Appellate

  • August 22, 2025

    NC Justices Affirm Dismissal Of Philip Morris Tax Challenge

    A North Carolina administrative court does not have the power to find a state tax law unconstitutional as applied, the state's highest court ruled Friday, upholding a loss for Philip Morris in a $300,000 franchise tax case.

  • August 22, 2025

    State Solicitors General Become A Trump Judge Pipeline

    Seven months into his presidency, more than a third of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees hailed from a pool not tapped nearly as much as his predecessors: state solicitors general.

  • August 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Rules Virginia Gov. Can Deny Felon Voting Rights

    A formerly incarcerated Virginia man convicted of attempted murder as a minor couldn't argue his constitutional rights had been violated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who refused to allow him to vote, the Fourth Circuit said, finding the state's process of vesting reenfranchisement in its top executive was constitutional.

  • August 22, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs TSA's Cybersecurity Rules For Railroads

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday rejected the challenge from a pair of railways to recent cybersecurity mandates from the Transportation Security Administration, saying the agency wasn't required to first take notice and comment and that it has "broad authority to identify cybersecurity threats and craft appropriate responses."

  • August 22, 2025

    Russian Urges 2nd Circ. To Scrap Superyacht Seizure Ruling

    Russian billionaire Eduard Khudainatov told the Second Circuit a New York federal judge authorized the U.S. government to sell off his seized superyacht without giving him a fair chance to fight assertions he was a "straw owner" for a sanctioned oligarch.

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    Trump Admin To Appeal Susman Godfrey Exec Order Ruling

    The Trump administration announced Friday its intention to appeal a June ruling that struck down as unconstitutional an executive order targeting Susman Godfrey LLP, after the court said the order was issued in retaliation for its representation of clients and causes the president opposes.

  • August 22, 2025

    Seton Hall Flags 'Dangerous Precedent' In NJ Venue Dispute

    Seton Hall University is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision moving a whistleblower case from its former president from Essex to Hudson County, saying letting that action stand would set a "dangerous precedent" regarding case transfers.

  • August 22, 2025

    Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law

    A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.

  • August 22, 2025

    $785K Legal Malpractice Judgment Against Pa. Firm Upheld

    A debt collection agency did not provide enough evidence to show it deserved prejudgment interest on a $785,000 jury award it received from a malpractice suit against two former Hartman Valeriano Magovern & Lutz attorneys who allegedly botched a real estate transfer that cost the agency $1.4 million, according to a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

  • August 22, 2025

    Tribe Member Can't Discharge Tax Debt, 10th Circ. Affirms

    An Oklahoma federal court correctly affirmed a bankruptcy court's refusal to reopen a case brought by a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation who claimed his tax debt should have been discharged in bankruptcy, the Tenth Circuit said.

  • August 22, 2025

    1st Circ. Says Muralist Filed Copyright Case Too Late

    The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit that a muralist had brought against the organizers of a Massachusetts state fair over promotional videos for the event that used her artwork without crediting her, finding that even though this was the third time she sued, a federal district court was right to declare her latest claims time-barred.

  • August 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Rejects NM Ranchers' Bird Protection Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected New Mexico ranchers' challenge to the federal government's decision to preserve Endangered Species Act protections for a small, migratory songbird.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses Wash. City's Win In Military Leave Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel threw out a Washington federal judge's ruling that a City of Ocean Shores firefighter was not entitled to pay for military leave after the state's top court decided otherwise.

  • August 22, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Order To Wind Down Detention Center Operations

    A Florida official filed notice late Thursday that the state will appeal a federal judge's ruling ordering the government to begin winding down operations at the Everglades immigration detention center after finding the plaintiffs challenging it are likely to prevail on their environmental claims.

  • August 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Leaves Judge Newman's Suspension Intact

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed the dismissal of 98-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's lawsuit against her colleagues for barring her from hearing cases, holding that she failed to show that the statute that was used to suspend her is unconstitutional.

  • August 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Dissenters Rip Judge's 'Weaponization Of Sanctions'

    A half-dozen Ninth Circuit judges Thursday denounced six-figure sanctions against attorneys for prominent politicians challenging Arizona election procedures, accusing a lower court of "twisting and contorting" allegations in order to punish lawyers "based on the nature of the complaint and the clients that they represented."

  • August 21, 2025

    1st Circ. Rejects Flyers' $34M Fee Bid In JetBlue-Spirit Case

    Passengers who launched an antitrust challenge to the since-scrapped JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger are not eligible to collect up to $34 million in legal fees, the First Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that because the deal was blocked in a parallel government case, the passengers are not actually the prevailing parties.

  • August 21, 2025

    Pa. Court Revives Fired County Worker's Whistleblower Claim

    A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday sent back a dispute to a lower court over a fired county employee's whistleblower allegation tied to her reporting that a union representative secretly taped meetings, determining the union official acted as a county employee when she made the recordings.

  • August 21, 2025

    Pa. Biz Groups, Providers, Uber Want Fault Loophole Closed

    Uber and a coalition of organizations often targeted by injury lawsuits urged a Pennsylvania appeals court to close a legal loophole that they claim largely undermines the purpose of the Fair Share Act, which limits a defendant's liability to their portion of fault.

  • August 21, 2025

    Challenge To Fed. Layoffs A 'Fishing Expedition,' 9th Circ. Told

    A federal government attorney told a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday that a group of unions, nonprofits and cities challenging President Donald Trump's massive layoffs of federal workers have no right to communications and documents showing what went into the layoff decisions, saying it's a "fishing expedition in search of a viable legal theory."

  • August 21, 2025

    Ga. Panel Backs Obstruction Charge Over ID Refusal

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a felony and three misdemeanor counts of obstruction of a law enforcement officer for the passenger of a car who refused to produce her driver's license during a traffic stop, despite possessing a valid license.

  • August 21, 2025

    Family Urges 5th Circ. To Hold Penske Liable For Fatal Crash

    The family of a man killed in a 2018 collision has told the Fifth Circuit that freight broker Penske cannot claim ignorance to escape liability for negligently hiring the unsafe motor carrier and driver who caused the Texas accident.

  • August 21, 2025

    Appeals Court Says Dallas Must Release Discrimination Records

    A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the city of Dallas has to turn over records on a federal housing discrimination investigation to The Dallas Morning News, saying the information was not exempt from public disclosure.

  • August 21, 2025

    Amazon Must Yield To DOL Expense Subpoena, 9th Circ. Says

    Amazon has to comply with the U.S. Department of Labor's demands for data on travel reimbursements paid to supervisors sent to New York to dissuade warehouse workers from unionizing, a Ninth Circuit panel said on Thursday, concluding the information is germane to an agency probe of potential reporting violations.  

Expert Analysis

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

    Author Photo

    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

    Author Photo

    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption

    Author Photo

    Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

    Author Photo

    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

    Author Photo

    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

    Author Photo

    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

    Author Photo

    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

    Author Photo

    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Rocket Mortgage Appeal May Push Justices To Curb Classes

    Author Photo

    Should the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear Alig v. Rocket Mortgage, the resulting decision could limit class sizes based on commonality under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Evidence as opposed to standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, say attorneys at Carr Maloney.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

    Author Photo

    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

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.