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Appellate
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May 02, 2024
4th Circ. Finds Judge Appointment Legit In Black Lung Case
The Fourth Circuit ruled that an administrative law judge who presided over a black lung benefits case was properly reappointed by the U.S. Department of Labor, rejecting Dominion Coal Corp.'s contention that his seating violated the Constitution's appointments clause.
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May 02, 2024
If High Court Upends Jan. 6 Conviction, What Happens Next?
If the U.S. Supreme Court decides prosecutors overstepped by charging a rioter who stormed the Capitol with obstruction, the results will likely be mixed for hundreds of other defendants charged with the same crime, particularly those who have been convicted. That post-appeal uncertainty is nothing new, defense attorneys say.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. 'Emphatically' Upholds JCPenney's Sanctions Win
The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a $63,000 sanction against an Alabama shopping mall amid its lease dispute with JCPenney, finding that the mall acted in bad faith by not notifying the court of a lack of diversity jurisdiction, eventually sinking the case — only after JCPenney won partial summary judgment and a later mediation failed.
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May 02, 2024
Dilworth Paxson Attys Disciplined Over NJ Eatery Conflict
Two Dilworth Paxson LLP partners were sanctioned by the New Jersey Supreme Court this week for investing in a restaurant on the campus of The College of New Jersey at the same time they were legally representing another investment group on the project.
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May 02, 2024
Schumer Reups Call For His Judge Shopping Bill
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that a suit filed in a controversial Texas court challenging a new firearms policy from the Biden administration underscores the need for his bill to restrict so-called "judge shopping."
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May 02, 2024
NJ Group's Challenge To Town's Pot Law Partially Revived
A New Jersey appeals panel has revived state law claims brought by a group challenging the Borough of Highland Park's cannabis licensing laws, while finding that the federal Controlled Substances Act does not preempt either the town's law or state cannabis law.
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May 02, 2024
5th Circ. Asks If Facts Matter In Construction Defect Row
A Fifth Circuit panel weighed the importance of facts versus the law in a dispute over whether an insurer must indemnify a construction company for a $1.3 million arbitration award for construction defects in a Texas farming cooperative's grain silos.
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May 01, 2024
Monsanto Gets $185 Million Wash. PCB Verdict Overturned
A Washington state appeals court sided with Monsanto on Wednesday, undoing a $185 million jury verdict for three teachers who claimed they were sickened by PCBs at a Washington school site and ruling the case could be limited by the Evergreen state's 12-year statute of repose for product liability claims.
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May 01, 2024
5th Circ. Nixes Use Of US Law In Maritime Malaria Dispute
The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday overturned an order permitting an Indian man to invoke U.S. law in his lawsuit accusing a Singaporean ship management company of negligence after he contracted malaria during a trip to Gabon while working aboard a Liberian-flagged cargo ship.
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May 01, 2024
Pa. Justices Asked To Determine If Workers' Comp Covers CBD
An attorney representing himself — and, in a way, suing himself — will get an opportunity to convince the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that CBD oil and other nonprescription medicine should be covered by workers' compensation, according to a Tuesday order from the justices.
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May 01, 2024
Fed. Judge's Handcuffing Of Girl Was Misconduct, Panel Says
The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit found Wednesday that a California federal judge who ordered a crying 13-year-old girl in his courtroom be handcuffed engaged in judicial misconduct, issuing a reprimand for his actions and ordering that the judge not be assigned new criminal cases for three years.
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May 01, 2024
Texas 'Gave Away The Game' In ATF Suit, 5th Circ. Judge Says
A Fifth Circuit judge told Texas it "just gave away the game" by stating that the application for obtaining a firearm suppressor counts as the injury, asking how the state could contend it had experienced such an injury without having applied for a license to own a suppressor during oral arguments Wednesday in a suit challenging federal firearm regulations.
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May 01, 2024
Median Patent Damages Awards Are Shrinking
A New York accounting firm that provides damages experts for intellectual property cases has found in a new study that median damages awards in patent cases have declined over the last 15 years.
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May 01, 2024
Judges Say Homeowners' Fight Over Airport Not Grounded Yet
A Washington couple violated their homeowners' association covenants by running a wing-walking flight school out of their home, but it is unclear if they ran afoul of community rules by using an association-owned airstrip for their business, according to a state appeals court opinion reversing a restriction on the couple's use of the airstrip.
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May 01, 2024
Ala., Fla. Trans Patients Urge 11th Circ. To Heed Bias Ruling
Attorneys representing transgender clients in Florida and Alabama have urged the Eleventh Circuit to heed a recent Fourth Circuit ruling striking down bans on state-funded coverage for gender-affirming medical care, saying the court ruled that the state policies violate federal law because their exclusions were based on gender identity and sex.
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May 01, 2024
Ariz. AG Warns Repeal Of 1864 Abortion Ban May Be Too Late
Legislation narrowly adopted Wednesday to repeal Arizona's 1864 abortion law won't be enough on its own to keep the near-total ban from taking effect this summer, the state attorney general warned, because the bill lacks an emergency clause.
