Appellate

  • February 10, 2025

    Wynn Wants Justices To Undo 'Actual Malice' Defamation Test

    Casino mogul Steve Wynn has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the decades-old "actual malice" standard for public figures to prove defamation, calling it a "faulty precedent" that has enabled journalists to get away with libel in a "golden era of lies."

  • February 10, 2025

    What Judges Want You To Know: You Can't Fool The Court

    Federal judges regularly sit on panels at conferences and similar events, sharing their best practices and most valuable pieces of advice with patent lawyers and others in the room. In the first installment of a two-part series, Law360 has pulled together advice over the last few years that remains as relevant as ever. 

  • February 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Preserves Corning's Win In Gene Therapy Fight

    The Federal Circuit decided Monday to turn down an appeal from a Minnesota-based gene therapy developer that says it was wrongly denied a jury trial in its failed case seeking to add its name to patents issued to Corning Inc.

  • February 10, 2025

    Apple Urges 9th Circ. Not To Revive Web App Antitrust Suit

    Apple asked the Ninth Circuit on Friday to affirm a lower court's dismissal of a case from iPhone buyers accusing it of violating antitrust law by preventing iPhones from running web-based apps, saying the suit alleges a "highly indirect and speculative" harm that's not even an antitrust injury.

  • February 10, 2025

    Calif. Ruling Holds Wildfire Debris Not A Coverable Loss

    Two California homeowners didn't have a covered claim for wildfire debris that infiltrated their home, a state appeals panel ruled, saying there was no evidence the debris caused the kind of loss or damage required for coverage.

  • February 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Officers' Immunity For Getting Phone Contents

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday upheld a summary judgment win for a sheriff and county prosecutor accused of illegally obtaining the contents of a drug arrestee's phone, ruling that they unlawfully got copies of the phone's contents but that the prosecutor who requested them was entitled to qualified immunity.

  • February 10, 2025

    Judge Newman Tells DC Circ. Her Suspension Flouts The Law

    Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman again urged the D.C. Circuit on Monday to end the suspension her colleagues imposed on her amid a probe of her fitness to serve as a judge, arguing that her suspension is effectively indefinite and violates the U.S. Constitution.

  • February 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs Electric Co. In Fired Ex-Exec's Severance Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Monday of an ex-executive's suit claiming the American Electric Power Service Corp. owed him severance after he was fired for failing to tamp down on his assistant's excessive spending, stating the company showed he was ineligible for the extra pay.

  • February 10, 2025

    Gov't Defends Approval Of CP-KCS Rail Merger To DC Circ.

    The federal government told the D.C. Circuit a coalition of Illinois towns is challenging the approval of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.'s $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern Railway Co. over the deal's potential effect on just 23 miles of a combined rail network that spans more than 20,000 miles.

  • February 10, 2025

    Sandy Hook Families Accuse Alex Jones Of 'Ambush' Appeal

    Connecticut's highest court should swat down Infowars host Alex Jones' attempt to appeal a record-smashing Sandy Hook defamation verdict because he abandoned the very defenses he now seeks to present under a special type of review for unpreserved constitutional arguments, the victims of the 2012 mass shooting have said.

  • February 10, 2025

    5th Circ. Urged To Reject Crypto Exec's Privacy Law Claim

    The IRS complied with a financial privacy law to summon third-party bank records belonging to a cryptocurrency executive under investigation, the U.S. government told the Fifth Circuit on Monday in the businessman's appeal to overturn a lower court decision that rejected his bid to quash the summonses.

  • February 10, 2025

    Apple Pushes DC Circ. To Pause Google Search Case

    Apple told the D.C. Circuit on Monday it did not become clear that it needs to intervene in the government's search monopolization case against Google until enforcers proposed remedies that affected Apple's conduct too.

  • February 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives Cotter's Radiation Injury Suit Indemnity Bid

    The Federal Circuit on Monday revived Cotter Corp.'s bid for federal indemnity after settling claims related to alleged exposure to radioactive residue stemming from the Manhattan Project, saying a Court of Federal Claims judge read an indemnification statute too narrowly.

