Appellate

  • January 24, 2025

    Conn. Residents Lose Appeal Challenging Propane Facility

    A group of citizens in Connecticut who opposed their town's plans to build a bulk propane storage facility can't show how they were aggrieved and, therefore, don't have standing to sue, a state appellate panel ruled Friday in affirming the trial court's dismissal of their case.

  • January 24, 2025

    Ill. Casino Applicant Loses Out On License Denial Challenge

    A tribal-led casino applicant that was denied a license to open up in Waukegan, Illinois, does not have standing to appeal that rejection, the state's highest court said on Friday, restoring a trial court's decision on the matter.

  • January 24, 2025

    Anti-Abortion Group Seeks High Court Review Of NJ Probe

    An anti-abortion pregnancy center operator wants the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its federal court challenge to a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general that seeks information about its donors, urging the court in a petition for certiorari to resolve a legal "Catch-22."

  • January 24, 2025

    Del. Justices Reject Investor Suit Over Dropped Drug Prospect

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Court of Chancery decision dismissing a Ception Therapeutics Inc. stockholder suit alleging breaches of an agreement to use commercially reasonable efforts before Cephalon Inc., which acquired Ception, and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. abandoned a new drug prospect.

  • January 24, 2025

    Justices Urged To Review Souvenir Store's TM Fraud Case

    A Florida souvenir store chain has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its challenge to a Second Circuit decision foreclosing its arguments that a bankrupt beachwear company fraudulently procured a trademark registration to secure a $3.5 million settlement in yearslong litigation between the competitors.

  • January 24, 2025

    Deere Loses Fed. Circ. Bid To Revive Seeding Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Friday shot down John Deere's appeal of its loss at the lower court in a case where a jury found that a rival's SpeedTube products didn't infringe a pair of patents, affirming a lower court's denial of the farming equipment giant's bid for a new trial.

  • January 24, 2025

    Trump Admin Requests Justices Pause Three Energy Cases

    The Trump administration on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause three cases so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can review Biden-era regulatory decisions that may alter the government's legal positions.

  • January 24, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds $23M Ruling Against Venezuelan Oil Cos.

    The Eleventh Circuit ruled Friday that two Venezuelan oil companies can't reverse a $23 million judgment over breach of contract for the sale of chemicals, saying they waived challenges to personal jurisdiction at key points in the litigation, and the record shows no genuine factual issues surrounding the broken agreements.

  • January 24, 2025

    Scorned Hot Dog Biz Buyer Urges NC Justices To Revive Suit

    A businessman who claims he was cut out of a deal to buy a chain of Ohio hot dog eateries urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to revive his suit against a man who the businessman said was supposed to be his partner, arguing only a jury can resolve the matter.

  • January 24, 2025

    Ill. Justices Say Performance Bonuses Count In OT Math

    Two workers will have another shot at arguing an electric company failed to pay the proper amount of overtime because state law doesn't exclude performance bonuses from overtime math, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Friday.

  • January 24, 2025

    'Waverly Two' Will Walk Free After Biden Commutation

    Among the nearly 2,500 people for whom former President Joe Biden commuted sentences before he left office were Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, who were sentenced to life in prison in 2001 even though a federal jury found them not guilty of murder.

  • January 24, 2025

    Education Department Asks For Pause In Student Loan Case

    The federal government asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to pause a review of a Fifth Circuit block on a program that forgives student loans if the borrower was scammed, saying it needed to "reassess" its position following President Donald Trump's inauguration.

  • January 24, 2025

    8th Circ. Upholds Block On Iowa's Immigration Law

    An Eighth Circuit panel upheld an order barring Iowa from enforcing a state law that criminalizes noncitizens who enter the state after deportation from the U.S., saying in a Friday opinion the law doesn't pass a constitutional smell test.

  • January 24, 2025

    3rd Circ. Halts Pa. Med Insurer Suit Pending High Court Review

    The Third Circuit agreed Friday to put a hold on its ruling that Pennsylvania's medical malpractice insurance fund is an agency of the state and can dip into the fund's $300 million budget surplus pending the outcome of the fund's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 24, 2025

    FTC Says Noncompete Ban Defense Is Its Job, Not Intervenor's

    The Federal Trade Commission is urging the Fifth and Eleventh circuits not to permit an entrepreneurs group to intervene in support of the FTC's currently blocked noncompete ban in case the commission opts to abandon its defense, arguing Congress left it up to government agencies to defend their own regulations.

  • January 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Renews Billing Co.'s Suit Against Texas Data Firm

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday partly revived a Washington billing services company's lawsuit over a soured business deal with bankrupt Addison Data Services, finding a bankruptcy settlement agreement and the statute of limitations can't keep the plaintiff from pursuing its breach of fiduciary duty claims.

  • January 24, 2025

    Lawmakers Want FCC Subsidy Fund Preserved At High Court

    Nearly 30 members of the U.S. House and Senate from both parties are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to keep in place the Federal Communications Commission's system of raising funds from telecom providers to pay for connectivity around the country.

