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Appellate
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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May 02, 2024
No Damages For Native Americans In State Prison
A group of Native Americans is not entitled to millions in compensation for wrongful prosecution and incarceration in state prison, a Federal Circuit panel said, finding that the group's arguments that provisions of two 19th century self-government rights' treaties as "money-mandating" are unpersuasive.
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May 02, 2024
Patent Board Rulings Send $3.3M Judgment Up In Flames
The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating three networking patents that NetScout had been found to infringe, and then held that the holding wipes out a $3.3 million judgment against the company, because it was not yet final.
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May 02, 2024
Allstate Secures Win In Untimely Ga. Storm Damage Dispute
The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's grant of a directed verdict in favor of Allstate in a dispute brought by two homeowners who claimed the insurer owed over $430,000 after it failed to cover all sums they believed were owed for storm damage.
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May 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Shuts Down Pa.'s Challenge To EPA Ozone Plan
The Third Circuit on Thursday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air emissions plan for coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania, which the state and a company had argued was illegally imposed.
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May 02, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms Kirsch Research's Roofing Patent Loss
The Federal Circuit has backed a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that tossed all claims in a roofing patent owned by Kirsch Research and Development LLC, agreeing that it shouldn't have received patent protection in the first place.
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May 02, 2024
Ex-Yukos Shareholders Look To Nix $50B Enforcement Appeal
Former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co. on Wednesday urged the D.C. Circuit not to disturb a ruling nixing Russia's motion to toss a long-running case to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards against it, arguing that the Kremlin has already exhausted its options to try to dodge the awards.
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May 02, 2024
Kind Keeps Win At 2nd Circ. In MDL Over 'All Natural' Labeling
The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a summary judgment for Kind LLC against a group of buyers who said the company misled consumers by labeling products as "all natural," saying the plaintiffs failed to establish through evidence how a reasonable buyer would understand the term.
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May 02, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses NLRB Suit Against SpaceX Amid New Appeal
A Fifth Circuit panel on Thursday paused an ongoing National Labor Relations Board suit against SpaceX to consider the company's challenge to what it calls the "effective" denial of its bid to block a suit by an agency it claims is unconstitutional.
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May 02, 2024
6th Circ. Appears Reluctant To Kick 401(k) Suit To Arbitration
A Sixth Circuit panel seemed likely Thursday to deny two auto part companies' bid to compel arbitration of a lawsuit from workers who say their retirement savings were mismanaged, though the judges appeared divided on the broader question of whether retirement plans may force planwide claims into individual arbitration.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Lets Georgia Island Dock Lawsuit Proceed
A Georgia conservation group can resume its challenge to federal approval of a private pier on Cumberland Island after a divided Eleventh Circuit panel said regulators could conduct a more rigorous environmental review even though the dock was already built.
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May 02, 2024
Calif. Justices To Review Gilead's HIV Drug Negligence Fight
The California Supreme Court has granted Gilead Sciences Inc.'s request to review an appellate court's holding that the drugmaker must face claims it held back a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on an older medication.
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May 02, 2024
Immigrant Bond Co. Buyer Wants In On $811M Fine Appeal
Libre Immigration Services has moved to intervene at the Fourth Circuit to fight an $811 million judgment against companies it recently acquired that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued over abusive immigrant bonding practices.
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May 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Reopens Chinese Tech Worker's Promotion Bias Suit
The Third Circuit revived a Chinese software engineer's lawsuit Thursday alleging he was denied a promotion and fired by a tax technology company because he complained about racist comments he faced, ruling a lower court evaluated the worker's claims too narrowly.
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May 02, 2024
Kushner-Owned Co. Owes $15M For Scrapped Apartment Deal
A New Jersey appeals panel has ordered a company owned by Kushner Cos. LLC to pay $15 million to real estate sellers in a $186 million deal that fell apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 02, 2024
2nd Circ. Skeptical About Ex-TD Bank Manager's Bias Suit
The Second Circuit appeared unwilling Thursday to wipe out TD Bank's win over a former manager's suit alleging he was ousted because he asked for parental leave and had anxiety, with an appellate panel seeming unconvinced that the bank's claim that unethical conduct got him fired was dishonest.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Rules Tribal Co. Is Not Immune In Trade Secrets Suit
The Eleventh Circuit has revived a tribal-owned defense contractor's suit against another tribal-owned competitor and a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets, finding the competitor agreed to federal court jurisdiction when it participated in the bidding process for work on a missile detection system.
