Appellate

  • May 03, 2024

    Gannett Can't Dodge Tax Firm's Defamation Case

    Gannett Co. can't escape a defamation case accusing it of writing misleading articles saying Ryan LLC, a tax services and technology firm, engaged in shady business practices, a Texas appeals court ruled, finding the media giant isn't shielded from the claims by the Lone Star State's anti-SLAPP law.

  • May 03, 2024

    Florida Court Revives County's Suit Over Fairgrounds Deal

    A Florida appeals court on Friday revived Hernando County's lawsuit against a local county fair association over a broken contract to redevelop a county fairgrounds property, ruling that it is not clear the lawsuit is time-barred.

  • May 03, 2024

    NJ Court Again Affirms Dismissal Of Suit Over Infant's Death

    A New Jersey appeals court on Friday denied a bid from a couple to reinstate their malpractice suit over the death of their 6-month-old son, saying they failed to show they had substantially complied with the statute of limitations.

  • May 03, 2024

    Adopted Great-Grandnieces Can Share In Trust, Panel Says

    Two adopted great-grandnieces can receive distributions from a trust that inventor and businessman Joseph M. Merrow established for his siblings' children when he died in 1947, Connecticut's intermediate appellate court ruled Friday, concluding that distant adoptees were no longer "strangers" to a testator's gifts.

  • May 03, 2024

    Chemours Escapes NJ Security Guard's Slip-And-Fall Suit

    A New Jersey security guard who slipped and fell outside a Chemours facility can't sue the chemical manufacturer or the companies it contracted to shovel away snow, a state appeals court has ruled, saying they didn't owe him a duty of care because he ventured out to do his job during an ongoing storm.

  • May 03, 2024

    Grubhub Urges Justices Not To Review Kroger TM Dispute

    Grubhub told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that there's no need for the justices to review the Seventh Circuit's recent finding that consumers are unlikely to confuse Grubhub's logo with a logo used by Kroger's meal-kit delivery service Home Chef, arguing the trademark case doesn't raise a novel issue warranting review.

  • May 03, 2024

    Mich. Justices Reject Agency's 'Secret' Meeting Settlement

    The Michigan Supreme Court said Friday that a county road commission's settlement with three of its insurers over a coverage dispute was not binding because the commission — a public body — never voted to approve it in a public meeting.

  • May 03, 2024

    Fla. Business Groups Line Up Behind State In CWA Permit War

    A coalition of national companies and Florida-based business groups is weighing in on behalf of the state in its battle to convince the D.C. Circuit to stay a lower court's ruling that stripped it of the authority to administer a Clean Water Act program.

  • May 03, 2024

    3rd Circ. Clarifies Review Standard For Derivative Suits

    In a precedential ruling Friday declining to revive Cognizant Technology investors' derivative claims over a bribery scandal, the full Third Circuit held that the best way to review such cases on appeal was from the beginning, not giving deference to the lower court's decision or considering whether there was an abuse of discretion.

  • May 03, 2024

    Honolulu Asks Justices To Affirm State Court Climate Case

    Honolulu on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject fossil fuel companies' bid to put an end to its lawsuit alleging they knew for decades about the negative impacts of their products on climate change but concealed the information.

  • May 03, 2024

    DC Circ. Backs Feds' Puerto Rico Port Expansion Project

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the federal government's plans to broaden shipping lanes at Puerto Rico's largest port, rejecting arguments from a trio of environmental groups who accused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of failing to take the requisite hard look at the dredging project's environmental risks.

  • May 03, 2024

    How Big IP Judgment Winners Are Insuring 'Nuclear Verdicts'

    Until a few years ago, intellectual property plaintiffs who scored large monetary awards — often referred to as "nuclear verdicts" — had to wait out a lengthy appellate process before knowing how much money they would end up with. But a relatively new type of insurance policy is allowing plaintiffs to insure part of their judgment in case it gets reduced or wiped out on appeal. 

  • May 03, 2024

    Colo. Justices' Med Mal Cap Ruling A Win For Patients

    The Colorado Supreme Court's recent decision prohibiting trial courts from considering an injured patient's insurance liabilities before imposing the state's $1 million medical malpractice damages cap was the right call, experts say, and prevents an unfair windfall for negligent health care providers.

