Appellate

  • April 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Calls Compassionate Release Change A 'Power Grab'

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission overstepped by telling prisoners serving unusually long sentences that they can seek early release due to changes in sentencing law, the Sixth Circuit ruled Tuesday, deeming the move "a heavy-handed and unseemly power grab by the commission." 

  • April 23, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Web Patent Suit Against Meta, Others

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday backed a district court's denial of an inventor's bid to undo a finding that a website hot spot patent he accused Meta, Microsoft and others of infringing was invalid, rejecting his argument he didn't get a fair shot when he was at the Federal Circuit before because U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman was on an earlier panel.

  • April 23, 2025

    Justices Hint That Fuel Groups Can Fight Emissions Waiver

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared to back a contention from fuel industry groups that they have standing to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver allowing California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • April 23, 2025

    Severance Deal Bars 401(K) Suit, Whataburger Tells 5th Circ.

    Whataburger asked the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday to uphold the dismissal of an ex-worker's suit claiming the company failed to trim underperforming investment funds from its $215 million retirement plan, stating the lower court correctly found a release he signed doomed his case.

  • April 23, 2025

    'Minute Entry' Isn't A Real Judicial Order, 2nd Circ. Told

    A Second Circuit panel on Wednesday seemed skeptical of a plastic resin producer's claim that a Connecticut federal district judge's oral ruling and follow-up minute entry weren't formal orders triggering a deadline to appeal several contract dispute losses totaling $1.7 million.

  • April 23, 2025

    Judge Lifts Biocon Eye Med Biosimilar Ban After Settlement

    A West Virginia federal judge has vacated a permanent injunction that had blocked Biocon Biologics Inc. from selling a biosimilar to Regeneron's blockbuster eye medication Eylea in the U.S., citing a settlement agreement in the patent litigation allowing sales of the biosimilar in 2026.

  • April 23, 2025

    Plastic Co. Asks 1st Circ. To Undo Class Cert In PFOA Suit

    Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Co. told the First Circuit that a New Hampshire federal judge's overly broad class certification for plaintiffs claiming it contaminated thousands of properties with a toxic forever chemical must be reversed, arguing that it opened courthouse doors to uninjured class members.

  • April 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Asked To Modify Ruling In LA Port Co. Coverage Row

    A Los Angeles port operator's insurer asked a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit to rethink part of its decision ordering a jury trial on the amount of defense costs the operator incurred while litigating pollution claims brought by the city, arguing they improperly relied on a depublished decision.

  • April 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Preserves Enbridge's Pipeline Suit Against Mich.

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday said Enbridge Energy LP can pursue its lawsuit challenging Michigan's decision to revoke an easement for a natural gas and oil pipeline, rejecting the state's argument that it was protected by sovereign immunity.

  • April 23, 2025

    Allstate Denied Appeal In Fla. Suit Involving 'Phantom' Vehicle

    A Florida state appellate court Wednesday denied Allstate insurance company's appeal in a collision lawsuit involving a "phantom" car, saying witnesses' general denial of ever seeing the vehicle isn't enough to overcome the inference that it didn't exist.

  • April 23, 2025

    Feds Ask 1st Circ. To Pause Block On '3rd Country' Removals

    The Trump administration has asked the First Circuit to lift an order restricting deportations to countries where migrants have no prior ties and may face safety risks, describing the Massachusetts federal judge's ruling as an "unlawful" overreach.

  • April 23, 2025

    SCOTUSblog Sold Amid Goldstein's Criminal Case

    SCOTUSblog has been sold to digital media company The Dispatch, according to announcements from both publications Wednesday, marking a new chapter for the U.S. Supreme Court-focused legal publication while its co-founder Tom Goldstein faces criminal charges.

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Atlanta Atty Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Sex Harassment Suit

    A former attorney for the city of Atlanta urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to revive her sexual harassment and disability discrimination suit against the city alleging she was fired after complaining that her boss, a prominent civil rights lawyer, made sexual advances towards her.

  • April 23, 2025

    Immigration Board Won't Halt Removal Of Ex-Gang Member

    The Board of Immigration Appeals said a former MS-13 gang member has not met his burden to show that he is more likely than not to be tortured in El Salvador, reversing an immigration judge's decision deferring his removal.

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Ky. Dinsmore L&E Atty Joins Cozen O'Connor In Chicago

    Cozen O'Connor announced Wednesday that an employment and appellate litigator from Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is joining its Chicago office after 15 years practicing in Kentucky.

  • April 23, 2025

    5th Circ. Nixes Order Letting Union Join NLRB Challenge

    The Fifth Circuit has walked back an order allowing the Office and Professional Employees International Union to intervene in a high-profile case challenging the National Labor Relations Board's constitutionality, saying the union's interests are adequately spelled out in its amicus brief and represented by the board.

