Senate Confirms Jay Clayton As National Intelligence Chief

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, two weeks after Clayton, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to answer who he thought won the 2020 election during his confirmation hearing.

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DC Circ. Backs EPA's Pollution Review Regulation Process

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. Circuit panel sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its fight with environmental groups challenging rules for determining whether modifications to major pollution sources trigger new review, holding Tuesday the rule is neither inconsistent with the Clean Air Act nor arbitrary and capricious.

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Flawed NLRB Protections Can't Stop Case, Texas Judge Says

By Braden Campbell

National Labor Relations Board members' and judges' job protections are unconstitutional, but these flaws don't block the agency from prosecuting labor violations, a Texas federal judge said in a decision splitting with a recent ruling from a different district.

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Ed Dept. Can't Cancel K–12 Mental Health Grants Worth $1B

By Ben Adlin

A Washington federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Tuesday from terminating nearly $1 billion in K–12 mental health grants serving 15 states, finding that the plaintiff states are likely to prove the U.S. Education Department bypassed federal procedures when attempting to cut off the funds.

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Teva Can't 'Literally Whine' Of Being Held To DOJ Admissions

By Bryan Koenig

A Pennsylvania federal judge has taken Teva to task for trying to avoid being held to its admissions of price-fixing in a $225 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, ruling that Humana can use those admissions in one of the first bellwether trials in sprawling multidistrict litigation.

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Judge Pares Suit Challenging Empire Wind Project

By Keith Goldberg

A D.C. federal judge has trimmed a lawsuit contesting federal approvals for a wind farm off the New York and New Jersey coasts while preserving claims that the government wrongly allowed the project to harm migratory bottlenose dolphin populations.

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Trump Asks Supreme Court To Upend $83M Carroll Verdict

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump urged the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to wade in and overturn a jury's $83.3 million verdict finding he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of a decades-old sexual assault, pointing to the justices' decision giving presidents sweeping immunity for official acts.

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Musk's XAI Wants Minn. Ban On Image 'Nudification' Blocked

By Hailey Konnath

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI asked a federal court to shut down Minnesota's ban on image "nudification" technology, claiming the new law is an "overbroad, content-based ban on free speech" that runs afoul of the First Amendment.

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Analysis

340B Appellate Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2026

By Mark Payne

Drugmakers are pressing appellate judges in the back half of 2026 to strike down state laws blocking them from restricting 340B contract pharmacy arrangements. Law360 Healthcare Authority has the cases to watch.

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Ga. Justice Hopefuls Say Watchdog Violates Their Free Speech

By Emily Johnson

Two unsuccessful candidates for seats on the Georgia Supreme Court are urging a Georgia federal court to keep their suit alive, arguing that the state's judicial watchdog violated their freedom of speech when it publicly accused them of violating ethics rules days before the May election.

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Fed's 'Skinny' Accounts Need Failure Safeguards, Critics Say

By Jon Hill

As the Federal Reserve moves closer to giving fintech and crypto firms a direct on-ramp to its payment rails, critics inside and outside the banking industry say it needs a more robust off-ramp for those that get into trouble or fail.

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Texas Judge Calls Late Bid To Disqualify Atty 'Dilatory Tactic'

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Tuesday denied a request to disqualify an attorney representing the former chief executive of a real estate company related to the late mogul Gene Phillips, saying the attempt to knock out the attorney came way too late in the game.

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Calif. Warns SEC Against Preempting State REIT Registration

By Jessica Corso

California is urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not to adopt a proposal that could free certain real estate investment trusts and business development companies from registering with the states, saying it could leave retirees and the elderly vulnerable to fraud.

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States Back Guam Group In High Court Disposal Permit Fight

By Ganesh Setty

A coalition of states has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. Air Force must comply with separate, complementary environmental laws over its permit renewal application to detonate expired munitions in Guam, arguing the laws have distinct aims.

