Fed. Circ. Sees No Issue With Commerce's $1.5B Award Redo

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Federal Circuit judge on Friday slammed an IT consulting firm's challenge to the U.S. Department of Commerce's reevaluation of a $1.5 billion information technology deal amid ongoing bid protests, saying nothing legally prevented the government from terminating the award.

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Feds Say Supreme Court Trumps 9th Circ.'s UC Grant Ruling

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Trump administration has urged the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision that upheld an order to reinstate University of California research grants terminated by the White House, saying the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently contradicted the panel's holding in a "materially identical" case.

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DC Circ. Won't Halt Order Releasing Billions In Foreign Aid

By Rae Ann Varona

Both a divided D.C. Circuit panel and a district court judge Friday refused to hit pause on the judge's recent order requiring the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in frozen foreign aid.

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Proxy Snapshot

Tesla Proposes Making Musk The Trillion-Dollar Man

By Sue Reisinger

Texas-based Tesla on Friday proposed a pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could earn him a trillion dollars' worth of stock, if he meets certain corporate objectives over the next decade. It is believed to be the first trillion-dollar corporate compensation package in history.

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401(k) Suit Against Defense Cos. Stayed For Mediation In Kan.

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Kansas federal judge on Friday agreed to stay a proposed class action against two defense and government contracting companies challenging the fees and performance of employee 401(k) plan investment offerings, citing the parties' agreement to mediate remaining claims in the federal benefits lawsuit.

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Refugee Aid Agency Urges Judge To Save Michigan Contracts

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Christian refugee aid provider has asked a federal judge to preserve funding it receives for refugee resettlement services amid its religious liberty lawsuit against the state, saying Michigan plans to terminate several of the group's contracts in a matter of weeks.

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Vein Tech Maker Wants Suit Over DOJ Kickback Probe Tossed

By Katryna Perera

Vein disease device maker Inari Medical Inc. and its former top brass have asked a New York federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action over claims the company's share price fell after it disclosed an investigation into its compliance with federal anti-kickback laws, arguing the suit fails to allege any specific kickbacks or false statements.

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Sierra Club Looks To Secure Border Wall Settlement Funds

By Tom Lotshaw

The Sierra Club and a nonprofit ally asked a California federal judge to order the Trump administration to preserve at least $50 million of border wall construction funds to pay for environmental projects required by a settlement struck with the Biden administration.

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Brief

9th Circ. Won't Pause $26M Fraud Ruling For Co.'s Appeal

By Tom Lotshaw

The Ninth Circuit has denied a New Jersey pipe importer's request to pause a decision affirming a $26 million fraud judgment while it appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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SAM Update May Ease Tricky Timing Technicalities

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent rule update, clarifying the System for Award Management's registration requirement, may reduce the number of disqualifications and bid protests resulting from minor lapses, but government contractors should still implement​ procedures t​o ensure early submission​ of registration renewals, say attorneys at Butzel Long.

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Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Analysis

Class Actions May Be The New Injunction Bid, And Next Target

By Cara Bayles

In the two months since the Supreme Court hobbled universal injunctions, lawyers and trial judges have pivoted to adjust to a new litigation landscape, with class actions playing a larger role in lawsuits seeking to stop presidential policies. That, in turn, could put the tactic in the administration's crosshairs.

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GOP Sens. OK Fla. Judge Who Dems Claim Courted Trump

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Republicans voted on Monday evening to confirm to the Southern District of Florida bench Judge Edward L. Artau, a state appellate judge who ruled in favor of President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit when Democrats say he was simultaneously being vetted for the federal judgeship.

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Calif. Judge Convicted Of Murdering Wife Seeks Trial Do-Over

By Gina Kim

A California judge convicted of murdering his wife earlier this year moved for a new trial, arguing the court's denial of his request to postpone the retrial was a "miscarriage of justice" because it limited his expert witness testimony and violated his right to present his defense that the shooting was accidental.

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Barrett Talks Dobbs, Court's Role In New Book

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and declare there's no constitutional right to abortion in her new memoir, which also provides unique insight into her view of the judiciary's role in American democracy and her approach to interpreting law.

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Dems Again Ask NY Ethics Body To Investigate Bove

By Jack Karp

Two Democratic senators filed an updated ethics complaint with the New York State Courts' attorney ethics body against recently confirmed Third Circuit Judge Emil Bove, citing what they called his "quid pro quo deal" to drop criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other alleged ethical violations.

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Litigation Funder Says Ex-GC Stole Secrets To Launch Rival

By Rae Ann Varona

A Houston-based litigation funding company has hauled its former general counsel into Texas state court, accusing him of diverting its business opportunities and using confidential business information when secretly forming a new rival litigation funder.

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Atty In Judge Newman Suspension Feud Moves To DOJ

By Adam Lidgett

An attorney who has been representing Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman in the legal battle over her suspension has jumped from the New Civil Liberties Alliance to work at the U.S. Department of Justice.

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FisherBroyles Can't Nix Stem Cell Patent Malpractice Claim

By Craig Clough

A California judge on Monday denied FisherBroyles LLP's motion to toss a claim in a $10 million malpractice suit brought against it by a stem cell treatment center, ruling the firm missed a deadline to file the motion. 

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Grassley Blocked On Quick US Attorney Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tried Monday to quickly confirm 10 nominees for U.S. attorneys, but was blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

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Analysis

Immigration Board's Undoing Of Bond Practice Stuns Attys

By Britain Eakin

A Board of Immigration Appeals decision to deny bond and require mandatory detention for anyone entering the U.S. unlawfully has stunned immigration attorneys, who say the upending of decades of precedent will leave few options beyond leaving the country.

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Analysis

Tracking The Copyright Fights Between Creators And AI Cos.

By Theresa Schliep

In the three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, artificial intelligence developers like OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic have faced dozens of lawsuits accusing them of infringing the intellectual property of authors, artists, news organizations and the like.

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Appeal Limited To NJ US Atty DQ Ruling, 3rd Circ. Told

By Madison Arnold

The federal government and defense counsel have agreed that the scope of a Third Circuit appeal is limited to the disqualification of New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases.

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Mass. Justices Asked To Find Atty Had Duty To Seek Plea Deal

By Julie Manganis

A man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a 1983 murder asked Massachusetts' high court Monday to find that his defense attorney's failure to pursue a plea bargain with prosecutors entitles him to a new trial, in a case that could alter the standard for finding a lawyer's work was ineffective.

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Securities Class Actions Had A Late Summer Appellate Bloom

By Jessica Corso

While the later summer months are often a quiet time for the nation's courts, the federal appellate courts were hard at work this past July and August issuing important rulings on class certification standards for shareholder lawsuits and handing down split-panel decisions over the future of disclosure litigation.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Sydney Price and Jeff Montgomery

Last week at the Delaware Court of Chancery, a bankruptcy administrator for a generic drugmaker formerly known as Teligent was told he can proceed with duty of oversight claims against most former officers and directors of the company, who the administrator said was complicit in the company's collapse. In an opinion, the Court of Chancery cites its 1996 decision In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation, which refined director duties of care and oversight.

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