  • April 23, 2025

    Governor Taps Appellate Judge For Michigan Supreme Court

    Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Noah P. Hood was picked Wednesday to fill a vacancy on the state's highest court left by the chief justice's resignation this month.

  • April 23, 2025

    Mo. Counties, State Argue For Cannabis Tax At High Court

    A county is a local government and should be allowed to impose a 3% additional sales tax on adult-use cannabis, two counties and the Missouri revenue director told the state Supreme Court.

  • April 23, 2025

    Vanderbilt QB Fights To Protect NCAA Eligibility At 6th Circ.

    Attorneys for Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia urged the Sixth Circuit to leave in place a lower court's rebuke of the NCAA's rule limiting eligibility for junior-college athletes, stressing that the disputed restrictions are a flagrant violation of antitrust law.

  • April 23, 2025

    Judge Likely To Block Trump Collective-Bargaining Ban

    A D.C. federal judge appeared ready on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's executive order threatening to strip as many as 100,000 federal employees of their collective bargaining power, saying the order seems to target unions because they've challenged his actions, not because of any purported national security justification.

  • April 23, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Halts Ballot Curing In NC Top Court Race

    A split Fourth Circuit panel froze the North Carolina Supreme Court's order requiring the Tar Heel State elections board to start a "curing process" for allegedly deficient ballots in a judicial election that a Republican judge is contesting, agreeing with the incumbent Democratic justice that her constitutional claims must be resolved first.

  • April 22, 2025

    Trump Appointees Raise Eyebrows At Trans Troop Ban

    Despite a panel made mostly of Trump appointees, the D.C. Circuit seemed skeptical Tuesday morning as it heard out the government's argument for why it should be allowed to implement its ban on transgender troops in the military while litigation challenging that policy plays out.

  • April 22, 2025

    Texas Court Questions $55M Arbitration Award's Validity

    A Texas appeals panel asked why a $55 million arbitration award to the former director of a Dallas alternative asset investment company can't float just because the arbitrator based the damages on securities filings, saying Tuesday that arbitrators have broad discretion to determine damages.

  • April 22, 2025

    'Contract' Key To Law School Loan Appeal, Conn. Court Told

    A Florida employment attorney is wrong to argue that a family court order qualifies as a contract, counsel for the mother of his child told the Connecticut Appellate Court on Tuesday in defending her win in an unjust enrichment case over his student loan payments.

  • April 22, 2025

    Justices Struggle To Grasp IRS Determination To Collect Debt

    U.S. Supreme Court justices struggled Tuesday to understand the significance of an IRS determination that compelled a woman to continue litigating a 2010 tax debt that the agency zeroed out while her suit in Tax Court was pending over the determination that she still owed taxes. 

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

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    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • A Defendant's Guide To 4 Common CFPB Discovery Tactics

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    With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent flurry of new lawsuits showing no signs of stopping, defendants should know the bureau's most relied-upon discovery strategies — and be prepared to resist them, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • What Employment Bias Litigation Looks Like After Muldrow

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    Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court created an undemanding standard for discrimination claims in Muldrow v. St. Louis, Eric Schnapper at the University of Washington discusses how the Title VII litigation landscape has changed and what to expect moving forward.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.

  • Royal Canin Ruling Won't Transform Removal Jurisdiction

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Royal Canin USA v. Wullschleger means that federal district courts must now remand whenever an amended complaint excises grounds for federal jurisdiction — but given existing litigation strategy and case law trends, this may ultimately preserve, rather than alter, the status quo, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: Nov. And Dec. Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving takings clause violations, breach of contract with banks, life insurance policies, employment and automobile defects.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

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    A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • UK Lawyers Can Access Broad US Discovery To Win Cases

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    Given its breadth, U.S. discovery can be a powerful tool in litigation in the U.K. and other jurisdictions outside the U.S., and a survey of recent cases indicates that discovery requests made in the U.S. are likely to be granted — with many applications even proceeding without contest, say lawyers at Miller & Chevalier.

  • 7 Employment Contracts Issues Facing DOL Scrutiny

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    A growing trend of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement against employment practices that limit workers' rights and avoid legal responsibility shines a light on seven unique contractual provisions that violate federal labor laws, and face agressive litigation from the labor solicitor, says Thomas Starks at Freeman Mathis.

  • Ruling Shows High Court Willing To Limit Immigration Review

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas is the latest demonstration of the court’s readiness to limit judicial review in the immigration space, a notable break from other recent decisions that expanded judicial review of agency decisions in other areas, says Mark Fleming at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

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    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

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