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May 02, 2024
Colo. Panel Says COVID Can Trigger Workers' Compensation
A Colorado appellate court panel on Thursday ruled for the first time that COVID-19 can be considered an "occupational disease" under the state's workers' compensation law and affirmed the award of benefits to a woman whose husband died of the novel coronavirus while working at a skilled nursing facility.
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May 02, 2024
Split Conn. Supreme Court Says No To 'Ratio' Utility Bills
In a rare 4-3 opinion, the Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a corporate landlord cannot use a ratio utility billing system to divide monthly costs among units not equipped with precise individual meters, stressing a legislative policy of protecting tenants from fluctuating fees beyond their immediate control.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Urged To Clear Final Hurdle To Interstate Water Deal
As the finish line comes into view in Georgia and Alabama's decadeslong fight over water rights, the Peach State, the federal government and a host of local water providers are urging the Eleventh Circuit to reject a bid by environmental groups to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management proposal for the Apalachicola watershed.
Expert Analysis
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Perspectives
Compassionate Release Grants Needed Now More Than Ever
After the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent expansion of the criteria for determining compassionate release eligibility, courts should grant such motions more frequently in light of the inherently dangerous conditions presented by increasingly understaffed and overpopulated federal prisons, say Alan Ellis and Mark Allenbaugh at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power
In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment
Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling
While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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What Recent Setbacks In Court Mean For Enviro Justice
Two courts in Louisiana last month limited the federal government's ability to require consideration of Civil Rights Act disparate impacts when evaluating state-issued permits — likely providing a framework for opposition to environmental justice initiatives in other states, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Perspectives
Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling Preserves Acquittal Sanctity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last week in McElrath v. Georgia, barring the state from retrying a man acquitted of murder after a so-called repugnant verdict, is significant in the tangled web of double jeopardy jurisprudence for its brief and unequivocal protection of an acquittal’s finality, says Lissa Griffin at Pace Law School.
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Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case
Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.
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High Court Forfeiture Case Again Pits Text Against Purpose
In oral arguments Tuesday in McIntosh v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a federal court can impose asset forfeiture on a defendant even if it doesn’t comply with timing rules, which may affect the broader interpretation of procedural deadlines — and tees up the latest battle between textualism and purposivism, say Anden Chow and Christian Bale at MoloLamken.
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Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools
Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Justices Stay The Course In Maritime Choice-Of-Law Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's narrowly drawn decision in Great Lakes Insurance v. Raiders Retreat Realty, enforcing the underlying insurance contract's choice-of-law provision, carefully distinguishes those provisions from forum selection clauses, and ensures that courts will not apply its precepts outside the maritime context, says John Coyle at the University of North Carolina.
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More Than Drugs At Stake In High Court's 'Blind Mule' Case
The U.S. Supreme Court's eventual decision in Diaz v. U.S., evaluating whether expert witnesses may testify that most defendants caught with drugs at the border know they are transporting drugs, could have implications for prosecuting everything from complex financial crimes to gun and drug cases, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Why Fla. High Court Adopting Apex Doctrine Is Monumental
The Florida Supreme Court recently solidified the apex doctrine in the Sunshine State, an important development that extends the scope of the doctrine in the state to include both corporate and government officials, and formalizes the requirements for a high-level corporate official to challenge a request for a deposition, says Laura Renstrom at Holland & Knight.
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Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference
Two amicus briefs filed in advance of last month's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlight contrasting views on whether the doctrine of Chevron deference promotes or undermines the stable regulatory environment that businesses require, say Wyatt Kendall and Sydney Brogden at Morris Manning.
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Del. Ruling Stands Out In Thorny Noncompete Landscape
In Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, the Delaware Supreme Court last month upheld the enforceability of forfeiture-for-competition provisions in limited partnership agreements, providing a noteworthy opinion amid a time of increasing disfavor toward noncompetes and following a string of Chancery Court rulings deeming them unreasonable, say Margaret Butler and Steven Goldberg at BakerHostetler.