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Appellate

  • May 16, 2025

    Tesla Tells Justices Challenge To La. Sale Ban Should Stand

    Tesla Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition from Louisiana regulators seeking review of its case targeting the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, saying the regulators are in fact competitors who view Tesla's business model as an existential threat.

  • May 16, 2025

    Oakland Cops Denied Immunity In Deadly High-Speed Chase

    The Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that two Oakland police officers violated the rights of innocent bystanders and are not entitled to qualified immunity following a high-speed pursuit that left one person dead and several others injured.

  • May 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Apple PTAB Win Over Location-Tracking IP

    The Federal Circuit has backed a series of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that found a trio of beacon technology patents were invalid, handing a win to challenger Apple.

  • May 16, 2025

    Trump Calls On Justices To Stay Block Of Gov't Restructuring

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to pause a California federal judge's order temporarily halting agencies from implementing an executive order to plan reorganizations and reductions in force, claiming the lower court's decision has caused confusion and wasted taxpayer dollars.

  • May 16, 2025

    Attys With 'Borrowed' Claims Can't Skip Inquiry, Lumen Says

    Telecommunications company Lumen has told the Colorado Supreme Court that attorneys still need to conduct their own "objectively reasonable inquiry" when borrowing claims from outside litigants, in the hopes of beating a shareholder suit that took allegations from other cases despite attorneys not speaking to the witnesses.

  • May 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Makes Apple Face Fintiv Payment IP Again

    The Federal Circuit revived Fintiv Inc.'s infringement suit against Apple Inc. over contactless payments Friday, saying the Texas federal judge who freed Apple viewed what evidence is acceptable too narrowly.

  • May 16, 2025

    'Minute Entry' Counts As Real Judicial Order, 2nd Circ. Rules

    A Connecticut federal judge's oral ruling and follow-up minute entry were formal orders that triggered a 30-day countdown to appeal losses in a contract dispute worth $1.7 million, a Second Circuit panel has held, saying a plastic resin producer's interpretation of the relevant local rule "rings of empty formalism."

  • May 16, 2025

    11th Circ. Troubled By Feds' Reversal On ALJ Removal Law

    Eleventh Circuit arguments on whether Walmart Inc. must face an administrative law judge over alleged immigration recordkeeping violations were derailed Friday by the court's concerns about the Trump administration's decision to no longer defend the statute protecting such judges from removal by the executive branch.

  • May 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Probes Agency Power In Labor Firings Appeal

    A D.C. Circuit panel grappled Friday with the extent of the president's power to fire federal officials with the U.S. Supreme Court's views in flux, with two judges straining to pin the government's attorney down on what divides agencies Congress can insulate and those it can't.

  • May 16, 2025

    Insurers Need Not Pay In Workplace Accident, NJ Panel Says

    A New Jersey appellate panel affirmed a lower court judgment on Friday, finding that due to policy language, insurers didn't have to cover a $1.25 million agreement between an injured and now-deceased worker and his employer that could only have been paid by the carriers.

  • May 16, 2025

    Insurer Asks 7th Circ. To Revise BIPA Coverage Ruling

    A Hanover Insurance unit urged the Seventh Circuit on Friday to revise a ruling that it must indemnify a condiment manufacturer in an underlying biometric privacy suit if notice was timely, saying the court improperly relied on a settlement that wasn't part of the trial record.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Lil Nas X Didn't Steal Model's Instagram Poses

    The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a model's lawsuit accusing Lil Nas X of copying his Instagram photos, ruling Friday that the model didn't plausibly allege the musician had "access" to the pictures, as defined by court doctrine.

  • May 16, 2025

    Full Pa. Court OKs Panel's Nix Of Tax On Real Estate Transfer

    A panel of Pennsylvania appellate judges properly ruled that a state board wrongfully imposed a real estate transfer tax on the transfer of a partnership interest in a real estate company from one trust to another, the court ruled en banc. 

  • May 16, 2025

    Sheeran Fights Supreme Court Review Of Copyright Ruling

    Ed Sheeran urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal to a decision concluding that his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" did not copy Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get it On," arguing the plaintiff wrongly contends that the Second Circuit improperly relied on the U.S. Copyright Office's administrative guidance after justices overturned the Chevron deference.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds California's Employee Classification Test

    California's worker-friendly employee classification test doesn't violate the dormant commerce and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, upholding the lower court denial of a preliminary injunction.

  • May 16, 2025

    Texas Justices Free Walgreens From Shopper's Theft Dispute

    The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Walgreens can escape a shopper's negligent hiring claim under the state's law against strategic lawsuits against public participation, or anti-SLAPP statute.

