Appellate

  • May 23, 2024

    NC Justices Back Manufacturer Tax Break For Contractor

    The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday backed a $130,000 tax break for an asphalt maker, upholding a lower court's decision that the company qualified for an exemption reserved for manufacturers even though it sold just a small portion of its product.

  • May 23, 2024

    USPTO Issues Guidance On New Fed. Circ. Design Patent Test

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued guidance laying out how to apply the Federal Circuit's Tuesday en banc decision, making the standard for obviousness in design patents more flexible.

  • May 23, 2024

    Old Case Can't Nix $181M AT&T, Nokia Verdict, Fed. Circ. Told

    Finesse Wireless LLC pushed back at the Federal Circuit against AT&T and Nokia's appeal of a more than $181 million verdict in Texas federal court for infringing Finesse's patents on reducing radio frequency interference, saying the companies' reliance on a 140-year-old Supreme Court case was misplaced.

  • May 23, 2024

    NJ Justices Toss Direct Appeals Over Hospital Contract Bid

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an independent state-owned teaching hospital's conduct cannot be challenged directly in the state's intermediate appellate court because it isn't considered an administrative agency, affirming the dismissal of two protests over the hospital's selection of a pharmacy vendor.

  • May 23, 2024

    Man Can't Enforce Fatal Car Crash Settlement, Ga. Panel Says

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed a trial court's rejection of a motion to enforce a presuit settlement in a case accusing a driver of fatally striking a man who was standing next to his vehicle on a highway's emergency lane, finding no agreement ever formed.

  • May 23, 2024

    7th Circ. Unsure VIX-Fix Claims Were Wrongly Tossed

    The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday that two investment companies should be allowed to pursue volatility index manipulation claims against Barclays, Morgan & Stanley Co. and other financial institutions after a lower court found that one lacked standing and the other missed a statutory deadline.

  • May 23, 2024

    Spain Says Energy Treaty Withdrawal Irrelevant In $386M Suit

    Spain has told the D.C. Circuit that its announcement of withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty does not show it recognizes that it is still bound under the international agreement, contrary to what investors owed about $386 million argued earlier this week.

  • May 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upends Inventors' Interference Win Over Time-Bar

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly chose inventors tied to Cook Medical, rather than ones tied to Medtronic, when determining who should prevail in an interference proceeding over catheters, the Federal Circuit held Thursday.

  • May 23, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Insurer's $2.5M Suit Over Valuation Software

    The Second Circuit on Thursday revived an insurer's indemnification bid against software company Audatex for $2.5 million in costs from a suit alleging its use of Audatex's valuation software resulted in underpayment for totaled cars, concluding the lower court erred in finding the suit didn't result from the insurer's use of Audatex's software.

  • May 23, 2024

    22 States Seek To Defend EPA Heavy-Duty Truck GHG Rule

    A coalition of 22 Democrat-led states and four cities moved to intervene on Thursday in defense of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final rule establishing greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, arguing that vacating the rule would lead to direct injuries to state lands and resources.

  • May 23, 2024

    White House Says 1st Circ. Judge Didn't Aid Daughter's Nom

    The White House said Thursday that a First Circuit judge played no part in his daughter's nomination to the appeals court, and plans to retire if she's confirmed.

  • May 23, 2024

    Thomas Sees No Role For Courts In Election Map Fights

    While his Supreme Court colleagues sparred over evidence standards Thursday in a 6-3 decision rejecting claims that South Carolina's congressional map diluted the power of Black voters, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a solo opinion to argue the country's founders never intended courts to referee election map fights.

  • May 23, 2024

    Irma Power Outage Claims Must Be Brought To Fla. Regulator

    A Florida state appellate court reversed the class certification in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought against Florida Power & Light Co. over extended electricity outages during Hurricane Irma, citing a new law requiring ratepayers to bring their claims before the state's Public Service Commission.

