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Appellate
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February 05, 2025
Calif. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Insurer Attys
A California state appeals court revived an Allstate policyholder's legal malpractice suit against his insurer-appointed attorney, saying the policyholder sufficiently alleged the attorney's drafting of an underlying settlement in a wrongful death suit caused him damages.
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February 05, 2025
NC Software Co. Says DQ Of Rival's Atty Shouldn't Stall Trial
An attorney being kicked off a bitter copyright case over source code shouldn't delay the fast-approaching trial, a U.S. software company told a North Carolina federal judge, arguing that its Dutch rival is trying to use the loss of its preferred counsel as a stalling tactic.
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February 05, 2025
11th Circ. Backs Navy Win In IT Worker's Promotion Bias Suit
The Eleventh Circuit upheld the U.S. Navy's defeat of a civilian tech employee's suit claiming he was passed over for several promotions because he was Hispanic and in his 50s, saying he failed to show that supervisors considered his age or race when making decisions.
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February 05, 2025
Pa. Dept.'s Switch On Abortion Funding Leaves Court Unsure
A Pennsylvania appellate court struggled Wednesday with how to handle a challenge to the state's ban on using Medicaid funding for abortions, after the state's health regulator switched sides to agree with the suing providers and the commonwealth's justices stopped Republican lawmakers from defending the ban.
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February 05, 2025
Maryland Judge Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Order
A Maryland federal judge on Wednesday issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship.
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February 04, 2025
Russian Bank Can't Ditch Jet Crash Suit, 2nd Circ. Agrees
The Second Circuit on Tuesday agreed with a lower court's finding that Sberbank of Russia must face Anti-Terrorism Act litigation related to the 2014 downing of a commercial airliner over eastern Ukraine, rejecting the bank's argument that it's entitled to sovereign immunity.
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February 04, 2025
9th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Over Military Meds Deliveries
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Express Scripts Inc. of defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense out of billions of dollars in unnecessary medications for military personnel, saying the lawsuit wasn't barred by any public disclosures of the alleged fraud.
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February 04, 2025
Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action
February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.
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February 04, 2025
OpenSky Defends Patent Challenge After Verdict Against Intel
A company found using the patent review process to try to extort money from VLSI Technology LLC and Intel Corp. after a $2.18 billion jury verdict against the chipmaking giant is arguing it shouldn't have to pay legal fees, saying its efforts to revive a meritorious patent challenge is simply part of a "potentially profitable business model."
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February 04, 2025
Walmart's Win In Fatal Shooting Suit Backed By Calif. Court
A California state appellate court on Tuesday upheld a defense verdict for Walmart in a suit accusing the retailer of negligently storing handgun ammunition that purportedly allowed a man to steal several boxes and go on a crime spree, killing two people.
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February 04, 2025
Meta Can't Be Sued For Church Mass Shooting, 4th Circ. Says
The Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday that Meta can't be held liable for allegedly aiding in the radicalization of the shooter who killed nine people at a South Carolina church in 2015, saying a federal law granting immunity to third-party internet content providers applies to the claims.
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February 04, 2025
Judge Explains Biogen Class Cert. Ruling After 1st Circ. Order
A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday said he was reminded of a grade school lesson in long division as he explained his reasoning behind granting class certification and cutting short the class period in a suit against drugmaker Biogen Inc. on the orders of the First Circuit.
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February 04, 2025
Fed. Circ. Grapples With Extensions On Reissued Patents
The Federal Circuit is set to decide when a reissued patent actually expires after fielding arguments Tuesday morning from Merck and the generic-drug makers who are trying to break the pharmaceutical giant's hold on a blockbuster drug that counteracts the effects of anesthesia.
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February 04, 2025
FCC Drops 5th Circ. Defense Of Nonbinary Gender Category
The Federal Communications Commission will no longer defend a nonbinary gender category on its employment diversity forms amid challenges brought by religious broadcasters in the Fifth Circuit, where judges grilled the FCC on Tuesday about its authority to collect and publish industry data on employee diversity.
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February 04, 2025
5th Circ. Mulls If Green Orgs. Have Injury In Injection Well Case
A Fifth Circuit panel pondered whether environmental groups will suffer an injury adequate to challenge underground injection wells in Louisiana, asking during oral arguments Tuesday whether the groups can bring a legal claim for an event 50 years down the road.
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February 04, 2025
Ill. Panel Upholds Barge Worker's $3.3M Jury Award
An Illinois state appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $3.31 million jury award and a directed verdict in favor of a man who was severely injured while working on a barge crew, saying it was an appropriate sanction for the defendant's attorney revealing the substance of trial testimony to a witness.
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February 04, 2025
Del. Justices Nix Fairness Ruling In TripAdvisor Nevada Move
Citing in part aversion to "speculative litigation," Delaware's Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a ruling that kept in play potential stockholder damage claims in connection with the proposed reincorporation in Nevada of TripAdvisor and its parent, finding that business judgment deference should govern the court challenge.
