Appellate

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Blocks Meta's MDL Discovery Against State Agencies

    The Ninth Circuit blocked an order requiring California's attorney general and third-party state agencies to respond to Meta's discovery demands in multidistrict litigation concerning the company's allegedly addictive designs, ruling Friday the attorney general isn't deemed to possess or control the state agencies' records and Meta must obtain them through subpoenas.

  • August 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Weighing $47M Award Is Told Due Process At Stake

    A Mexican businessman at the center of an allegedly fraudulent loan scheme underpinning an international tribunal's $47 million award to a Canadian investor is urging the D.C. Circuit to cancel the award, calling the underlying arbitration a "blatant denial" of due process.

  • August 22, 2025

    Ohio Panel Says Med Mal Damages Cap Is Unconstitutional

    An Ohio appeals court has declared that the state's statutory limit on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional because it violated the right to due process to a patient who suffered a severe brain disorder.

  • August 22, 2025

    3rd Circ. Upholds Shipbuilder's Ch. 11 Reopening

    A split Third Circuit panel on Friday upheld, 2-1, a New Jersey bankruptcy judge's discretion in reopening Congoleum Corp.'s 2003 Chapter 11 case and barring Occidental Chemical from pursuing Congoleum affiliate Bath Iron Works to recover pollution liability expenses.

  • August 22, 2025

    Habba Ruling Could Put Tighter Limits On 'Acting' Officials

    A Pennsylvania federal judge's ruling disqualifying Alina Habba from acting as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey has the potential to end a long-standing means of filling government posts without going through the U.S. Senate.

  • August 22, 2025

    Calif. Justices Say Wage Law Ignorance Prompts Damages

    California employers need to show they took reasonable steps to comply with minimum wage laws to support a good faith defense against liquidated damages, the California Supreme Court ruled, flipping a state appellate court decision.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Weighs Religious Bias Suit In LGBTQ+ Post Firings

    An attorney for two Christian flight attendants who say they were illegally fired by Alaska Airlines and abandoned by their labor union for opposing the airline's support for LGBTQ+ rights urged the Ninth Circuit Friday to revive their case, saying it is clear from the record that they were fired for their religious beliefs. 

  • August 22, 2025

    Startup Accelerator Backs Epic In Apple Case At 9th Circ.

    Startup accelerator Y Combinator is backing Epic Games as Apple asks the Ninth Circuit to nix an order blocking it from charging commissions on app purchases made outside its payment system, telling the appeals court Apple "blatantly violated" a previous order.

  • August 22, 2025

    Ga. Judge To Face Panel Monday On Case Delay Charges

    A Georgia probate court judge is set to face charges Monday from the state's judicial ethics watchdog that he allowed a series of cases to languish on his docket for years, in a case where the jurist largely copped to the misconduct allegations against him.

  • August 22, 2025

    High Court Told To Lift 'Coordinated' Party Spending Caps

    The Federal Election Commission and the Republican Party urged the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish limits on how much political parties can spend on campaigns in cooperation with candidates, saying there's no legitimate anti-corruption reason to cap party spending.

  • August 22, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Halts Land Swap With Idaho Tribes' Backing

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to invalidate an Interior Department land transfer in Idaho for the expansion of a phosphogypsum plant, saying that a 1900 federal law limits the disposal of treaty-ceded lands.

  • August 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Some Rate-Rigging Claims Against Banks

    The Second Circuit on Friday partially revived claims that UBS AG and the Royal Bank of Scotland PLC manipulated a key interest rate for the lending of euros, allowing a pair of funds to press forward with claims that the banks' actions harmed U.S. investors trading derivatives tied to the rate.

  • August 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Block Conn.'s Sandy Hook Gun Restrictions

    The Second Circuit on Friday refused to temporarily block Connecticut's restrictions on AR-15-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, saying the National Association for Gun Rights and individual permit holders were unlikely to mount successful Second Amendment challenges to laws passed shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

  • August 22, 2025

    Green Groups Lodge 5th Circ. Challenge Over La. LNG Permits

    Environmentalists have asked the Fifth Circuit to cancel air permits issued by Louisiana environmental regulators for a liquefied natural gas export terminal, saying the permits were unlawfully issued and will increase pollution for nearby communities.

  • August 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Verdict Intact In Pro Se IP Trial

    A truck mudflap entrepreneur who won a patent infringement trial representing himself failed to convince the Federal Circuit on Friday to rethink affirming a lower court's judgment against a rival company that he said would have been more favorable to him absent a "fraud" on the court. 

  • August 22, 2025

    Speedy Trial Violation Undoes Sex Assault Conviction In Colo.

    The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed the conviction and 34-year-to-life sentence of a man found guilty of sexual assault on a child, pointing to a district court error in holding the trial one month outside of the speedy trial window and remanding the case for dismissal of all charges.

  • August 22, 2025

    NC Justices Affirm Dismissal Of Philip Morris Tax Challenge

    A North Carolina administrative court does not have the power to find a state tax law unconstitutional as applied, the state's highest court ruled Friday, upholding a loss for Philip Morris in a $300,000 franchise tax case.

