Appellate

  • May 08, 2026

    Minnesota Foster Parents Ask Justices To Revisit ICWA Fight

    Two foster parents are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act after the Minnesota Supreme Court determined they don't have standing to take on the bedrock law on claims of constitutional equal protection rights, telling the justices that the case "cries out for certiorari."

  • May 08, 2026

    TTAB's 'Selective' Approach Spurs Drop In Precedents

    The precedential decision the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued late last month upholding the cancellation of a credit union's trademark registration was noteworthy not only for the binding authority it created, but also for its rarity: it was only the sixth such ruling from the board this fiscal year.

  • May 08, 2026

    Sports Tech Co. Says Judge Made Own Patent Eligibility Case

    Finnish sports tech company Polar Electro has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its infringement case against a rival over a heart monitoring patent, saying a district judge made up his own case for patent eligibility when he ruled the patent was invalid.

  • May 08, 2026

    Why Trump's 2nd Global Tariff May Fare Better On Appeal

    President Donald Trump's administration on Friday appealed the U.S. Court of International Trade's ruling deeming his temporary global tariff unlawful to the Federal Circuit, where judges may view the executive action with more deference than the measures it immediately replaced.

  • May 08, 2026

    Mich. Panel Backs School In Ex-Coach's Race Bias Suit

    A Michigan appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of a former Saginaw Township girls basketball coach's race discrimination suit, ruling that he failed to show a school district's investigation into alleged improper recruiting served as a pretext for racial bias. 

  • May 08, 2026

    Tort Report: Tesla's Legal Exposure Seen As High As $14.5B

    A new report stating that Tesla faces billions in legal liabilities and a $140 million football brain injury verdict against the NCAA lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • May 08, 2026

    Transpo Tracker: Boeing 737 Max, John Deere Deal

    In our latest Law360 Transportation Tracker, Boeing is still contending with litigation associated with the 737 Max 8 jets, while a proposed $99 million class settlement could end farmers' right-to-repair claims against agricultural equipment maker John Deere and an appeals court decertified a class of 90,000 State Farm policyholders accusing the insurer of systematically undervaluing totaled vehicles.

  • May 08, 2026

    Fla. Panel Revives Homeowners' Storm Damage Suit

    A Florida appeals court on Friday revived a couple's suit claiming their home insurer wrongfully refused to fully pay a claim for storm damage, saying the lower court erroneously disposed of the case based on the insurer's pretrial motion to exclude the couple's evidence of damages.

  • May 08, 2026

    Vartabedian Katz Sanctioned Over Atty Privilege Violation

    A Texas state court has leveled $120,000 in sanctions against Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes LLP for wrongfully obtaining privileged information through discussions with a former in-house counsel of Pioneer Natural Resources in connection with a dispute over oil and gas leases.

  • May 08, 2026

    3rd Circ. Rejects NJ Man's Bid To Revisit $40M Tax Conviction

    The Third Circuit has declined to reconsider upholding the conviction of a man who raked in $40 million from filing false tax returns.

  • May 08, 2026

    Cop Testimony In Pot Case Wasn't 'Harmless,' Fla. Panel Says

    A man sentenced to four years for drug possession with an intent to sell after an officer testified that the intent was shown by the amount of marijuana he possessed, along with baggies and a scale, must have his conviction connected to selling reversed, a Florida appeals court said on Friday.

  • May 08, 2026

    Panel Revives Fight Over Late Burrito Chain Founder's IRA

    Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court Friday revived a dispute over who is entitled to the Charles Schwab individual retirement account of the late founder of Anna's Taqueria, a popular Boston-area Mexican restaurant chain.

  • May 08, 2026

    Top Atty In DOJ Appeal Over Law Firm Exec Orders To Depart

    The lead federal prosecutor on the Trump administration's appeal to reinstate executive orders targeting four law firms is stepping down from his government role at the end of May, he publicly announced this week.

  • May 08, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Toss Of Fired Worker's Whistleblower Suit

    The Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal Friday of a home health salesperson's suit claiming he was fired out of retaliation for complaining about sexual comments made at a company picnic, ruling the lower court used the correct legal standard to throw out his case.

  • May 08, 2026

    Texas Justices Say Nicotine Pouches Taxable As Tobacco

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday found that oral nicotine pouches are taxable as tobacco products under state law, as they are made from "tobacco substitutes" through a combination of nicotine extracted from tobacco leaves and plant compounds.

  • May 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Weighs Timing Concerns In Tariff Exclusion Denials

    A Federal Circuit panel on Friday largely let attorneys do the talking while attempting to suss out whether the U.S. Department of Commerce properly justified blocking the country's largest vegetable canner from securing tariff exclusions for its imported tin.

  • May 08, 2026

    NY Appeals Court Orders New Trial In Sex Abuse Case

    A New York state appeals court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of sexual assault, finding he was wrongly denied a short adjournment before prosecutors presented a last-minute witness to rebut his alibi.

  • May 08, 2026

    Prosecutors Oppose Move To Put Off Goldstein Sentencing

    Federal prosecutors are claiming that SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein may have violated his pretrial release conditions when he racked up over $1.7 million in gambling income last year, telling a federal judge not to delay sentencing for the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer.

  • May 08, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs Alabama State University In Pay Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday scuttled an equal pay lawsuit from a former athletics official at Alabama State University, finding she failed to identify a male counterpart who performed similar work and yet was paid more.

  • May 08, 2026

    DOL Benefits Chief Warns Of 'Bad Faith' Focus On ESG, DEI

    The top official for the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency said at a trade association conference Friday that agency investigations will focus on benefit plan managers' loyalty conflicts, including disloyal pursuits of socially conscious investing or diversity goals.

  • May 07, 2026

    Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

    Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

  • May 07, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Volkswagen Driver's Oil Leak Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a Volkswagen driver's proposed class action claiming her SUV suffered from a defect that caused it to leak oil, ruling Thursday she hasn't plausibly alleged the issue rendered the vehicle unsafe, considering she drove it more than 57,000 miles two years before the issue emerged.

  • May 07, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Judges Stuck On Drug Efficacy's Role In Patents

    A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to pin down where the line is between patent enablement on cancer drug patents and U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards, as a Pfizer unit tried to revive its $107 million jury victory over AstraZeneca.

  • May 07, 2026

    Judges Clash On Whether Kelly Urged Order Disobedience

    A D.C. Circuit panel appeared to be headed for a split decision on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's appeal of a district court order stopping him from dropping Sen. Mark Kelly's U.S. Navy rank, with judges clashing over whether Kelly ever told service members to disobey lawful orders.

  • May 07, 2026

    Trump Campaign Exits Sex Assault Suit, Manager Appeals

    Days after President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign settled negligence claims in a former aide's sexual assault lawsuit, an ex-campaign manager accused of rape faced doubts from New York state appellate judges that he could escape the case with their help.

Expert Analysis

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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • In First For DOJ, Action Signals New CFIUS Enforcement Era

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking judicial enforcement of a divestment order, an unprecedented action for the agency that ushers in a new phase for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, one in which judicial proceedings complement administrative oversight and presidential divestment orders may be enforced through litigation, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • 6th Circ. Can Extend Insurance Valuation Clarity Beyond Auto

    Author Photo

    In rehearing Clippinger v. State Farm, the Sixth Circuit can align itself with the recent drumbeat of other circuits rejecting class certification of auto total loss claims and set standards that apply to similar claims brought under homeowners and other types of insurance policies, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Appellate archive.