Appellate

  • February 18, 2026

    DOJ Allowed To Dictate Pay, Term Of Google Search Watchers

    A D.C. federal judge sided with the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday regarding the key terms of service for the five-member technical committee tasked with observing Google's compliance with mandates to prop up rival search engines with search results and data.

  • February 18, 2026

    Will Jurors Penalize AI? Study Examines Trade Secrets Impact

    A forthcoming academic study suggests juries may treat AI-enabled actions more harshly than human conduct in trade secrets disputes, resulting in what the authors call an “AI penalty.” Attorneys say reality is more complicated.

  • February 18, 2026

    Judge Rejects FTC's Emergency Bid To Spare Merger Rule

    The Federal Trade Commission has just until Thursday to obtain Fifth Circuit intervention after a Texas federal judge refused Wednesday to extend his seven-day pause on the order scrapping the agency's premerger reporting overhaul.

  • February 18, 2026

    Conn. Justice Tackles Precedent, AI In Renomination Hearing

    Answering a question about abortion rights during a renomination hearing Wednesday, a cautious Connecticut Supreme Court justice said courts must be mindful when overruling past decisions, questioning whether the doctrine of stare decisis, or allowing past opinions to stand, could become "not much of a doctrine at all."

  • February 18, 2026

    State Law Matters More For Bankruptcy Tolling, NC Justices Told

    A real estate rental agency told North Carolina's high court Wednesday that it didn't miss its chance to collect a $507,000 debt because a decade-long statute of limitations period for judgment renewal was tolled by the debtor's bankruptcy.

  • February 18, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says No Pension Bill For Bus Co. After Union Switch

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday backed a ruling that cut a school bus company's pension withdrawal liability to zero, siding with the company's interpretation that federal benefits law entitled it to a discount on what was owed when its employees switched from one union to another.

  • February 18, 2026

    Insurer Must Cover $5.5M Crash Settlement, 4th Circ. Says

    A highway construction company is entitled to coverage under a subcontractor's policy for a $5.5 million settlement over two motorcycle crashes, the Fourth Circuit held Wednesday, finding that the company's liability to the victims was causally connected to the subcontractor's placement of work zone signage.

  • February 18, 2026

    Ga. Railroad Defends Land Seizures In Eminent Domain Fight

    A small Georgia railroad operation urged a state appellate court Wednesday to uphold successive rulings by the state's utility commission and a trial court to allow condemnation of landowners' property to build a new spur in its network and to lift the stay that's currently holding up construction.

  • February 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Military Policy Banning HIV-Positive Enlistees

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a U.S. Department of Defense policy that bans HIV-positive Americans from enlisting, deferring to the military's judgment that it must have healthy and fit service members who do not require consistent treatment for chronic medical conditions. 

  • February 18, 2026

    Trump Opposes Stay In Mar-A-Lago Case During Appeal

    President Donald Trump and his former co-defendants in the criminal case over his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago registered their opposition Wednesday in Florida federal court to pausing the case while two nonprofit groups appeal the denial of their request to release the final report from former special counsel Jack Smith.

  • February 18, 2026

    Florida Court Revives Homeowner Suit Against Insurer

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday revived a suit by two homeowners against their insurer after finding that the lawsuit was wrongly tossed because the homeowners' counsel failed to appear at trial.

  • February 18, 2026

    5th Circ. Affirms Staffing Co.'s Pay Plan Doesn't Exempt OT

    A staffing company's retainer pay plan guaranteeing a set amount of pay for any work in a workweek did not represent a salary under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fifth Circuit affirmed Wednesday.

  • February 18, 2026

    Pa. Court Permits Officers' Biased Remarks In Murder Case

    Pennsylvania's highest court affirmed a life sentence for murder on Wednesday, finding that police interrogation video shown to a jury in which detectives made accusatory statements and opined on the suspect's guilt was admissible.

  • February 18, 2026

    11th Circ. Says No Sanctions In Capitol Riot Defamation Case

    An American Airlines flight attendant won't face sanctions for suing a co-worker for defamation after he posted statements online about her participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

  • February 18, 2026

    State High Court Chiefs To Review Law School Accreditation

    State supreme court leaders said Wednesday they will conduct a thorough review of law school accreditation practices this year, a move that comes after state justices in Texas and Florida recently ended the American Bar Association's longstanding accreditation monopoly in those states.

  • February 18, 2026

    9th Circ. Affirms Tracy Anderson's Workout Copyright Loss

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a ruling that invalidated copyrights to celebrity fitness trainer Tracy Anderson's "Tracy Anderson Method" workout routines in 19 DVDs, finding that the routines are unprotectable methods designed to improve health, similar to yoga poses at issue in the Ninth Circuit's Bikram ruling.

