Appellate

  • September 09, 2025

    Colorado Justices Uphold Rejection Of City's Telecom Tax

    Tax ordinances in a Colorado city aimed at telecommunications providers, including a T-Mobile subsidiary, established new taxes without voter approval in violation of the state's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the state Supreme Court ruled.

  • September 09, 2025

    Minn. Court Won't Reinstate Snowmobile Collision Death Suit

    A Minnesota appeals court refused to revive a lawsuit against a snowmobile club and one of its maintenance workers alleging that their negligence led to the death of a snowmobile user, finding that they are entitled to governmental immunity under the Minnesota Tort Claims Act.

  • September 09, 2025

    States Urge Justices To Quickly Rule Against Trump's Tariffs

    The U.S. Supreme Court should quickly consider the appeal of the Federal Circuit's ruling that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs are unlawful and affirm that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't provide the authority to impose duties, the states challenging the measures told the justices this week.

  • September 09, 2025

    Approach The Bench: Judge Shannon Discusses Bankruptcy

    Bankruptcy might seem like a technical and obscure practice area, but not to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon.

  • September 09, 2025

    3rd Circ. Told Cigna's 'Private Label' Stelara May Alter Market

    A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary told a Third Circuit panel it would be "difficult" to calculate its potential monetary losses if a Cigna subsidiary were to launch its own version of an anti-inflammatory treatment, particularly if it permanently changed the market by giving the insurance giant a "private label" version that pharmacies would give preference over the original.

  • September 08, 2025

    Split Colo. Justices Back DA's Disbarment Over Judge Probe

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled to uphold a disciplinary board's disbarment of former 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley in a split 4-2 decision that found the issue of whether the presiding disciplinary judge should have recused himself a "close call."

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Axes Ruling Trader Joe's 'Weaponized Legal System'

    A California federal judge hastily found that Trader Joe's cooked up borderline-frivolous theories of trademark infringement to punish union organizers, the Ninth Circuit held Monday, finding that union merchandise looks "strikingly similar" to the grocer's well-known logo.

  • September 08, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs Dentist's Murder, Insurance Fraud Convictions

    A dentist convicted of murdering his wife on a hunting trip in Zambia to collect nearly $5 million in life insurance who became the subject of a Hulu documentary must continue to serve a life prison sentence for murder and insurance fraud, the Tenth Circuit ruled on Monday.

  • September 08, 2025

    'Disappointed' Alsup Wants More Info On $1.5B Anthropic Deal

    U.S. District Judge William Alsup has declined to sign off on Anthropic's proposed $1.5 billion settlement with authors accusing the artificial intelligence developer of copyright infringement, saying he's "disappointed that counsel have left important questions" unanswered and instructing the parties to provide more information by the end of the month.

  • September 08, 2025

    3rd Circ. Revives Ex-Lecturer's Suit Over Alt-Right Views

    The Third Circuit on Monday found school disruptions at the New Jersey Institute of Technology caused by a philosophy lecturer's comments don't outweigh his free speech rights, reversing the school's summary judgment win in the professor's lawsuit alleging NJIT violated his constitutional rights by refusing to renew his contract after his off-campus, alt-right comments drew national attention.

  • September 08, 2025

    DC Circ. Mulls Whether To Leave Whistleblower Rewardless

    The D.C. Circuit didn't seem to think it was fair that the SEC refused a million dollar reward to a whistleblower who went to the media first, even though the judges hinted Monday they thought the agency might have been within its rights to do so.

  • September 08, 2025

    Immigration Board's Undoing Of Bond Practice Stuns Attys

    A Board of Immigration Appeals decision to deny bond and require mandatory detention for anyone entering the U.S. unlawfully has stunned immigration attorneys, who say the upending of decades of precedent will leave few options beyond leaving the country.

  • September 08, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Axes States' Challenge To Trump Admin Layoffs

    A split Fourth Circuit panel held Monday that a coalition of states doesn't have standing to sue the Trump administration over the mass firing of thousands of probationary government employees, finding that it was the employees — not the states — who "suffered the brunt of the harm" underlying the case.

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Illuminate Education Data Breach Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a proposed class action Monday filed against Illuminate Education Inc. by parents of children whose personal information may have been exposed in a massive data breach, holding the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that any harms were suffered. 

  • September 08, 2025

    3rd Circ.'s Grid-Planning Ruling Will Coax States To Play Ball

    A Third Circuit decision limiting states' ability to block transmission projects already greenlighted by regional grid operators could make a federal overhaul of transmission planning policies more appealing, even as several states and utilities pursue litigation to block the changes.

  • September 08, 2025

    Chamber Accuses Mich. Of 'Gamesmanship' In Pipeline Fight

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Supreme Court to rule that judges have the power to waive the deadline to transfer a lawsuit to federal court in special circumstances, saying Michigan shouldn't be allowed to play procedural games to keep a case against energy infrastructure firm Enbridge Energy LP in state court. 

  • September 08, 2025

    Unions Knock 'Flawed' 4th Circ. Injunction Take In DOGE Row

    A split Fourth Circuit panel's decision to vacate an injunction targeting the Department of Government Efficiency created a flawed framework for evaluating whether an injunction is appropriate, a coalition of unions argued Monday, asking the full Fourth Circuit to override the majority's "sharp departure from established precedents."

  • September 08, 2025

    Mayo Clinic Beats Suit Over Fatal Brain Hemorrhage

    A Minnesota state appeals court ruled Monday that a lower court was within its rights to exclude an expert witness who couldn't identify a causal link between a pain medication the Mayo Clinic gave an amputation patient and a subsequent fatal brain hemorrhage.

  • September 08, 2025

    DC Circ. Probes Sovereign Immunity In Nazi Art Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Monday grappled with whether claims asserted by the descendants of Hungarian Jewish art collectors over artwork stolen during the German occupation of Hungary are barred under sovereign immunity, focusing on how to delineate an "occupation."

  • September 08, 2025

    Atty In Judge Newman Suspension Feud Moves To DOJ

    An attorney who has been representing Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman in the legal battle over her suspension has jumped from the New Civil Liberties Alliance to work at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 08, 2025

    Barrett Talks Dobbs, Court's Role In New Book

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and declare there's no constitutional right to abortion in her new memoir, which also provides unique insight into her view of the judiciary's role in American democracy and her approach to interpreting law.

  • September 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Grants Cop Immunity Over Repeat 911 Caller Arrest

    An Eleventh Circuit panel has ruled that a pair of cops are shielded by qualified immunity for arresting a woman who repeatedly called 911 to report gunfire in her neighborhood despite knowing that the guns were being fired on a legal shooting range.

  • September 08, 2025

    Securities Class Actions Had A Late Summer Appellate Bloom

    While the later summer months are often a quiet time for the nation's courts, the federal appellate courts were hard at work this past July and August issuing important rulings on class certification standards for shareholder lawsuits and handing down split-panel decisions over the future of disclosure litigation.

  • September 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Cos.' 20-Year Contract Fight Properly Ended

    The Eleventh Circuit won't revive fastener and components supplier Whitesell Corp.'s contract fight with household appliance maker Electrolux and a lawn and garden equipment-maker spinoff company, saying it will not disturb various court rulings that led to a nearly $9 million jury verdict after 20 years of litigation.

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Dismissal Of 'Penny Dreadful' IP Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss a suit brought by a woman who claimed her writings on an online role-playing forum were used to create a character in the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful," saying the resemblance between her characters and Showtime's wasn't obvious enough to preclude coincidence.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

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    If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

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    In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules

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    The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

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