Appellate

  • June 23, 2025

    Dems Laud Axing Of Budget Bill's Injunction Bond Provision

    A provision meant to up the ante for plaintiffs filing lawsuits against the federal government by increasing the use of injunction bonds has been ruled ineligible for inclusion in the budget reconciliation package.

  • June 23, 2025

    Crypto Exec Seeks 5th Circ. Redo Over IRS Summonses

    A cryptocurrency executive asked the Fifth Circuit to reconsider his request to quash IRS summonses for his bank records, saying its decision that he was prematurely trying to appeal a lower court's ruling ignored his claims that the agency's documents were incomplete and lacked legal power.

  • June 23, 2025

    Texas Justices Find No Sign Of Negligence In Truck Crash

    The Texas Supreme Court has thrown out a trucker's suit alleging that another trucker's negligence caused a collision after a tire blowout, saying the plaintiff failed to show any evidence that the crash was the result of anything other than an unavoidable accident.

  • June 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revisit Opinion In Sam Smith Copyright Case

    The full Ninth Circuit will not revisit a three-judge panel's decision to revive a lawsuit over pop stars Sam Smith and Normani's 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger."

  • June 23, 2025

    IT Co. Can't Get Justices To Review White Worker's Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a Third Circuit ruling that revived a proposed class action claiming a subsidiary of India-based Tech Mahindra unlawfully favored South Asian workers, despite the company's argument that the appeals court had deepened a circuit split.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices To Review Liability For Forcing Prisoner's Haircut

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a former Louisiana prisoner's case for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, removing the dreadlocks he maintained as part of his Rastafarian religion.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Skip Pa. Med Mal Fund's Bid To Shield $300M Surplus

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't decide if Pennsylvania's medical malpractice insurance fund is a government entity for the purpose of determining if the state is authorized to dip into the money pool's $300 million budget surplus. 

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Nix $23M Venezuela Chemical Co. Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a Venezuelan state-owned petrochemicals company's petition challenging the enforcement of a $23 million debt owed to a Florida chemical wholesaler, a case that sought clarity on which party has the burden of proving whether sovereign immunity applies.

  • June 23, 2025

    High Court Won't Revisit 'Right-To-Control' Fraud Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take a second look at the landmark case that disposed of the "right-to-control" theory of fraud, rejecting a petition that argued the Second Circuit had wrongly remanded the action for retrial before resolving the appeal at hand.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear Kosher Worker's OT Exemption Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a ruling that an Orthodox Jewish organization is immune from a worker's overtime claims because he falls under the First Amendment's ministerial exception.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Pass On La. Regulators' Tesla Sales Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Fifth Circuit decision that revived Tesla's lawsuit accusing Louisiana car dealers and regulators of illegally excluding the direct-sale automaker from the state, following a notification from the parties of their intent to reach a settlement.

  • June 20, 2025

    6th Circ. Upends Flagstar Bank Win In Overdraft Fees Suit

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday undid Flagstar Bank's win against a putative consumer protection class action accusing it of charging customers surprise overdraft fees, saying in an unpublished opinion that a rational factfinder could possibly conclude that the bank breached its terms and conditions.

  • June 20, 2025

    Supreme Court Won't Leapfrog DC Circ. Over Trump's Tariffs

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from two Illinois-based toy makers challenging President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs to consider their case before it is reviewed by the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 20, 2025

    High Court Urged To Rein In FDA Oversight Of Stem Cells

    The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons asked the U.S. Supreme Court Friday to review a Ninth Circuit decision the organization argued would wrongly give the government control over a patient's own stem cells.

  • June 20, 2025

    Bloomingdale's Website Tracking Suit Revived On CIPA Claim

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed the toss of a proposed class action accusing Bloomingdale's of illegally capturing website visitors' activities in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, finding the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged that the retailer had disclosed the "contents" of her communications to a third-party software provider.

  • June 20, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Suit To Collect $12.1M Judgment Too Late

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday said a trial court rightly found Mariner Healthcare Management Co.'s lawsuit against Sovereign Healthcare LLC over the recovery of a $12.1 million judgment was barred by the state's four-year statute of limitations for fraud.

