What attracts many lawyers to appellate practice—besides an unusual appetite for legal writing and a general distaste for contentious discovery—is the confidence that fire drills and surprises rarely occur. Appellate briefing...more
Supreme Court of New York, New York County; August 28, 2023 - This matter involved plaintiff James McWilliams, who worked as a steamfitter from 1960 until his retirement in 1996. He claimed that his work consisted of...more
In ECC Int’l Constructors, LLC v. Sec’y of Army, No. 2021-2323, 2023 WL 5355302 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 22, 2023), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit considered whether the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”)...more
The Law Court’s decision in Fournier v. Flats Industrial, Inc., issued last week, provides a stark reminder of the importance of attention to the deadlines for filing an appeal of a final judgment. The Law Court treats the...more
The necessity of preserving issues for appeal can be a trap for the unwary, leaving litigants without recourse if they fail to take proper steps to preserve a particular argument. Near the end of its recent term, the Supreme...more
Blessedly, this is not a frequent event. And as law has migrated from handwritten to typewritten to telecopied and emailed agreements one might think this kind of dispute would be headed to the dungeons of history. But...more
Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York - In this asbestos action, Munir Seen alleged he developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure from various products, including joint compound from...more
Brief Summary - An intermediate appellate court in Illinois held that defendant forfeited appellate review of expert testimony admitted at trial because he failed to file a post-trial motion on the issue. However, the...more
You don't need us to tell you that trials are increasingly rare. So when heading to trial, trial counsel must know their client's story and must be prepared to tell that story to the trier of fact—a feat that requires...more
This post reviews two April 2021 opinions from the Eastern District of Texas deciding post-trial motions. The first case involves the denial of enhanced damages by the Honorable Amos L. Mazzant, III. In the second case, the...more
Flintlock Constr. Servs, LLC v. Rubin, Fiorella & Friedman, LLP, 2020 NY Slip Op 06711 (App. Div.). Brief Summary - After plaintiff's initial legal malpractice action was dismissed as premature because the underlying...more
Is a post-trial motion necessary to preserve the right to appeal any issue determined by the jury? Collin Crim v. Gina Dietrich, 2020 IL 124318 - Case Summary - Plaintiff, a minor, sustained a shoulder dystocia...more
Can comments intended to inflame the passions of the jury, even if directed at a non-party, result in error? Michael Konewko v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation d/b/a Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital 2020 IL App...more
SIONYX LLC v. HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K. Before Lourie, Reyna, and Wallach. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Summary: A party who discloses confidential information pursuant to a NDA...more
On November 19, 2020, a unanimous panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) decided Vectura Ltd. v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC, affirming a $90 million verdict. Vectura Ltd. (“Vectura”) sued...more
VECTURA LIMITED v. GLAXOSMITHKLINE LLC - Before Prost, Bryson, and Wallach. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Delaware Summary: Distinguishing prior art based on the structure of the...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit creates a potential circuit split on personal jurisdiction in in rem proceedings, and clarifies whether a post-judgment motion for attorneys’ fees extends the time to appeal (spoiler alert: it...more
In an unpublished decision in the case of Shaun J. Younger v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the jury’s finding that Experian willfully violated the FRCA by failing to...more
A party’s case-in-chief is closed or a verdict has just been delivered, and now it’s time for a variety of critically important post-trial motions to preserve a victory or overturn a defeat, or at least to preserve the right...more
The Delaware Superior Court in Powell v. AmGuard Insurance Company, C.A. No. K17C-11-003 JJC, 2020 Del. Super. LEXIS 109 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 2, 2020) (Clark, J.) recently held that a jury’s $500,000 punitive damages award...more
Judge Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas has denied defendants’ motion to stay the post-trial phase of a patent infringement litigation pending ex parte reexamination where the request for reexamination was filed four...more
On February 26, a federal district court in Connecticut acquitted the defendant in United States v. Hoskins on all counts related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). A jury had previously found the defendant guilty...more
On February 26, 2020, a federal judge in Connecticut granted, in part, defendant Lawrence Hoskins’s post-trial motion for acquittal on seven counts relating to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. United States v....more
The District of Oregon recently denied a motion for treble damages following a jury verdict finding that defendant made over 1.8 million advertising calls to the named plaintiff and other members of a certified class....more
Among the many benefits of utilizing appellate counsel at trial is that appellate counsel can assist in timely raising possible errors, and if error is not asserted when it occurs, then appellate counsel may be able to raise...more