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Appellate

  • 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.

  • June 06, 2025

    Calif. Panel Remands Fee Claims Over Evidence Exclusion

    A California trial court erred when it blocked any reference to underlying legal malpractice allegations in a trial for recovery of fees brought by a San Francisco lawyer against his former clients, according to a Golden State appeals panel, which found the malpractice claims, though "effectively abandoned," had not reached final judgment on the merits.

  • June 06, 2025

    OpenAI CEO Calls NYT's ChatGPT Log Demand 'Inappropriate'

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his company have said they intend to appeal a Manhattan federal court order mandating the preservation of ChatGPT logs at the request of The New York Times and other news agencies in ongoing copyright infringement litigation, saying the demand goes too far.

Expert Analysis

  • Patent Eligibility Insights From Fed. Circ.'s Drill Bit Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in US Synthetic Corp. v. ITC addresses critical issues in patent eligibility jurisprudence, especially regarding composition-of-matter claims and Section 101 challenges, says Daniel Yannuzzi at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • What SDNY Judge Can And Can't Do In Adams Case

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    The federal judge in the Southern District of New York overseeing the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams deferred making a decision on the government's motion to dismiss the indictment, and while he does have limited authority to deny the motion, that would ultimately be a futile gesture, says Ethan Greenberg at Anderson Kill.

  • Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove

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    The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Expropriation Claims After Justices' Holocaust Asset Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Hungary v. Simon, rejecting Holocaust survivors' claims against the Hungarian government under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception, continues the trend of narrowly interpreting that exception and offers important guidance for future plaintiffs considering such claims, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Questions Remain After Justices' Narrow E-Rate FCA Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wisconsin Bell, holding that requests for reimbursement from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are subject to False Claims Act liability, resolves one important question but leaves several others open, says Jason Neal at HWG.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Colo. Anti-SLAPP Cases Highlight Dismiss Standard Disparity

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    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

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    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

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    “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'

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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