Appellate

  • July 08, 2025

    Product Liability Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

    The fate of a $2.5 billion punitive damages award against Ford and looming bench verdicts in the first PFAS trials brought by a state are among the cases that product liability attorneys will be following closely in the second half of 2025.

  • July 08, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Revives Journos' Hacking Suit Against NSO

    A divided Ninth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit by El Salvadoran journalists alleging Israeli spyware maker NSO Group hacked their iPhones when covering human rights abuses, ruling Tuesday the California federal court abused its discretion when dismissing their suit based on its conclusion that the district wasn't the appropriate forum. 

  • July 08, 2025

    Pot Smell May Be Hemp So No Probable Cause, 4th Circ. Told

    A North Carolina man urged the Fourth Circuit on Monday to revive his challenge of a police officer's search of his car based on the smell of marijuana, saying the government is wrongly asserting the search was legal because there are legal forms of hemp with an indistinguishable odor. 

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump, Iowa AG Back Florida's Push To Enforce Migrant Law

    The Trump administration, the state of Iowa and the Immigration Reform Law Institute told the Eleventh Circuit they support Florida's push to enforce a law criminalizing the entry of unauthorized immigrants into the state, arguing the law isn't preempted by federal statutes. 

  • July 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Rejects Fla. Jurisdiction In $17M Cheese Fraud Case

    The Eleventh Circuit declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit accusing Savencia Cheese USA LLC and its executives of fraudulently selling two Florida companies a worthless cheese distribution company for $17 million, finding that the presence of deal counsel in Miami is not enough to keep the suit in Florida federal court.

  • July 08, 2025

    Copter Pilot's Death Suit Revived By 4th Circ. After Rehearing

    The Fourth Circuit has once again reinstated a lawsuit by the widow of a crop-dusting pilot whose helicopter became tangled in a steel cable stretched over the property, causing him to crash, ruling that a jury must be the one to decide whether the landlord should have known that the wire posed a danger, according to a published opinion issued Tuesday following a rehearing.

  • July 08, 2025

    8th Circ. Strikes Down FTC's Click-To-Cancel Rule

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday vacated the Federal Trade Commission's planned "click-to-cancel" rule, which would have required companies to allow customers to ditch their subscriptions with a single click, finding that the commission did not follow the proper procedures once a judge determined the rule change would cost over $100 million. 

  • July 08, 2025

    Teva Challenge To J&J Antipsychotic Patent Fails At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday rejected Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.'s challenge to the validity of claims in a Johnson & Johnson unit's patent covering a lucrative schizophrenia drug, disagreeing with the generic-drug maker that one of the patent's claims should be presumed obvious.

  • July 08, 2025

    VA Worker Can't Revive Scooter Storage Accommodation Suit

    The Seventh Circuit upheld the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' defeat of a lawsuit claiming the agency unlawfully revoked a disabled employee's reserved parking space during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the VA's offer of an alternative spot wasn't unreasonable just because he couldn't lock his mobility scooter overnight.

  • July 08, 2025

    Aviation Co. Asks Justices To Clarify TM Jury Trial Rights

    A personal airplane manufacturer involved in a trademark dispute with a luxury charter-plane company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether parties in infringement cases forfeit their right to a jury trial when seeking an accounting of profits as the monetary remedy instead of damages.

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump Tariff Fights Put Spotlight On Major Questions Doctrine

    Challenges to President Donald Trump's global tariffs have brought renewed attention to the U.S. Supreme Court's major questions doctrine, including observations that lower courts have so far inconsistently applied this approach when scrutinizing a range of agency actions.

  • July 08, 2025

    Poultry Farm Urges NC Justices To Reject Animal Cruelty Case

    A North Carolina poultry farm lambasted a chicken welfare group as allegedly seeking a "third bite at the proverbial apple" by petitioning the state's highest court to revive its animal cruelty case, saying the state's animal protection statute doesn't apply to commercial farmers.

  • July 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Asked To Rehear Carnival Cruise Sex Assault Case

    A teenage passenger has urged the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider its ruling absolving Carnival Corp. of liability for her onboard sexual assault, arguing that the cruise line knew of over 100 prior passenger-on-passenger assaults but failed to take simple steps like implementing curfews or adding security to protect minors.

  • July 08, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives Medical Device Co.'s Claim In Contract Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a medical device maker's breach of contract claim alleging a company it hired to manage its patents globally overcharged for services, sending the case back to a Virginia federal court.

  • July 08, 2025

    NC Atty Says Mistrial Order Puts Career At Risk In Appeal Bid

    A property restoration company and its trial attorney told the North Carolina Court of Appeals that the attorney did not engage in "serious misconduct," and urged it to toss components of a lower court's mistrial order.

  • July 08, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Pause Ex-Naval Engineers' No-Poach Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday sent a revived class action alleging that shipbuilding military contractors used no-poach agreements to suppress wages back to district court, rejecting the contractors' motion for a stay while they prepare to send a certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • July 08, 2025

    FinCEN To Appeal Block Of Trump's Border Cash Biz Order

    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, its director and others on Tuesday filed a notice of their plan to appeal a California federal judge's decision to temporarily block the Trump administration's order singling out cash-moving businesses along the southwest border for heightened anti-money laundering reporting.

  • July 08, 2025

    Exclusion's Use Of 'The' Supports Alt. Reading, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit said an exclusion barring coverage for intellectual property infringement claims didn't necessarily relieve an insurer from covering defense expenses an oil and gas company incurred in an IP theft lawsuit, finding the exclusion's use of "the" led to a pro-coverage, reasonable meaning.

