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Featured
Supreme Court Eyes Its 'Next Frontier' In FCC Delegation Case
A case about broadband subsidies will give the U.S. Supreme Court the chance to revive a long-dormant separation of powers principle that attorneys say could upend regulations in numerous industries and trigger a power shift that would make last term's shake-up of federal agency authority pale in comparison. And a majority of the court already appears to support its resurrection.
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February 12, 2025
Calif. Panel Upends Bakery's Bias Suit Win Over Gay Wedding
A California appeals court on Tuesday reversed a California bakery's trial court victory in a discrimination lawsuit challenging its refusal to sell a wedding cake to a lesbian couple, finding that a wedding cake design standard the bakery had leaned on was facially discriminatory.
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February 12, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Family's Asylum Bid Citing 'Antigypsyism'
A split Ninth Circuit on Wednesday revived a Roma family's asylum bid, saying in a published opinion that the Board of Immigration Appeals disregarded the "extreme" persecution and mistreatment the family faced as well as a long history of "antigypsyism."
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February 12, 2025
Social Media MDL Judge Rips Google, Snap Quick Appeal Bid
A California federal judge indicated Wednesday she likely won't let Google and Snap file interlocutory appeals in multidistrict litigation over social media's allegedly addictive designs, saying the appeals requests make "no sense," and she slammed Meta insurers' unnecessary motion to expedite its coverage dispute with Meta as "unprofessional."
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February 12, 2025
8th Circ. Vacates Ruling In Minn. Tribal Reservation Dispute
An Eighth Circuit panel on Wednesday remanded a dispute between a Minnesota tribe and Mille Lacs County officials to a federal district court with instructions to vacate, saying a recently amended state law upholds a 19th-century treaty that gives unqualified law enforcement jurisdiction to the tribe over its reservation's boundaries.
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February 12, 2025
VA Blocked From Quickly Appealing Systemic Racism Suit
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cannot immediately appeal a Connecticut federal judge's refusal to slap down a lawsuit alleging systemic discrimination at VA hospitals because the case does not present novel issues requiring midstream clarification, the same judge who advanced the case last March has ruled.
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February 12, 2025
Aurion Tells Del. Justices IPO Delayed Amid Investor Battle
Cell therapy venture Aurion Biotech told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that it has delayed a planned initial public offering now at the center of an appeal from a January Court of Chancery ruling that rejected a top investor's challenge to a reverse stock split.
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February 12, 2025
DOJ Removes For-Cause Protection For FTC, Other Agencies
The U.S. Department of Justice has determined that for-cause removals for members of the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Product Safety Commission are unconstitutional, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris informed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking Democrat of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a letter Wednesday.
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February 12, 2025
Fla. Panel Reinstates Suit Over Fatal Cement Truck Collision
A Florida state appellate panel Wednesday reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit over a fatal vehicle collision involving a big rig truck hauling cement, ruling that testimony showed there are still factual disputes to be resolved concerning issues on alleged negligence from the truck driver and his transportation company's liability.
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February 12, 2025
3rd Circ. Says Parents Can't Get Coverage In Gun Case
A couple whose son was found guilty of two homicides is not entitled to coverage from two homeowners insurers for a civil suit filed by one victim's mother, the Third Circuit affirmed, finding the civil case accused the parents of intentionally concealing the firearm their son allegedly used.
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February 12, 2025
11th Circ. Upholds Win For Smucker's In Worker's Bias Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a ruling freeing J.M. Smucker Co. and Big Heart Pet Brands from a technician's suit alleging she was unfairly held to a higher standard at work and punished more severely in regard to policy violations because she is a Black woman.
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February 12, 2025
Paraquat Plaintiffs Urge 7th Circ. To Revive MDL Suits
Four plaintiffs who were set for bellwether trials in multidistrict litigation targeting the herbicide paraquat argued Wednesday that the Seventh Circuit should unwind their summary judgment losses because the district court's ruling was based on "core misunderstandings" about their expert's evidentiary requirements.
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February 12, 2025
Mich. Justices Urged To Find Vacation Stays A Residential Use
An intellectual property attorney told the Michigan Supreme Court that short-term rentals are permissible under land covenants that only allow residential use, urging the court to follow "the national consensus" established by other state supreme courts that have answered the question.
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February 12, 2025
4th Circ. Keeps Class Cert. Nixed In Coupon Service Case
Class certification remains off the table in a lawsuit accusing Inmar Inc. of fixing shipping prices for coupon processing services, after a Fourth Circuit panel sided Wednesday with district court findings that none of the three proffered ways to identify a class of manufacturer plaintiffs holds up.
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February 12, 2025
2nd Circ. Backs Deferred Compensation Award Calculation
The Second Circuit refused Wednesday to upend how a trial court calculated that a defunct photo processing company owes ex-employees over $800,000 following mismanagement of a deferred compensation plan, but said the lower court needs to reassess who's on the hook for payment.
