Appellate

  • June 02, 2026

    Tribe Waived Immunity In Casino Land Fight, NC Panel Told

    The Catawba Indian Nation can't assert blanket immunity from a development company's suit claiming the tribe "ran wild" with the access it received to privately owned land surrounding the tribe's planned casino in North Carolina, the company told a state appellate panel Tuesday.

  • June 02, 2026

    Mass. Justices Allow Trooper Body Cam Evidence In DUI Case

    A man arrested for drunken driving cannot have a state trooper's body cam footage of him excluded from evidence, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Tuesday, finding that although he may not have been aware that he was being recorded, there was ample notice and police were not breaking the law.

  • June 02, 2026

    6th Circ. Weighs Mich. City's Pride Flag Policy

    A panel of the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday wrestled with whether a Detroit-area city's decision to bar rainbow Pride flags from its flagpoles while continuing to fly flags representing countries tied to residents' national origins was a lawful expression of government speech. 

  • June 02, 2026

    DOJ Won't Move Forward With $1.8B Fund, Blanche Confirms

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday, "we're not moving forward" with the controversial $1.8 billion settlement fund.

  • June 02, 2026

    Hemp Cos. Say DEA Overreached By Criminalizing HHC

    Two hemp companies are challenging a recent U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rule that designated a hemp-derived psychoactive compound as a Schedule I substance, saying the agency's move was an unlawful overreach that contradicts Congress' legalization of hemp.

  • June 02, 2026

    Fox Rothschild Atty Censured Over $2.7M In Unapproved Fees

    A New Jersey-based bankruptcy partner at Fox Rothschild LLP has been censured by the Supreme Court of New Jersey after she was found to have wrongfully disbursed over $2.7 million in fees to her former firms without approval.

  • June 02, 2026

    Marketing Data Exec Can't Appeal Sanctions, 8th Circ. Says

    The Eighth Circuit has held that the owner of a marketing data firm cannot appeal a civil contempt order and sanctions against him for failing to answer a copyright lawsuit since the order was not an appealable final decision.

  • June 02, 2026

    7th Circ. Fines Deported Migrant's Atty For ChatGPT Misuse

    The Seventh Circuit has rejected a Mexican citizen's petition challenging an immigration court's removal order on the merits, while sanctioning his attorney $5,000 for filing two legal briefs "riddled with" fabricated quotes and case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT.

  • June 02, 2026

    11th Circ. May Lower Bar For Getting ERISA Claims To Court

    Several Eleventh Circuit judges voiced support during en banc arguments Tuesday for overturning precedent backing the appellate court's exhaustion requirement for federal benefits claims, signaling the potential reinstatement of a proposed class action alleging mismanagement of a seafood company's employee stock ownership plan.

  • June 02, 2026

    10th Circ. Says Salvadoran Was Too Late To Reopen Case

    A Salvadoran national who previously lost his bid to avoid removal was too late in seeking to reopen his case before an immigration appeals board, the Tenth Circuit has ruled, rejecting his arguments over why his motion should still be deemed timely.

  • June 02, 2026

    10th Circ. Backs Toyota's Win In RAV4 Defect Suit

    The Tenth Circuit affirmed Toyota Motor Corp.'s trial win in a Colorado product liability suit over a RAV4 crash that left a passenger with a severe brain injury, saying the passenger could not challenge the jury's verdict because he failed to make the required trial and posttrial motions.

  • June 01, 2026

    3rd Circ. Preview: AI Copyright Spat, NJ Gun Law Battle

    A copyright fight over the future of AI‑powered legal research heads to the Third Circuit, where a legal publisher will argue this month that a legal technology company's use of its headnotes does not constitute fair use of copyrighted material. The court will also take up a challenge to New Jersey's firearm nuisance law in a case that asks when a trade group can bring a federal suit over a state statute.

  • June 01, 2026

    5th Circ. Probes Standing In Challenge To EPA Asbestos Rule

    Fifth Circuit judges Monday questioned whether challengers to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that addresses chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of the carcinogen still used and imported in the country, have a legal right to sue over their alleged injuries.

  • June 01, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Debates Line Between Extortion And Settlement

    A Federal Circuit panel Monday questioned whether OpenSky Industries LLC should be punished for allegedly extorting VLSI Technology LLC by threatening to challenge its patent, or if any misconduct would be covered under a doctrine meant to protect those petitioning the government.

  • June 01, 2026

    Ala. Redistricting Fight Tests Justices' Voting Rights Ruling

    Alabama officials and Black voters have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if an order requiring the state to hold this year's elections under a court-drawn map that gives Black voters a chance to elect two preferred congressional candidates constitutes a "roadmap for evading" or a faithful application of the high court's recent Voting Rights Act ruling.

  • June 01, 2026

    Colo. Justices Affirm Uninsured Motorist Rule For Insurers

    The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously decided Monday to affirm a more-than-20-year-old ruling that an insurer must plead its defenses "as soon as practicable" to participate in litigation between its insured and an uninsured motorist.

