Appellate

  • September 17, 2026

    10th Circ. Debates Bid To Revive Colo. Atty Fee Law Challenge

    Colorado residents and community watch groups urged the Tenth Circuit on Thursday to revive their constitutional challenge against a Colorado law that mandates attorney fee awards to local governments in certain land use disputes, fielding court questions on the case's reviewability and whether sovereign immunity applies.

  • September 17, 2026

    Justices Told Fed. Circ. Erred In Veterinary Software Feud

    A healthcare consulting services company wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit's refusal to revive its copyright and contract claims in a fight over rights to healthcare software for a U.S. Army veterinary records system.

  • September 17, 2026

    EPA Sued Over Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule Repeal

    Environmental and public health groups on Thursday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants, accusing the agency of renouncing its legal obligation to tackle climate change-related pollution from the power sector.

  • September 17, 2026

    Michigan Court Pilot Aims To Aid Unrepresented Litigants

    The Michigan Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it is launching a pilot project, based on recent reforms in Utah and Arizona, that will allow trained nonlawyers to provide in-court support to people who cannot afford a lawyer in civil cases.

  • September 17, 2026

    2nd Circ. Upholds Removal Order Over Baseless Visa Filings

    A Second Circuit panel Thursday said immigration courts correctly determined a Philippine national granted lawful permanent resident status could be removed after a conviction for conspiring with others to submit false or misleading documents for H-1B visa applications.

  • September 17, 2026

    Ohio Panel Says Police Car Not 'Public Place' Under ID Law

    A split Ohio state appeals court has ruled the back of a police cruiser does not qualify as a "public place" under state law, reversing a man's conviction for refusing to identify himself after he was placed in the back of a patrol car.

  • September 17, 2026

    Industry Groups, IP Attys Back High Court PTAB Denials Case

    The bar association for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a group of intellectual property law attorneys and others have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize the discretionary denial policies of current U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership.

  • September 17, 2026

    GE Vernova, Vineyard Wind Drop Dispute Over Payment

    Vineyard Wind I LLC and a GE Vernova subsidiary have dropped their legal dispute over a $300,000 bill for work on turbines off the Massachusetts coast, according to Wednesday court filings.

  • September 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Approves $3.2M In Atty Fees In Diamond IP Case

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed a $3.2 million award of attorney fees to Fenix Diamonds LLC from the Carnegie Institution of Washington and its bankrupt former patent licensee M7D Corp., agreeing with a district judge that the asserted patent infringement claims were objectively baseless.

  • September 17, 2026

    'Bad Middle School Art' Tests Penn State's Counterfeit Bid

    A Third Circuit panel appeared reluctant Thursday to treat all of Vintage Brand's retro Penn State merchandise as counterfeit, even as the judges expressed skepticism about the print-on-demand retailer's broader bid to overturn a jury verdict finding that its unlicensed use of university marks infringed Penn State's trademarks.

  • September 17, 2026

    Firm Partners Can't Get Employment Tax Break, 2nd Circ. Says

    The Second Circuit held Thursday that $141.5 million in partnership income distributed to an investment company's principals was subject to self-employment taxes, following the Fifth Circuit's narrow interpretation for determining eligibility for a self-employment tax exemption for limited partners.

  • September 17, 2026

    Family Tells 11th Circ. Tesla Can't Undo $243M Crash Verdict

    The estate of a woman killed in a crash and her boyfriend are urging the Eleventh Circuit not to throw out a $243 million verdict against Tesla Inc., saying the jury heard enough evidence to conclude that the Tesla driver who hit them was misled about the safety of the vehicle's "Autopilot" feature and that defects in the vehicle led to the crash.

  • September 17, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Concrete Co. In $23M Pension Exit Fight

    The Seventh Circuit turned down a multiemployer pension fund's bid to reinstate a $23 million withdrawal liability bill against a concrete company, splitting Thursday with two other appellate courts on interpreting how an employer's prior partial withdrawal applies to a future complete exit.

  • September 17, 2026

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink Pfizer's Paxlovid IP Win

    The full Federal Circuit on Thursday won't disturb a panel's refusal to revive a patent that Enanta Pharmaceuticals had accused Pfizer of infringing through its blockbuster Paxlovid COVID-19 treatment.

  • September 17, 2026

    Sonic Wins Appeal Bid To Arbitrate Suit Over Worker's Death

    The mother of a Sonic employee who was fatally shot in 2023 must arbitrate her wrongful death suit against the restaurant, Texas appellate justices said Thursday, finding that she didn't meet her burden showing Sonic substantially invoked the court process in a way that conflicted with its right to compel arbitration. 

  • September 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Tosses Protest Over Navy Contract Exception

    The Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal of a protest regarding an exception the U.S. Navy created and later removed under a solicitation seeking up to $10 billion in engineering and program management services, finding much of the protest moot.

  • September 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Reverses Denial Of Catheter Patent Claim

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday threw out a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that refused to give patent protection to the first claim in an Incept LLC medical catheter patent, saying the board needs to take another look.

