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Appellate

  • May 29, 2025

    Projects Get Some NEPA Relief, But How Much Is Unknown

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting judicial review of environmental analyses of infrastructure projects, combined with the Trump administration's drive to ease approval processes, may boost developers' optimism — but the extent to which reviews can be narrowed remains unknown.

  • May 29, 2025

    Panel Clears Hospital Of Contempt In 'Audit Trail' Dispute

    An Illinois appeals court on Thursday vacated a trial court's finding of contempt against a hospital in a suit over a newborn's injuries, saying there was insufficient evidence that a certain type of "audit trail" metadata existed in electronic health records.

  • May 29, 2025

    Texas Justices Keep Court Orders On $3.4B Water Pipeline

    A Texas appeals court mostly kept intact court orders barring a groundwater company from interfering with several leases as a part of a $3.4 billion pipeline venture to supply water to San Antonio, finding in a Thursday opinion the company was undercutting its lessee.

  • May 29, 2025

    Harvard Taps Paul Weiss High Court Litigator For Board

    Kannon Shanmugam, a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner and veteran U.S. Supreme Court litigator, has been selected to join the Harvard Corp. governing board, according to an announcement made Thursday.

  • May 29, 2025

    Insurer Waived Arbitration For Many Reasons, NJ Panel Rules

    An insurer waived its right to arbitration for many reasons, a New Jersey appellate panel affirmed, finding a pier owner's coverage dispute concerning underlying litigation brought against it by public utilities blaming it for a fluid leak in the Hudson River must head to trial.

  • May 29, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Says Spa's Rule On Certain Trans Women Biased

    A divided Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Korean spa's constitutional challenge against the Washington State Human Rights Commission and ordered it to rescind its policy denying admission to trans women without gender-affirming surgery, noting Thursday the policy violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

  • May 29, 2025

    Delaware Justices Asked To Review Corporate Law Rework

    A biopharmaceutical company stockholder has sought direct certification of a derivative suit to Delaware's Supreme Court, asking for state constitutional review of legislation approved in March that limits avenues for challenges to some corporate acts.

  • May 29, 2025

    Conn. Group Home To Mediate $13.4M Death Appeal

    An assisted-living facility and the mother of a resident who died in its care will enter mediation in an effort to settle their ongoing legal dispute, which has already resulted in a $13.4 million jury verdict, according to a new filing in the Connecticut Appellate Court.

  • May 29, 2025

    Restaurant Liable After Fraudster Steals $475K Settlement

    A California appeals court has found in a case of first impression that a restaurant is responsible for $475,000 in settlement funds that its attorneys sent to a fraudster impersonating the other party in a personal injury suit, saying it missed a number of red flags in the impostor's correspondence.

  • May 29, 2025

    Colo. Court Says No Immunity For Telecom From Injury Suit

    Colorado appellate judges on Thursday ruled that a telecommunications provider lacked authority over a sidewalk where a cyclist was injured and can't be shielded from liability by a recreational use law, reversing a trial court decision in favor of the company.

  • May 29, 2025

    8th Circ. Says Gov'ts Can't Give Up Eminent Domain Powers

    An Eighth Circuit panel vacated an injunction barring a North Dakota county from taking private property it said was needed to build a bridge over the Little Missouri River, although the parties had already settled their claims in April.

  • May 29, 2025

    Tariff Rulings Undercut Trump's Trade Authority, Dealmaking

    U.S. trading partners have inadvertently found new leverage in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration after federal courts found several of the president's duties were improperly imposed, raising larger questions about future tariff authorization in the midst of a global trade spat.

  • May 29, 2025

    Atty Urges 2nd Circ. To Resurrect Name Feud With Ex-Firm

    A lawyer has asked the Second Circuit to revive claims against his former firm, which he alleges used his name and likeness after he was fired, saying a judge's dismissal of those claims ignored the harm he personally suffered and the requirements of the Lanham Act.

  • May 29, 2025

    7th Circ. Probes Hartford's Denial Of Benefits To Ex-PwC Exec

    A Seventh Circuit panel weighing Thursday whether to restore long-term disability benefits to an ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP executive with fibromyalgia asked her attorney and counsel for the insurer that denied benefits if the lower court should have considered prior claim history and a consultant's report finding her condition precluded "meaningful employment."

  • May 29, 2025

    Epic Seeks More Interest On Tata's $140M Punitive Award

    Epic Systems argued Thursday that the Seventh Circuit should order a lower court to recalculate its post-judgment interest on a $140 million punitive damages award against Tata Group because interest should have run from its original 2017 judgment rather than the amended version entered five years later.

  • May 29, 2025

    2nd Circ. Upholds KeyBank Adviser's $1.1M Defamation Win

    The Second Circuit on Thursday upheld a $1.1 million award against a brokerage firm accused of making defamatory remarks about a former employee, ruling that Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrators did not disregard the law in handing down the punishment.

