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Appellate

  • June 06, 2025

    'Low-Hanging Fruit' In Devas Resolved, But Questions Remain

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday rejecting the Ninth Circuit's outlier interpretation of a jurisdictional question in a $1.3 billion arbitral award enforcement case came as no surprise to arbitration experts, who say they will nevertheless continue closely watching the case to see how outstanding issues are resolved.

  • June 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Sends GM Emissions Fraud Claims Back To Michigan

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday partly revived drivers' claims alleging General Motors deceptively marketed Chevrolet Cruze vehicles as clean vehicles when they were actually outfitted with emissions-cheating software, punting a question of preemption back to Michigan federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas Justices Ax Multiplaintiff 'Jurisdictional Loophole'

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday closed a "gaping jurisdictional loophole" that allowed defendants to challenge jurisdiction in just about any case involving multiple plaintiffs, saying the mere presence of multiple plaintiffs is not enough to invoke appellate review.

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas AG Says Trans Care Investigation Is Lawful

    The Texas Attorney General's Office told the state's Supreme Court that a lower court went too far by blocking an investigation into an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that allegedly had knowledge about outside parties performing gender-affirming care on minors, saying the court undermined the AG's investigative authority.

  • June 06, 2025

    NJ Court Blocks LTC Insurer's Bid For Triple-Digit Rate Hike

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday backed the state's Department of Banking and Insurance in denying a long-term care insurer's request to increase its policy rates, agreeing that the proposed triple-digit rate increase on aging policyholders was excessive.

  • June 06, 2025

    Iraq Says $120M Pier Award Enforcement Must Be Thrown Out

    Iraq has filed an appellate brief urging the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling giving a Cypriot construction firm permission to enforce a nearly $120 million arbitral award it won in a dispute over a major port project.

  • June 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Weighs Purview Over Acorda's $17M Arbitral Award

    A Federal Circuit panel on Friday wrestled with its authority to consider arbitration appeals dealing with patent law, with at least one judge appearing skeptical that it could consider Acorda Therapeutics Inc.'s bid to increase a $16.6 million award in a fight with Alkermes PLC over a multiple sclerosis drug.

  • June 06, 2025

    Justices Skip Investment Adviser's Appeal Of $32M SEC Win

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers, turning away an appeal brought by an investment adviser who was ordered to pay $32 million after a lower court found that he and his firm defrauded clients.

  • June 06, 2025

    NJ Panel Revives Contract Row Between Pot Co., Landlord

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday revived a Paterson property owner's suit against a would-be dispensary and its principals alleging they broke a deal to share profits from the dispensary, finding that the trial court wrongly conflated the contract's requirement for local approval with a cannabis license.

  • June 06, 2025

    Argentina Tells DC Circ. $391M Award OK Must Be Nixed

    Argentina has asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court decision ordering it to pay a $391 million arbitral award issued following a 15-year-old dispute over the renationalization of the country's state-owned airline.

  • June 06, 2025

    8th Circ. Rejects Farm Leasing Co.'s Switch To Amortization

    The Eighth Circuit denied an Arkansas farm leasing company's action to amortize federal subsidy-eligible land to reduce its tax liability, affirming Friday that the company was not authorized to make such accounting changes without approval from the Internal Revenue Service.

  • June 06, 2025

    Stewart Says PTAB Should 'Never' Cancel IP As A Sanction

    The acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revived Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC patent claims on Thursday that her predecessor had invalidated to punish Longhorn for misconduct.

  • June 06, 2025

    NY Tribe Urges Supreme Court To Overturn Eel Fishing Ruling

    A Long Island tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a Second Circuit ruling that rejected its challenge to New York's regulations on eel fishing harvests, arguing that if the decision is held, it would set a precedent allowing district courts to give up their gatekeeping roles on expert testimony.

  • June 06, 2025

    Free Speech Shields Rehab From Permit Suit, Court Says

    A Connecticut drug treatment facility does not have to face claims, including unfair trade practices, lodged by a prospective competitor amid a contentious permit battle, a state appellate panel ruled Friday, finding that the state's anti-SLAPP statute is fatal to the case.

  • June 06, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Says IAF CEO Can Stay In Role

    A split D.C. Circuit panel refused to block the reinstatement of the head of a federal agency that invests in Latin America and the Caribbean, concluding that the Trump administration's firing of the official was "likely invalid."

  • June 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Boost Interest Rate For Worker's FMLA Win

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend an order applying the federal rate instead of a higher Washington state rate when calculating prejudgment interest that a federal jury awarded to a worker in his lawsuit accusing a manufacturer of firing him for taking leave, saying his federal claim guided his litigation strategy.

  • June 06, 2025

    4th Circ. Denies Bid To Inflate $300K Insurance Payout

    Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina doesn't have to increase its payout to a couple involved in a car wreck, the Fourth Circuit has ruled, finding that North Carolina law doesn't provide that the couple's many insurance policies can be stacked.

