Appellate

  • May 14, 2026

    Boulder Tent Ban Survives Colo. Rights Challenge Appeal

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel unanimously found that two city of Boulder ordinances that ban sheltering in public spaces don't violate the Colorado Constitution, shooting down constitutional challenges from a now-defunct nonprofit and several Boulder residents, according to an opinion announced Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas High Court Reverses DWI Evidence Suppression

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday reversed an appellate court's decision to suppress evidence from a DWI investigation, saying the lower court "made the foundational mistake of conflating independent grounds for seeking relief from a judgment with independent grounds for supporting a judgment."

  • May 14, 2026

    Supreme Court Clears Way For Execution Of Texas Man

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the Fifth Circuit's stay of execution for a man who sought to challenge the constitutionality of his death sentence on grounds that he was intellectually disabled, granting an emergency petition filed by Texas, which went on to execute the man later Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    United Airlines' $27.5M ERISA Suit Deal Gets Initial OK

    United Airlines on Thursday secured initial approval from an Illinois federal court for a $27.5 million settlement agreement that would resolve claims that it locked retired employees out of a generous COVID-19-era benefits package.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Eye Part Of Columbia's Axed $600M IP Win

    The Federal Circuit said Thursday it won't take up Columbia University's request for it to reconsider a portion of a panel decision by the appellate court that discarded a nine-figure patent judgment against the maker of Norton antivirus software.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms $80M Penalty For Trust Caught In Tax Fraud

    A group of family trusts failed Thursday to convince the Federal Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling that held them liable for an $80 million tax bill after being conned by a fraudster who then engaged in abusive tax shelter transactions behind their backs.

  • May 14, 2026

    'People Could Die': Wash. Justice Dings Appeal Of COVID Fine

    A Washington State Supreme Court justice pushed back Thursday after a restaurant argued state regulators improperly fined it nearly $1 million for offering indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic, spurning the eatery's claim that regulators failed to cite any harm by noting "people could die" from the disease's spread.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Mercedes, VW Headlight Patent Wins

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday rejected an Israeli inventor's attempts to revive claims in a trio of patents covering adaptive headlights, handing wins to German automakers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche.

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit, Oil Cos. Say

    Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing local communities to pursue state law tort claims for climate change damages, arguing their claims are "avowedly interstate and international in scope."

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Maintains Abortion Pill Access Amid Circuit Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday extended a stay preserving telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone while the Fifth Circuit weighs a challenge to the mail-order distribution of the pill.

  • May 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Presses Trans CTA Driver On Bias Evidence

    A Seventh Circuit panel Thursday pressed counsel for a former Chicago Transit Authority bus driver on whether the record showed he was fired because he is transgender, rather than because he failed to follow procedures for taking leave, as he seeks to revive discrimination claims against the agency and union.

  • May 14, 2026

    8th Circ. Orders New Fraud Trial Over Witness Credibility

    The Eighth Circuit has ordered a retrial for a Nigerian man convicted of laundering money through an unsuspecting North Dakota law firm because he was not allowed to include evidence that could discredit a key government witness.

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas Panel Nixes Ex-Atty's Defamation Suit Against City

    A Texas appeals court dismissed a former attorney's suit against the city of Shenandoah on Thursday because he waited too long to make the city a defendant in lieu of city employees.

  • May 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Tribe Can Reclaim Boarding School Remains

    The U.S. Army must repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children from a former Indian boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, a split Fourth Circuit panel determined Thursday, saying the site qualifies as a holding or collection under a federal law designed to protect Native American burial sites.

  • May 14, 2026

    DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

    A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

  • May 14, 2026

    DC Beneficiary Can't Get Recordation Tax Refund, Court Says

    A trust beneficiary is not eligible for a refund of a Washington, D.C., recordation tax that was paid when a property was transferred upon the dissolution of the trust, a district appellate court ruled Thursday. 

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas Panel Undoes Counsel DQ In PI Firm Fee Fight

    A Texas appellate court panel on Thursday sided with a quadriplegic man and his attorneys in a dispute with another firm over fees from the man's personal injury suit, finding the trial court was wrong to disqualify a third law firm representing the man and his chosen firm in the dispute.

  • May 14, 2026

    Ga. Panel Quiet On Fate Of $20M Bard Cancer Verdict

    A Georgia appellate panel gave few indications Thursday of whether it would order a new trial in a former C.R. Bard worker's lawsuit alleging that exposure to ethylene oxide caused his cancer, weighing whether a mistrial on punitive damages necessitates scrapping a $20 million compensatory damages verdict.