  • May 03, 2024

    Ex-Defender Can't Make Feds Release Harassment Reports

    A North Carolina federal court rejected a former assistant federal defender's bid to have the federal government release certain #MeToo evidence following a trial over her claims of a botched sexual harassment probe, saying she was "woefully late" in deciding to challenge its confidentiality status.

  • May 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Upholds Adidas TM Trial Loss To Thom Browne

    The Second Circuit upheld a jury verdict that found fashion brand Thom Browne's shoes and apparel did not rip off Adidas' iconic three-stripe logo, saying Friday that a Manhattan federal judge did not make a mistake with the instructions he provided jurors.

  • May 03, 2024

    4th Circ. Preview: Hemp, Wells And A Withdrawal

    The Fourth Circuit's second session of 2024 will have the court pondering the tension between Virginia's recent hemp restrictions and federal regulations, and how the Truth in Lending Act impacts a case accusing PNC Bank of an unauthorized account withdrawal.

  • May 03, 2024

    Ohio Atty Gets 3rd Suspension After Not Reporting Conviction

    A Cleveland-area attorney trying to get reinstated after neglecting bankruptcy cases was suspended yet again by the Ohio Supreme Court, which said he failed to report a drug conviction to his county bar association for almost eight months.

  • May 03, 2024

    IRS Can Assess Foreign Info Disclosure Penalty, DC Circ. Says

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday overturned a major U.S. Tax Court ruling that had struck down the Internal Revenue Service's authority to assess and administratively collect penalties from taxpayers for failing to file an information return on their interests in a foreign corporation.

  • May 02, 2024

    7th Circ. Mostly Backs Ill. Home Health Kickbacks Judgment

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday largely left intact an Illinois federal judge's $6 million ruling that a home health care company broke federal kickback laws, refusing to reverse the lower court's liability finding but directing it to ensure its damages award was calculated correctly.

  • May 02, 2024

    'We're Not All Innocent': 6th Circ. Tackles Whitmer Kidnap Case

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday questioned prosecutors who convicted two men of plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor who argue they should have been able to show jurors more evidence to support their entrapment defense, with one judge saying there's a gray area between being "innocent" and being "predisposed" to commit a crime.

  • May 02, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Axed Suit Tied To Amazon Patent Program

    The Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that a company alleging patent infringement through Amazon's patent evaluation program must face a declaratory judgment suit in the accused infringer's home state, rejecting a claim that the ruling will "open the floodgates" to such cases.

  • May 02, 2024

    TikTok, Users Push 9th Circ. To Keep Block On Montana Ban

    TikTok and its users are hitting back at Montana's bid to convince the Ninth Circuit to unblock a new law that would ban the social media app in the state, arguing that the state's position that the statute is a consumer protection measure that regulates conduct and not constitutionally protected speech is "premised on fiction."

  • May 02, 2024

    Conn. Venue Did Not Taint Malware Conviction, 2nd Circ. Says

    The Second Circuit on Thursday upheld a Russian citizen's conviction for his role in supporting hackers to infect hundreds of thousands of computers with malware, saying the government provided sufficient evidence while also rejecting his argument that the Connecticut federal district court was the wrong venue for the matter.

  • May 02, 2024

    Ethics, Military Orgs. Back Review Of Judge's Non-Recusal

    An ethics institute at the University of Pennsylvania and a military justice organization told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that a D.C. Circuit judge deprived a former al-Qaida member of a fair hearing when the judge did not recuse himself from the Guantanamo detainee's appeal.

  • May 02, 2024

    Attys Due For Spam Suit Sanction, But Not $750K, Judges Say

    Class counsel's misconduct in helping instigate a spam text suit against stock-trading app Robinhood Financial LLC warranted sanctions, a Washington state appeals court panel ruled Thursday, but the judges said the $750,000 penalty went over the top in deterring the bad behavior.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • NJ Ruling Offers Road Map To Fight Dishonored Check Claims

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    As ATM and mobile check deposits become more common, a New Jersey state appellate court’s recent ruling in Triffin v. Neptune shows that issuers can rely on copies of checks to defend against claims that checks were wrongfully dishonored after being electronically deposited, say attorneys at Sherman Atlas.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

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    In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law​​​​​​​.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

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