Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
Featured
High Court's Gender Divide Palpable At Latest Abortion Args
As the U.S. Supreme Court pondered permissible limits on abortion in medical emergencies, justices Wednesday split discernibly along ideological lines yet unmistakably along gender lines, with liberal and conservative women questioning restrictions far more forcefully than their male colleagues.
-
May 06, 2024
Trump Attys Again Ask 6th Circ. To Reconsider Sanctions
Attorneys who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan have once again asked the Sixth Circuit to rethink its decision leaving intact a district court's sanctions against them, arguing that new facts and U.S. Supreme Court precedent warrant recalling the appellate court's mandate.
-
May 06, 2024
13 Judges Boycott Columbia Clerks Over Protest Response
A group of 13 federal judges told Columbia University's president Monday they won't hire students who attend the university or its law school as clerks, calling it an "incubator of bigotry" for its handling of student protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a copy of their letter that U.S. District Judge Alan Albright shared with Law360.
-
May 06, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB Invalidation Of Voice Command IP
The Federal Circuit on Monday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision declaring that Mycroft AI had shown that several claims of a Voice Tech Corp. voice command patent for mobile devices were not valid.
-
May 06, 2024
DC Circ. Dubious Of DMCA Speech-Rights Fight
Opponents of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provision met a skeptical D.C. Circuit panel on Monday as judges grappled with whether the provision hinders First Amendment activity.
-
May 06, 2024
2nd Circ. Hints At Reviving Suit Against 'Insider' Hedge Fund
The Second Circuit on Monday appeared ready to revive a derivative lawsuit against a hedge fund alleged to have profited from its status as a corporate insider of 1-800-Flowers, with a majority of the court casting doubt on the fund's argument that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision defeats the case on standing.
-
May 06, 2024
Colo. Court Order Smashes Atty-Client Privilege, Insurer Says
The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal of a Denver trial court order in a construction insurance case that an insurer warns would "eviscerate privilege protection for the vast majority of attorney-client privileged communications in society."
-
May 06, 2024
Colo. Justices To Hear College COVID Refund Case
The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday it will consider whether students at Colorado State University campuses can still pursue a class action seeking fee refunds after a state appeals court found the public university system was justified in closing campuses because of the coronavirus pandemic.
-
May 06, 2024
GM Tells Mich. Justices Not To Heap On More Auto Regulation
General Motors urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject a call to expand the reach of a state consumer protection law to the automotive industry and others, saying federal and state oversight already protects car buyers.
-
May 06, 2024
Tribes, Groups Seek 9th Circ. Stay In Power Line Ruling
Two Native American tribes and conservation groups are asking the Ninth Circuit for a stay on an order that allows work to continue on a $10 billion power line, saying that without an emergency injunction, SunZia Transmission LLC will race to finish erecting its remaining towers before an appeal can be resolved.
-
May 06, 2024
University Policy Is Enforceable Promise, Colo. Justices Find
The University of Denver must face breach-of-contract claims by a former student who alleges school officials botched a sexual misconduct probe used to support his expulsion, with the Colorado Supreme Court concluding on Monday that the promise in university policy to conduct "thorough, impartial and fair" investigations is enforceable under contract law.
-
May 06, 2024
Employer's Good Faith Axes Paystub Fine, Calif. Justices Rule
The California Supreme Court on Monday held that if an employer had a good faith belief it was providing complete and accurate wage statements to its employees, it has not knowingly and intentionally violated state labor law, meaning workers cannot recover civil penalties offered for intentional violations of wage statement requirements.
-
May 06, 2024
5th Circ. Revives Airline Workers' Hearing-Loss Suit
A pair of flight attendants seeking to hold Boeing liable over hearing loss they suffered due to an aircraft's allegedly faulty smoke alarm have successfully convinced a Fifth Circuit panel to allow them to refile their case, bringing their claims back from the brink almost three years after the appeals court tossed them.
-
May 06, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Ford In Black Ex-Plumber's Bias Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Monday upheld Ford Motor Co.'s defeat of a former plumber's lawsuit alleging she was punished for reporting she'd been treated harshly by her supervisor because she's a Black Muslim woman, finding nothing wrong with a lower court tossing the case.
-
May 06, 2024
Fed. Circ. Urged Not To Limit Use Of Patents Apps At PTAB
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Samsung, and tech industry groups have urged the Federal Circuit to reject an argument that patent applications can only be used to invalidate patents in inter partes reviews based on their publication date, saying the filing date is what counts.
-
May 06, 2024
9th Circ. Hints Walmart Can't Avoid Jury In Disability Bias Suit
A Ninth Circuit panel indicated Monday that it doubted Walmart Inc. was being honest when it told a vision-impaired employee seeking to come back from a leave of absence that no jobs were available, with one judge suggesting a jury should decide if the retail giant lied to the worker.
-
May 06, 2024
FCC Calls High Court Telecom Subsidy Challenge Premature
The Federal Communications Commission has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to forgo review in two constitutional challenges to the agency's Universal Services Fund brought by free-enterprise groups, arguing that the appeals were filed too early and are based on a speculative circuit split that hasn't formed yet.
-
May 06, 2024
NJ Justices Erase Gov't Workplace Probe Confidentiality Rule
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of a state statute that directs investigators to request, but not require, confidentiality in discrimination or harassment investigations involving state workers, ruling the provision still reached too far and chilled protected speech.
-
May 06, 2024
Mass. Justices Wary Of Spiking Uber, Lyft Ballot Questions
Justices on Massachusetts' highest court appeared unlikely Monday to strike down ballot proposals to reinvent app-based drivers' relationships with Uber, Lyft and the like, commenting that the scattershot ideas for voters in March all carry the underlying theme of creating a carveout from the state's worker-friendly employee classification law.
