Appellate

  • June 02, 2026

    Wash. Panel OKs Challenges To Seattle's Comprehensive Plan

    A Washington state appeals panel Monday revived a pair of challenges to an environmental impact statement published as part of Seattle's comprehensive plan for the city's next two decades of growth, ruling that the challenges aren't barred by recent state laws encouraging the construction of more housing.

  • June 02, 2026

    Green Groups Challenge EPA Chemical Leak Rules

    Environmental and public health groups are challenging softened monitoring and reporting requirements for chemical manufacturing facilities.

  • June 02, 2026

    Colo. Panel Mulls Association's Fees Bid, Lease Interpretation

    The Colorado Court of Appeals on Tuesday focused on how it should interpret portions of a long-term fishing lease between a property owners association and a Colorado ranch in the association's appeal seeking attorney fees against the ranch.

  • June 02, 2026

    Ariz. Justices Nix Murder Conviction Over Bad Verdict Form

    A divided Arizona Supreme Court has ordered a new murder trial for a man convicted of second degree murder after it found that a jury was given incorrect jury instructions on a different charge and an incorrect verdict form.

  • June 02, 2026

    Why License? 5th Circ. Weighs 'Server Test' In News App Fight

    A Fifth Circuit judge on Tuesday asked counsel for a news aggregation app why publishers would ever license their articles if the app can lawfully show readers the same content without paying as long as it's hosted on the publishers' own servers.

  • June 02, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Save Farm Patents, But Reopens Fee Issue

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived a company's bid for attorney fees after defeating an infringement case by AGI Suretrack over agricultural data patents, saying a lower court correctly deemed those patents invalid, but failed to explain why it didn't find the case exceptional for fee purposes.

  • June 02, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Ga. Concrete Bid-Rigging Conviction

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a manager's conviction for conspiring to rig bids and fix prices for tens of millions of dollars in ready-mix concrete contracts in Georgia, after finding enough evidence of his participation in the scheme.

  • June 02, 2026

    Michigan Tells Panel Absentee Ballot Restriction Too Stiff

    Counsel for the Michigan secretary of state urged a state appeals panel Tuesday to overturn the Republican National Committee's win of an injunction requiring absentee ballots with missing or mismatched identification tabs to be disqualified, arguing that tossing those ballots would disenfranchise voters.

  • June 02, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Worker Can't Revive Wage Classes After Deal

    The Fourth Circuit dismissed a former auto parts worker's appeal of an order decertifying wage and hour classes and a collective action, finding Tuesday he lost standing when he voluntarily settled his individual claims.

  • June 02, 2026

    Generics Makers Tell 3rd Circ. Buyers Too Few For Class

    Two pharmaceutical companies embroiled in decadelong litigation over the alleged price-fixing of generic drugs told a Third Circuit panel on Tuesday that groups of drug buyers either didn't have the numbers necessary to support class certification or were not clearly identifiable.

  • June 02, 2026

    Justices Urged To Address Tax Fraud Deadline Split

    A woman urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to reconcile the appellate courts' split over the period to assess taxes against a taxpayer in cases when a third party commits fraud, saying the IRS even admitted that the conflict creates "intolerable results."

  • June 02, 2026

    LA Says DOJ's Pot Shift Can't Sway Dormant Commerce Case

    Los Angeles urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to dispose of a dormant commerce clause challenge to the city's cannabis licensure program, saying the federal rescheduling of medical marijuana should not influence the case.

  • June 02, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Recharge Kids' Suit Over Trump's Energy EOs

    A Ninth Circuit panel refused Tuesday to revive a group of youths' legal challenge of President Donald Trump's executive orders spurring the use of fossil fuels to meet the country's energy needs, concluding the plaintiffs "can only speculate" that the orders will trigger agency decisions that ultimately intensify climate change.

  • June 02, 2026

    11th Circ. Raises Practicality Questions About Fla. Drag Law

    The full Eleventh Circuit grappled Tuesday with how a Florida law that criminalizes admitting minors to "adult live performances" like drag shows would square with the free speech rights, pressing the state on how to discern what's appropriate for patrons of different ages.

  • June 02, 2026

    US Pushes To Keep Trump Tariffs In Effect During Appeal

    The Federal Circuit should maintain a pause on a lower court's order blocking President Donald Trump's temporary global tariffs with respect to Washington state and two businesses, the U.S. argued, saying the merits "lopsidedly" favor a stay during the government's appeal.

  • June 02, 2026

    Tribe Waived Immunity In Casino Land Fight, NC Panel Told

    The Catawba Indian Nation can't assert blanket immunity from a development company's suit claiming the tribe "ran wild" with the access it received to privately owned land surrounding the tribe's planned casino in North Carolina, the company told a state appellate panel Tuesday.

