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Appellate

  • September 03, 2025

    Trump's Refugee Admission Pause Looks Legal To 9th Circ.

    Two Ninth Circuit judges suggested on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had the authority to suspend U.S. refugee admissions in a January executive order, while also hinting that his administration went too far by pulling funding for resettlement support.

  • September 03, 2025

    4th Circ. Denies Injunction In Md. Cannabis Licensing Challenge

    A California cannabis entrepreneur lost her bid to upend Maryland's social equity licensing program Tuesday when the Fourth Circuit ruled that the state's policies seeking to address inequalities within the cannabis industry are not discriminatory.

  • September 03, 2025

    Dem Sens. Demand DOJ Fire Ex-FBI Agent Tied To Capitol Riot

    A man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and previously worked at the FBI was hired to work in the "weaponization" group at the U.S. Department of Justice, and now Democrats are calling for his removal.

  • September 03, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Genentech Ex-Worker's 401(k) Suit

    The Ninth Circuit will not reconsider whether fiduciaries for the retirement plan of biotechnology company Genentech violated their duty to be prudent by keeping certain target date retirement funds in the company's retirement portfolio.

  • September 03, 2025

    Derivative Claim Miss Dooms Chancery Squeeze-Out Suit

    A minority stockholder suit alleging a $15 million "sham foreclosure" of storage venture Clutter Holdings Inc. — allegedly once worth $1.2 billion — was tossed Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery, in a ruling that found the claims unsupportable or derivative and ineligible for direct investor recoveries.

  • September 03, 2025

    Texas Judges Revive Murder Case Despite 'Vindictive' DA

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Wednesday that prosecutors in El Paso may refile murder charges but may not seek the death penalty for a man who convinced the judges that prosecutors unfairly elevated charges against him in retaliation for asserting his right to a speedy trial.

  • September 03, 2025

    Bondi Raises Bar For Private-Violence, Family Asylum Claims

    Attorney General Pam Bondi has issued two new decisions reversing Biden-era attorney general precedents, raising the bar for asylum claims based on nonstate violence and tightening requirements for families to count as eligible social groups.

  • September 03, 2025

    Authority For Emergency Tariffs Poses Puzzle For Justices

    The U.S. Supreme Court faces a provocative puzzle over President Donald Trump's worldwide tariff regime that the Federal Circuit has found illegal, as the judges' positions didn't follow the usual political lines, leaving wide open how the high court may rule on the president's tariff powers.

  • September 03, 2025

    Enviro Groups Urge 11th Circ. To Keep Detention Center Shut

    Seven environmental groups filed an amicus brief Tuesday in the appeal of an order shutting down an Everglades immigration detention center, arguing that the district court was right to enjoin the center because the federal government failed to fulfill its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • September 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Preclusion Ends NJ Foreclosure Fight

    The Third Circuit affirmed a bankruptcy court's order allowing Nationstar Mortgage to proceed with a home foreclosure sale, finding that the homeowner was trying to relitigate the exact same issues she had already lost in state court.

  • September 03, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Ruling Against Wash. Tribe's Fishing Claims

    A Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that determined a Washington tribe fell short of its evidentiary burden to establish that a 19th century treaty included its customary fishing grounds near the Puget Sound after vacating the dispute for further review last year.

  • September 03, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Md. Immunity Doesn't Apply In Tugboat Case

    The Fourth Circuit said Wednesday that a tugboat owner's petition seeking to limit its liability over a 2015 accident involving Maryland's Nanticoke River Memorial Bridge does not infringe on the state's sovereign immunity, so it can proceed in the district court.

  • September 03, 2025

    Mich. Atty Tells Appeals Court He's Worth $1,500 Per Hour

    A Michigan attorney told an appellate panel Wednesday that his track record and experience warrant the $1,500 hourly rate awarded by a trial court which found a city's breach-of-contract suit against his client, a former councilor, was frivolous.

  • September 03, 2025

    Investment Co. Founder's Life Insurance Award Dropped To $1

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday that a jury did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that historian and investment firm founder Malcolm Wiener suffered $16 million in damages over a canceled life insurance policy, saying Wiener may only recover $1 in nominal damages.

  • September 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Asks How Many Policies Really Exist In Arb. Appeal

    Hearing separate appeals over a group of eight domestic insurers' bid to arbitrate hurricane damage claims from two Louisiana policyholders, a Fifth Circuit panel wrestled Wednesday with whether those policyholders' respective property insurance coverages constituted one single policy, separate policies with each insurer or something in-between.

  • September 03, 2025

    1st Circ. Doubts Eateries' Suit Over Outdoor Dining Limits

    The First Circuit appeared unlikely on Wednesday to revive a suit on behalf of restaurant owners in Boston's North End over the city's restrictions on outdoor dining, repeatedly questioning the basis for the plaintiffs' retaliation claims.

  • September 03, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Probes FDIC's In-House Enforcement Powers

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Wednesday pushed counsel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to address whether an Illinois community bank's ex-chairman alleging the agency's in-house proceedings are unconstitutional waived his Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury by virtue of working at an institution that participates in the FDIC's insurance program.

  • September 03, 2025

    9th Circ. Saves Tribes' Cultural Superfund Claims Against Teck

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday revived the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's natural resource damages claims against Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. for the company's alleged pollution of the Columbia River.

  • September 03, 2025

    8th Circ. Cuts Down Challenge To Minn. Captive Audience Law

    A split Eighth Circuit panel on Wednesday reversed a decision letting proceed a challenge to Minnesota's law banning mandatory anti-union meetings, saying an employer coalition doesn't have a case because state enforcers have said they don't intend to enforce the law.

