Appellate

  • April 17, 2026

    Starbucks Wins 5th Circ. Bid To Scrap NLRB Subpoena Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday vacated a National Labor Relations Board order that dinged Starbucks for sending overbroad subpoenas to pro-union employees, saying in a published opinion that the board applied the wrong legal standard for determining whether the coffeehouse chain committed an unfair labor practice.

  • April 17, 2026

    11th Circ. Revives Trademark Suit Against Frida Kahlo Family

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday agreed to resurrect a dispute between a company that claims to own various Frida Kahlo trademarks and Kahlo's family, ruling that a lower court erred in throwing out the case for lack of jurisdiction. 

  • April 17, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Doctor's PeaceHealth Whistleblower Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel has reinstated a psychiatrist's claims that PeaceHealth Inc. retaliated against him for expressing concerns about potential Medicaid fraud at a Washington hospital, concluding on Friday that the district court overlooked evidence that the employer punished him by not renewing his employment contract.

  • April 17, 2026

    Missed Deadline Fatal To Patient's Stapler Suit, 4th Circ. Says

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that a surgery patient's missed expert disclosure deadline rightfully ended his case seeking to hold Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC liable for allegedly faulty staples used in his procedure.

  • April 17, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs Lincoln Life's Long-Term Disability Denial

    The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court's order backing Lincoln Life Assurance Company of Boston's decision to terminate long-term disability benefits for a Mattress Firm manager who injured his back in a skiing accident, finding that he failed to show that he continued to be disabled.

  • April 17, 2026

    Advocates Get FCC Prison Call Rate Cases Moved To 1st Circ.

    The D.C. Circuit has agreed that a series of consolidated appeals brought by prison phone service providers and advocacy groups challenging the Federal Communications Commission's latest prison phone rate order belongs in front of the First Circuit.

  • April 17, 2026

    OpenAI Drops 9th Circ. Appeal Over 'Cameo' TM Block

    OpenAI has abandoned its Ninth Circuit appeal of an injunction blocking it from using the term "Cameo" in relation to a component of its artificial intelligence video generator Sora 2.

  • April 17, 2026

    Texas Panel Won't Revive Woman's Legal Malpractice Suit

    A Texas appeals panel will not revive a woman's legal malpractice suit alleging her former attorney botched a hearing, leading to an unfavorable settlement in a defamation case, saying she provided no proof that the attorney's conduct had any such negative effect.

  • April 17, 2026

    Settlement Ends High Court Fight Over Arbitration Deference

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed in a now-settled case relating to a vacated arbitral award favoring a former water treatment company director, which sought clarity from the justices on whether courts can second-guess the content of arbitral pleadings and filings.

  • April 17, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs School District In Black Worker's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal Friday of a Black Alabama school district worker's suit claiming she was transferred to a different job out of racial discrimination, ruling her employer showed the decision was based on her concerns about her workload, not her race.

  • April 17, 2026

    NY High Court Suspends Judge Over Racist Remarks

    A veteran judge who used the N-word among colleagues and claimed in court that a Black defendant was likely to be violent and "played the race card" has been suspended without pay by New York's highest court.

  • April 17, 2026

    Too Mentally Ill To Stand In Court, Texas Inmate Fights On

    A Texas death row prisoner who gouged out both of his eyes and suffers from schizoaffective disorder is fighting efforts to move forward with his execution, arguing that his severe psychosis leaves him unable to rationally understand why the state wants to kill him. His case highlights a broader debate over whether the Constitution should bar the execution of people with severe mental illness, even when they technically know they are on death row.

  • April 17, 2026

    Balancing The Scales: Juror Bias, First For Revenge Porn Law

    The California Supreme Court tossed the conviction and death sentence in a double slaying over the trial court's failures to investigate claims of juror bias, and an Ohio man is believed to be the first person in the nation convicted under a federal law intended to battle revenge porn.

  • April 17, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: SEC And FCC Enforcement Authority

    The U.S. Supreme Court's final argument session of this term kicks off Monday, when the justices will consider the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to seek disgorgement orders against alleged wrongdoers without proving investors were harmed. Here, Law360 breaks down the week's oral arguments.

  • April 17, 2026

    Texas Justice Calls Asbestos Dosage Decision 'Troubling'

    Texas Supreme Court justices declined an appeal brought after a lower court did not consider proof of asbestos dosage in its decision, but on Friday, Justice Evan Young wrote that the lower court's failure to do so was "troubling" even if the case wasn't a good fit for high court review.

  • April 17, 2026

    Ga. Panel Upholds New Trial In Prison Contraband Case

    A Georgia appeals court panel backed a new trial Friday for a woman who was convicted of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and crossing a guard line with drugs, rejecting the state's claim that a lower court dropped the ball. 

