Appellate

  • May 05, 2026

    Ga. Justices Sanction Asst. DA For AI Errors In Murder Case

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday sanctioned a Clayton County assistant district attorney for filing briefs that contained nonexistent case citations generated by artificial intelligence in a murder defendant's bid for a new trial, saying the prosecutor's misconduct has "sidetracked" the justices from delving into the merits of the appeal.

  • May 05, 2026

    Calif. Panel Won't Undo $3M SoCal Edison Verdict

    A California state appeals court has affirmed a more than $3.3 million jury verdict against Southern California Edison over a worker's fall at a shuttered San Diego nuclear plant, saying certain safety evidence was wrongly excluded by the trial court but the mistake did not warrant a retrial.

  • May 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Renews Biz Nuisance Claim Over Seattle BLM Protest

    A Ninth Circuit panel partly revived a Korean restaurant and apartment complex owner's lawsuit accusing Seattle of abandoning several city blocks during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, ruling Tuesday that the businesses can potentially advance nuisance claims by arguing for the suspension of the statute of limitations.

  • May 05, 2026

    FCC Asks DC Circ. To End Nexstar-Tegna Merger Challenges

    The Federal Communications Commission is calling on the D.C. Circuit to dismiss challenges to its approval of the Nexstar-Tegna deal outright, arguing that the appeals court lacks jurisdiction because approval came from its Media Bureau staff rather than the full commission, and thus wasn't a final agency action.

  • May 05, 2026

    1st Circ. Sees Role As Limited In Trans Passport Fight

    A First Circuit panel on Tuesday told attorneys for both the government and a class of transgender and nonbinary people that because the class has asked to vacate a preliminary order blocking a Trump administration policy requiring that passports bear a person's sex assigned at birth, the court no longer has authority to issue an opinion.

  • May 05, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Dropbox's Warrantless Search For Child Porn

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday ruled a Dropbox user's constitutional rights weren't violated when the company inspected and shared his files containing child sex abuse material to law enforcement without a warrant, noting he gave consent to Dropbox's terms allowing inspection of data to ensure it wasn't being used illegally.

  • May 05, 2026

    11th Circ. Revives Annie Leibovitz 'Star Wars' Photo IP Dispute

    The Eleventh Circuit vacated an early win handed to a digital outlet accused of impermissibly using renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz's images taken on the set of a new "Star Wars" film that were featured in Vanity Fair, ruling on Tuesday the lower court's "understanding of copyright law was not quite right."

  • May 05, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says NY Escrow Interest Law Is Preempted, Again

    The Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that national banks are exempt from a New York law that requires interest to be paid on mortgage escrow accounts, handing a key victory to Bank of America NA in closely watched litigation testing the limits of states' banking regulatory authority.

  • May 05, 2026

    11th Circ. Upholds Sentences In Medical Device Fraud Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday refused to reduce the sentences of two men who lied to manufacturers about selling medical equipment to American troops in Afghanistan to obtain the goods at discounted prices and resell them within the United States.

  • May 05, 2026

    Charter Asked To Pay Overdue Royalties After 5th Circ. Loss

    A Texas family has said a Fifth Circuit ruling obligates a district judge to enforce a decades-old royalty agreement against Charter Communications and to order back payment of unpaid royalties for rights of way permits in three Texas cities.

  • May 05, 2026

    Whistleblower Says SEC Rule Shift Cost Him Bounty

    A D.C. Circuit panel appeared split on its interpretation of the statute governing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's whistleblower rewards in a case involving an anonymous tipster claiming he was due compensation even though he failed to take the information directly to the agency.

  • May 05, 2026

    Texas Appeals Court Wary Of Reviving Trustee's $100M Claim

    A Texas appeals panel seemed skeptical of a bankruptcy trustee's attempt to revive an action seeking to claw back money distributed by True Health Group to its shareholders before the company declared bankruptcy, asking Tuesday if the trustee brought its claims under the correct portion of the law.

  • May 05, 2026

    DC Circ. Says SEC Whistleblower Denial Doesn't Pass Muster

    The D.C. Circuit has dinged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to adequately explain why it denied a whistleblower award to an anonymous individual who brought forth information leading to a successful enforcement action, ordering the commission to reconsider whether it was in the public interest to deny the man's claim.

  • May 05, 2026

    Hockey Players Urge 9th Circ. To Revive U.S. Antitrust Claims

    A U.S. federal court erroneously ruled that federal antitrust law did not apply in a case involving Canada-based hockey leagues and teams, players hoping to revive their suit alleging mistreatment by the developmental leagues told the Ninth Circuit on Monday.

  • May 05, 2026

    EPA Says Clean Water Act Doesn't Impose PFAS Sludge Curbs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that the lower court rightly found farmers, who accused the agency of not regulating "forever chemicals" in sewage sludge, did not identify how the agency violated the Clean Water Act.

  • May 05, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Raytheon In Ex-Workers' Vaccine Bias Case

    The Fourth Circuit upheld RTX Corp.'s defeat of a lawsuit claiming it forced out employees who received religious exemptions to its COVID-19 vaccine policy, ruling Tuesday that the ex-workers behind the suit filed their claims too late.

  • May 05, 2026

    Pa. High Court Says DUI Cases Face No Special Malice Test

    A man sentenced to up to 39 years in prison after drunkenly killing two people and injuring two others while flying down a Pennsylvania highway at 115 miles per hour with his eyes off the road was correctly convicted by a jury of crimes requiring malice, Pennsylvania's highest court has affirmed.