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May 01, 2024
5 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In May
The Second Circuit will be asked to revive a 401(k) mismanagement suit against Deloitte, the Sixth Circuit will consider whether to force arbitration of a 401(k) fee suit against two automotive companies, and the Seventh Circuit will review the U.S. Department of Labor's court-ordered takeover of a multiemployer benefit fund. Here, Law360 looks at five appellate arguments benefits attorneys will want to keep an eye on this month.
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May 01, 2024
6th Circ. Says Precedent Revives Salvadoran's Removal Fight
The Board of Immigration Appeals misread precedent in finding that a Salvadoran man convicted of a misdemeanor under a Tennessee domestic violence law is barred from canceling his removal based on a disqualifying crime of violence, the Sixth Circuit has ruled.
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May 01, 2024
DC Circ. Scrutinizes Social Welfare In Tribe's Land Trust Bid
The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday grappled with whether a Native American tribe's bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture would promote tribe members' social welfare, as one judge sounded wary of such a move's repercussions.
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May 01, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives WDTX Patent Suit Tossed Over Standing
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a decision by Western District of Texas Judge Alan Albright that a company suing Zebra Technologies Corp. for patent infringement lacked constitutional standing, holding instead that the plaintiff retained patent rights under a loan agreement.
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May 01, 2024
Pa. Court Upholds University Cop's Firing Over Racist Posts
A Pennsylvania appeals court scrapped the reinstatement Wednesday of a Kutztown University police officer who was fired for sharing racist and offensive posts on his personal Facebook page, ruling that the arbitrator who gave him his job back improperly ignored anti-bias laws.
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May 01, 2024
No Relief For Fla. Adviser Convicted In $80M Trading Scam
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of a Florida investment adviser who bilked more than $80 million from the hundreds of people he persuaded to invest in a fraudulent company, after concluding he was not in custody when he made statements to the police.
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May 01, 2024
9th Circ. Slams Door On Kids' Climate Case
The Ninth Circuit ordered an Oregon federal judge Wednesday to immediately dismiss a closely watched suit by young adults against the federal government over the effects of climate change, saying its earlier order to end the matter could not be brushed off.
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May 01, 2024
Split 2nd Circ. Backs Arbitration Denial In ERISA Suit
A divided Second Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that a group of financial services companies can't compel individual arbitration of a proposed class action accusing them of overcharging an employee stock ownership plan, saying that doing so would prevent a plan participant from seeking planwide remedies authorized by federal benefits law.
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May 01, 2024
Meta's Privacy Fight With FTC Paused For High Court Ruling
The D.C. Circuit has pressed pause on Meta's bid to block the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing modifications to the parties' $5 billion privacy settlement to await the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house courts.
Expert Analysis
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2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise
The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.
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Where 9th Circ. Lowe's Ruling Leaves PAGA Jurisprudence
Leah Kennedy and Carolyn Wheeler at Katz Banks discuss the legal landscape and controlling precedent around the Private Attorneys General Act that led to the Ninth Circuit's Johnson v. Lowe's decision last month on individual PAGA wage claims, and explore the open questions that it leaves.
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Opinion
5th Circ. NFL Disability Ruling Turns ERISA On Its Head
The Fifth Circuit's March 15 ruling in Cloud v. NFL Player Retirement Plan upheld the plan's finding that an NFL player was not entitled to reclassification because he couldn't show changed circumstances, which is contrary to the goal of accurate Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims processing, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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How Fieldwood Ch. 11 Ruling Bolsters Section 363 Confidence
The Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Fieldwood Energy’s Chapter 11 cases, which clarified that challenges to integral aspects of a bankruptcy sale are statutorily moot under Section 363(m) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, should bolster the confidence of prospective purchasers in these sales, say attorneys at V&E.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.
The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face
Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.
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Ala. Frozen Embryo Ruling Creates Risks for Managed Care Orgs
The Alabama Supreme Court's decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine last month, declaring that frozen embryos count as children, has not only upended the abortion debate but also raised questions for managed care organizations and healthcare providers that provide, offer or facilitate fertility treatment nationwide, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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NY Bond, Enforcement Options As Trump Judgment Looms
In light of former President Donald Trump's court filing this week indicating that he can't secure a bond for the New York attorney general's nearly $465 million judgment against him, Neil Pedersen of Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency and Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen explore New York state judgment enforcement options and the mechanics of securing and collateralizing an appellate bond.
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What To Watch As Justices Consider Appeal Deadline Case
Next week, in Harrow v. U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider for the first time whether a statutory deadline for appealing from a federal agency to an Article III court is jurisdictional, setting the stage for a decision that could dramatically reshape the landscape for challenging agency decisions, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.
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Opinion
Justices' Trump Ballot Ruling May Spark Constitutional Crisis
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump must be reinstated to Colorado’s primary ballot endorses an unnecessarily broad legal theory of disqualification from federal office, raising constitutional questions that will only become more urgent as the next presidential election nears, says Devon Ombres at the Center for American Progress.
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Rebuttal
High Court Should Maintain Insurer Neutrality In Bankruptcy
While a recent Law360 guest article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should endorse insurer standing in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, doing so would create a playground for mischief and delay, and the high court should instead uphold insurance neutrality, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.