Appellate

  • February 09, 2026

    6th Circ. Revives Drexel's Herbicide Contract Beef With Gowan

    The Sixth Circuit on Monday held that a Tennessee federal court misinterpreted a profit-sharing agreement resolving an herbicide product registration dispute between Drexel Chemical Co. and Gowan Co. LLC, siding with Drexel on when the agreement terminated and reviving Drexel's suit over it.

  • February 09, 2026

    Feds Want Bannon's Contempt-Of-Congress Conviction Axed

    Federal prosecutors on Monday moved to toss former White House adviser Steve Bannon's contempt-of-Congress conviction before a trial court, spurring the U.S. solicitor general to similarly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a D.C. Circuit judgment, which had rejected Bannon's advice-of-counsel defense and affirmed his conviction.

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Judge Casts Doubt On Feds' Grant Condition Stance

    A Ninth Circuit judge expressed skepticism Monday as the Trump administration argued it could legally impose new rules barring federal grant recipients from using the money for diversity programming, suggesting that the government had misread Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  • February 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Mulls Whether Digital Ad Patent Can Survive Alice

    An advertising management system company tried to persuade the Federal Circuit on Monday to revive its infringement suit against Google and YouTube, saying its patent was wrongly found to cover an abstract idea.

  • February 09, 2026

    Immigration Judge Ends Tufts Student's Removal Proceeding

    Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk is no longer subject to removal proceedings, after an immigration judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had not shown that she should be deported, her lawyers said Monday.

  • February 09, 2026

    Goldstein's Defense Questions Missing Tax Emails

    Document retention at the outside accounting firm for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein and his law firm took center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court lawyers' tax fraud trial Monday, as the defense claimed that the accountants' internal emails about Goldstein's tax returns were never produced despite being sought in subpoenas.

  • February 09, 2026

    4th Circ. Reopens Class Action Door In Navy Federal Bias Suit

    A panel of the Fourth Circuit said Monday that a federal district judge moved too quickly in foreclosing class action status in a lawsuit accusing Navy Federal Credit Union of mortgage lending discrimination, ruling that class allegations should not have been altogether struck down before discovery. 

  • February 09, 2026

    Texas AG Slams Animal Processing Plant's 'Death' Smell

    An animal byproducts processing plant in Bastrop, Texas, illegally spewed chemicals and foul odors that smelled like "death" into surrounding communities, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged Monday in an enforcement action. 

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Sides With Forest Service In $33M Ore. Wildfire Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Monday threw out a lawsuit from two Oregon lumber companies that accused the U.S. Forest Service of bungling its response to a 2020 wildfire in the Willamette National Forest, ruling that the agency can't be sued because it was acting within its discretion.

  • February 09, 2026

    Colo. Hight Court To Rule On Firearm Toolmark Admissibility

    Colorado's highest court agreed Monday to take up the validity of firearm toolmark analysis via two criminal cases that challenge the method of matching shell casings to specific weapons as unscientific and inadmissible under state evidence rules.

  • February 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Uses Alice To Scrap $2.5M Netflix Patent Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Monday threw out a California jury's $2.5 million verdict against Netflix for infringing a GoTV Streaming LLC patent on wireless content delivery, agreeing with the streaming giant that the patent and two others are invalid because they cover only abstract ideas.

  • February 09, 2026

    Split 8th Circ. Says Drug User Gun Conviction Lacks Detail

    A partially split Eighth Circuit panel has vacated a portion of a man's firearm possession conviction, finding that a trial court must make a determination about whether the man poses a threat to the general public because of his drug use.

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Comerica's Escape From Investor Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed Comerica's win in an investor dispute led by a pension fund accusing the bank of misleading investors about its oversight of a U.S. Department of the Treasury contract, concluding a California federal judge was right to permanently toss the case for failure to state a claim.

  • February 09, 2026

    Citadel Securities Rival Backs New Exchange Before 11th Circ.

    Wall Street reform advocates and a Citadel Securities LLC competitor have stepped forward to support Investors Exchange LLC in its bid to keep a new options exchange alive, telling the Eleventh Circuit that the exchange will create more competition to the benefit of investors.

  • February 09, 2026

    8th Circ. Lets Stand Minn. Law Banning Election Deepfakes

    The Eighth Circuit on Monday declined to block Minnesota's law criminalizing deepfakes that are designed to influence elections, holding in a published opinion that a state legislator waited too long to seek emergency relief and that a political commentator who also challenged the statute did not have standing.

  • February 09, 2026

    5th Circ. Tosses Challenge To La. 340B Discount Drug Rule

    A Fifth Circuit panel upheld on Monday a Louisiana law that allows the state to stop prescription drug manufacturers from blocking safety-net healthcare providers from contracting with outside pharmacies to dispense discounted medicines under the federal 340B Discount Drug program. 

  • February 09, 2026

    Georgia Appeals Court Reverses Attorney Disqualification

    The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court order disqualifying an attorney from representing a client in a domestic relations case for allegedly inserting himself improperly into the parties' dispute, finding the client failed to meet her burden of showing he was a "necessary witness."