  • January 24, 2025

    Trump Energy Order Disrupts High-Profile NEPA Cases

    One of President Donald Trump's first energy-related executive orders is unsettling closely watched litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit regarding the executive branch's power to implement the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • January 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Tossing Medicare Rate Policy Challenge

    A Fifth Circuit panel said it agrees with a Texas federal judge that a lawsuit brought by four anesthesia practices claiming a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy will cost them $4 million in reduced reimbursements is statutorily barred.

  • January 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Intel PTAB Win In Qualcomm Fight

    The Federal Circuit said Friday it won't undo a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that invalidated several claims of a Qualcomm Inc. patent it had previously upheld, backing the board's latest claim construction in favor of Intel.

  • January 24, 2025

    SAP Seeks Full 9th Circ. Rehearing Of Revived Tying Suit

    German software giant SAP is asking the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its revival of data analytics company Teradata's trade secrets and tying suit against it, saying the panel wrongly applied per se antitrust treatment to a "highly innovative software market."

  • January 24, 2025

    10th Circ. Unsure Exec's Missed Argument Dooms Firing Suit

    A Tenth Circuit judge on Friday asked U.S. Bank whether it matters if a former executive knew he had another jurisdictional argument for his wrongful termination claim but failed to pursue it, in an appeal attempting to revive the executive's second suit.

  • January 24, 2025

    Netflix Urges Colo. Court To Reject Tax On Streaming Video

    Netflix subscriptions are not tangible personal property that is subject to Colorado sales tax, the company told a state appeals court, urging it to uphold a district court decision.

  • January 24, 2025

    FDA's Premium Cigar Regulations Overturned By DC Circ.

    A D.C. Circuit panel ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration acted arbitrarily when subjecting premium, hand-rolled cigars to the same regulations as other tobacco products, saying the agency was wrong to overlook two studies about infrequent premium cigar use.

  • January 24, 2025

    Army Exploits Pa. Boarding School Cemetery, 4th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Army is exploiting an Indian boarding school cemetery as a repository for human remains, a Nebraska tribe told the Fourth Circuit, arguing that the military institution is conducting research and other activities that serve its goals rather than respecting the sovereignty and traditions of Indigenous people.

Expert Analysis

  • 5th Circ. DOL Tip Decision May Trigger Final 80/20 Rule Fight

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision concerning a Labor Department rule that limits how often tipped employees can be assigned non-tip-producing duties could be challenged in either historically rule-friendly circuits or the Supreme Court, but either way it could shape the future of tipped work, says Kevin Johnson at Johnson Jackson.

  • Strategies To Avoid Patent Issues In AI Drug Discovery

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    Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve drug discovery and design, but companies should consider a variety of factors when patenting drugs created using AI systems, including guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and methods for protecting patent eligibility, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • What Being An 'Insider' Means In Ch. 11, And Why It Matters

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    As borrowers grapple with approaching near-term maturities on corporate debt, lenders should be proactive in mitigating the risks of being classified as an insider in potential bankruptcies, including heightened scrutiny, preference risk, plan voting and more, say David Hillman and Steve Ma at Proskauer.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

  • Navigating The Bankruptcy Terrain After Purdue Pharma

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma is having a significant impact on bankruptcies, with recent cases addressing nonconsensual third-party releases and opt-out mechanisms, and highlighting strategies practitioners can employ to avoid running afoul of the decision, say Brett Axelrod and Agostino Zammiello at Fox Rothschild.

  • 5 Considerations For Obviousness-Type Double Patenting

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent denial of certiorari for In re: Cellect highlights the current state of obviousness-type double patenting based on that case and another recent Federal Circuit decision, including that ODP is not fatal, that divisional applications are protected from ODP and more, says Fabian Koenigbauer at Ice Miller.

  • How To Avoid Risking Arbitration Award Confidentiality In NY

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    Though a Second Circuit decision last year seemed to create a confidentiality safe harbor for arbitration awards that had no ongoing compliance issues, a recent New York federal court ruling offers further guidance on the meaning of "ongoing compliance issues," says Matthew Iverson at Nelson Mullins.

  • How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies

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    If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • E-Signature Best Practices For Employers After Calif. Ruling

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    In Garcia v. Stoneledge Furniture, a California appellate court found an arbitration agreement invalid after an employee raised doubts about the authenticity of its e-signature, underscoring the importance of employers implementing additional measures to verify the authenticity of electronically signed documents, say Ash Bhargava and Reece Bennett at Atkinson Andelson.

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In August

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    The Federal Circuit’s seven vacated or reversed cases from August provide helpful clarity on obviousness-type double patenting, written description and indefiniteness, and suggest improved practices for petitioners and patent owners in inter partes review, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Smith's New Trump Indictment Is Case Study In Superseding

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    Special counsel Jack Smith’s recently revised Jan. 6 charges against former President Donald Trump provide lessons for prosecutors on how to effectively draft superseding indictments in order to buttress or streamline their case, as necessary, says Jessica Roth at Cardozo Law School.

  • Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling

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    In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • What To Expect As Worker Bias Suit Heads To High Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, which concerns how courts treat discrimination claims brought by majority group plaintiffs, and its decision could eliminate the background circumstances test, but is unlikely to significantly affect employers' diversity programs, say Victoria Slade and Alysa Mo at Davis Wright.

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