  • August 22, 2025

    State Solicitors General Become A Trump Judge Pipeline

    Seven months into his presidency, more than a third of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees hailed from a pool not tapped nearly as much as his predecessors: state solicitors general.

  • August 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Rules Virginia Gov. Can Deny Felon Voting Rights

    A formerly incarcerated Virginia man convicted of attempted murder as a minor couldn't argue his constitutional rights had been violated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who refused to allow him to vote, the Fourth Circuit said, finding the state's process of vesting reenfranchisement in its top executive was constitutional.

  • August 22, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs TSA's Cybersecurity Rules For Railroads

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday rejected the challenge from a pair of railways to recent cybersecurity mandates from the Transportation Security Administration, saying the agency wasn't required to first take notice and comment and that it has "broad authority to identify cybersecurity threats and craft appropriate responses."

  • August 22, 2025

    Russian Urges 2nd Circ. To Scrap Superyacht Seizure Ruling

    Russian billionaire Eduard Khudainatov told the Second Circuit a New York federal judge authorized the U.S. government to sell off his seized superyacht without giving him a fair chance to fight assertions he was a "straw owner" for a sanctioned oligarch.

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    Trump Admin To Appeal Susman Godfrey Exec Order Ruling

    The Trump administration announced Friday its intention to appeal a June ruling that struck down as unconstitutional an executive order targeting Susman Godfrey LLP, after the court said the order was issued in retaliation for its representation of clients and causes the president opposes.

  • August 22, 2025

    Seton Hall Flags 'Dangerous Precedent' In NJ Venue Dispute

    Seton Hall University is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision moving a whistleblower case from its former president from Essex to Hudson County, saying letting that action stand would set a "dangerous precedent" regarding case transfers.

  • August 22, 2025

    Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law

    A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In High Court Review Of Funds' Right To Sue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming review of FS Credit Opportunities v. Saba Capital Master Fund, a case testing the limits of using Investment Company Act Section 47(b) to give funds a private right of action to enforce other sections of the law, could either encourage or curb similar activist investor lawsuits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • The Evolving Legal Landscape For THC-Infused Beverages

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    A recent Eighth Circuit ruling, holding that states may restrict the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products without violating federal law, combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainty at both the federal and state levels, could alter the trajectory of the THC-infused beverage market, say attorneys at Pashman Stein.

  • How Securities Defendants Might Use New Wire Fraud Ruling

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    Though the Second Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Chastain decision — vacating the conviction of an ex-OpenSea staffer — involved the wire fraud statute, insider trading defendants might attempt to import the ruling’s reasoning into the securities realm, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

  • Cos. Must Tailor Due Diligence As Trafficking Risks Increase

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    As legislators, prosecutors and plaintiffs attorneys increasingly focus on labor and sex trafficking throughout the U.S., companies must tailor their due diligence strategies to protect against forced labor trafficking risks in their supply chains, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Unpacking The Supreme Court's Views On Judgment Finality

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's June opinion in BLOM Bank SAL v. Honickman reaffirmed that the bar for reopening a final judgment remains exceptionally high — even when the movant seeks to amend their complaint based on a new legal development, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Asbestos Ruling Cements All Sums Coverage Precedent In SC

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    With its recent decision in Protopapas v. Travelers, the South Carolina Court of Appeals becomes the highest court in South Carolina to adopt the all sums allocation approach for long-tail claims, providing key appellate precedent to support policyholders' efforts to maximize their coverage, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • M&A Ruling Reinforces High Bar For Aiding, Abetting Claims

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in In re: Columbia Pipeline may slow the filing of aiding and abetting claims against third-party buyers in situations where buyers negotiate aggressively, putting buy-side dealmakers' minds at ease that they likely won't be liable for seeking the best possible deal, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

  • What To Expect As Calif. Justices Weigh Arbitration Fee Law

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    If the California Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court holds that the Federal Arbitration Act does not preempt the California Arbitration Act's strict fee deadlines, employers and businesses could lose the right to arbitrate over minor procedural delays, say attorneys at Bird Marella.

  • 2 Circuit Court Rulings Offer A Class Certification Primer

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    Two recent decisions from the Third and Sixth Circuits provide guidance on the rigorous analysis of predominance that courts might require for class certification, and insights into how defendants might oppose or narrow potential class actions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

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    As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

  • 2nd Circ. Reinforces Consensus On Vacating Foreign Awards

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    In Molecular Dynamics v. Spectrum Dynamics Medical, the Second Circuit recently affirmed that federal district courts do not possess subject matter jurisdiction to vacate foreign arbitral awards, strengthening this consensus across the circuits most active in recognition and enforcement actions, says Ed Mullins at Reed Smith.

  • What Dismissal Rulings May Mean For ERISA Forfeiture Cases

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    Following an influx of Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions challenging the long-standing practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions, recent motion to dismiss rulings and a U.S. Department of Labor amicus brief may encourage more courts to reject plaintiffs' forfeiture theories, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Justices' Age Verification Ruling May Lead To More State Laws

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton ruling, permitting a Texas law requiring certain websites to verify users’ ages, significantly expands states' ability to regulate minors’ social media access, further complicating the patchwork of internet privacy laws, say attorneys at Troutman.

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