  • June 01, 2026

    Justices Say 11th Circ. Wrong To Consider Posttrial DNA Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an Eleventh Circuit opinion that denied habeas relief to a Florida man on death row, saying the appellate court erroneously considered a posttrial DNA analysis that was never seen by the jurors who convicted him.

  • June 01, 2026

    7th Circ. Sentence Approval Went Too Far, Fraudster Says

    A financial controller serving six years for a $7 million bank fraud scheme is again urging the Seventh Circuit to review the trial court's sentencing range decisions, arguing a panel improperly sifted through the record to affirm an enhancement for the scheme's sophistication.

  • June 01, 2026

    Rail Co.'s $5.6M Irma Costs Met Deductible, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit revived a Florida railroad company's insurance dispute over coverage for $5.6 million in costs to avoid Hurricane Irma damage, ruling claimed expenses for preventative maintenance exceeded the $750,000 policy deductible even though it incurred no physical loss as a result of the storm. 

  • June 01, 2026

    DC Circ. Says Military Trans Ban Flouts Constitutional Rights

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel Monday said the Trump administration illegally banned transgender individuals from military service, then narrowed a preliminary injunction to prevent the government's exclusion of transgender people presently serving in the military but not those desiring to enlist.

  • June 01, 2026

    Ga. Panel Says New Trial Warranted In J&J Talc Cancer Suit

    A Georgia appellate panel on Monday affirmed a trial judge's decision to grant a new trial in a suit alleging Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder caused a woman's fatal cancer, saying the defense verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence.

  • June 01, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Stop Joint Hearing In Depo-Provera MDL

    A group of Delaware plaintiffs who say Pfizer's hormonal contraceptive Depo-Provera causes brain tumors can't block a joint evidentiary hearing with a Florida federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation over the same claims after the Eleventh Circuit denied their petition Monday.

  • June 01, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Side-Eyes ParkerVision Appeal In Qualcomm IP Suit

    A Federal Circuit panel Monday seemed reluctant to consider ParkerVision's challenge to a lower court's claim construction while other parts of its patent suit against Qualcomm remain pending, with one judge saying the litigation's protracted nature doesn't make it exceptional or justify special treatment.

  • June 01, 2026

    Moderna Tells Fed. Circ. US Must Face COVID Vax Patent Case

    Moderna has urged the Federal Circuit to rule that Arbutus Biopharma must pursue its patent infringement claims over Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine against the U.S. government, saying a lower court ruling that Moderna must face the multibillion-dollar suit was "deeply flawed."

  • June 01, 2026

    4th Circ. Partially Revives Salvadoran's Immigration Case

    The Board of Immigration Appeals failed to fully consider a Salvadoran woman's attempt to avoid removal after fleeing familial violence, the Fourth Circuit ruled Monday, finding it didn't examine a particular social group she said she was persecuted for belonging to.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

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    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

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    Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: IPR And The Limits Of Retroactivity

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    The Federal Circuit recently ruled in Implicit v. Sonos that even though the clever retroactive correction of two invalidated patents theoretically should have changed the outcome of the inter partes review, the patentee had forfeited the right to rely on the correction — which is interesting for several reasons, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • Managing Tort Risk After Justices' War Zone Immunity Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hencely v. Fluor changes the tort landscape for battlefield contractors, whose liability for employee injury will now turn on compliance with battlefield directives — a question that will require discovery into highly sensitive details of combat operations and military decision-making, says Warren Bianchi at Fluet.

  • What Mass. Ruling Clarifies About Whistleblower Protections

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    A Massachusetts appellate court's recent decision in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College, finding that an employee retained whistleblower protections despite his reporting responsibilities and possible contribution to the compliance failure, requires employers to distinguish between performance-based decisions and their response to protected reporting, say attorneys at Smith Kane.

  • AG Watch: Texas Charts A Course On Investigative Authority

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    The Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Texas v. PFLAG affirmed, and arguably expanded, the Texas attorney general's civil investigative demand authority, providing a road map that other courts evaluating state attorney general CIDs may find instructive, amid a lack of precedent, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    From causation standards in first-party property claims, to the scope of statutory bad faith liability, to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in underinsured motorist disputes, three recent cases illustrate how Pennsylvania courts continued to refine the boundaries of coverage and dispute resolution, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Building A Persecution Case After Justices' Asylum Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi raises the bar for overturning agency findings in federal court, changing how practitioners handling asylum and removal defense cases need to think about building a factual record and formulating arguments on appeal, say attorneys at Lai & Turner and Farzaneh Law.

  • High Court 'Skinny Label' Case Will Matter To Tech Litigators

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    Hikma v. Amarin, set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, has potential to affect not just generic drug label-based evidence in patent cases, but also how technology inducement cases are presented and proven, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

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