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Appellate

  • May 20, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. Clears Ex-Texas Tech Dean In Free Speech Suit

    A split Fifth Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that the qualified immunity doctrine shields a former Texas Tech University business school dean from First Amendment claims brought by a professor who alleged he was retaliated against for his anti-tenure views, while a dissenting judge criticized the majority for their truncated qualified-immunity analysis.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Suit Over Copter Pilot's Death Must Go To Jury

    The Fourth Circuit has reinstated a lawsuit by the widow of a crop-dusting pilot who crashed after his helicopter became tangled in a steel cable stretched over the property, ruling in a published opinion issued Monday that a jury must be the one to decide whether the landlord should have known that the wire posed a danger to the pilot.

  • May 20, 2025

    DC Circ. Won't Revive Okla. Tribe's Creek Land Dispute

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of an Oklahoma tribe's challenge to a decision that rejected its proposed liquor ordinance in a dispute over shared jurisdiction with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, agreeing with the district court that the complaint failed to identify a valid cause of action that entitles relief.

  • May 20, 2025

    Dem Lawmakers Reintroduce Supreme Court Ethics Bill

    Two Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday reintroduced bills in the House and Senate that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding ethics code and create new recusal and disclosure standards for the nine justices.

  • May 20, 2025

    UPS Can't Escape $75M Crash Award To Brain-Damaged Baby

    A Missouri appellate panel on Tuesday affirmed a jury's $65 million verdict plus about $10 million in interest in a suit accusing United Parcel Service of negligently causing a car crash resulting in a baby's brain damage, saying evidence regarding the driver's history of drug abuse was properly allowed.

  • May 20, 2025

    Full 11th Circ. Asked To Review Case Of Fla. Lodge Shooting

    A Virginia insurer petitioned for a full Eleventh Circuit panel hearing to review a three-judge opinion holding that a jury should decide whether it was in bad faith to not settle a case of a woman who was killed in a Florida lodge shooting, saying the ruling could make insurance more expensive.

  • May 20, 2025

    Assessing The Design Patent Impact Of LKQ, One Year Later

    It's been one year since the full Federal Circuit's LKQ v. GM decision threw out longstanding tests for determining if design patents are invalid as obvious, and attorneys say it's too soon to tell if the ruling will change invalidity results, but it has reshaped legal strategies.

  • May 20, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Affidavit Won't Sink Couple's Surgery Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected Southern Regional Medical Center and one of its nurses' arguments that a trial court should have tossed a married couple's lawsuit over injuries stemming from a hysterectomy over their failure to attach a required affidavit to their complaint.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Md. Retirees' Drug Benefits Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Maryland's defeat of a proposed class action alleging it broke promises made to retirees when it transitioned their prescription drug benefits to Medicare Part D, saying Tuesday that a lower court was right to toss the case.

  • May 20, 2025

    Wash. Panel Affirms Toss Of Vrbo Host's Rental Coverage Row

    Washington appellate judges refused to revive a Vrbo host's suit against a Liberty Mutual unit and a company that arranged a policyholder's temporary housing while her home was being repaired, saying the companies did not breach a nonexistent contract with the host by ceasing to pay the policyholder's rent.

  • May 20, 2025

    The Alien Enemies Act Cases: A Roundup

    Litigation over President Donald Trump’s March 14 proclamation invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act has moved at breakneck speed, spurring two U.S. Supreme Court decisions already while at least five different districts weigh his authority to invoke the wartime law. Here, Law360 catches you up on major developments in the litigation.

  • May 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Dad Didn't Show Sons' Hardships If Deported

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a Mexican father's bid for deportation relief based on extreme hardships he claimed his sons would face if they accompanied him to Mexico, saying in a published opinion that substantial evidence suggested otherwise.

  • May 20, 2025

    Texas A&M Says Prof's Pregnancy Leave Wasn't Under FMLA

    Texas A&M University told a state appellate court that it should be freed from a lawsuit brought by a professor who was denied tenure because she technically never took family medical leave as she claimed.

  • May 20, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Lab's Payment Suit Against Cigna

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that a New Jersey-based diagnostics laboratory brought to seek payments from Cigna Health & Life Insurance Co., holding that the lab's "failure to allege contract formation" defeated many of its claims and it has no standing under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • May 20, 2025

    Ill. Panel OKs $2.8M Foot Surgery Award, But Questions Bond

    An Illinois jury's $2.8 million verdict against a podiatrist accused of botching two foot surgeries should stand, but the trial court should reconsider a higher appeal bond if the defendants decide to pursue further review, a state appellate panel said Monday.

