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Appellate

  • September 15, 2025

    Stewart Says New Policies Seek Fairness For Patent Owners

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart said Monday the numerous changes to patent reviews she has implemented are intended to provide "more balance and fairness" for patent owners, and bring the reviews "back to how they were originally intended."

  • September 15, 2025

    Appeals Panel Says Wash. Spam Law Covers Recruiter Texts

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel said Monday that the state's commercial email prohibition extends to "text messages sent to further the growth or prosperity of a business," finding logistics company CRST broke the law by sending unsolicited recruitment texts to contractors.

  • September 15, 2025

    Eli Lilly Fights $278M Drug Royalties Ruling At 9th Circ.

    Eli Lilly urged the Ninth Circuit at a hearing on Monday to reverse a finding that it owes an Arizona company $278 million from insulin-brands sales under their royalty agreement, arguing it is off the hook because Eli Lilly only used that company's technology in manufacturing, not in the final product.

  • September 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Fed's Cook Can Keep Job For Now

    A D.C. Circuit panel said Monday that Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook can remain on the central bank's board while challenging President Donald Trump's effort to fire her, clearing the way for her to participate in a key interest-rate policy vote this week.

  • September 15, 2025

    Building Owner Urges DC Circ. To Weigh Tenant Eviction Row

    The owner of a Washington, D.C., multifamily property asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday for an immediate stay of a decision that allowed a tenant to access a unit the owner recovered while the tenant was hospitalized following an arrest, claiming the order puts residents at risk.

  • September 15, 2025

    3rd Circ. Unsure When Uber Wage Case Hits Dead End

    A Third Circuit panel on Monday questioned at what point a judge is permitted to declare that a case can't be resolved, as it considered a bid by Uber drivers to revive employment misclassification claims that already resulted in two deadlocked juries.   

  • September 15, 2025

    Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Check Revived Dumbbell Patent

    An exercise equipment company is urging the full Federal Circuit to take a closer look at a panel decision that revived a dumbbell patent that PowerBlock Holdings Inc. asserted against it, saying that the validity holding "risks destabilizing the law of patent eligibility."

  • September 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Told Fla. 'Radioactive' Road Suit Must Be Tossed

    The U.S. government and a fertilizer producer urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss an environmental nonprofit's challenge to the use of radioactive phosphogypsum on a private roadway, arguing the nonprofit lacks standing. 

  • September 15, 2025

    In Reversal, 3rd Circ. Lets Honda Challenge NJ Town Tow Law

    A Third Circuit panel reversed a district court's decision Monday, finding that Honda can argue it was denied due process after a New Jersey borough seized its vehicle from an uninsured lessee for driving uninsured, with a suspended license and registration.

  • September 15, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Jimmy Kimmel In George Santos IP Fight

    The Second Circuit on Monday declined to revive George Santos' claims against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney over video clips the late night host tricked the now-imprisoned former congressman into making, agreeing the fair use doctrine bars the copyright suit.

  • September 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Won't Stay District Court's Order On Quick Removals

    The D.C. Circuit declined to stay a district judge's suspension of specific U.S. Department of Homeland Security actions implementing expedited removal of noncitizen parolees Friday, saying that the government faces no irreparable harm from the order because it has separate, pre-existing regulatory authority to quickly deport parolees.

  • September 15, 2025

    Tainted Evidence Sank Atty's Tax Court Case, 6th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Tax Court relied on tainted evidence from the IRS when it affirmed the agency's denial of an Ohio attorney's attempt to deduct a theft loss and related legal expenses, he told the Sixth Circuit, urging it to reverse the lower court's ruling.

  • September 15, 2025

    Feds Push For 10th Circ. Rehearing In Native Activist Case

    Prosecutors have asked the entire Tenth Circuit to reconsider whether a Native American activist could be convicted in federal court on a charge of simple assault in a case originally involving more serious charges, after a panel overturned the conviction by holding district courts lack jurisdiction over these lesser charges.

