Appellate

  • January 16, 2025

    SEC's General Counsel Barbero To Exit As Trump Takes Office

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that General Counsel Megan Barbero will depart the agency on the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, capping a nearly two-year run that saw the agency face setbacks to its regulatory powers before conservative courts, but also notch some important wins.

  • January 16, 2025

    Intel Says Prior Art Ruling Bolsters Its Case Against VLSI

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision clarifying when patent applications can be counted as prior art should be taken into account as the court reviews whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightfully invalidated a VLSI Technology patent, challenger Intel Corp. said Thursday.

  • January 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Mulls 'Colorability' In India's Test Of $156M Award

    A D.C. Circuit panel wrestled Thursday with what constitutes a "colorable" assertion of sovereign immunity in arbitration enforcement proceedings as India seeks to undo a $155.8 million judgment against it stemming from an arbitration over a soured satellite licensing deal.

  • January 16, 2025

    Atty Suspended Over Wrongful Imprisonment Case Fees

    A Florida attorney accused of overcharging two intellectually disabled stepbrothers avoided disbarment when the New Jersey Supreme Court imposed a five-year suspension instead of opting for the permanent license revocation recommended by the court's disciplinary review board.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Calls Newman's Constitutional Challenge 'Meritless'

    The Federal Circuit Judicial Council urged the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to reject U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's argument that the suspension her colleagues have imposed on her for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve on the bench is unconstitutional.

  • January 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Mulls Preemption Of HUD's Disparate-Impact Rule

    A Seventh Circuit judge said Thursday he found it odd that a trade association for insurers was bringing a facial challenge to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule governing disparate-impact claims under the Fair Housing Act that would effectively require "a 50-state survey to adjudicate."

  • January 16, 2025

    Tribes, ND Spar Over High Court's Voting Rights Order

    Two North Dakota tribes say a decision by the Supreme Court rejecting an appeal over the state's voting subdistricts forecloses the secretary of state's argument that race was a predominant factor in redrawing the districts.

  • January 16, 2025

    Nicaragua Co. In Solar Row Asks Texas Justices For New Trial

    A Nicaragua company tapped to build a solar park in that country asked the Texas Supreme Court to wade into its long-running dispute with companies that allegedly conspired to sell it tens of thousands of counterfeit solar panels.

  • January 16, 2025

    Trump AG Nominee Pam Bondi's Net Worth Tops $12M

    President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, has a net worth of over $12 million and holds stock in Trump's media company, according to financial disclosures shared with Law360. 

  • January 16, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Wonderful Pistachios' Trade Dress Case

    The Second Circuit revived a trademark infringement complaint from The Wonderful Co. LLC and Cal Pure Produce against pistachio-selling rival Nut Cravings Inc., saying Thursday that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged a likelihood of confusion in how each company's products are packaged, contrary to what a Manhattan federal judge concluded in dismissing the case.

  • January 16, 2025

    Quarry, Conn. Town Eye Settlement In $9.5M Shutdown Feud

    The town of East Haven, Connecticut, and a quarry owner are in settlement talks to end both a lawsuit and an appeal of the owner's $10.6 million bench trial win on claims he was forced to shut down operations for improper political reasons, a federal district court filing indicates.

  • January 16, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Revisit Mercedes Fire Coverage Row

    The Sixth Circuit declined Thursday to revisit a decision finding the research group for Mercedes-Benz North America could be liable for over $1 million in property damage following a fire its employees set inadvertently at a Michigan property it rented.

  • January 16, 2025

    Gov't Wants Time During Epic, Google's 9th Circ. Face-Off

    When Epic Games and Google face off next month at the Ninth Circuit, the federal government is hoping it will get a few minutes to state its case for why the appellate court shouldn't overturn an order forcing Google to allow alternative app stores on its platform, the government said in a recent motion.