  • February 10, 2025

    EPA Asks 5th Circ. To Uphold Asbestos Ban Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending a Biden-era rule strengthening its restrictions on the use of the most prevalent variety of asbestos, which are being challenged by industry, worker and green groups.

  • February 10, 2025

    Dallas Loses Bid To Reinstate Short-Term Rental Ban 

    A Texas appeals court has ruled that two Dallas ordinances criticized for effectively banning short-term rentals don't gel with property rights enshrined in the state's constitution, siding with landlords who do business on Airbnb and Vrbo. 

  • February 10, 2025

    NY Chief Judge: 'Our Criminal Justice System Isn't Working'

    New York State Chief Judge Rowan Wilson harshly criticized incarceration rates in the court system he oversees during his annual address Monday, suggested new laws are needed, and even invited people convicted of murder to join him at the podium and speak on the issue.

  • February 10, 2025

    Harvard Immunity For Body Part Thefts 'Gnaws' At Justice

    A judge on Massachusetts' highest court said Monday it's "problematic" that a state law could shield Harvard Medical School from liability in a suit by family members of people whose remains were allegedly sold off in parts by a rogue mortician.

  • February 10, 2025

    Wash. Justices Won't Review Workers' $3.3M Meal Break Win

    A class of hospital workers can keep a $3.3 million award in a closely watched case over uncompensated meal breaks, after the Washington Supreme Court decided it won't take on a hospital's bid to overturn a lower state appellate court's ruling that rejected the argument that the workers had already been paid.

  • February 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Skeptical Of Co.'s Hearing Plea In NLRB Row

    A Seventh Circuit judge took a fire suppression company to task at a Monday argument for making the wrong argument in its challenge to a National Labor Relations Board ruling that it breached a settlement by rebuking its workers' union.

  • February 10, 2025

    Gun Owners Look To Revive Suit Over DC Metro Gun Law

    A group of D.C. and Virginia gun owners are asking the D.C. Circuit to revive their suit challenging a ban on guns in the region's Metro system, saying that the district judge who dismissed the case required that they get caught carrying on board to have standing.

  • February 10, 2025

    Conn. Judge Flags 'Extraordinary' Error In $10.4M Fraud Suit

    A Connecticut appellate judge expressed surprise Monday that for more than five years, two teams of seasoned litigators failed to notice an error on the docket of a securities fraud lawsuit before the mistake led to a judge — and not a jury — hearing the case and issuing a $10.4 million award to investment banking firm FIH LLC.

  • February 10, 2025

    Experts Sound Alarm After Musk, Vance Float Ignoring Judges

    Attorneys and constitutional experts say the warning lights "are blinking red" after Vice President JD Vance and Trump confidante Elon Musk took to social media to attack the independence of the judiciary over the weekend.

  • February 10, 2025

    BCLP Received Improper OK To Challenge Ga. Fee Ruling

    A Georgia state appeals court said Monday that it improperly gave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP the green light to appeal a trial court ruling ordering the firm to return more than $125,000 in connection to a dispute between an Atlanta attorney and an airport travel spa operator.

  • February 10, 2025

    Mass. Justices May Greenlight Ex-Court Atty's Firing Case

    Massachusetts' highest court on Monday hinted that it will allow a former ghostwriter for the state's intermediate appellate court to continue pursuing his wrongful firing claims against a former supervisor, but not necessarily against two higher-ups, in a challenge to the extent of common-law immunity for public officials.

  • February 10, 2025

    Appellate Group Of The Year: Gupta Wessler

    Gupta Wessler LLP had one of the most impactful years in its 12-year history in 2024, representing transportation workers, victims of sexual assault by Uber drivers and homebuyers, as well as taking home two unanimous wins in the U.S. Supreme Court against Bank of America and preparing to argue for another in 2025, landing the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Appellate Groups of the Year.

Expert Analysis

  • What Justices' FLSA Ruling Means For 2-Step Collective Cert.

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

    Author Photo

    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.

  • SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Cellphone Ruling Upends Law Enforcement Protocol

    Author Photo

    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.

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

    Author Photo

    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.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

    Author Photo

    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.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

    Author Photo

    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.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

    Author Photo

    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.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

    Author Photo

    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

    Author Photo

    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

    Author Photo

    Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

    Author Photo

    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
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!