  • May 29, 2025

    Drugstores Say Texas Flouted Rules To Update Pharmacy Regs

    The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Inc. told the Texas Supreme Court that updates to statewide policy governing how pharmacies report drug prices flouted Texas rulemaking procedures, telling the state's high court that even if the updates were "good policy" they weren't lawful.

  • May 29, 2025

    Neb. Tribe Challenges Army's Repatriation Law Interpretation

    A Nebraska tribe has said the U.S. Army is introducing new errors into its Fourth Circuit arguments against efforts to repatriate the remains of two children from a Native boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, telling the appellate court the attempt to complicate a straightforward federal law should be rejected.

  • May 29, 2025

    Wash. Justices Upend Cannabis Co. Win In Wage Suit

    Washington state's Department of Labor and Industries does not need to issue a formal letter demanding an employer pay a specific sum to employees before launching a wage and hour lawsuit, the state's supreme court held Thursday, upending a cannabis company's win in a lawsuit the agency launched against it.

  • May 29, 2025

    Apple Says Google Ruling Boosts Appeal Of $300M Verdict

    Apple has told the Federal Circuit that its en banc decision ordering a new damages trial in a separate suit against Google bolsters its own appeal of a $300 million verdict against the tech giant for infringing standard-essential 4G patents owned by Optis.

  • May 29, 2025

    Mass. Justices Revive Atty's Suit Against 'Spiteful' Colleagues

    Massachusetts' highest court Thursday revived part of a lawsuit brought by a former appellate court staff attorney who said he was intentionally undermined by supervisors, finding that he had made a reasonable showing that two of the three original defendants had demonstrated actual malice toward him.

  • May 29, 2025

    Trump Names 4 Jurists, State AG Official For Fla. Judgeships

    President Donald Trump this week announced his nominations of four judges and a top official in the Florida Attorney General's Office to fill district judgeships in the Sunshine State's Middle and Southern Districts.

  • May 29, 2025

    Calif. Justices Propose Tweaking Rules For Bar Examiners

    The California Supreme Court has proposed changes to the administration of the state's troubled bar exam, circulating a slate of amendments designed to clarify the role of the Committee of Bar Examiners, including spelling out its duty to review and approve all questions used in the exam.

  • May 29, 2025

    DOJ Sidelines ABA From Vetting Trump's Judicial Picks

    The Justice Department plans to direct judicial nominees away from a long-standing vetting process by the American Bar Association, labeling it an "activist organization," according to a Thursday letter by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

  • May 29, 2025

    Judge Can't Buy Military Service Credits, NJ Panel Says

    A New Jersey appellate panel Thursday backed the state pension board's determination that a workers' compensation judge can't buy 36 months of service credits based on his prior military service, ruling that the statute governing his pension does not allow for such a purchase.

Expert Analysis

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • High Court's Ruling May Not Stop Ghost Gun Makers

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    In Bondi v. VanDerStok, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Gun Control Act applies to untraceable "ghost gun" kits under certain circumstances — but companies that produce these kits may still be able to use creative regulatory workarounds to evade government oversight, says Samuel Bassett at Minton Bassett.

  • Justices' Labcorp Questions Explore Class Cert. Tensions

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    At the recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis, the justices' questioning highlighted a fundamental tension between constitutional standing requirements, the procedural framework of Rule 23, and the practical challenges of managing large, diverse classes in complex litigation, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Immunity Waiver Ruling A Setback For Ch. 7 Trustees

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    While governmental units should welcome the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Miller restricting the reach of the Bankruptcy Code's sovereign immunity waiver, Chapter 7 trustees now have a limited ability to maximize bankruptcy estates, says Dan Prieto at Jones Day.

  • Wash. Justices' Moonlight Ruling Should Caution Employers

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    The Washington Supreme Court's recent decision in David v. Freedom Vans, which limited when employers can restrict low-wage workers from moonlighting, underscores the need for employers to narrowly tailor restrictive covenants, ensuring that they are reasonable and allow for workforce mobility, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers

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    If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Calif. Smoke Claim Ruling Gives Insurers Support On Denials

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    Far from being an outlier among ash, soot and smoke coverage cases, a California appellate court's recent opinion in Gharibian v. Wawanesa General Insurance reinforces the principle that policyholders must establish entitlement to coverage as a threshold matter, while supporting denials of coverage for meritless claims, says Kyle Espinola at Zelle.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape

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    In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of Liability Management Exercises

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    As liability management exercises face increasing legal scrutiny, understanding the history of these debt restructuring tools can help explain how the playbook keeps adapting — and why the next move is always just one ruling or transaction away, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Navigating Florida's Bad Faith Reforms After Appellate Ruling

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    A Florida appellate court's recent decision is among the first to interpret two significant amendments to the state's insurance bad faith law, and its holding that one of the statutes could not apply retroactively may affect insurers' interpretation of the other statute, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

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