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Judge Bars Suit Over Alaska's Approved Land Transfers

By Gautama Mehta

A federal judge refused to stop the transfer of nearly 1.4 million acres of federal public lands to Alaska, ruling the state is immune to the bulk of a lawsuit seeking to restore environmental protections and prevent future mining and natural gas development.

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Judge Mulls Pausing Medicaid Work Rule For 'Frail' Recipients

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge said Tuesday he anticipates deciding by the end of the week whether the Trump administration will have to pause part of a new rule states must follow in determining whether medically frail Medicaid recipients are exempt from new work or school requirements.

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NJ Nursing Home On Hook For Hypothermia Death Verdict

By Y. Peter Kang

A New Jersey appellate panel on Tuesday affirmed a $450,000 jury verdict against a nursing home accused of negligently keeping a resident's room like an "icebox," which caused her death from hypothermia, saying the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence.

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High Court Asked To Take Another Settled Expectations Case

By Adam Lidgett

E-learning company Kahoot Inc. is pushing the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's practice of using settled expectations as a reason to deny patent reviews, marking the second petition before the high court on the issue.

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1st Circ. Asked To Save Mayer Brown $21M Fee Bid In RI Suit

By Linda Chiem

The American Trucking Associations told the First Circuit that its attorneys at Mayer Brown LLP reasonably justified their request for $21 million in fees and costs after securing "substantial" wins in long-running litigation over Rhode Island's truck tolling program, disputing a district court's determination that the trucking trade group wasn't actually a "prevailing party."

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Colo. Panel Questions If Concert Easement Appeal Is Moot

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado Court of Appeals panel Tuesday largely sidestepped the underlying statutory questions in a mountain town's appeal over the dismissal of its case seeking condemnation of an easement over a concert series, instead pondering why they were being asked to rule on the appeal at all.

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DC Sues Trump Administration Over HUD's Move To Virginia

By Nate Beck

Washington, D.C., argued in a federal lawsuit Monday that the Trump administration's plan to move the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's offices to Virginia is illegal, citing congressional direction and a 1790 law.

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Houston's Race-Conscious Contracting Program Struck Down

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Houston's program awarding public contracts on a race-conscious basis violated the Fourteenth Amendment in the first federal challenge to such a program following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision striking down affirmative action admissions policies.

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Amazon To Pay $2M To End Suit Over Rest Breaks In Wash.

By Ben Adlin

Amazon will pay $2 million to resolve Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go store workers' accusations that the e-commerce giant failed to provide them with meal and rest breaks required under Washington state law, according to a settlement given final approval by a Pierce County judge.

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DHS Can't Undo Order Halting TSA Union Deal Cancellation

By Rachel Riley

A federal judge in Seattle denied the Trump administration's bid on Tuesday to lift a court order blocking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a collective bargaining agreement covering thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers, saying the government failed to debunk two independent grounds for the injunction.

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Senators Urge CFTC Rule Slowdown Over Tribal Concerns

By Crystal Owens

Leaders of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee are urging the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to extend the public comment deadline for its proposed rule that could govern the way the agency oversees prediction markets, saying it's critical that Indigenous nations have time to evaluate its effects.

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8th Circ. Keeps Some Claims Alive In Jail Macing Suit

By Parker Quinlan

The Eighth Circuit has partially revived a lawsuit brought by four incarcerated people in a St. Louis jail, finding that guards at the facility should not be granted complete qualified immunity from claims that they used excessive force.

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Calif. Judge Won't Toss Challenge To Homeless Camp Sweeps

By Isaac Monterose

A California federal judge partially tossed a proposed class action challenging homeless camp sweeps conducted by California's Department of Transportation and local police working for San Diego County, the city of Santee and the city of Lakeside, but allowed many of the claims to proceed.

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Texas Panel Says Sysco Can't Arbitrate Driver Injury Claim

By Mike Curley

A Texas appeals court on Tuesday found that Sysco USA I Inc. cannot compel arbitration in a delivery driver's injury suit, as the driver is exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act as a transportation worker.