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February 04, 2025
Swimmers Again Seek Cert., With 9th Circ's Reversal In Hand
Professional swimmers have again asked a California federal judge to certify hundreds of competitors accusing swimming's international governing body of organizing a group boycott against an upstart league, now armed with a Ninth Circuit decision that both revived their case and said class certification was improperly denied.
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February 04, 2025
5th Circ. Asks Why EPA Stalled Denial Of Texas Ozone Plan
A Fifth Circuit panel pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to specify why it had dragged its feet before denying Texas' Clean Air Act implementation plans, asking during oral arguments how long the agency can "sit on" the plans.
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February 04, 2025
Senate Confirms Pam Bondi To Be AG
The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi to be attorney general.
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February 04, 2025
4th Circ. Reverses Disability Suit Win For Cox Enterprises
The Fourth Circuit reversed a win for Cox Enterprises Inc. on Tuesday in an ex-worker's federal benefits lawsuit alleging he was wrongly denied long-term disability benefits, citing a failure by the plan's administrator to discuss conflicting evidence regarding the ex-worker's capability to return to work.
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February 04, 2025
Lindberg Fights NC Charging Order Against His Florida Co.
Convicted mogul Greg Lindberg has told the North Carolina state appeals court that an insurer he's accused of defrauding can't collect a $524 million judgment against him by going after his out-of-state holding company, arguing that the trial court has no power over him or his business in Florida.
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February 04, 2025
4th Circ. Halts Deportation, Faults BIA's Exam Of Gang Threat
The Fourth Circuit has halted the deportation of a Honduran man who says he faced gang violence before fleeing to the United States, holding Tuesday that the Board of Immigration Appeals ignored legally relevant evidence of the gang's continued threats.
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February 04, 2025
Mich. Supreme Court Says City's Electricity Fee Is Illegal Tax
A franchise fee added to East Lansing, Michigan, residents' energy bills is a disguised tax, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying the fee was used to raise revenue for the city without first being approved by voters.
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February 04, 2025
Fed. Circ. Says Gov't Properly Ended USCIS Lease After Flood
The Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal government reasonably terminated a lease for a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office because of water damage, saying the lease allowed the government to determine when the office was untenantable.
Expert Analysis
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Contract Disputes Recap: Adjustments, Preclusion, Waivers
Ken Kanzawa at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals that examine distinctions between requests for equitable adjustments and claims, forum selection and res judicata, and the waiver of penalties for expressly unallowable costs.
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The Justices' Securities Rulings, Dismissals That Defined '24
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 securities rulings led to increased success for defendants' price impact arguments, but the justices' decisions not to weigh in on important issues relating to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's pleading requirements may be just as significant, say attorneys at Skadden.
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10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024
In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Series
Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer
From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.
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2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG
Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.
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Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team
In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.
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Justices May Find Gov't Can Keep Fraudulent Transfer Benefit
Based on the justices' questions at the recently argued U.S. v. Miller, the Supreme Court appears prepared to hold that the U.S. — unlike any other creditor — is permitted to retain the benefits of a fraudulent transfer to the detriment of other bankruptcy creditors, says Kevin Morse at Clark Hill.
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Why Letters Of Protection Are Discoverable In Texas PI Suits
Recent Texas Supreme Court opinions and key provisions of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure make letters of protection, in which plaintiff attorneys promise payment to healthcare providers based on jury awards, discoverable — good news for defendants fighting exorbitant damage claims in personal injury cases, says Nathan Vrazel at Munsch Hardt.
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4 Trade Secret Pointers From 2024's Key IP Law Developments
Four significant 2024 developments in trade secret law yield practical tips about defending trade secrets overseas, proving unjust enrichment claims, forcing compliance with posttrial orders and using restrictive covenants to prevent employee leaks of confidential intellectual property, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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Data Privacy Landscape After Mass. Justices' Wiretap Ruling
In Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, Massachusetts’ highest court recently ruled that the state’s wiretap law doesn’t prohibit all tracking of website user activity, but major financial and reputational risks remain for businesses that aren't transparent about customer’s web data, says Seth Berman at Nutter.
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Ledbetter's Legacy Shines In 2024 Equal Pay Law Updates
The federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act turned 15 this year, and its namesake's legacy is likely to endure in 2025 and beyond, as demonstrated by 2024's state- and local-level progress on pay equity, as well as several rulings from federal appellate courts, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.
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Opinion
Justices Rightly Corrected Course In Nvidia And Facebook
By dismissing both the Nvidia and Facebook class actions, over investors' ability to hold corporations accountable for fraud, the U.S. Supreme Court was right in refusing to favor corporations over transparency, and reaffirmed its commitment to corporate accountability, investor protection and the rule of law, says Laura Posner at Cohen Milstein.
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2024
From a Florida federal court’s ruling that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision is unconstitutional to a record-breaking number of whistleblower tips filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, employers saw significant developments in the federal and state whistleblower landscapes this year, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US
As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.
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How A 9th Circ. Identicality Ruling Could Affect AI Cos.
If the Ninth Circuit agrees to settle a district court split over whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires a copy to be identical to an original to support an actionable claim for removing copyright management information, the decision could have important ramifications for artificial intelligence businesses, says Maria Sinatra at Venable.