  • June 06, 2025

    DOGE Can Access Social Security Data For Now, Justices Say

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that the Department of Government Efficiency could obtain unlimited access to Social Security Administration data on millions of Americans while a legal dispute over privacy concerns plays out.

  • June 06, 2025

    New York Says It Won't Rescind Native American Mascot Ban

    The New York State Education Department said it won't rescind a ban on the use of Indigenous mascots and names in public schools despite a threat from the Trump administration to pull its federal funding, telling the U.S. Department of Education instead that it's willing to broaden the regulation's reach.

  • June 06, 2025

    Truck Drivers Urge 9th Circ. To Reverse OT Exemption Ruling

    Truck drivers said a California federal court focused on the wrong shipper when it ruled that they were overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, urging the Ninth Circuit to flip the decision granting a win to a food distributor.

  • June 06, 2025

    Calif. Bar Hires Investigator To Review Exam Snafu

    The State Bar of California's board of trustees voted to approve a $185,000 contract with a nonprofit to review "exam scoring irregularities and testing accommodations" from its fraught February 2025 bar exam.

  • June 06, 2025

    Trump Seeks High Court's OK On Education Dept. Job Cuts

    The Trump administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that the judge's finding that almost 1,400 employees must be reinstated to ensure the department's continued operation "has no basis in reality."

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas Justices Say 'Reciprocal' Discipline Is Time-Limited

    Texas' four-year time limit on attorney discipline applies to "reciprocal" discipline cases, in which a lawyer is sanctioned in Texas after being similarly sanctioned in another state, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.

  • June 06, 2025

    4th Circ. Stays Ruling Restoring Frozen Federal Grant Funding

    A split Fourth Circuit panel has blocked a South Carolina federal judge's order directing the federal government to restore 32 congressionally funded grants that were frozen by the Trump administration, while casting doubt on nonprofits' and cities' legal challenge.

  • June 06, 2025

    Litigation Funder Can't Stop Attys' Texas Fee Fight Remand

    A divided Texas First Court of Appeals won't disturb a split decision that revived a dispute between an attorney and a former attorney over a fee-sharing agreement in tobacco litigation, rejecting a litigation finance company's en banc request to keep its trial court victory and prevent the case from being remanded.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • How Justices Rule On Straight Bias May Shift Worker Suits

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    Following oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, in which a heterosexual woman sued her employer for sexual orientation discrimination, the forthcoming decision may create a perfect storm for employers amid recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • How Del. Supreme Court, Legislature Have Clarified 'Control'

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's January decision in In re: Oracle and the General Assembly's passage of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law this week, when taken together, help make the controlling-stockholder analysis clearer and more predictable for companies with large stockholders, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Service By Token Is Transforming Crypto Litigation Landscape

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    As the Trump administration advocates a new course of cryptocurrency regulation, courts in the U.S. and abroad are authorizing innovative methods of process service, including via nonfungible tokens and blockchain messaging, offering practical solutions for litigators grappling with the anonymity of cyber defendants, says Jose Ceide at Salazar Law.

  • Fed. Circ. In Feb.: Lessons On Cases With Many Patent Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Kroy IP v. Groupon last month establishes that inter partes review petitioners cannot rely on collateral estoppel to invalidate patent claims after challenging a smaller subset, highlighting the benefit that patent owners may gain from seeking patents with many claims, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • PG&E Win Boosts Employers' Defamation Defense

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    A California appeals court's recent Hearn v. PG&E ruling, reversing a $2 million verdict against PG&E related to an ex-employee’s retaliation claims, provides employers with a stronger defense against defamation claims tied to termination, but also highlights the need for fairness and diligence in internal investigations and communications, say attorneys at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Justices' False Statement Ruling Curbs Half-Truth Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Thompson v. U.S. decision clarified that a federal statute used to prosecute false statements made to bank regulators only criminalizes outright falsehoods, narrowing prosecutors’ reach and providing defense counsel a stronger basis to challenge indictments of merely misleading statements, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

  • Jurisdiction Argument In USAID Dissent Is Up For Debate

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    A dissent refuting the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order directing the U.S. Agency for International Development to pay $2 billion in frozen foreign aid argued that claims relating to already-completed government contract work belong in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims – answering an important question, but with a debatable conclusion, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class actions appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses three federal appellate court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving antitrust allegations against coupon processing services, consumer fraud and class action settlements.

  • High Court Water Permit Ruling Lacks Specificity

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    The enforcement impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may not be significant, because while the ruling makes clear that certain water permit provisions must instruct permittees on how to achieve stated goals, it doesn’t clarify the level of necessary instruction, says Daniel Deeb at ArentFox Schiff.

  • The Central Issues Facing Fed. Circ. In Patent Damages Case

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    The en banc Federal Circuit's pending review of EcoFactor v. Google could reshape how expert damages opinions are argued, and could have ripple effects that limit jury awards, say attorneys at McAndrews Held.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

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