  • May 16, 2025

    Appellate Ruling Merits New Shot At Sales Regs, Distiller Says

    A New York distillery and two Washington whiskey drinkers are asking a federal judge to reconsider the Washington state liquor board's win in a challenge to rules requiring a physical in-state presence to sell online, saying they never got to analyze the circuit ruling on which the decision was based.

  • May 16, 2025

    Mich. Court Orders Redo Of Motorist's Insurance Award

    A judge erroneously factored in a semi-paralyzed man's future care in allotting him the bulk of an insurance payout, a Michigan state appeals court said, partially reversing the decision at the request of two healthcare providers that had competing claims.

  • May 16, 2025

    Georgia Firm Can't Pursue Lien In Ex-Client's Dismissed Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday blocked law firm Howe & Associates PC from reviving a former client's suit to pursue a lien for attorney fees.

  • May 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Asked To Undo Houston Firm's 'Absurd' PPP Denial

    A Houston firm asked the Fifth Circuit to reverse the U.S. Small Business Administration's "absurd" denial of its loan forgiveness under a COVID-19-era program, writing that a "good faith but mistaken answer" to an application question would have produced a different result under changed guidelines.

  • May 16, 2025

    Holland & Hart Hires DOJ Environmental Appellate Chief In DC

    Holland & Hart LLP has added the former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental and Natural Resources Division, who joins the firm's Washington, D.C., office alongside her longtime DOJ colleague.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Reopen Ex-Police Officer's Religious Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a former police officer's lawsuit claiming an Arizona town fired him because it believed he was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, saying his allegations weren't detailed enough to stay in court.

  • May 16, 2025

    Justices Keep Pause On Some Venezuelan Removals

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reasserted that the Trump administration cannot remove from the country alleged Venezuelan gang members who are currently detained in northern Texas under the Alien Enemies Act while they challenge the president's invocation of the 1798 wartime law.

  • May 16, 2025

    Mich. Farm Gets Only Partial Exemption, Court Says

    A Michigan property that has farmland, an apple orchard and an area used for tourism activities is eligible for only a partial agricultural exemption, the state appeals court ruled.

  • May 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Vt. Didn't Waive Hydro Dam Review Authority

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday nixed a Vermont village's lawsuit claiming the state waived its role in the federal relicensing of the village's hydroelectric project, saying it was the village's own actions that caused the state to miss a statutory deadline to act.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Justices' Certiorari Denial Leaves Interstate Tax Questions

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review a Philadelphia resident’s claim that her Delaware state income taxes should be credited against her city wage tax liabilities, constitutional questions about state and local tax distinctions linger, and some states may continue to apply Supreme Court precedent differently, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Insights From 2024 Fed. Circ. Statistics

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    Looking at stats from the Federal Circuit's decisions in 219 Patent Trial and Appeal Board appeals last year sheds light on potential trends and strategy considerations that could improve appeals' chances of success, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Will Independent Federal Agencies Remain Independent?

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    For 90 years, members of multimember independent federal agencies have relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. establishing the security of their positions — but as the Trump administration attempts to overturn this understanding, it is unclear how the high court will respond, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.

  • High Court Sentencing Case Presents Legal Fork In The Road

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    On Feb. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Esteras v. U.S. about the factors trial courts may consider when imposing a sentence of imprisonment after revoking supervised release, and the justices’ eventual decision may prioritize either discretion or originalism, says Michael Freedman at The Freedman Firm.

  • Del. Justices' D&O Ruling Clarifies 'Related' Claim Analysis

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    In its recent decision in the Alexion Pharmaceuticals coverage case, the Delaware Supreme Court adopted a "meaningful linkage" standard for relatedness analysis, providing further guidance to Delaware policyholders on how to navigate those directors and officers insurance disputes, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal appellate court class certification decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving breach of life insurance contracts, constitutional violations of inmates and more.

  • Defense Strategies For Politically Charged Prosecutions

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    Politically charged prosecutions have captured the headlines in recent years, providing lessons for defense counsel on how to navigate the distinct challenges, and seize the unique opportunities, such cases present, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • Axed ALJ Removal Protections Mark Big Shift For NLRB

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    A D.C. federal court's recent decision in VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. National Labor Relations Board removed long-standing tenure protections for administrative law judges by finding they must be removable at will by the NLRB, marking a significant shift in the agency's ability to prosecute and adjudicate cases, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications

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    While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.

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