Appellate

  • February 10, 2026

    Justices Asked To Review $600M Train Derailment Deal

    Norfolk Southern and residents affected by the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment who reached a $600 million class settlement told the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday they don't plan to respond to objectors' petition seeking review of the Sixth Circuit's decision to toss their appeals of the settlement.

  • February 10, 2026

    7th Circ. Mulls Taking Sides In Arbitration Enforcement Split

    Seventh Circuit judges Tuesday debated a nationwide circuit split over who decides whether disputes belong in arbitration, seemingly leaning toward joining circuits that leave the question to courts instead of arbitrators.

  • February 10, 2026

    5th Circ. Says Bank Worker's ERISA Claims Can Be Arbitrated

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday held that a former employee at a Texas-based bank must arbitrate his proposed class claims accusing the bank of failing to invest retirement funds, reversing a lower court's finding that the arbitration clause didn't apply to him because it was added after his employment ended.

  • February 10, 2026

    Appeals Judge Questions Sanctions In Hurricane Straps Suit

    A Ninth Circuit judge on Tuesday said he's "scratching [his] head" over a magistrate judge's order sanctioning Robins Kaplan lawyers for "baseless filings" in the first version of a complaint later amended over allegedly corroding construction connectors and fasteners, saying it might just "not have been the best written complaint."

  • February 10, 2026

    7th Circ. Mulls Outcome Health Execs' $1B Fraud Convictions

    Seventh Circuit judges hearing former Outcome Health executives' challenge to a $1 billion fraud conviction seemed critical of the U.S. government's handling of the case on Tuesday as they questioned why its admitted asset over-restraint and introduction of certain grand jury statements should not require reversal.

  • February 10, 2026

    Audit Watchdog Says Anonymous Challenger Must Reveal ID

    The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has told the D.C. Circuit that a man anonymously challenging the constitutionality of the audit watchdog should be required to identify himself, arguing that he has offered "almost nothing to substantiate his claimed need for privacy."

  • February 10, 2026

    Tom Goldstein To Testify At Tax Trial Wednesday

    SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein will take the stand in his tax fraud trial Wednesday, after the government rested its case with an IRS agent tallying up $3.6 million that she said went unreported on his 2016 tax return.

  • February 10, 2026

    DC Circ. Seeks End To Atty Fight Over Fees From IRS Deal

    The D.C. Circuit wants to stop a fight over almost $800,000 in attorney fees from a suit against the Internal Revenue Service that was settled years ago, telling the parties' counsel during oral arguments Tuesday they'd like to put the matter to bed for good.

  • February 10, 2026

    Texas Justices Seek 'Universal' Rule On Pretrial Motions

    A Texas Supreme Court justice on Tuesday pressed Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for more specifics on his position that a trial court implicitly ruled on a jurisdictional challenge in litigation over the $10 billion price tag for Austin's planned light rail system, suggesting a "universal rule" was needed.

  • February 10, 2026

    Circuit Split Brewing Following 5th Circ.'s No-Bond Ruling

    The Fifth Circuit's split ruling blessing the Trump administration's mandatory immigration detention policy won't be the final say on the matter, but it could supercharge efforts to concentrate detained immigrants there while other circuits weigh the policy's legality.

  • February 10, 2026

    Fla. Social Media Ban Violates Teens' Rights, 11th Circ. Told

    Snap Inc. is fighting Florida's attempt to keep a state law restricting teenagers' social media use, telling the Eleventh Circuit that children also have a First Amendment right to speech on the internet regarding matters of public importance. 

  • February 10, 2026

    Trump Is Owed Deference On Harvard Student Block, DOJ Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the First Circuit this week that President Donald Trump's expansive authority over foreign affairs calls for it to overturn a ruling that blocked a proclamation suspending the ability of foreign students to enter the country to attend Harvard.

  • February 10, 2026

    Feds Argue Russian Billionaire Lacks Yacht Ownership

    The U.S. Department of Justice urged the Second Circuit to affirm a district court decision that authorized the United States to sell a Russian billionaire's seized superyacht, arguing he can't suffer the loss of something he barely owns.

  • February 10, 2026

    9th Circ. Says DHS Likely To Beat TPS Termination Challenge

    The Ninth Circuit has hit pause on a district court's order that vacated the Trump administration's termination of temporary protected status for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, saying the administration will likely succeed on challenging the vacatur order.

  • February 10, 2026

    9th Circ. Panel Wary Of Reviving Wash. Gas Appliance Suit

    Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Tuesday of a building industry coalition's argument that the Washington State Building Code Council and state attorney general can be sued over a regulation limiting natural gas appliances in new construction.

  • February 10, 2026

    Texas Justices Unsure Appraisal Is Avoidable In $40M Claim

    The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday wanted to know why the owner of a building that allegedly suffered over $40 million worth of damage after extreme flooding should get to avoid an appraisal its insurer demanded, noting that the owner had already agreed to it.

  • February 10, 2026

    FERC Wins DC Circ. Backing In Power Auction Fight

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday backed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders approving regional grid operator PJM Interconnection's proposal to bar energy efficiency resources from participating in its electricity capacity auctions.

  • February 10, 2026

    Robinhood Asks Justices To Rein In Pre-IPO Disclosure Suits

    Robinhood Markets Inc. is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an investor dispute stemming from its $2.1 billion initial public offering, arguing that the Ninth Circuit's decision to revive the lawsuit "exposes companies seeking to go public to expansive liability."