  • February 18, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs More Samsung PTAB Wins Over Audio Tech

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday backed most of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decisions to invalidate claims in a duo of earpiece technology patents challenged by Samsung, though it agreed to revive two claims the electronics giant didn't ask the board to ax.

  • February 18, 2026

    Feds Ask High Court To Reject Chinook Tribe Recognition

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition by the Chinook Indian Nation that looks to undo a Ninth Circuit order that denied it federal recognition, arguing that the case is a poor vehicle for resolving questions under the 1994 List Act.

  • February 18, 2026

    Talc Claimants Tell 2nd Circ. Revlon Must Allow Late Claims

    A group of talc liability claimants on Wednesday asked the Second Circuit to find reorganized cosmetics company Revlon has to pay out for their injury claims despite those claims being filed past the deadline in the company's Chapter 11 case.

  • February 18, 2026

    States, Unions Urge DC Circ. To Block Haiti TPS Termination

    California-led states and a coalition of unions urged the D.C. Circuit to deny the Trump administration's push to end temporary protected status for Haiti during an ongoing legal challenge, arguing it would harm families, communities and the economy.

  • February 18, 2026

    Mass. Police Union Head, Lobbyist Get Prison For Kickbacks

    A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the former head of the Massachusetts State Police union and a Boston lobbyist to two years and 15 months in prison, respectively, after the pair were convicted of orchestrating a kickback scheme.

  • February 17, 2026

    Democrats Fight Asylum Turn-Back Policy At Supreme Court

    A group of 26 congressional Democrats urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to find that a currently rescinded policy to physically block asylum-seekers at the southern border violates federal immigration law, arguing Congress never intended such a statutory interpretation.

  • February 17, 2026

    6th Circ. Refuses To Pause CDC's Puppy Import Requirements

    The Sixth Circuit has refused to block a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rule requiring dogs to be at least six months old and microchipped before they can be imported, holding that a hunting and fishing alliance likely won't be able to show that the CDC lacked the authority to issue the rule.

  • February 17, 2026

    Goldstein Tax Trial Heads To Closing Args As Defense Rests

    Jurors in SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's tax fraud trial will hear closing arguments Wednesday, after the final two witnesses in the monthlong proceeding took the stand, and new emails regarding Goldstein's efforts to conceal poker debts came to light Tuesday.

  • February 17, 2026

    4th Circ. Vacates Prison Officers' Immunity In Violent Assault

    A split Fourth Circuit revived the lawsuit of an incarcerated North Carolina man alleging correctional officers failed to prevent a violent attack by an incarcerated "safekeeper" after leaving open sallyport doors separating the two, ruling Tuesday risks could've been abated had they simply kept doors closed, as required under prison policy.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know As Rulings Limit NLRB's Expanded Remedies

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    Two recent appellate decisions strongly rebuke the National Labor Relations Board's expansion of remedies beyond reinstatement and back pay under Thryv, which compensated employees for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms, signaling increased judicial skepticism toward the board's broadened remedial authority, says Shay Billington at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

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    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Workers' Comp Ruling May Expand Ohio Employer Liability

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    The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in State ex rel. Berry v. Industrial Commission marks a shift in Ohio workers' compensation law by reducing judicial deference to the Industrial Commission's interpretations of the state's specific safety requirements and potentially expanding employer exposure, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • 10th Circ. Debtor Ruling May Expand Wire Fraud Law Scope

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Baker decision, holding that federal fraud law can reach deceptive schemes designed to prevent a creditor from collecting on a debt, may represent an expansive new theory of wire fraud — even as the ruling reaffirmed the requirements of the interstate commerce element, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

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    Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

  • Series

    My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

  • Justices' Ruling Will Ease Foreign Arbitral Award Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization suggests that U.S. courts can constitutionally decide whether to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards in accordance with U.S. treaty obligations, regardless of the award debtor's connections to the U.S., says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

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    A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How To Prepare If Justices Curb Gov't Contractor Immunity

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    Given the very real possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will determine in GEO v. Menocal that government contractors do not have collateral immunity, contractors should prepare by building the costs of potential litigation, from discovery through trial, into their contracts and considering other pathways to interlocutory appeals, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • What To Mull After 9th Circ. Ruling On NLRB Constitutionality

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    The Ninth Circuit recently rejected three constitutional attacks on the National Labor Relations Board in NLRB v. North Mountain Foothills Apartments, leaving open a debate about what remedies the NLRB can award employees and creating a circuit split that could foretell a U.S. Supreme Court resolution, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

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    Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

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