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Commerce Establishes Tariff Offsets For Domestic Engines

By Jack McLoone

Domestic manufacturers of engines for cars and medium- and heavy-duty trucks are now eligible for tariff offsets for sectoral duties placed on imported parts, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday.

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Trade Court OKs Canadian Lumber Duties Recalculation

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce appropriately applied a new price differential test to calculate slight alterations of antidumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber exporters, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled.

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Brazil Files Complaint At WTO Against US Tariffs

By Dylan Moroses

The Brazilian government filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization against U.S. tariffs placed on Brazilian goods, arguing that the measures run afoul of global trade rules, it said Monday evening. 

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Brief

EU To Apply Antidumping Duties On Chinese Yarn

By Dylan Moroses

Polyamide yarns from China entering the European Union will face antidumping duties ranging from 60% to just over 67%, the European Commission announced Tuesday.

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Ex-DOJ Officer Returns To Direct Tax Appeals Branch

By Asha Glover

The former chief of the appeals section of what was once the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has returned to the agency to helm the appellate arm of the department's newly named civil tax branch, she announced.

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Pa. Panel Narrows Test For Tax Exemption On Charities' Land

By Michael Nunes

A Pennsylvania appeals court panel held Tuesday that the Salvation Army was wrongly denied a real estate tax exemption for an outdoor retreat by the organization, saying that the entire property was operated in keeping with the group's charitable mission.

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Wash. AG's Income Tax Repeal Ballot Language Challenged

By Rachel Riley

Political action committee Let's Go Washington on Monday launched a legal challenge to the Evergreen State attorney general's wording of a November ballot measure that would repeal a recently passed 9.9% tax on annual income above $1 million, claiming the summary is inaccurate and slanted in favor of the tax.

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ICE Facility's Appointed Monitor Reports Medical Neglect

By Bonnie Eslinger

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is failing to comply with a California federal judge's preliminary injunction order requiring it to provide an adequate healthcare system at a detention center in the western Mojave Desert, according to a report from a court-appointed monitor.

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Contempt Bid Denied In Guatemalan Kids Removal Order Case

By Elaine Briseño

A D.C. federal judge rejected a bid to hold immigration officials in contempt for allegedly violating a court order prohibiting the removal of unaccompanied Guatemalan children, finding no evidence of any of the children actually being deported.

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Feds Say Ethiopian TPS Suit Rehashes Unreviewable Claims

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration urged a Massachusetts federal court to toss an amended lawsuit challenging its revocation of Ethiopia's temporary protected status designation, leaning on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling allowing it to terminate TPS for Haiti and Syria.

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Connecticut's ICE Arrest 'Obstacles' Can't Stand, Feds Say

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state law and a local executive order that limit cooperation with immigration authorities are preempted by acts of Congress and must be struck down, the U.S. government told a federal court.

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Tribal Nonprofit Says Feds Wrongly Denied Washeteria Funds

By Crystal Owens

An Indigenous Alaskan corporation is suing the United States and Health and Human Services officials after it says they unlawfully rejected a funding agreement that would allow it to help provide access to clean drinking water, personal hygiene and healthcare services to rural villages and the city of Wales.

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Ex-FCC Officials Call Agency's ABC Station Probe 'Retaliatory'

By Christopher Cole

Several former top officials at the Federal Communications Commission called on FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Tuesday to abandon an early review of eight Disney-owned ABC stations' licenses, calling the action a "grave violation" of federal law and free speech protections.

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FCC Says Starlink Routers Exempt From Nat'l Security Ban

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has banned virtually all foreign-made routers from the United States, citing national security concerns, but it isn't worried about ones made by billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet company Starlink.

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FCC Pulls Major Provider From Lifeline, Citing Violations

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission says it has banned one of the nation's biggest Lifeline providers from participating in the subsidy program after uncovering widespread violations of the program's rules, including a practice of transferring people back after they switched their service to another provider.