  • April 17, 2026

    Texas Justices Back Enviro Agency In Deadline Dispute

    The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Texas' environmental regulator timely requested input from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton before having to potentially disclose thousands of documents sought by the Sierra Club, finding its 10-business-day deadline didn't lapse.

  • April 17, 2026

    Verdict For Doctors Affirmed In Fatal E. Coli Infection Appeal

    An Illinois appellate panel on Friday affirmed a jury verdict clearing three physicians of liability in a wrongful death suit over a woman's death from septic shock stemming from an undiagnosed E. coli infection, rejecting arguments that evidentiary errors, expert testimony admissions and jury instruction issues warranted a new trial.

  • April 17, 2026

    Workers At 3 NJ Colleges Eligible For Union As Non-Managers

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld a state labor agency's finding that dozens of employees at three public colleges are eligible for union membership, rejecting the state's argument that the workers fall within a statutory carveout for managers.

  • April 17, 2026

    Ex-FERC Chair Backs Pa. AG's Intervention In Grid Fight

    Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Mark Christie voiced support for Pennsylvania's efforts to block a power grid project along its southern border in a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court Friday, asking the high court to allow the state's attorney general to challenge an appellate ruling that held federal law governed the project.

  • April 17, 2026

    Jail Attire Not Required For Witness, Mich. Appeals Court Says

    Jail attire is not required for trial witnesses who are incarcerated, a Michigan state appeals court has said in a published opinion that vacates a lower court's decision, stating that appearing in a jail uniform could undermine the witnesses' credibility with the jury.

  • April 17, 2026

    Thread Count Claims Clear, 9th Circ. Says, Reviving Target Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday found that a lower court erred in dismissing a proposed class action alleging that Target Corp. sold bedsheets claiming to be 100% cotton with a thread count of 600 or more, which can't be achieved with purely cotton fabric, saying that a reasonable consumer can still be deceived by a physically impossible claim.

  • April 17, 2026

    Tufts Grad Settles Immigration Cases, Returns To Turkey

    Tufts University graduate Rümeysa Öztürk has returned to her native Turkey after completing her doctorate and reaching a settlement with the federal government to end her immigration proceedings, her attorneys said Friday.

  • April 17, 2026

    Zales Worker's Age Bias Suit Lacks Evidence, 3rd Circ. Says

    The Third Circuit backed the dismissal of a Zales consultant's bias suit claiming she was fired from the jewelry chain for complaining that her colleagues commented negatively about her age, ruling she couldn't overcome evidence that concerns about her performance actually drove her termination.

  • April 17, 2026

    Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Judge Mulls DQ Over O'Melveny Ties

    The parties in a consumer lawsuit challenging Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines have been notified that the federal judge recently assigned to the case intends to disqualify himself unless they sign a waiver over one of his retirement accounts being tied to O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which is representing Alaska Airlines.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Opinion

    BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

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    If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Opinion

    CBP's $166B Tariff Refund Portal Needs 4 Safeguards

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    Before launching its automated web portal to process tariff-refund disbursements on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection should apply the expensive lessons learned from the pandemic-era employee retention credit, says Peter Gariepy at RubinBrown.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Tracing Paths To Award Recovery

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    Recent subpoenas to Adidas and Hilton deployed in Blasket Renewables v. Spain, pending in D.C. federal court, show arbitration award recovery to be a disciplined exercise in constructing visibility, applying pressure and sequencing procedural advantage, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • 5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

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    Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: April Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from three recent rulings involving allegations of racial discrimination in mortgage applications, health insurance networks and actual cash value losses.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Assessing EcoFactor's Impact On Damages Experts' Opinions

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    Though the Federal Circuit's ruling in EcoFactor v. Google gave rise to concerns that damages experts would be forced to rely on undisputed facts, recent case law suggests that those concerns are unwarranted, says Christopher Loh at Venable.

  • High Court Cert Case Would Test Sovereign Award Immunity

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    The D.C. Circuit's July 2025 Amaplat Mauritius v. Zimbabwe Mining Development decision appears to create a circuit split while elevating form over substance in a manner that, if left unreviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, could bar the courthouse doors for creditors holding arbitration awards against recalcitrant foreign sovereigns, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • 2nd Circ. Clarifies When Prior Good Acts May Be Admissible

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in U.S. v. Cardenas, vacating a drug conspiracy conviction over improperly excluded evidence, indicates that evidence of prior good acts may be admissible to corroborate a defendant's testimony about their understanding of events and intent, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

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    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • Lockdown To Ledger: COVID Rulings Inform Crypto Coverage

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    As cryptocurrencies move deeper into mainstream financial markets, courts tasked with determining whether traditional insurance policies respond to digital asset losses have been evaluating coverage through the analytical framework of COVID-19 business interruption litigation, with one key recurring theme, say attorneys at Kennedys.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

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    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

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