  • July 08, 2025

    BCBS Of Mich. Wants Yacht Company's ERISA Fight Tossed

    A Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate urged a federal court to toss a yacht company's suit alleging mismanagement of its employee health plan, arguing its allegations that out-of-network claims were mishandled were time-barred and failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

  • July 08, 2025

    DEA Tells DC Circ. To Toss Ayahuasca Church's Petition

    Federal drug enforcers urged the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to toss a petition brought by an Iowa church seeking a religious exemption to use a psychedelic in its rites, saying there was no legal basis to the organization's allegations that the agency took too long to process its application.

  • July 08, 2025

    Pa. Panel Grants Immunity To Nursing Board In Exam Dispute

    A Pennsylvania appellate court on Tuesday narrowly rejected a lawsuit filed by an ex-nurse who contends a state board violated her rights by ordering her to undergo a mental health exam, finding instead that the board members are entitled to quasi-judicial immunity.

  • July 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Affirms Tax Fraud Conviction, 4-Year Sentence

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a Georgia woman's tax fraud conviction and four-year-plus prison sentence, rejecting her claims that the judge overseeing her case was biased, that her lawyer was ineffective and that a hearing should have been held on whether she was competent to stand trial.

  • July 08, 2025

    Conn. Atty Convicted In Shooting Denied Bond, For Now

    The Connecticut Appellate Court will not immediately allow former Cramer & Anderson LLP partner Robert L. Fisher Jr. to be released on bond while he challenges his March manslaughter conviction for shooting an attacker in his law firm's parking lot, but it will review a lower court's decision to keep him jailed.

  • July 08, 2025

    Calif. 'Trail Immunity' Blocks Suit Over Bicyclist's Death

    A California appeals court has refused to revive a woman's suit against East Bay Regional Park District over her husband's death, rejecting her argument that the state's "trail immunity" doesn't apply to paved trails.

  • July 08, 2025

    Ex-DC Prosecutors Rip Pick Of Emil Bove For 3rd Circ.

    In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a group of former federal prosecutors in Washington panned Emil Bove as a "dangerous" pick for the Third Circuit and criticized his record as a prosecutor as that of a loyal follower of President Donald Trump.

Expert Analysis

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 3 Rulings May Reveal Next Frontier Of Gov't Contract Cases

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    Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past year — involving wire fraud, gratuities and obstruction — offer wide-ranging and arguably conflicting takeaways for government contractors that are especially relevant given the Trump administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • NCAA Settlement Kicks Off New Era For Student-Athlete NIL

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    A landmark settlement stemming from 15 years of litigation between schools and the NCAA reflects a major development in college athletics by securing compensation for usage of student-athletes' names, images and likenesses, and schools hoping to take advantage of new opportunities should take proactive steps to comply with new rules, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 7th Circ. Insurance Ruling Resolves Major Jurisdictional Issue

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    The Seventh Circuit recently confirmed in StarStone Insurance v. Chicago that attorney fees and costs paid as part of a settlement are covered — while unexpectedly raising and answering a question of first impression about federal jurisdiction over foreign entities, says Lara Langeneckert at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • DOJ May Rethink Banning Firearms For Marijuana Users

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    In light of various federal circuit court decisions and an executive order from President Donald Trump, U.S. Department of Justice enforcement policy now may be on the verge of changing decidedly in favor of marijuana users' gun rights, and could foreshadow additional marijuana-friendly reforms, says Jacob Raver at Dentons.

  • EDNY Ruling May Limit Some FARA Conspiracy Charges

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    Though the Eastern District of New York’s recent U.S. v. Sun decision upheld Foreign Agents Registration Act charges against a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, its recognition of an affirmative legislative policy to exempt some officials may help defendants charged with related conspiracies, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Fla. Workers' Comp Ruling Ups Bar For Emotional Injury Suits

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    A Florida appellate court’s recent opinion in Steak 'N Shake v. Spears requires that employees solely claiming emotional distress seek workers’ compensation before suing their employers, closing a potential loophole and reducing the potential proliferation of such disputes in Florida courts, says Rob Rogers at Kirwin Norris.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Spearin, Overpayments, Jurisdiction

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    Edward Arnold at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions addressing the limits of the Spearin doctrine in design-build contracts, the government's ability to recoup overpayments after a termination for convenience, and the Contract Disputes Act's strict and nonwaivable jurisdictional rules.

  • What Calif. Appeals Split Means For Litigating PAGA Claims

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    After two recent California state appeals court rulings diverged on whether a former employee with untimely individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act can maintain a representative action, practitioners' strategic agility will be key to managing risk and achieving favorable outcomes in PAGA litigation, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • NY Case Shows How LLC Agreements Can Be Amended

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    The New York Court of Appeals in Behler v. Tao recently held that a merger clause contained in an amended limited liability company agreement superseded and extinguished an alleged oral agreement between the parties, highlighting the importance of determining early how and when an LLC agreement may be amended, says Kerrin Klein at Olshan Frome.

  • If Justices Accept, Maxwell Case May Clarify Meaning Of 'US'

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take up Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, it could clarify the meaning of “United States” in the context of plea agreements, and a plain language interpretation of the term would offer criminal defendants fairness and finality, say attorneys at Kudman Trachten.

  • The State Of Play In Copyright Protection For Floor Plans

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    With questions over copyright protections for floor plans potentially teed up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys in the real estate industry should take steps to clarify and strengthen clients' rights and reduce the risk of litigation, says Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

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