  • May 14, 2026

    2nd Circ. Backs 20-Year Stretch For Forcount Fraudster

    The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a 20-year sentence for an Ecuadorian man from Florida who pushed the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, concluding that "any error" from a broadcast of the sentencing did not impact the outcome.

  • May 14, 2026

    Gov't Asks 6th Circ. To Reverse FedEx's $89M Tax Credit Win

    The U.S. government urged the Sixth Circuit to reverse a Tennessee federal court's decision that invalidated foreign tax credit regulations and allowed FedEx an $89 million refund, arguing that the rules reflect Congress' intent to prevent windfalls under the 2017 tax overhaul.

  • May 14, 2026

    Time For Trial, Judge Says, Nixing DQ Appeal In Generics MDL

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has refused to let generic-drug makers seek Third Circuit intervention in their bid to disqualify the lead counsel for insurers Humana and Molina, concluding the fight would only further delay the long-running case ahead of its first trial in the price-fixing multidistrict litigation.

  • May 14, 2026

    Water Utilities Urge DC Circ. To Toss EPA PFAS Regs Suit

    A trade association for local public clean water utilities is urging the D.C. Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a suit from a group of farmers alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't adequately regulated so-called forever chemicals, saying the plaintiffs' suit risks interfering with their ability to do their jobs.

  • May 14, 2026

    Trump's 8th Circ. Pick Clears Senate Panel Vote

    President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented the president in the cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, advanced to the full Senate on Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    NCR To Pay $48M To End Former Execs' Lifetime Benefits Suit

    NCR Corp. will pay nearly $48 million to resolve a class action from former executives who alleged the software company broke its promise to send them annuity payments for life, the workers told a Georgia federal court.

  • May 14, 2026

    Justices Back Courts' Power Over Cases Sent To Arbitration

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that federal courts that have sent a dispute to arbitration have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate a subsequent award, affirming a Second Circuit decision enforcing an award issued in a discrimination case involving a former hotel employee.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Time To Fix The Accountability Gap In Freight Logistics

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    In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport, the U.S. Supreme Court must resolve an urgent question: whether freight broker selection in trucking accidents is categorically protected — meaning unreasonable safety decisions are insulated from liability — or subject to accountability under traditional negligence principles, says Amanda Demanda at Amanda Demanda Injury Lawyers.

  • 2 Strands Of Patent Law In High Court's 'Skinny Label' Case

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    Amarin v. Hikma, which is set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court this month, highlights the distinction between two different strands of intellectual property law — analogizing a patent to either a property deed or a home, says Jonas McDavit at Spencer West.

  • Justices' Geofence Ruling May Test 4th Amendment's Future

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Chatrie v. U.S. whether law enforcement may use geofence warrants to compel Google to disclose location history data, the ruling is likely to become an important statement about the future of Fourth Amendment law in data-driven investigations, says Duncan Levin at Levin & Associates.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    In the first quarter of 2026, New York's banking developments were headlined by initiatives to expand oversight of financial institutions and strengthen consumer protection laws, including a new framework for buy now, pay later lenders, a sweeping debt collection rule and a revised corporate self-disclosure program for financial crimes, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Seeking A Policy Fix As Merger Reporting Fight Continues

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    A recently announced request by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice for public comment on the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger reporting requirements, as litigation challenging the commission's updated requirements continues, suggests the government's willingness to address how best to support modern merger enforcement without unduly burdening filing parties, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Opinion

    Wash. Amazon Ruling Should Reshape Suicide Liability

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    The Washington Supreme Court's reinstatement of negligence claims in Scott v. Amazon.com, brought by the families of people who died by suicide after purchasing chemicals online, signals a reckoning for digital commerce and the rejection of the defense that online marketplaces are merely passive technology platforms, says Donald Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • Axed Trade Secret Award Cautions Against Bundling Damages

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent ruling in Trinseo v. Harper, vacating a $75 million jury verdict for trade secret misappropriation due to a bundled damages model, offers a strong reminder to apportion damages so a jury can award a nonspeculative figure when it credits only some alleged secrets, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • 2 Rulings Poke Holes In Mandatory Restitution Framework

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ellingburg v. U.S., as well as the Third Circuit’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Abrams, provide criminal defense practitioners with new tools to challenge Mandatory Victims Restitution Act orders, and highlight several restitution-related issues that converged in the recent prosecution of former Frank CEO Charlie Javice, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Pivotal 6th Circ. Ruling Threatens Decades Of NLRB Decisions

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Brown-Forman v. National Labor Relations Board fundamentally challenged the NLRB's long-standing practice of establishing policies through adjudication rather than formal rulemaking, giving employers and unions a new avenue to procedurally attack the vast majority of its rules, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • 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.

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