Appellate

  • April 14, 2026

    Colo. Justices Hesitant Of Facial Challenge To Agent Rule

    The Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant Tuesday to affirm a ruling from a Colorado state appeals court that invalidated a campaign finance requirement for ballot issue committees to list their registered agent on election communications.

  • April 14, 2026

    Ill. Panel Says $2.6M Rear-Ending Verdict Not Excessive

    An Illinois appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $2.56 million verdict awarded to a woman who was rear-ended at a drive-through ATM, saying that although the verdict might be "surprisingly" high, it's not so shocking that a new trial is warranted.

  • April 14, 2026

    Wash. Appeals Court Revives Podiatrist Trade Secrets Case

    An appeals court in Washington state has reinstated a case brought by a Seattle-area podiatry practice against a former employee accused of stealing patient data for his separate practice.

  • April 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms On-Sale Bar Ax Of Car Software Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld a decision invalidating a patent on modifying vehicle engine software because the invention was on sale before the patent was sought, siding with auto equipment maker Powerteq LLC and rejecting an argument that the ruling was based on hearsay.

  • April 14, 2026

    Grassley Says Cruz And Lee Top His List If Alito Retires

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that if U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito were to retire then he would recommend the president nominate either Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, or Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

  • April 14, 2026

    No 7th Circ. Redux Yet For Comcast Against Ad Marker Suit

    An Illinois federal judge refused to let Comcast seek immediate Seventh Circuit intervention against an order teeing up Viamedia's antitrust claims accusing it of forcing advertisers to use its internal ads system, concluding that nothing about the contested midcase question of market definition would speed up resolution.

  • April 14, 2026

    3rd Circ. Upholds J&J Injunction Bid Loss In Biosimilar Fight

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday ruled that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary couldn't justify its bid for an order blocking Samsung Bioepis from paving the way for a Cigna unit to launch a generic version of an anti-inflammatory treatment.

  • April 14, 2026

    DC Circ. Halts Boasberg's 'Unnecessary' Alien Enemies Probe

    A split D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday halted for the second time U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's criminal contempt probe of Trump administration officials for willfully violating his order barring removals of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

  • April 14, 2026

    Jeld-Wen, Steves Close The Door On 10-Year Merger Fight

    The nearly decade-old fight between two doormakers, which resulted in the first-ever court ordered divestiture in a private merger challenge, is officially done and dusted after the Virginia federal court that has been overseeing the case granted Jeld-Wen's request to drop its claims.

  • April 14, 2026

    8th Circ. Sets Hearing In SD Tribe's Debt Overcollection Suit

    The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments next month in the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe's bid to revive its claims that the federal government overcollected millions on a school debt obligation.

  • April 14, 2026

    IOLTA Group Owed Notice Of Settlements, Mass. Justices Say

    Massachusetts' highest court said Tuesday that a committee overseeing lawyers' trust accounts should have been given a chance to request potential leftover funds prior to a judge's approval of a class action settlement, but saw no reason to unwind the deal.

  • April 14, 2026

    Tesla Drivers Urge 9th Circ. To Preserve False Ad Class

    California drivers have told the Ninth Circuit that they've offered sufficient evidence of Tesla's pervasive and misleading advertising to forge ahead with their certified class claims alleging Tesla deceived consumers into believing that its cars could fully drive themselves.

  • April 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Suggests High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

    The Seventh Circuit appeared reluctant Tuesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, with judges pointing to a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

  • April 14, 2026

    Ginsburg Hack Conviction Upheld For Man Who Blamed Cat

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed Tuesday a former hospital transplant coordinator's conviction for illegally accessing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's healthcare records, upholding a ruling that the defendant was not improperly coerced when he told FBI agents a coworker or his cat may have been responsible.

  • April 14, 2026

    10th Circ. Says BIA Must Reconsider Salvadoran's Asylum Bid

    The Tenth Circuit revived a Salvadoran national's asylum request after she said she was beaten and sexually assaulted in retaliation for suing certain MS-13 gang members, finding the Board of Immigration Appeals appeared to adopt a "self-contradictory" rationale.

  • April 14, 2026

    5th Circ. Says Cops Are Immune For Seizing Items In Plain View

    The Fifth Circuit has found a group of Louisiana police officers are entitled to qualified immunity in a Fourth Amendment lawsuit for seizing electronics and furniture they said were stolen and discovered during an unrelated raid.

  • April 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Won't Rehear Allergan Overcharge Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday denied a rehearing petition lodged after a panel revived a whistleblower suit accusing an Allergan Sales LLC predecessor of overcharging Medicaid.

  • April 14, 2026

    Buyers Seek Final Approval Of $4.85M Bayer Benzene Deal

    A class of consumers is asking a New Jersey federal court to give final approval of a $4.85 million settlement to resolve claims that Bayer US LLC's antifungal products were contaminated with benzene.

  • April 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Orders New Trial For Ex-ComEd CEO, Lobbyist

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday ordered the release of the former CEO and a former lobbyist of Commonwealth Edison on bond pending a new trial, just hours after hearing arguments on their bids to unwind convictions for allegedly funneling and hiding payments to ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's allies.