  • February 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Save Co.'s Armor Panel IP Suit Against Rival

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday agreed with a Maryland federal court's decision that a company didn't infringe a bulletproof armor patent owned by a rival antiballistic panel manufacturer, finding the lower court took the correct approach to a key claim preamble.

  • February 10, 2026

    Wash. Panel Says Healthcare Cost-Share Group Is An Insurer

    A Utah-based healthcare cost-sharing nonprofit operates as and must register as an insurer under Washington state law, a state appeals panel ruled, upholding a $50,000 fine from the state's insurance commissioner that found the nonprofit ran afoul of Washington insurance law. 

  • February 10, 2026

    Baseball's Antitrust Shield Can't Stand, Team Tells Justices

    The federal antitrust exemption granted to baseball by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1922 was wrong then and remains wrong despite the argument by the Puerto Rican league defending it, according to the team petitioning it for review.

  • February 10, 2026

    11th Circ. Revives Overtime Case For Death Investigators

    The work that six forensic death investigators performed was not directly linked to the general operations of a forensic pathology company, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Tuesday, ordering a new trial in the workers' suit seeking unpaid overtime.

  • February 10, 2026

    2nd Circ. Revives Photographer's Case Against Shutterstock

    The Second Circuit revived some of a landscape photographer's case against photo licensing database Shutterstock Inc. on Tuesday, finding that while there was nothing in evidence showing Shutterstock intended to change copyright management information, the company's "right and ability to control" the infringing activity should be litigated further.

  • February 10, 2026

    NC Justices Told Not To Disturb Lindberg's $122M Penalty

    A group of insurance companies that say convicted billionaire Greg Lindberg is responsible for their "financial ruin" are fighting to keep in place a $122 million contempt order against him, telling North Carolina's highest court there's no compelling reason to review the decision.

  • February 10, 2026

    NJ Panel Says Assault Finding Warrants Restraining Order

    A New Jersey appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a woman should be granted a restraining order after she successfully proved that her husband, with whom she is in the midst of divorce proceedings, assaulted her.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In Possible Circuit Split On Medicaid Rule

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    A recent Eleventh Circuit decision, reviving Florida's lawsuit against a federal rule that reduces Medicaid funding based on agreements between hospitals, sets up a potential circuit split with the Fifth Circuit, with important ramifications for states looking to private administrators to run provider tax programs, say Liz Goodman, Karuna Seshasai and Rebecca Pitt at FTI Consulting.

  • Takeaways From 8th Circ. Ruling On Worker's 'BLM' Display

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Home Depot v. National Labor Relations Board, finding that Home Depot legally prohibited an employee from displaying Black Lives Matter messaging on his uniform, reaffirms employers' right to restrict politically sensitive material, but should not be read as a blank check, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • NC Ruling Shows Mallory's Evolving Effects For Policyholders

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    A recent North Carolina decision, PDII v. Sky Aircraft, demonstrates how the U.S. Supreme Court's consequential jurisdiction decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern may permit suits against insurers anywhere they do business so long as the forum state has a business registration statute that requires submitting to in-state lawsuits, says Christopher Popecki at Pillsbury.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Closure Highlights Labor Law Stakes

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    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's recently announced closure, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied relief from an injunction mandating that the newspaper restore terms from its previous collective bargaining agreement, illustrates that prematurely declaring an impasse and implementing unilateral changes carries risk, says Sunshine Fellows at Freeman Mathis.

  • Unpacking Dormant Commerce Clause Cannabis Circuit Split

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    Federal courts have reached differing conclusions as to whether state-legal cannabis is subject to the dormant commerce clause, with four opinions across three circuit courts in the last year demonstrating the continued salience of the dormant commerce clause debate to the nation's cannabis industry, regulators and policymakers, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Texas AG Wields Consumer Protection Law Against Tech Cos.

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted technology companies using the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a broadly worded statute that gives the attorney general wide latitude to pursue claims beyond traditional consumer protection, creating unique litigation risks, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • Emerging Themes In Nevada High Court Civil Litigation

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    The Nevada Supreme Court issued a series of significant civil rulings in 2025 that reflect recurring themes: a restrained approach to personal jurisdiction, heightened expectations of professionalism, close scrutiny of trial conduct, and a willingness to enforce contractual provisions that other jurisdictions might reject, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.

  • What To Know As Courts Rethink McDonnell-Douglas

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    Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined the latest opportunity to address the viability of the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework used in employment discrimination and retaliation claims, two justices and courts around the country are increasingly seeking to abandon it, which could potentially lead to more trials and higher litigation budgets, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • A Primer On Law Enforcement Self-Defense Doctrine

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    In the wake of several shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, misconceptions persist about what the laws governing police use of force actually permit, and it’s essential for legal practitioners to understand the contours of the underlying constitutional doctrine, says Markus Funk at White & Case.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • How Specificity, Self-Dealing Are Shaping ERISA Litigation

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    Several recent cases, including the U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, illustrate the competing forces shaping excessive fee litigation, with plaintiffs seeking flexibility, courts demanding specificity, fiduciaries facing increased scrutiny for conflicts of interest, and self-dealing amplifying exposure, says James Beall at Willig Williams.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Terminations Galore

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    Three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals provide valuable insights about sticking to a contract's plain language, navigating breach of contract claims, and jurisdictional limits on reinstatement of a canceled contract, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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