO Group Technologies' spyware contributed to her husband's assassination, saying she hasn't shown the cyber-intelligence firm's alleged conduct was directed at the Commonwealth.
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May 21, 2025
9th Circ. Judge Asks If Apple's Watch Updates 'Ice Out' Rivals
Two Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of Apple Inc.'s arguments against reviving an antitrust suit brought by medical monitoring startup AliveCor Inc. after Apple blocked third-party access to medical data on the Apple Watch, with one judge asking rhetorically whether a "marginal" improvement by Apple could actually be a way to "ice out" competition.
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May 21, 2025
Ga. Judge Tells Ethics Panel No Harm Meant In Family Cases
An Atlanta trial judge facing allegations that she intervened on behalf of her uncle in a legal proceeding and had a woman locked in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing took the stand Wednesday before Georgia's judicial watchdog, saying she would have done things differently in hindsight.
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May 21, 2025
AbbVie Gets Victory In Allergan Shareholder Suit Upheld
An Illinois state appellate panel said Wednesday that a trial court properly dismissed a shareholder class action against biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. that accused the drugmaker of issuing unregistered shares to investors after acquiring Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan.
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May 21, 2025
Army Contract Protest Dismissed Over Filing Violations
Multiple missed filing deadlines and public filings containing confidential information, despite repeated warnings, provided grounds to dismiss a Virginia company's challenge of a U.S. Army contract award for information technology services, a Court of Federal Claims Judge said Wednesday.
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May 21, 2025
6th Circ. Revives Yacht Co.'s ERISA Health Fee Claims
The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday revived a Michigan yacht company's federal benefits lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, holding that a lower court wrongly tossed allegations that excessive healthcare fees breached fiduciary duties and caused prohibited transactions.
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May 21, 2025
Texas Bills To Watch Before The End Of The 2025 Session
With less than two weeks remaining in the Texas legislative session, lawmakers will hit several deadlines in the coming days that will seal the fate of bills surrounding legal procedure, abortion, artificial intelligence and other topics.
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May 21, 2025
ITC Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Rehear Lashify Dispute
The U.S. International Trade Commission wants the Federal Circuit to rethink its finding that the commission was wrongly prohibiting domestic expenses related to sales, marketing and other activities from allowing companies to pursue ITC patent cases.
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May 21, 2025
'Only God Knows My Name': 11th Circ. OKs Doe's Conviction
The 11th Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of a man who refused to be identified by immigration officials, saying, "Only God knows my name," ruling the lower court correctly held the criminal statute he was charged under applied to him although it couldn't prove he lawfully entered the country.Â
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May 21, 2025
Immigrant Groups Appeal Denied Bid To Halt IRS-ICE Deal
Immigrant advocacy groups on Wednesday appealed a D.C. federal judge's order denying their bid to block the IRS from sharing taxpayer data with immigration enforcement agencies, with their counsel warning "it will be too late" once the information is shared.
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May 21, 2025
Airplane Parts Cos. Urge NC Justices To Revive Crash Appeal
A pair of airplane parts makers urged the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday to bring back their appeal seeking to dismiss claims brought against them over a fatal 2015 plane crash, arguing the state justices should clarify when interlocutory appeals are warranted and correct what they called "patently wrong" reasoning at the lower courts.
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May 21, 2025
Full Fed. Circ. Undoes $20M Google Loss, Orders New Trial
The full Federal Circuit on Wednesday ordered a new damages trial in a case where a jury told Google LLC to pay $20 million for infringing an EcoFactor Inc. thermostat patent, ruling that the testimony of EcoFactor's damages expert was unreliable and should not have been admitted.
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May 21, 2025
Mich. Justices Won't Hear Hotels' Water Rate Appeal
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review a Michigan town's water and sewer rates, rejecting an appeal from a group of hotels and restaurants that alleged a rate hike was an unconstitutional tax.
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May 21, 2025
11th Circ. Blocks Fla. Credit Union's Arbitration Bid In Fee Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday denied a Florida credit union's bid to force arbitration in a proposed class action alleging it wrongly charged overdraft fees, saying its checking account agreements didn't require the parties to settle the case out of court.
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May 21, 2025
Court Won't Revive Mental Health Class Suit Against Fla. Blue
A Florida appeals court Wednesday declined to revive a proposed class suit by state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan alleging the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.
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May 21, 2025
Pa. Justices To Mull State DOT Liability For Hanging Branches
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide if the state Department of Transportation should be immune to wrongful-death claims stemming from a large tree branch that overhung a PennDOT road but grew from a tree on land owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the court announced Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing
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.
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A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues
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.
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Justices Likely To Issue Narrow Ruling In $1.3B Award Dispute
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.Â
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Pleading Rules At Stake In High Court Hamas Banking Case
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.
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What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit
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.
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Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ
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.
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6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'
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.
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NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification
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.
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Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide
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.
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Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards
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.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Provides Guidance On 363 Asset Sales
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.
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FLSA Ruling Shows Split Over Court Approval Of Settlements
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.
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Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners
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.
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A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court
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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When Reincorporation Out Of Del. Isn't A Good Idea
While recent high-profile corporate moves out of Delaware have prompted discussion about the benefits of incorporation elsewhere, for many, remaining in the First State may be the right decision due to its deep body of business law, tradition of nonjury trials and other factors, say attorneys at Goodwin.