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Judiciary Panel Clears 1st MDL Rule, Eyes 'Mouthpiece' Amici
Top rulemaking gatekeepers for the federal judiciary Tuesday capped off seven years of strife in the defense and plaintiffs bars by backing a milestone measure aimed at optimizing multidistrict litigation, and then promptly greenlighted an entirely different war of words over new efforts to ferret out amicus briefs from "paid mouthpieces" masquerading as independent experts.
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June 12, 2024
Oklahoma Justices Toss Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors' Suit
The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre in the affluent Black community of Greenwood in 1921, acknowledging as legitimate their "grievance with the social and economic inequities" created by the decimation, but finding that it falls outside public nuisance doctrine.
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June 12, 2024
Hytera Tried 'End Run' Around Court's Power, Motorola Says
Hytera Communications should not be able to get around an antisuit injunction that forced it to end Chinese litigation addressing mobile radio trade secrets, Motorola Solutions told the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday, arguing that Hytera must be stopped from doing an "end run" around the American case against it.
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June 12, 2024
Senate Dems Admonish Roberts As Ethics Reform Stalls
Several senior Democratic senators chided Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday for failing to take responsibility for or address the U.S. Supreme Court's ethics issues, vowing to continue fighting Republican opposition and to pass court reform legislation unless the chief justice makes improvements.
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June 12, 2024
FTC Tells DC Circ. It Can Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal
The Federal Trade Commission told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday that it has the authority to reopen its in-house proceedings in order to revise a $5 billion privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, saying the courts do not have oversight of the agency's administrative order.
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June 12, 2024
Fla. Court Revives Student Pilots' Deceptive Claims Suit
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday revived a deceptive and unfair practices claim against the owner of a flight school contractor after finding that the former students suing him had presented enough evidence to support their claim.
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June 12, 2024
DeSantis Doesn't Have To Turn Over Judicial Advisers' Info
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a petition to force Gov. Ron DeSantis to turn over information about the conservative advisers he consults to vet judicial nominees, but refused to affirm the lower court's conclusion that executive privilege shielded the governor from producing the documents.
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June 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB Ax Of Slide-To-Unlock Patent
The Federal Circuit has quickly disposed of an appeal over an administrative board ruling that wiped out language in a patent asserted in a small Swedish smartphone company's litigation against Apple and Samsung over claims its founder was the first to develop a "slide to unlock" feature.
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June 12, 2024
School Says Declaration Bares Quinn Emanuel Lies In IP Feud
Columbia University has told the Federal Circuit that a declaration from a former Norton Lifelock Inc. computer scientist shows that the company's former lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP are lying about his refusal to testify in the school's decade-long $600 million patent case in Virginia federal court.
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June 12, 2024
ND Lawmakers Want In On Voting Rights Suit, 8th Circ. Told
The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is asking the Eighth Circuit to reverse a lower court's order that denied its intervention in a bid to redraw the state's 2021 redistricting maps, arguing that two tribes' adopted voting map should be vacated and the lawmakers should be afforded a chance to come up with a remedial plan.
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June 12, 2024
Trade Group Wants Out Of Mattress Conspiracy Suit
A trade association for mattress manufacturers has asked a Utah federal court to dismiss it from an antitrust suit alleging the spread of false information from an importer that has landed back in the Utah court from a trip to the Tenth Circuit.
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June 12, 2024
1st Circ. Finds PREPA Bondholders Have $8.5B In Valid Liens
The First Circuit said Wednesday that bondholders of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority have valid liens worth $8.5 billion on the revenue of the utility, reversing a lower court's ruling but leaving it up to the bankruptcy court to determine what effect that has on the restructuring plan.
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June 12, 2024
Indiana Hospital Gets $11M Leg Amputation Verdict Reversed
An Indiana state appeals court has upended a $1.3 million judgment — originally an $11 million verdict — awarded to a patient whose leg was amputated allegedly due to the negligence of a hospital, its physician and nurse, citing a slew of "cumulative errors" the lower court made during the trial.
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June 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs Brokerage In Suit Over Biotech's Failed IPO
The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to reinstate a Texas company's suit against an investment brokerage that advised biotech Inpellis on an initial public offering that failed and sent the company to file Chapter 7, ruling a lower court rightly found a global settlement eclipsed the need for a jury trial.