  • May 23, 2024

    Ill. Justices OK $28M Tax Value Appeal Without Payment

    A power company's property in Illinois was not required to pay disputed property taxes before appealing a valuation, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed Thursday, upholding a reduction in the assessment of about $28 million.

  • May 23, 2024

    NC High Court Grants Review In Clothier's Virus Coverage Suit

    North Carolina's top court on Thursday agreed to take up a clothing company's coverage appeal for COVID-19 losses against Zurich after a lower appellate panel found the virus did not cause the kind of physical loss or damage necessary to invoke coverage.

  • May 23, 2024

    Enbridge Says Tribe's Trespass Law Could Cost It Millions

    Enbridge Energy told the Seventh Circuit that a Wisconsin tribe's recently publicized trespass ordinance could cause the company to pay millions of dollars in civil penalties if the appeals court rules that its 645-mile crude oil pipeline is trespassing on the tribe's land.

  • May 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Winery Minority Owner Can't Try To Cancel TM

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision that a family trust that is a minority owner of Paul Hobbs Winery, which owns the trademark registration on the name of winemaker Paul Hobbs, does not have the right to seek cancellation of registrations on certain trademarks.

  • May 23, 2024

    Lockheed Urges 11th Circ. To Affirm Win In Solvent Suit

    Lockheed Martin Corp. asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a Florida district court's rejection of a proposed expert's testimony purporting to link a now-deceased former employee's multiple sclerosis to her work-related exposure to industrial solvents.

  • May 23, 2024

    FirstEnergy Wants 6th Circ. To Shield Bribe-Probe Docs

    FirstEnergy Corp. is pursuing the Sixth Circuit's input into its request to shield internal investigative documents from a class of investors and from two of its indicted former executives, saying the documents contain privileged legal advice given in the wake of a $1 billion bribery scandal.

  • May 23, 2024

    4th Circ. Rules No Coverage For Mars' COVID Losses

    Candymaker Mars Inc. can't get coverage from Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for its COVID-19-related losses, the Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday, further rejecting Mars' bid to certify a question to the Virginia Supreme Court.

  • May 23, 2024

    Pipe Supplier Can't Nix $2.6M 'Take Home' Asbestos Verdict

    A California appeals panel won't upend a $2.6 million verdict against J-M Manufacturing Co. Inc. in a case alleging a man contracted mesothelioma because of his brother's work, rejecting the company's argument that the court should apply a duty standard for negligence claims to the man's strict liability claim.

  • May 23, 2024

    6th Circ. Unbuckles Supplier From 'Odd' Seat Belt Contract

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday freed a seat belt part supplier from having to continue to fulfill a seat belt system manufacturer's orders at an old price, saying the parties' "odd" agreement language isn't specific enough to enforce.

  • May 23, 2024

    NY Top Court Revives FanDuel Investors Suit

    New York's top appeals court on Thursday revived a suit brought by FanDuel investors who claim they were deprived of profits from a merger, disagreeing with a lower court's interpretation of Scottish law.

  • May 23, 2024

    Fla. Justices Make Civil Trial Delays More Difficult

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday made it more difficult to delay a civil trial as part of a number of changes to the Sunshine State's civil court rules and procedures meant to speed along the efficient resolution of civil cases.

  • May 23, 2024

    DOL Says 11th Circ. 'Alone' In ERISA Internal Remedy Stance

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Eleventh Circuit to reinstate a lawsuit from former seafood company workers who claimed their employee stock ownership plan was overcharged in a $92 million deal, saying they didn't jump the gun by suing instead of pursuing claims internally.

Expert Analysis

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • CORRECTED: Endoscope Patent Case Offers Guidance On Right To Repair

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    An Alabama federal court's decision in Karl Storz v. IMS reaffirmed that product owners have broad rights to repair or modify their property as they see fit, highlighting the parameters of the right to repair in the context of patent infringement, say Dustin Weeks and Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper. Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article and headline attributed the Karl Storz ruling to the wrong court. The error has been corrected.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

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