  • April 14, 2026

    Pa. Justices Question US Steel's Duty To Pay Attys For Testing

    Pennsylvania's Supreme Court questioned Tuesday whether a state law governing cleanup of hazardous sites allows neighbors of a long-closed zinc plant to sue for future remediation and health monitoring when the only costs so far had been incurred by lawyers who fronted the first round of testing.

  • April 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Nixes Bailiff's Immunity Appeal As Premature

    A split Seventh Circuit panel dismissed a court bailiff's interlocutory appeal, finding that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine whether the deputy had qualified immunity in a civil suit accusing him of failing to intervene when another bailiff wrongly told a jury they could not deadlock in a kidnapping case.

  • April 14, 2026

    Nevada Tribe Asks High Court To Revive $208M Water Claim

    A Nevada tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Federal Circuit decision to dismiss its $208 million breach of trust claims against the United States, telling the justices that without intervention the ruling will reduce their homelands to "useless sand without water."

  • April 14, 2026

    Screening Time Deal Doesn't Bar Break Suit, Wash. Panel Says

    An eldercare company's class settlement over COVID-19 screening time doesn't bar a separate suit claiming the company failed to pay workers for missed meal breaks, a Washington state appeals court ruled, reviving the break claims.

  • April 13, 2026

    Exxon Can't Halt Heat Death Suit Ahead Of Climate Tort Ruling

    A Washington state court judge has denied an attempt by Exxon and other major oil and gas producers to pause a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over a 2021 Seattle heat wave death until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the viability of climate torts in a Colorado case.

  • April 13, 2026

    Parents Must Prove They Can't Refuse Arbitration, 9th Circ. Says

    A California federal judge must take a fresh look at parts of IXL Learning Inc.'s bid to arbitrate a proposed class action alleging the education technology company unlawfully collected and sold children's personal information, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the lower court "misallocated the burden of proof on mutual assent."

Expert Analysis

  • How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Appellate Strategy Lessons From Pa. Excess Coverage Ruling

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    In FedEx v. National Union Fire Insurance, a Pennsylvania state court recently set forth a clear holding that policyholders may recover postjudgment interest under excess liability insurance policies only when the policy language expressly allows, offering important takeaways for planning appeals, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Defense Counsel Options Widen As No-Bill Rate Increases

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    Citizens impaneled on grand juries in politically motivated cases who are reasserting their role as a critical check on state power could provide criminal defense attorneys an opportunity to pursue seldom-used preindictment strategies, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For 'Made In America' Ad Scrutiny

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    The Trump administration's executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in consumer-facing advertising, along with actions by the Federal Trade Commission, suggest a potential increased focus on consumer protection and pricing-related matters, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Similar-Looking Designs May Not Always Prove Infringement

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Range of Motion Products v. Armaid is a reminder that even a strikingly similar design might not be found to infringe upon a patented design once design features driven by functionality are filtered out from consideration, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Pension Case Offers Entertainment Work Exception Insights

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that any amount of entertainment work can satisfy the entertainment industry exception under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, reinforcing that statutory language, rather than evolving business models, dictates withdrawal liability outcomes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Justices May Hesitate To Limit Courts' Arbitration Review

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    Based on Monday's argument in Jules v. Andre Balazs, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to preserve federal jurisdiction over arbitral award enforcement stemming from actions originated in federal court, a holding that would markedly limit the court's 2022 Walters v. Badgerow decision, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • State FARA Laws Pose Unique Constitutional Challenges

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    Several states have recently enacted foreign agent registration and disclosure regimes that were modeled after the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but these state laws raise several constitutional questions, including concerns about preemption, speech and petition, and vagueness, says Alexandra Langton at Covington.

  • Series

    Pa. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of 2026 brought several consequential developments for Pennsylvania financial institutions, including the state banking department's first assessment overhaul in 10 years, a bill prohibiting interchange fees on card transaction sales taxes and a federal appeals court's upholding of a $52 million enforcement action, say attorneys at Gross McGinley.

  • Determining When Engineered Biologics May Be Patentable

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Regenxbio v. Sarepta, concluding that engineered cells with DNA from different organisms are not patent-ineligible natural phenomena, raises questions surrounding what framework courts will use to evaluate the patent eligibility of engineered biologics moving forward, says Robert Frederickson at Goodwin.

  • In First For DOJ, Action Signals New CFIUS Enforcement Era

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    The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking judicial enforcement of a divestment order, an unprecedented action for the agency that ushers in a new phase for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, one in which judicial proceedings complement administrative oversight and presidential divestment orders may be enforced through litigation, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • 6th Circ. Can Extend Insurance Valuation Clarity Beyond Auto

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    In rehearing Clippinger v. State Farm, the Sixth Circuit can align itself with the recent drumbeat of other circuits rejecting class certification of auto total loss claims and set standards that apply to similar claims brought under homeowners and other types of insurance policies, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

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