  • May 05, 2026

    Wash. Panel Upholds Seizure-Prone Driver's Crash Conviction

    A Washington state appeals court on Tuesday upheld the vehicular homicide and assault conviction of a driver who suffered a seizure, finding a jury could reasonably find the driver culpable for ignoring pre-seizure symptoms prior to the crash.

  • May 05, 2026

    4th Circ. Unsure Wells Fargo Denied Ex-Worker's WFH Request

    A Fourth Circuit panel seemed uncertain Tuesday of whether it would uphold the entirety of a $22 million Americans with Disabilities Act verdict favoring a former Wells Fargo employee, with at least two judges questioning whether he suffered a concrete injury from the bank allegedly failing to accommodate his work-from-home request.

  • May 05, 2026

    4th Circ. Says USPTO Doesn't Have To Cough Up PTAB Docs

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday said it won't force the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to hand over certain information requested by a nonprofit volunteer about drafts of a decision in a Patent Trial and Appeal Board hearing involving a cybersecurity patent.

  • May 05, 2026

    5th Circ. Revives Claims Over Cops' Return To Wrong Home

    A panel of the Fifth Circuit has ruled that three constables in Houston must face a civil lawsuit accusing them of mistakenly entering the wrong home during a warrantless search then knowingly returning to the same property anyway to interrogate its residents at gunpoint.

  • May 05, 2026

    Wash. Justices Say Millionaire Tax Shielded From Referendum

    Washington's recently passed tax on income over $1 million cannot be subject to a voter referendum, the state Supreme Court ruled, finding that the tax falls under a referendum exception because of its deemed necessity.

  • May 05, 2026

    Ga. Panel Weighs Evidence Rules In Parents' Bid For New Trial

    The Georgia Court of Appeals considered whether a new trial is warranted in a couple's case alleging that a doctor's negligence led to the death of their infant son nine days after birth, questioning attorneys Tuesday on the appropriate standard for what is known as "habit" testimony.

  • May 05, 2026

    6th Circ. Affirms Immunity For Cops In Fatal Shooting

    Two Akron, Ohio, police officers who fatally shot a 40-year-old man during a foot pursuit in 2019 are protected by qualified immunity, a three-judge Sixth Circuit panel affirmed in a published opinion.

  • May 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Chip Injunction In Google Contract Case

    The Ninth Circuit refused to lift an injunction against Point Financial Inc. barring it from interfering with Google's license to manufacture certain computer chips while a case plays out over Google's contract with a chipmaker that went out of business.

Expert Analysis

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Exploring When Fraud Asset Freezes Limit Right To Pick Atty

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    The defendant’s claim in the Seventh Circuit’s pending U.S. v. Shah case that the government restrained his assets until he couldn’t afford his chosen counsel presents a useful case study in how criminal forfeiture procedure interacts with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Sixth Amendment rights and appealing complex fraud convictions, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

  • How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Appellate Strategy Lessons From Pa. Excess Coverage Ruling

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    In FedEx v. National Union Fire Insurance, a Pennsylvania state court recently set forth a clear holding that policyholders may recover postjudgment interest under excess liability insurance policies only when the policy language expressly allows, offering important takeaways for planning appeals, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Defense Counsel Options Widen As No-Bill Rate Increases

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    Citizens impaneled on grand juries in politically motivated cases who are reasserting their role as a critical check on state power could provide criminal defense attorneys an opportunity to pursue seldom-used preindictment strategies, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For 'Made In America' Ad Scrutiny

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    The Trump administration's executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in consumer-facing advertising, along with actions by the Federal Trade Commission, suggest a potential increased focus on consumer protection and pricing-related matters, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Similar-Looking Designs May Not Always Prove Infringement

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Range of Motion Products v. Armaid is a reminder that even a strikingly similar design might not be found to infringe upon a patented design once design features driven by functionality are filtered out from consideration, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Pension Case Offers Entertainment Work Exception Insights

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that any amount of entertainment work can satisfy the entertainment industry exception under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, reinforcing that statutory language, rather than evolving business models, dictates withdrawal liability outcomes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Justices May Hesitate To Limit Courts' Arbitration Review

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    Based on Monday's argument in Jules v. Andre Balazs, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to preserve federal jurisdiction over arbitral award enforcement stemming from actions originated in federal court, a holding that would markedly limit the court's 2022 Walters v. Badgerow decision, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • State FARA Laws Pose Unique Constitutional Challenges

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    Several states have recently enacted foreign agent registration and disclosure regimes that were modeled after the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but these state laws raise several constitutional questions, including concerns about preemption, speech and petition, and vagueness, says Alexandra Langton at Covington.

  • Series

    Pa. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of 2026 brought several consequential developments for Pennsylvania financial institutions, including the state banking department's first assessment overhaul in 10 years, a bill prohibiting interchange fees on card transaction sales taxes and a federal appeals court's upholding of a $52 million enforcement action, say attorneys at Gross McGinley.

  • Determining When Engineered Biologics May Be Patentable

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Regenxbio v. Sarepta, concluding that engineered cells with DNA from different organisms are not patent-ineligible natural phenomena, raises questions surrounding what framework courts will use to evaluate the patent eligibility of engineered biologics moving forward, says Robert Frederickson at Goodwin.

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