Appellate

  • August 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive RFCyber Mobile Data Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a mobile payment patent owned by RFCyber Corp., backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that a prior patent application rendered it obvious.

  • August 14, 2025

    NC Lawmaker's Judicial Campaign Returns Lobbyists' Money

    A Republican state lawmaker in North Carolina has returned lobbyists' donations to her judicial campaign after the contributions came under scrutiny for potentially violating state campaign finance laws, her campaign adviser confirmed Thursday to Law360.

  • August 14, 2025

    Anthropic Asks 9th Circ. To Halt AI Copyright Trial For Appeal

    Artificial intelligence developer Anthropic has urged the Ninth Circuit to overturn a California federal judge's refusal to delay trial in a copyright lawsuit from authors who allege their works were illegally obtained to train the company's large language model, Claude.

  • August 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Publicly Reprimands Ghosting NY Attorney

    The Second Circuit has rebuked a New York attorney who was removed from a case for disappearing on his client while appealing criminal migrant smuggling charges, and then failing to respond to a court order for years.

  • August 14, 2025

    3rd Circ. Clarifies 'New Evidence' In Immigration Cases

    The Third Circuit on Thursday declined to stop the deportation of a Guatemalan citizen, determining that although the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in finding the birth of his daughter was introduced too late in his appeal, the error was ultimately harmless.

  • August 14, 2025

    Justices Allow Mississippi's Social Media Age Verification Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that social media giants like Facebook, X, YouTube and Reddit must comply with a Mississippi law that requires platforms to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors can create accounts, while the companies challenge its constitutionality.

  • August 14, 2025

    Pa. Court Rejects Challenge To Alternative Energy Regs

    A state appeals court swatted down challenges to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission regulations that put grid improvement and connection costs onto customers with solar and other alternative energy systems that generate excess power for sale to distribution companies.

  • August 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Denies NFL Arbitration In Flores Case

    Fired Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores won efforts to keep his racial discrimination claims against the NFL in federal court, with the Second Circuit finding Thursday that the league cannot force him into arbitration because the organization has unilateral control over the process.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Court Says Developer Can Build On Contested Property

    A Florida appellate court has partially reversed a man's lower court win in his easement dispute with a developer that wanted to build a single-family home and install a seawall on the company's purchased Santa Rosa County property, ruling that the developer was wrongfully barred by the lower court from working on the property.

  • August 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Sanctions In Abandoned Suit Against Dylan

    In a precedential ruling, the Second Circuit upheld limited fee sanctions imposed by a Manhattan federal judge against attorneys found to have violated a discovery order and committed other wrongs, despite having been warned, in a now-abandoned sexual assault suit against Bob Dylan.

  • August 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Upholds Toss Of Video Privacy Suit Against Paper

    The D.C. Circuit has refused to revive a proposed class action accusing the Washington Examiner of illegally sharing website visitors' video-viewing information with Meta, finding that the plaintiff had failed to show that she "subscribed" to the content that she accessed online rather than through her newsletter subscription.

  • August 13, 2025

    Mich. Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Great Lakes Fishing Pact

    A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision to uphold a 2023 decree governing fishery management in the Great Lakes, saying the document was negotiated over its objections, restricts its treaty rights and will micromanage the waters for the next quarter-century.

  • August 13, 2025

    6th Circ. Clarifies Class Cert. Standard In FirstEnergy Suit

    A class of FirstEnergy investors suing in the wake of a $1 billion bribery scandal should not have been certified, the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying the district court applied the wrong standard, but indicated the class could be recertified on remand.

  • August 13, 2025

    4th, 11th Circs. Shoot Down Local Gov't Cell Tower Denials

    Both the Fourth and the Eleventh Circuits issued decisions Wednesday allowing cell tower companies to move forward with projects over the objections of local governments that denied them permission.

  • August 13, 2025

    Ga. Defends Polling Place Food And Water Ban At 11th Circ.

    The state of Georgia urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to restore a ban on handing out food and water to voters in line after it was partially blocked by a federal district judge, telling a panel that the First Amendment controversy over the restriction shouldn't outweigh the state's interest in maintaining order at polling places.

  • August 13, 2025

    Mich. Panel Says Teen's 67-Year Term 'Does Not Pass Muster'

    A Michigan man who was sentenced to at least 67 years in prison for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 will be resentenced after a state appeals court ruled the punishment was unconstitutionally long.

  • August 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Greenlights Expansive Use Of Discovery Statute

    The Ninth Circuit ruled for the first time that documents produced under a foreign discovery statute may be used in proceedings other than those identified in a petition, affirming an Oregon federal court decision in an acrimonious dispute over control of a Luxembourg-based investment fund.

  • August 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Indemnity Ruling In Still-Pending Injury Row

    A New York federal court didn't err in declaring that a subcontractor's insurer had a duty to indemnify a property owner in a worker's construction injury lawsuit that is still pending, the Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday, even though the underlying court later found the original indemnity agreement invalid.

  • August 13, 2025

    Edible Arrangements Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Trademark Suit

    Attorneys for Edible Arrangements on Wednesday urged the Eleventh Circuit to overturn the dismissal of its trademark infringement suit against 1-800-Flowers, arguing a lower court wrongly found the action was barred by a prior settlement between the parties related to similar conduct.

  • August 13, 2025

    Trump Admin Bid To Kill SSA Data Suit Ruled Premature

    The Trump administration can't fight an injunction in Maryland federal court and the Fourth Circuit simultaneously, a Maryland federal judge said Wednesday, tabling the administration's dismissal bid while the Fourth Circuit considers whether to lift a ban on the Department of Government Efficiency accessing unredacted Social Security data.

  • August 13, 2025

    8th Circ. Revives Ark. Ban On Youth Gender-Affirming Care

    A split Eighth Circuit en banc panel revived an Arkansas state law banning gender-affirming care for minors, finding that a district court erred in blocking the law because it does not discriminate based on sex but instead classifies based only on age and medical procedure.

  • August 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Greenlights Trump's Freeze On Foreign Aid

    A divided D.C. Circuit on Wednesday lifted an injunction requiring the Trump administration to release funding for foreign aid work done before Feb. 13, with a dissenting judge saying the decision lets the administration sidestep judicial review of unconstitutional actions.

  • August 13, 2025

    10th Circ. Orders Redo Of 14-Year Fentanyl Sentence

    The 10th Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a man's criminal conviction for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl but ordered a Wyoming federal court to redo his sentencing, saying in a published opinion that the lower court relied on unreliable hearsay from a confidential source.

  • August 13, 2025

    Wash. Court Allows Vacated Conviction DNA To Prove Rape

    A Washington state appeals court on Wednesday affirmed a sentence of up to life in prison for a man convicted of rape, finding the state could use DNA taken from him in connection with a vacated drug conviction to match forensic evidence because state law permitted testing any sample in possession to solve crimes.

  • August 13, 2025

    Fla. Court Rules 50% Property Transfer Resets Tax Cap

    A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that the transfer of 50% ownership of a commercial property constituted a change of ownership under state law, making the property ineligible for the 10% annual cap on any increase in assessed value for property tax purposes.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

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    If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

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    In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules

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    The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • 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.

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