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June 12, 2024
Wash. Urges 9th Circ. To Toss Pot Licensure Challenge
Washington's cannabis authority has asked the Ninth Circuit to reject an effort by an out-of-state retailer to block the state's social equity program from awarding retail licenses, arguing that a motion for preliminary injunction is moot now that the trial court has tossed the entire lawsuit with prejudice.
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June 12, 2024
8th Circ. Judge Calls Car Sex 'Clearly Foreseeable' In HPV Suit
An Eighth Circuit judge said Wednesday that having sex in a vehicle is "clearly foreseeable," challenging Geico's contention that such activity does not constitute normal use of an automobile in a coverage suit over a woman's claim that she contracted HPV during sexual encounters in a policyholder's car.
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June 12, 2024
11th Circ. Could Revive Venezuela Chemical Co. Seizure Suit
An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared open to reviving a lawsuit accusing Venezuela of unlawfully seizing a chemical company amid allegedly trumped-up criminal drug charges, as the judges spent much of a hearing on Wednesday questioning why a critical witness was barred from testifying.
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June 12, 2024
Texas Anesthesia Co. Appealing To Duck FTC Suit To 5th Circ.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. gave notice Wednesday that it will ask the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas federal judge's mid-May decision refusing to toss Federal Trade Commission allegations of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices.
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June 12, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Halt SpaceX Appeal In Case Challenging NLRB
The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that it will continue weighing whether a Texas federal judge must pause an administrative suit against SpaceX from proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board, amid the company's constitutional challenge to the agency's structure.
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June 12, 2024
EPA Tells DC Circ. Emissions Rules Should Stay In Place
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fired back at attempts to pause two final rules establishing greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants and expanded methane emissions control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure, urging the D.C. Circuit to keep the rules in place amid myriad legal challenges.
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June 12, 2024
11th Circ. Won't Rehear Ruling In Pratt & Whitney Cancer Case
The full Eleventh Circuit won't review a panel's affirmation of a jury verdict win for defense contractor Pratt & Whitney that found it had failed to exercise reasonable care when disposing of radioactive materials but also freed it from liability for the pediatric cancer cases that emerged in a Florida neighborhood.
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June 12, 2024
9th Circ. Questions Arbitration Carveout For AmEx Workers
A Ninth Circuit panel seemed inclined Wednesday to force four white former American Express employees to arbitrate their proposed class action claims alleging race bias.
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June 12, 2024
32 AGs Urge Justices Take Up Okla. PBM Law Fight
Thirty-two attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Oklahoma's petition for review of a Tenth Circuit decision holding that federal law preempted portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing the justices needed to intervene to resolve a circuit split.
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June 12, 2024
Energy Co. Says Specialist Can't Get Arbitration Exemption
A Houston natural gas company told a Texas appellate court Wednesday that an environmental specialist injured in a pipeline explosion isn't covered by an exemption for interstate commerce work in the Federal Arbitration Act, arguing that allowing him to claim the exemption would be akin to allowing a janitor to do the same.
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June 12, 2024
FTC Asks 4th Circ. To Pause Novant Hospital Purchase
The Federal Trade Commission has asked the Fourth Circuit to pause Novant Health's purchase of a North Carolina hospital while enforcers appeal an order from the lower court that refused to put the deal on hold for the commission's in-house merger challenge.
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June 12, 2024
Loan Co. Owners Say SEC Improperly Expanded Receivership
A couple accused of scamming 1,200 investors out of nearly half a billion dollars asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to reverse an order expanding a receivership of their merchant loan business, arguing their due process rights were violated when their personal assets were added to the receivership.
Editor's Picks
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Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
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DC Circuit Cases To Watch In 2024
As the D.C. Circuit heads into 2024, its judges are poised to answer hotly anticipated political questions about former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as a number of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cases that could determine the future of certain natural gas projects.
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Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
UPDATED June 12, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
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9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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What To Know As CFPB Late Fee Rule Hangs In Limbo
Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final credit card late fee rule faces an uncertain future due to litigation involving injunctions, emergency petitions and now a venue dispute, card issuers must understand how to navigate the interim period and what to do if the rule takes effect, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain
The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.
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What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims
In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.
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9th Circ. Ruling Broadens Sweep Of Securities 'Solicitation'
The Ninth Circuit's recent revival of a putative securities fraud class action against Genius Brands for hiring a stock promoter to write favorable articles about it shows that companies should view "solicitation" broadly in considering whether they may have paid someone to urge an investor to purchase a security, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.