-
May 06, 2024
4th Circ. Clinches NBA Star Win In Legal Saga With Ex-Agent
NBA star forward Zion Williamson secured a Fourth Circuit victory on Monday in a prolonged legal battle with his would-be agent, with a unanimous panel ruling his contract with the Florida marketing agency was void under a North Carolina law governing student-athlete representation.
-
May 06, 2024
DeSantis, Ousted Fla. Atty Clash Over Reinstatement Powers
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and ousted prosecutor Andrew Warren have offered dueling takes over whether federal courts have jurisdiction to reinstate suspended state officers in competing briefs filed with the Eleventh Circuit.
-
May 06, 2024
Calif. Doctors Can't Escape Med Mal Atty's Defamation Suit
A California appeals court has said two California doctors cannot escape a defamation suit over an allegedly defamatory website they created about a malpractice attorney whom they'd had a fee dispute with, denying an anti-SLAPP motion because the language the lawyer identified in his amended complaint was not protected activity.
-
May 06, 2024
Margolis Edelstein Wants Redo Of Malpractice Ruling In Del.
Margolis Edelstein wants the Delaware Supreme Court to reconsider its decision reviving an insurer's malpractice suit claiming its incompetence caused the insurer to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, and is asking the full court to rehear the matter.
-
May 06, 2024
Ritz-Carlton Defeats Post-Hurricane Layoff Claims At 1st Circ.
The First Circuit has said a Puerto Rico federal judge was right to rule in favor of a Ritz-Carlton hotel in a suit by a proposed class of employees who claimed they were wrongfully laid off after the island was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.
-
May 06, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Pa. Agency Atty's Firing Suit
The Third Circuit on Monday declined to revive a former Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development attorney's suit alleging his firing violated his 14th Amendment rights, reasoning that the lawyer failed to show how his termination constitutes a deprivation of property.
-
May 06, 2024
New Jersey High Court Disbars Twice Suspended Atty
The New Jersey Supreme Court has disbarred a Morris County attorney, agreeing with a state disciplinary review board that said his failure to cooperate with their investigations and continued misconduct warrants a ban from practicing in the state.
Editor's Picks
-
Thomas' Long Quest To Undo A 'Grave Constitutional Error'
A quarter-century after Justice Clarence Thomas cast a pivotal vote against jury trial rights and rapidly regretted it, his relentless campaign to undo the controversial precedent is suddenly center stage with a serious shot at succeeding, as judges and lawyers increasingly deem the decision dubious and the U.S. Supreme Court chips away at its edges.
-
DC Circuit Cases To Watch In 2024
As the D.C. Circuit heads into 2024, its judges are poised to answer hotly anticipated political questions about former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as a number of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cases that could determine the future of certain natural gas projects.
-
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
UPDATED May 1, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
-
End Of Acquitted Conduct Sentencing Can Spark More Reform
The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent end to factoring acquitted conduct into federal sentences could signal the start of a more constitutionally sound advisory scheme, but Congress and the Supreme Court must first authorize the commission to resolve two constitutional errors baked into its guidelines, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Alan Ellis at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
-
NY Tax Talk: Primary Function Is Key Analysis For Sales Tax
Two sales tax cases recently decided by New York's Appellate Division illustrate why both taxpayers and the state's Department of Revenue subscribe to the primary function test, a logical way to determine whether business transactions are subject to sales tax, say Elizabeth Cha and Jeremy Gove at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year ranging from salvage vehicle titling to rate discrimination based on premium-setting software.
-
Why High Court May Have Rejected IP Obviousness Appeal
Attorneys at Womble Bond analyze possible reasons the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Vanda Pharmaceuticals' request to review the Federal Circuit’s reasonable expectation of success standard for determining obviousness, including that the court was unpersuaded by the company's argument that Amgen v. Sanofi places a bind on drug developers.
-
Opinion
Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
-
Ill. Justices' Ruling Answers Corporate Defamation Questions
The Illinois Supreme Court's recent unanimous decision in Project44 v. FourKites provides needed certainty and direction for lower courts considering defamation cases involving communications to corporate officers from third parties outside the corporation, which could result in fewer unwarranted motions to dismiss in trial courts and nonmeritorious appeals, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.
-
As Arbitrator Bias Claims Rise, Disclosure Standards Evolve
The growth in post-award challenges based on arbitrators' alleged conflicts of interest has led to the release of new guidance and new case law on the topic — both supporting the view that professional familiarity alone does not translate to a lack of impartiality, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
6th Circ. Bias Ruling Shows Job Evaluations Are Key Defense
In Wehrly v. Allstate, the Sixth Circuit recently declined to revive a terminated employee’s federal and state religious discrimination and retaliation claims, illustrating that an employer’s strongest defense in such cases is a documented employment evaluation history that justifies an adverse action, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal Mccambridge.
-
Social Media Free Speech Issues Are Trending At High Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision examining what constitutes state action on social media can be viewed in conjunction with oral arguments in two other cases to indicate that the court sees a need for more clarity regarding how social media usage implicates the First Amendment, say attorneys at Kean Miller.
-
The Fed. Circ. In April: Hurdles Remain For Generics
The Federal Circuit’s recent Salix v. Norwich ruling — where Salix's brand-name drug's patents were invalidated — is a reminder to patent practitioners that invalidating a competitor's patents may not guarantee abbreviated new drug application approval, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.
-
Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
-
Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
-
10b-5 Litigation Questions Follow Justices' Macquarie Ruling
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Macquarie v. Moab that pure omissions are not actionable under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b–5(b), creating a slightly higher bar for plaintiffs and setting the stage for further litigation over several issues, say Steve Quinlivan and Sean Colligan at Stinson.
-
Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
-
What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.