  • June 20, 2025

    San Antonio Pushes To Repair Park Amid Tribal Dispute

    The city of San Antonio has asked the Fifth Circuit to lift a stay on a tribal appeal after the Texas Supreme Court answered a question about a state law addressing religious practices, arguing that the high court's opinion rules out two Native Americans' claims.

  • June 20, 2025

    Texas High Court Finds Pilots Union's Can Sue Over 737 Max

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday put wind beneath the wings of a Southwest Airline Pilots Association's suit aiming to hold Boeing responsible for its members' economic losses after regulators grounded the 737 Max aircraft, finding the Railway Labor Act does not preempt the union's claims.

  • June 20, 2025

    8th Circ. Sends SEC's $12M Dealer Suit Back To District Court

    The Eighth Circuit on Friday granted a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to remand a $12 million unregistered dealer judgment the agency won against financial firm Carebourn Capital LP back to the district court, despite Carebourn's bid to keep the matter in the federal appeals court.

  • June 20, 2025

    Fla. Panel Reverses Life Sentence In Carjacking Case

    A Florida appellate court reversed a life sentence for a man convicted of felony battery and carjacking, saying the lower court wrongly believed it didn't have the discretion to impose a lighter punishment.

  • June 20, 2025

    EPA Told To Explain Its Crop-Based Fuel Standards

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday returned a mixed opinion on challenges from green groups to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023-2025 renewable fuel standards, upholding the agency's volume-setting process but ruling that its climate change analysis was arbitrary and capricious under the Clean Air Act.

  • June 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs 'Legitimate' Bar Membership Admission Rules

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday tossed a challenge to local rules in district courts in the circuit requiring lawyers to be bar members in the state where the court is located in order to seek general admission, saying admission rules aren't unconstitutional and there are several "legitimate reasons" for the rule.

  • June 20, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives MSN Challenge To Bausch IBS Drug Patent

    The Federal Circuit has instructed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to take another crack at evaluating the validity of a drug patent owned by Bausch Health Ireland Ltd., holding that the PTAB's initial decision lacked the detail needed to determine whether it was right or wrong.

  • June 20, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms End Of NFL Meta Pixel Code Privacy Suit

    The Second Circuit on Friday declined to revive a New York federal lawsuit against the NFL over its use of Meta's tracking pixel on its website, finding an ordinary person would not be able to decipher the information collected.

  • June 20, 2025

    Board Says Cuban Parole Bid Can't End Removal Case

    The Board of Immigration Appeals held Friday that an immigration judge should not have terminated a noncitizen's removal proceedings so he could seek to adjust status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act, saying the individual's eligibility was too speculative to warrant termination.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers

    Author Photo

    If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Calif. Smoke Claim Ruling Gives Insurers Support On Denials

    Author Photo

    Far from being an outlier among ash, soot and smoke coverage cases, a California appellate court's recent opinion in Gharibian v. Wawanesa General Insurance reinforces the principle that policyholders must establish entitlement to coverage as a threshold matter, while supporting denials of coverage for meritless claims, says Kyle Espinola at Zelle.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

    Author Photo

    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

    Author Photo

    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape

    Author Photo

    In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

    Author Photo

    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of Liability Management Exercises

    Author Photo

    As liability management exercises face increasing legal scrutiny, understanding the history of these debt restructuring tools can help explain how the playbook keeps adapting — and why the next move is always just one ruling or transaction away, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Navigating Florida's Bad Faith Reforms After Appellate Ruling

    Author Photo

    A Florida appellate court's recent decision is among the first to interpret two significant amendments to the state's insurance bad faith law, and its holding that one of the statutes could not apply retroactively may affect insurers' interpretation of the other statute, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

    Author Photo

    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • A New Tool For Assessing Kickback Risks In Health Marketing

    Author Photo

    The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in U.S. v. Sorensen, reversing a conviction after trial of a durable medical equipment distributor, highlights two principle considerations for determining whether payments to marketers in healthcare are unlawful under the Anti-Kickback Statute, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Maximizing Employer Defenses After Calif. Meal Waiver Ruling

    Author Photo

    A California state appeals court's recent decision in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, finding that revocable meal period waivers prospectively signed by employees are enforceable, offers employers four steps to proactively reduce their exposure to meal period claims and bolster their defenses in a potential lawsuit, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

    Author Photo

    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL

    Author Photo

    In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.