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February 12, 2025
Chester, Pa., Can Probe Water Utility's Assets In Ch. 9
A Pennsylvania bankruptcy judge gave the ailing city of Chester the green light Wednesday to probe a water utility about its assets, but stopped short of allowing the city under Chapter 9 protection to share the information or allowing an auditor to visit the utility's property.
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February 12, 2025
5th Circ. OKs Drop Of Litigation Over Biden-Era GHG Rule
The Fifth Circuit has signed off on the Trump administration's decision to cease litigation over a Biden-era rule that required states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions tied to federally funded highway projects.
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February 12, 2025
Judge Jackson Bars White House's Special Counsel Switch
A D.C. district judge late Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump Administration from replacing the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel until the court rules on request for a preliminary injunction blocking the move.
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February 12, 2025
Colo. City Asks State Justices To Revive Pot Ballot Question
The city of Colorado Springs is asking the Colorado Supreme Court to revive a ballot initiative that a district court struck from an upcoming election that would repeal an initiative passed in November authorizing the retail sale of cannabis in city limits.
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February 12, 2025
Hospital Says It Should've Had Immunity In 'Maya' Case
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital told a Florida appeals court Wednesday that the lower court "profoundly misconstrued" immunity Florida law grants to those who report suspicions of child abuse, which allowed a jury to award $261 million to Maya Kowalski, the subject of a Netflix documentary, for her mother's suicide.
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February 12, 2025
Fed. Circ. Upholds Duties On Italian Co.'s Chinese-Made Tires
The Chinese arm of an Italian tire manufacturer must pay significant duties, according to a precedential ruling from the Federal Circuit, which found that the U.S. Department of Commerce correctly determined the company could be influenced by the Chinese government.
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February 12, 2025
Nike Asks 9th Circ. To Claw Back Workplace Harassment Docs
A lawyer for Nike urged a Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday to block an Oregon local newspaper from publishing workplace harassment questionnaires provided by plaintiffs' attorney in pay equity litigation against the athletic apparel giant.
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February 12, 2025
2nd Circ. Upholds R. Kelly's Sex Abuse Conviction
The Second Circuit upheld R&B singer R. Kelly's convictions for racketeering and sex trafficking Wednesday, citing the strength of the evidence and rejecting his claims that four jurors were biased against him.
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February 12, 2025
Trump Can Sue Pulitzer Board Members, Fla. Panel Rules
A Florida appellate court ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump can sue the Pulitzer Prize Board members in a defamation lawsuit over reporting that he colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election, saying his complaint sufficiently met state jurisdiction requirements.
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February 12, 2025
Ohio Justices Lean Toward Union On Termination Arbitration
The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed skeptical of a city's argument that it can't be forced into arbitration with a worker's union over his termination, with one justice implying during oral arguments the court may need to clarify the State Employment Relations Board's authority in such matters.
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February 12, 2025
Fla. Pot Patients Say 8th Circ. Precedent Backs Gun Rights
A group of Florida residents challenging the federal policy disarming medical cannabis users is pointing to a recent Eighth Circuit ruling that they say supports their gun-rights position as they appeal in the Eleventh Circuit.
Editor's Picks
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12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar
One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
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How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks
FINAL UPDATE January 14, 2025 | President Joe Biden put 235 lifetime judges on the federal bench which added to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, whose confirmed judicial nominees were 84% white and 76% male.
Expert Analysis
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Disability Ruling Guides On Cases With Uncertain Causation
In Dime v. MetLife, a Washington federal court’s recent ruling in favor of a disability claimant instructs both claimants and insurers on the appropriate standard for establishing and making a disability determination when there is limited medical evidence explaining the disability’s cause, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis
Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.
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Opinion
New DOJ Leaders Should Curb Ill-Conceived Prosecutions
First-of-their-kind cases have seemingly led to a string of overly aggressive prosecutions in recent years, so newly sworn-in leaders of the U.S. Department of Justice should consider creating reporting channels to stop unwise prosecutions before they snowball, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Opinion
Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
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What Justices' FLSA Ruling Means For 2-Step Collective Cert.
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in EMD Sales v. Carrera may have sounded the death knell for the decades-old two-step process to certify collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which could lead more circuits to require a preponderance of the evidence showing that members are similarly situated, says Steven Katz at Constangy.
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Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example
Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach
Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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Perspectives
Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines
KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.
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Perspectives
DC Circ. Cellphone Ruling Upends Law Enforcement Protocol
The D.C. Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Brown decision, holding that forcibly requiring a defendant to unlock his cellphone with his fingerprint violated the Fifth Amendment, has significant implications for law enforcement, and may provide an opportunity for defense lawyers to suppress electronic evidence, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.
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The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape
While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.
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AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex
Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.
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When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law
In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.
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The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws
The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.