  • January 16, 2025

    FDIC Case Belongs In Fed. Court After Jarkesy, 5th Circ. Told

    A former Herring Bank executive argued in a Fifth Circuit brief that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s in-house enforcement proceedings against him denied him his right to a jury trial in federal court, saying the allegations against him involve legal issues that have historically been decided by juries.

  • January 16, 2025

    Texas Justices Question If Courts Can Rethink TCPA Motions

    Texas justices questioned whether a trial court can reconsider a motion under the state's anti-SLAPP law to dismiss a farmland-centered REIT's suit against a Dallas-based hedge fund, saying during oral arguments Thursday that allowing it to do so might create a "big hammer" hanging over the parties' heads.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Court Backs Flynn Critic In Defamation Row

    A Florida appeals court upheld a ruling dismissing former Trump adviser Gen. Michael Flynn's $50 million defamation suit against political strategist Rick Wilson, finding that Wilson's tweets, including one calling Flynn a "Putin employee," are hyperbole and opinion protected under the First Amendment.

  • January 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Skeptical Of Undoing Microsoft Win In Wiretap Case

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday appeared to lean toward not reviving a proposed class action alleging a website operator improperly used a Microsoft program to track a shopper's online activity, with two of the three judges on a panel questioning how collecting internet browsing data was an illegal wiretap.

  • January 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Judges Ask TSA Who Gets To Define 'Emergency'

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Thursday questioned how much deference the court should give to the Transportation Security Administration's definition of an "emergency" in a railway's lawsuit claiming TSA skipped normal rulemaking procedures to impose cybersecurity mandates on freight rail companies without pointing to an emergency that warranted it.

  • January 16, 2025

    Merck Defends 3rd Circ. Win In Mumps Vaccine Antitrust Case

    Merck urged the Third Circuit not to reconsider a ruling that immunized the company from antitrust claims over submissions it made to federal regulators for its mumps vaccine, arguing the appeals court was right to find the submissions were protected.

  • January 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms $23.2M Judgment In ICE Detainee Wage Trial

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld a $23.2 million district court judgment in favor of a class of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and Washington state, ruling that the GEO Group isn't immune from paying the detainees the state minimum wage for their involvement in a work program.

  • January 16, 2025

    Texas Ozone Fight A Repeat Of 2007, EPA Tells 5th Circ.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that Texas is feigning a misunderstanding of the Clean Air Act, saying it couldn't have hit the state with a "surprise switcheroo" because it was in an identical situation more than a decade earlier.

  • January 16, 2025

    McNair Son Wants Legal Fee Fight Set Back In Motion

    The eldest son of late Houston businessman Bob McNair asked a Texas appeals court Wednesday to reverse an order temporarily halting his litigation seeking legal fees connected to a probate case over the management of his family's companies.

  • January 16, 2025

    3rd Circ. Unsure Pa. GOP Can Challenge Biden's Voting Order

    Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania told the Third Circuit on Thursday that President Joe Biden's executive order expanding "get-out-the-vote" information by using third parties trampled on their authority as legislators, with the appellate panel questioning their standing to bring the case.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Urged To Keep Block Of Sun Pharma Alopecia Drug

    Incyte Corp. has urged the Federal Circuit to leave in place an injunction a New Jersey judge imposed in November blocking Sun Pharmaceutical from launching the alopecia drug Leqselvi, saying the lower court was correct that the launch would give Sun an improper "head start."

  • January 16, 2025

    Ex-Atty's Audit Rightly Tied To State Farm Fight, Panel Rules

    State Farm and two clients were properly ushered into a case examining a disbarred attorney's trust accounts, a Connecticut appeals court ruled Thursday, shutting down the ex-lawyer's demand for $52,100 in purported attorney fees by upholding a judge's decision linking settlement payout, audit and ethics feuds under one docket.

Expert Analysis

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

    Author Photo

    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

    Author Photo

    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

    Author Photo

    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

    Author Photo

    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

    Author Photo

    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

    Author Photo

    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

    Author Photo

    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

    Author Photo

    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

    Author Photo

    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

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.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!