  • June 02, 2026

    Mass. Justices Allow Trooper Body Cam Evidence In DUI Case

    A man arrested for drunken driving cannot have a state trooper's body cam footage of him excluded from evidence, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Tuesday, finding that although he may not have been aware that he was being recorded, there was ample notice and police were not breaking the law.

  • June 02, 2026

    6th Circ. Weighs Mich. City's Pride Flag Policy

    A panel of the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday wrestled with whether a Detroit-area city's decision to bar rainbow Pride flags from its flagpoles while continuing to fly flags representing countries tied to residents' national origins was a lawful expression of government speech. 

  • June 02, 2026

    DOJ Won't Move Forward With $1.8B Fund, Blanche Confirms

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday, "we're not moving forward" with the controversial $1.8 billion settlement fund.

  • June 02, 2026

    Hemp Cos. Say DEA Overreached By Criminalizing HHC

    Two hemp companies are challenging a recent U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rule that designated a hemp-derived psychoactive compound as a Schedule I substance, saying the agency's move was an unlawful overreach that contradicts Congress' legalization of hemp.

  • June 02, 2026

    Fox Rothschild Atty Censured Over $2.7M In Unapproved Fees

    A New Jersey-based bankruptcy partner at Fox Rothschild LLP has been censured by the Supreme Court of New Jersey after she was found to have wrongfully disbursed over $2.7 million in fees to her former firms without approval.

  • June 02, 2026

    Marketing Data Exec Can't Appeal Sanctions, 8th Circ. Says

    The Eighth Circuit has held that the owner of a marketing data firm cannot appeal a civil contempt order and sanctions against him for failing to answer a copyright lawsuit since the order was not an appealable final decision.

  • June 02, 2026

    7th Circ. Fines Deported Migrant's Atty For ChatGPT Misuse

    The Seventh Circuit has rejected a Mexican citizen's petition challenging an immigration court's removal order on the merits, while sanctioning his attorney $5,000 for filing two legal briefs "riddled with" fabricated quotes and case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT.

  • June 02, 2026

    11th Circ. May Lower Bar For Getting ERISA Claims To Court

    Several Eleventh Circuit judges voiced support during en banc arguments Tuesday for overturning precedent backing the appellate court's exhaustion requirement for federal benefits claims, signaling the potential reinstatement of a proposed class action alleging mismanagement of a seafood company's employee stock ownership plan.

  • June 02, 2026

    10th Circ. Says Salvadoran Was Too Late To Reopen Case

    A Salvadoran national who previously lost his bid to avoid removal was too late in seeking to reopen his case before an immigration appeals board, the Tenth Circuit has ruled, rejecting his arguments over why his motion should still be deemed timely.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

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    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

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    Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: IPR And The Limits Of Retroactivity

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    The Federal Circuit recently ruled in Implicit v. Sonos that even though the clever retroactive correction of two invalidated patents theoretically should have changed the outcome of the inter partes review, the patentee had forfeited the right to rely on the correction — which is interesting for several reasons, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • Managing Tort Risk After Justices' War Zone Immunity Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hencely v. Fluor changes the tort landscape for battlefield contractors, whose liability for employee injury will now turn on compliance with battlefield directives — a question that will require discovery into highly sensitive details of combat operations and military decision-making, says Warren Bianchi at Fluet.

  • What Mass. Ruling Clarifies About Whistleblower Protections

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    A Massachusetts appellate court's recent decision in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College, finding that an employee retained whistleblower protections despite his reporting responsibilities and possible contribution to the compliance failure, requires employers to distinguish between performance-based decisions and their response to protected reporting, say attorneys at Smith Kane.

  • AG Watch: Texas Charts A Course On Investigative Authority

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    The Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Texas v. PFLAG affirmed, and arguably expanded, the Texas attorney general's civil investigative demand authority, providing a road map that other courts evaluating state attorney general CIDs may find instructive, amid a lack of precedent, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    From causation standards in first-party property claims, to the scope of statutory bad faith liability, to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in underinsured motorist disputes, three recent cases illustrate how Pennsylvania courts continued to refine the boundaries of coverage and dispute resolution, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Building A Persecution Case After Justices' Asylum Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi raises the bar for overturning agency findings in federal court, changing how practitioners handling asylum and removal defense cases need to think about building a factual record and formulating arguments on appeal, say attorneys at Lai & Turner and Farzaneh Law.

  • High Court 'Skinny Label' Case Will Matter To Tech Litigators

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    Hikma v. Amarin, set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, has potential to affect not just generic drug label-based evidence in patent cases, but also how technology inducement cases are presented and proven, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

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