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Immigration Case Due To Traffic Delays

    An en banc Ninth Circuit panel has ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider whether a family's failure to appear at a hearing due to traffic delays doomed their asylum case, finding no concrete rule for what constitutes "exceptional circumstances."

  • February 09, 2026

    Texas, Mo. Ask Court To Keep 'Remain In Mexico' Suit Intact

    Texas and Missouri claimed they have standing to challenge a Biden-era decision to do away with the "Remain in Mexico" policy, telling a Texas federal judge Friday that vacatur of the last administration's decision is appropriate even though the Trump administration reinstated the policy.

  • February 09, 2026

    Unions Seek To Revive Challenge To Feds' Resignation Offer

    A labor coalition urged the First Circuit to revive a challenge to the Trump administration's resignation offer to federal employees last year, defending its right to sue and disputing that two niche agencies should get the first crack at its claims.

  • February 09, 2026

    Videographer Fights 4th Circ.'s Choice To Shipwreck IP Suit

    A videographer and his production company urged the full Fourth Circuit to let him revive his copyright infringement lawsuit over footage of Blackbeard's shipwreck, arguing Monday that a panel's recent opinion to end the case laid new and overly broad pathways for pendent jurisdiction. 

  • February 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Reboot Startup's Patent Suit Against Shopify

    The Federal Circuit on Monday declined to breathe new life into a case from a defunct digital media startup alleging that Shopify was infringing its patents by using ideas disclosed during talks about a potential partnership.

  • February 09, 2026

    North Dakota, DOJ Near Settlement In Dakota Access Appeal

    The United States and North Dakota have reached a settlement in a $28 million dispute over protesters' efforts to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in which the state alleged that the Army Corps and federal officials failed to manage the massive crowds.

  • February 09, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's chancellor has rejected a bid for dismissal of a derivative suit accusing Coinbase Global Inc. insiders of massively unloading shares ahead of a steep stock drop, stressing a special litigation committee's failure to meet independence standards.

  • February 09, 2026

    10th Circ. Ends Civil Rights Suit, Sanctions Atty For AI Errors

    A self-represented Maryland attorney could not revive her $15 million racial discrimination suit against Denver-based Frontier Airlines after a Tenth Circuit panel found the district court had not erred in its dismissal, in a ruling that also sanctioned the lawyer for misusing generative artificial intelligence.

Expert Analysis

  • False Ad Suit Shows Need For Clear, Conspicuous Disclosure

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent false advertising decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Corpay reiterated the FTC's guidance imploring advertisers to ensure that any disclosures are clear and conspicuous to consumers, providing companies with numerous lessons about truthful advertising and highlighting some common disclosure pitfalls to avoid, says Michael Justus at Carlton Fields.

  • Justices' BDO Denial May Allow For Increased Auditor Liability

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    The Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in BDO v. New England Carpenters could lead to more actions filed against accounting firms, as it lets stand a 2024 Second Circuit ruling that provided a road map for pleading falsity with respect to audit certifications, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.

  • What To Expect From Justices' 401(k) Ruling, DOL Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, addressing alternative assets in defined contribution plans, coupled with the U.S. Department of Labor's recently proposed regulation on fiduciary duties in selecting alternative investments, could alleviate the litigation risk that has impeded wider consideration of such investments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions

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    Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.

  • Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Spur Huge Shift For Litigators

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the medical malpractice suit Berk v. Choy, holding that a Florida procedural requirement does not apply to medical malpractice claims filed in federal court, is likely to encourage eligible parties to file claims in federal court, speed the adjudicatory process and create both opportunities and challenges for litigators, says Thomas Kroeger at Colson Hicks.

  • Challenging Restitution Orders After Supreme Court Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Ellingburg v. U.S. decision from last week, holding that mandatory restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Sixth Amendment, means that all challenges to restitution are now fair game if the amount is not alleged in the indictment, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Doug Passon at Doug Passon Law.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling May Limit Charge-Stacking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Barrett v. U.S. that the double jeopardy clause bars separate convictions for the same act under two related firearms laws places meaningful limits on the broader practice of stacking charges, a reminder that overlapping statutes present prosecutors with a menu, not a buffet, says attorney David Tarras.

  • How 2025 Recalibrated Fair Use For The AI Era

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    Although the Second Circuit's decision last year in Romanova v. Amilus Inc. did not involve artificial intelligence, its formulation of relevant fair use factors provides a useful guide for lower courts examining AI cases in 2026, demanding close attention from legal practitioners on both sides of these disputes, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • 5 Drug Pricing Policy Developments To Watch In 2026

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    2026 may prove to be a critical year for drug pricing in the U.S., with potential major shifts including several legislative initiatives moving forward after being in the works for years, and more experimentation on the horizon concerning GLP-1s and Section 340B pricing, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Awards Against Sovereign States

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    The enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states is one of the most contentious and rapidly evolving areas in international arbitration, with three defining issues on the 2026 horizon: the scope of sovereign immunity, assignability of rights, and availability of fraud and corruption defenses, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

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