  • September 03, 2025

    NC Panel Revives Biotech Co.'s Legal Malpractice Case

    A divided North Carolina appellate panel on Wednesday partially revived a biotech company's case accusing its former counsel of botching its defense in a $26 million defamation suit, finding the refiled complaint is not barred by the state's four-year statute of repose on legal malpractice claims.

  • September 03, 2025

    Del. Justices Mull Sports Media Co. Investors' Doc Appeal

    An attorney for sports streaming platform FloSports Inc. told a Delaware Supreme Court panel on Wednesday that three company stockholders put themselves in a "self-inflicted" predicament by pursuing revised, but unsupported, demands for company documents that were ultimately dismissed by the state's chancellor.

  • September 03, 2025

    Liberace Piano Dispute Returns To 1st Circ. After Gibson Win

    A Massachusetts music shop took its campaign to hold onto Liberace's rhinestone-encrusted piano to the First Circuit for the second time Wednesday, telling the appellate court that Gibson Guitars should never have been allowed to ask a jury for its return.

  • September 03, 2025

    Mich. Panel Orders New Trial After Race-Based Juror Removal

    A Michigan appeals court has reversed a murder conviction, finding that a man should be given a new trial because prosecutors struck three prospective Black jurors from his trial for racially motivated reasons.

  • September 03, 2025

    Ex-Twitter Worker Fights X's Arbitration Push At 9th Circ.

    X waived its arbitration rights in a $20 million severance suit and should not be able to challenge a district court's decision keeping the case in court, Twitter's former chief marketing officer told the Ninth Circuit.

  • September 03, 2025

    Sports Doctor Group Can't Ditch $8.5M Patient Death Verdict

    A Connecticut appeals panel won't let surgical group Orthopaedic Sports Specialists PC out of an $8.5 million wrongful death verdict in a suit from the estate of a patient who died after a knee replacement, rejecting its arguments challenging the trial court's handling of witness examination.

Expert Analysis

  • DC Circ. Ruling Augurs More Scrutiny Of Blanket Gag Orders

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in In re: Sealed Case, finding that an omnibus nondisclosure order was too sweeping, should serve as a wake-up call to prosecutors and provide a road map for private parties to push back on overbroad secrecy demands, says Gregory Rosen at Rogers Joseph.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

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    I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.

  • Conflicting Developments In Homelessness Legal Landscape

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    Looking at an executive order and Third Circuit opinion from last month highlights the ongoing tension in homelessness-related legal issues facing state and local governments, property owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness, says Josh Collins, an attorney for the City of South Salt Lake.

  • What Justices Left Unsaid About The Federal Tort Claims Act

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Martin v. U.S. rejected the Eleventh Circuit's interpretation of the Federal Tort Claims Act in the case of a botched police raid — but left unresolved many questions about plaintiffs' ability to hold the government accountable for officers' misdeeds, says Scott Brooks at Levy Firestone.

  • Opinion

    Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test

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    Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.

  • Texas High Court Decision Could Reshape Contract Damages

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    The Texas Supreme Court recently held that an order of specific performance for a real property transaction doesn't preclude a damage award, establishing a damages test for this scenario while placing the onus on lower courts to correctly determine the proper remedies and quantum of damages, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • The Patent Eligibility Eras Tour: 11 Years Of Post-Alice Tumult

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    A survey of recent twists and turns in patent eligibility law highlights the confusion created by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 Alice decision and reveals that the continually shifting standards have begun to diverge in fundamental ways between the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

  • Justices Could Clarify Post-Badgerow Arbitration Jurisdiction

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court grants a certiorari petition in Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties, it could provide some welcome clarity on post-arbitration award jurisdiction, an issue lingering since the court's 2022 decision in Badgerow v. Walters, says David Pegno at Dewey Pegno.

  • A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

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    As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.

  • Strategies For ICE Agent Misconduct Suits In The 11th Circ.

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    Attorneys have numerous pathways to pursue misconduct claims against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Eleventh Circuit, and they need not wait for the court to correct its misinterpretation of a Federal Tort Claims Act exception, says Lauren Bonds at the National Police Accountability Project.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Restore Its 2020 Proxy Adviser Rule

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    Due to concerns over proxy advisers' accuracy, reliability and transparency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should reinstate its 2020 rule designed to suppress the influence that they wield in shareholder voting, says Kyle Isakower at the American Council for Capital Formation.

  • Surveying The Changing Overdraft Fee Landscape

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    Despite recent federal moves that undermine consumer overdraft fee protections, last year’s increase in fee charges suggests banks will face continued scrutiny via litigation and state regulation, says Amanda Kurzendoerfer at Bates White.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Review Of Funds' Right To Sue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming review of FS Credit Opportunities v. Saba Capital Master Fund, a case testing the limits of using Investment Company Act Section 47(b) to give funds a private right of action to enforce other sections of the law, could either encourage or curb similar activist investor lawsuits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • The Evolving Legal Landscape For THC-Infused Beverages

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    A recent Eighth Circuit ruling, holding that states may restrict the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products without violating federal law, combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainty at both the federal and state levels, could alter the trajectory of the THC-infused beverage market, say attorneys at Pashman Stein.

  • How Securities Defendants Might Use New Wire Fraud Ruling

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    Though the Second Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Chastain decision — vacating the conviction of an ex-OpenSea staffer — involved the wire fraud statute, insider trading defendants might attempt to import the ruling’s reasoning into the securities realm, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

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