  • September 15, 2025

    Town Not Liable For HSA Payments, Conn. Justices Told

    Five retired Groton, Connecticut, police officers are not entitled to receive payments into their health savings accounts to offset their deductibles because that benefit is only available to active employees, the town told the Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday as it seeks to avoid a $36,000 judgment.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ill. Court Backs Sanction Over 'Smoking Gun' Email In Buyout

    An Illinois state appeals court has affirmed sanctions against an export company and its counsel, citing their failure to disclose a "smoking gun" email that undermined claims the company relied on a financial summary prepared by its accounting firm and ultimately paid too much to buy out a co-owner.

  • September 15, 2025

    Utilities Slam EPA's Lead Water Rule As Too Broad, Rushed

    Drinking water utilities have told the D.C. Circuit that the federal government's 2024 rule ordering the removal of lead service lines imposes unreasonably burdensome compliance requirements, and they urged the court to strike it down.

  • September 15, 2025

    Charleston SC Not Appealing Dismissal Of Climate Suit

    Charleston, South Carolina, has ended its pursuit of climate change-related infrastructure damages from fossil fuel companies, electing not to appeal a state judge's dismissal of the city's lawsuit last month.

  • September 15, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's governor weighed in on a challenge to recently approved state legislation that bars damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals. Meanwhile, Moelis told the Delaware Supreme Court that the struck-down stockholder agreement that triggered that legislation was valid. Additionally, one of two newly funded magistrates' posts in the Chancery Court has been filled.

  • September 15, 2025

    Software Co. Defends Contempt Order Against Womble Atty

    A North Carolina federal court fairly held Womble Bond Dickinson partner Pressly Millen in contempt after he and his client made misrepresentations in a "parallel" trademark dispute abroad, U.S.-based software company Dmarcian Inc. told the Fourth Circuit on Friday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Feds Urge 3rd Circ. To Restore NJ US Atty's Authority

    The federal government has urged the Third Circuit to reverse a district court ruling disqualifying acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from prosecuting two criminal cases in New Jersey after the clock allegedly ran out on her interim term, arguing that her appointment is valid and that the court erred in its interpretation of the statute.

  • September 15, 2025

    EPA Backs Off Drinking Water Regs For 4 PFAS

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked the D.C. Circuit to vacate part of its rule setting drinking water standards for certain forever chemicals, saying it now believes that those shouldn't have been included in a Biden-era rule.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ford Battery Factory Challenge Reignited By Mich. Justices

    The Michigan Supreme Court has revived a challenge to Ford Motor Co.'s plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Calhoun County, vacating a lower appellate ruling that affirmed the case's dismissal in light of another state top court opinion over similar zoning authority issues.

  • September 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. OKs PTAB Denial Of Motorola Lens Patent Challenge

    The Federal Circuit on Monday declined to revive Motorola Mobility LLC's challenge to an imaging lens system patent owned by a Taiwanese company, affirming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that the smartphone maker failed to show the claims were invalid.

  • September 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Ore. Water Rights Case Is Still Relevant

    The Ninth Circuit won't dismiss the Klamath Irrigation District's appeal over water releases from an Oregon lake as moot, saying a decision would provide relief by affecting how the scarce resource is allocated regardless of the federal government's new position on the application of the Endangered Species Act.

  • September 14, 2025

    Fed's Cook Defends Reinstatement As Trump Pushes For Stay

    Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook squared off with the Trump administration over the weekend as the D.C. Circuit mulls whether to keep in place a lower-court hold on President Donald Trump's effort to fire her ahead of a key interest-rate policy vote this coming week.

Expert Analysis

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

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    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption

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    Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Rocket Mortgage Appeal May Push Justices To Curb Classes

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    Should the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear Alig v. Rocket Mortgage, the resulting decision could limit class sizes based on commonality under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Evidence as opposed to standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, say attorneys at Carr Maloney.

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