  • May 20, 2025

    Ex-NCAA Basketball Players Appealing NIL Denial To 2nd Circ.

    A group of 16 former men's basketball players suing the NCAA for unrealized name, image and likeness compensation filed notice Monday that they plan to appeal to the Second Circuit a New York federal court's decision to toss their lawsuit.

  • May 20, 2025

    NJ Justices Take Up Bond Marketing Suit Against Big Banks

    The New Jersey Supreme Court will review a lower appellate court's ruling in favor of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo and other big banks in a lawsuit accusing them of a scheme to inflate the interest rates of certain bonds, according to an order list the justices released Tuesday.

  • May 20, 2025

    Cozen O'Connor's Insurance Team Hires Former Deputy AG

    Veteran insurer-side litigator Frank Toddre II has joined Cozen O'Connor in Las Vegas from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, the business law firm announced, touting his experience as a former senior deputy attorney general in Nevada and a seasoned Ninth Circuit appellate and civil rights attorney.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circuit Won't Halt Order For Asylum-Seeker's Return

    A divided Fourth Circuit denied the Trump administration's request to halt a district court order requiring the government to bring back a 20-year-old Venezuelan with a pending asylum application who was deported to a Salvadoran prison despite a class settlement barring his removal.

  • May 20, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Finds Testimony Sufficed For Bad Advice Claim

    A divided Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday ordered the government to offer a North Carolina man another shot at a plea deal he rejected, finding his defense attorney's bad advice caused him to pass over the bargain and get saddled with a longer sentence.

  • May 20, 2025

    King & Spalding Pushes To Exit Long-Running Fla. Condo Suit

    A Florida state appellate court has granted a temporary stay to a long-running dispute over a Miami Beach condominium's amenities in order to review King & Spalding LLP's petition to leave the case after its attorneys cited irreconcilable differences with its client, condo owner Bath Club Entertainment LLC.

  • May 20, 2025

    State AGs Back NJ Judicial Privacy Law At 3rd Circ.

    Most states' attorneys general, along with law enforcement organizations and a data privacy group, have encouraged the Third Circuit to uphold a New Jersey judicial privacy measure, saying states have sovereignty to enact such laws in a time of increased threats against judges.

  • May 20, 2025

    1st Circ. Tosses Puerto Rican Players' MLB Antitrust Appeal

    The First Circuit has dismissed an appeal in a wage-fixing antitrust action filed by minor league players against the MLB and its teams, finding the players committed a critical error by not objecting to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the underlying case.

  • May 20, 2025

    Doctor's Disability Bias Claim Too Late, Mass. Court Says

    A former Brigham and Women's Hospital anesthesiologist and Harvard Medical School faculty member is time-barred from pursuing disability bias claims for actions by the hospital that he was aware of as early as 2006, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court has concluded.

  • May 19, 2025

    DC Circ. Ponders Letting Gov't Claw Back $20B In Green Funds

    The D.C. Circuit didn't seem convinced Monday morning that the Trump administration can't claw back $20 billion in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants that it's trying to cancel and divert elsewhere, hearing arguments over a preliminary injunction blocking the government from doing just that.

Expert Analysis

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

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    Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

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    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

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    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Discretionary Compensation Lessons From 7th Circ. Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Das v. Tata established that contract disclaimers don't automatically bar claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, underscoring the limits of compensation systems that purport to grant employers unilateral discretion, say attorneys at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • Gas Contract Fight Holds Lessons On Force Majeure Clauses

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    Ongoing litigation over gas deliveries during Winter Storm Uri underscores the need for precision and foresight when negotiating force majeure clauses in contracts — particularly in the energy sector, where climate-related disruptions and market volatility are inevitable, but often unpredictable, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Justices Likely To Stay In ERISA's Bounds On Pleadings

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    The arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell showed the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to resolve a circuit split regarding Employee Retirement Income Security Act pleading standards by staying within ERISA's confines, while instructing courts regarding what must be pled to survive a motion to dismiss, says Ryan Curtis at Fennemore Craig.

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