  • September 17, 2026

    Minn. Homeowner Asks Justices To Undo Costs Order

    A self-represented Minnesota homeowner's effort to throw out tax court order recovering a county's litigation costs in a property valuation dispute will go before the state Supreme Court, according to a writ of certiorari filed Thursday.

  • September 17, 2026

    1st Circ. Lets HUD Shift $1.3B In Homelessness Aid

    A First Circuit panel said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development may redirect $1.3 billion in homelessness funding from programs that focus on permanent housing to those supporting temporary shelter and assistance, finding the Trump administration likely was not required to go through a notice-and-comment procedure.

  • September 17, 2026

    For Single-Party FTC, Easier Suits May Come With A Cost

    The Federal Trade Commission has ditched its historical multimember, multiparty ethos for a one-party regime in which fewer dissents might make it easier for Chairman Andrew Ferguson to pursue his agenda, but it also forecloses the potential "moderating influence" that comes with winning broad buy-in from commissioners of two parties.

  • September 16, 2026

    Detroit Must Face Negligence Claim Over Ambulance Crash

    Detroit must face claims that an ambulance driver negligently killed a patient he was transporting by running a red light at high speeds without emergency lights on and causing a crash that made it roll over, a Michigan state appeals court has ruled, saying a jury needs to hear the evidence.

  • September 16, 2026

    Texas Supreme Court Weighs Bankruptcy Exemption For LLC

    Texas Supreme Court justices pushed a man who declared bankruptcy to spell out why his share in a limited liability company should get exempt status, asking Wednesday if any states have ruled that interest in an LLC is exempt property during bankruptcy.

  • September 16, 2026

    3rd Circ. Says Most Strip Searches Require Warrants

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday ruled that police cannot conduct warrantless strip searches outside of jails or prisons absent consent or an emergency, but found that Pennsylvania officers who unconstitutionally searched a man enjoy qualified immunity from his civil rights claims because the limitation was not clearly established at the time.

  • September 16, 2026

    Texas Justices Press Mall Owner On Mass Shooting Liability

    The Texas Supreme Court justices wanted the owner of an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, that saw a devastating mass shooting to explain why a case brought by the victims should be tossed, saying Wednesday that dismissal might remove incentives for businesses to protect customers.

  • September 16, 2026

    11th Circ. Leaves Softball Coach's Sex Bias Win Intact

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $300,000 verdict for a women's softball coach who said Alabama State University suspended her due to sex discrimination, unpersuaded by the school's argument that the suspension wasn't an adequate basis for a bias claim.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • Justices' Review Of Atty Fees Could Reshape Pipeline Takings

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission, property owners' right to recover attorney fees for appropriations under the Natural Gas Act is at stake, potentially leading to a choice between a depressed land valuation or court costs that could exceed any rewards, says attorney Sophia Holley.

  • How 2nd Circ. Raised The Bar For Pleading Securities Fraud

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    In Huey v. Anavex, the Second Circuit recently appeared to increase the burden on securities fraud plaintiffs in pleading loss causation where no immediate share price decline follows the corrective disclosure, generating new questions that district courts must grapple with, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Trade Secret Practice Tips From The 1st Half Of 2026

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    Intellectual property attorneys should consider what several significant developments in 2026 thus far mean for how they protect, litigate and value trade secrets, focusing on new state noncompete bans, cases scrutinizing how plaintiffs identify trade secrets and federal rulings on damages doctrines, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Yellow Corp. WARN Act Appeal Refines Layoff Guidance

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    A Delaware federal court's recent upholding of a bankruptcy court's disallowance of unions' federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act claims against Yellow underscores that fact-specific notices and thoughtful timing are essential for distressed companies implementing layoffs, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • 3rd Circ. ERISA Ruling Stresses Process Over Perfect Returns

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Quest Diagnostics affirms that a sound fiduciary process — not perfect investment returns — defeats Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims, signaling that courts will keep scrutinizing how fiduciaries decide, and sponsors who can show their work should remain protected, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.

  • Fed. Circ. Licensing Rulings Shed Light On Patentee Standing

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    Two recent decisions from the Federal Circuit provide a useful framework for evaluating whether a patent license agreement preserves a sufficient exclusionary interest to support future patent infringement claims, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • How Justices Stayed Off The Geofence In Location Data Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Chatrie v. United States decision reaffirms Fourth Amendment protections for location data but avoids more complicated questions about geofence warrants, say attorneys at Adams Duerk.

  • Remote Work Rulings Show ADA Fights Hinge On Process

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    Two opposite outcomes in recent Fifth Circuit and D.C. federal court cases underscore that the legality of denying employees' disability accommodation requests for remote work depends less on broad policy and more on how it's applied, says Paul Sweeney at Ice Miller.

  • Fed Autonomy Rests On Narrow Exception After Justices Rule

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter expand presidential removal power while temporarily preserving the Federal Reserve’s independence, but there is uncertainty about which of the Fed’s authorities fall within the court’s narrow monetary-policy exception, says Keith Bradley at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

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