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Brief

Humanoids, Other Robotics Added To FCC's Nat'l Security List

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that humanoids and other advanced robotics newly produced in foreign countries will be included on the "covered list" of products restricted from U.S. importation and marketing.

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Mich. Jury Rejects Student's Title IX Claim

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal jury found Tuesday that a Ypsilanti, Michigan, school district had actual knowledge of harassment reported by a student but concluded the alleged conduct was not severe and pervasive enough to trigger liability under Title IX, returning a verdict for the defense after fewer than two hours of deliberations. 

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Cannabis User Urges 8th Circ. To Rehear Gun Case

By Jonathan Capriel

A man convicted of possessing a pistol while using marijuana is urging the Eighth Circuit to rehear his case, arguing that its prior decision to uphold his guilt conflicts with the appeals court's prior ruling requiring the government to prove that a person's drug use caused their dangerous behavior.

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Assessing DOJ Antitrust's New, Faster Merger Review Option

The U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division's recently announced targeted second request option and new model timing signal a commercially friendly stance and a departure from the prior administration's position, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

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Opinion

Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

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High Court, SEC Proposals Set Stage For Further Fund Reform

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in FS Credit Opportunities v. Saba Capital Master Fund and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rulemaking packages aimed at public market reforms provide a constructive backdrop for considering additional innovations to the listed fund structure, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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NRC Proposal May Reshape Radiation Protection Framework

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposal to drop the long-standing requirement to keep radiation exposure "as low as reasonably achievable," alongside the U.S. Department of Energy's removal of ALARA from its own rules, suggests a broader federal reassessment of radiation protection policy, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

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State Of Insurance: Q2 Notes From Pennsylvania

Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey highlights notable second-quarter insurance developments in Pennsylvania, including federal court opinions providing guidance on first-party and third-party insurance coverage principles, and a pending bill seeking to regulate health insurers' use of artificial intelligence.

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AG Watch: Minn. Defends Prediction Markets Ban

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has aggressively defended the state's landmark statute banning prediction markets, but the court's July 27 temporary injunction in U.S. v. Minnesota blocking the law from taking effect could set the template for state authority across the country, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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Trader In BigLaw Deal-Tipping Scheme To Plead Guilty

By Chris Villani

A Florida resident is set to plead guilty to his alleged role in a sweeping scheme to trade on insider information about impending acquisitions that was stolen from major law firms, according to a court filing Tuesday.

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Simpson Thacher Stock Work Hurt 2 Companies, Jury Told

By Madison Arnold

The chief financial officer for an insurance company told a Florida jury Tuesday that a stock drop for Patriot National Inc. — which is suing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for malpractice for allegedly putting together a shoddy securities offering — dramatically affected his own business as well.

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AT&T Whistleblower Told To Cut Facts From Ethics Case Filing

By Sue Reisinger

Former AT&T in-house counsel and whistleblower Theodore Marcus has been asked to delete part of his response to professional misconduct charges pending against him in Washington, D.C., because the filing allegedly contains privileged information.

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Winston Taylor Seeks Sanction Against Ex-Client Hunter Biden

By Rae Ann Varona

Winston Taylor urged a D.C. state court on Monday to sanction its former client Hunter Biden in its legal bills collection suit, saying the former president's son destroyed Signal communications that would have proved he understood that he owes the law firm more than $50,000.

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Court Is In Session Whenever A Judge Says It Is, 6th Circ. Told

By Susan Smiley

Court is wherever and whenever a judge says it is, counsel for a Detroit judge told a Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday, arguing that subjecting a student to a mock arrest and trial because she fell asleep during a field trip was within his jurisdiction.

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Queens Defenders Head Gets 3.5 Years For Looting The Nonprofit

By Pete Brush

A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the former director of the Queens Defenders to more than 3.5 years in prison after the longtime attorney admitted to a course of embezzlement that destroyed the group dedicated to legal services for the poor.

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