The Future of the FTC: in the Hands of the Supreme Court
Standing seems like a straightforward concept—the plaintiff must suffer an injury in fact fairly traceable to the defendant’s challenged conduct for which the court can provide redress. See Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504...more
Design patents cover the ornamental features of a product. Whether a design patent is infringed comes down to a visual comparison between the patented design and the accused product. Would an ordinary consumer confuse the two...more
A basic rule in the adversarial system is party presentation: the parties “frame the issues for decision,” while the court serves as a “neutral arbiter” of the issues those parties present. United States v. Sineneng-Smith,...more
Our Patent Case Summaries provide a weekly summary of the precedential patent-related opinions issued by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the opinions designated precedential or informative by the Patent Trial...more
On November 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in a 2–1 decision, issued its opinion in National Association of Industrial Bankers et al. v. Weiser. In resolving what it described as “an issue of...more
In this episode of "Clearly Conspicuous," consumer protection attorney Anthony DiResta unpacks a recent update in Trump v. Slaughter, in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay allowing President Donald Trump's removal of...more
In 1904, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert M. Douglas wrote a separate opinion in a case called Westbrooks v. Wilson, 135 N.C. 400, expressing some reservations about the majority’s opinion. He signed his opinion...more
It is extremely rare for a civil case filed in New York State to be reviewed by its highest court—the New York Court of Appeals. In 2023, 1,030,781 civil cases were filed in New York State trial courts; however, only 93...more
The Delaware Supreme Court’s 3-2 Aearo Technologies LLC Insurance Appeals decision on August 12, 2025 affirmed a lower court ruling that payment of defense costs by a non-insured did not count toward the insured’s...more
Our Securities Litigation Group highlights three recent Supreme Court decisions that every securities class action litigator should know....more
Until recently, a single judge sitting on a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals could tee up an issue for the Supreme Court of North Carolina simply by filing a dissenting opinion. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-30(2) allowed...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 2025, that federal courts generally lack the authority to block government policies from being enforced against nonparties, not just the plaintiffs in a case....more
After numerous posts regarding the different approaches the Courts of Appeals have taken when addressing certification of a class that includes uninjured class members, we recently discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision...more
In McLaughlin Chiropractic Assocs., Inc. v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-1226, 2025 WL 1716136 (U.S. June 20, 2025), the Supreme Court determined that the Hobbs Act does not bind district courts in civil enforcement proceedings to...more
On June 5, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted, leaving unresolved a significant question regarding class-action certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The question...more
On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to decide the question, certified in Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Davis, as to “[w]hether a federal court may certify a class action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil...more
On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision interpreting the limitations period for filing lawsuits under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. ...more
On June 5, 2025, in Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed as improvidently granted a case presenting the question of whether a certified class properly may include both injured and...more
The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue any merits opinions yesterday, but it did issue two orders denying cert. One of them, Nicholson v. W.L. York, Inc., is potentially significant for litigants of discrimination claims under...more
This post’s title comes from the 1960s doo-wop hit “Stay,” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. I recognize that most practicing lawyers today are too young to know of this classic....more
The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue any merits opinions today, but there were two dissents from denials of cert. that merit attention, both concerning the First Amendment....more
The Federal Circuit issued its long-awaited en banc opinion in EcoFactor v. Google, which provides further clarity on the admissibility standards for damages experts under Rule 702. This decision reverses the original panel’s...more
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to regulate weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers as “firearms” under the Gun...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Project Veritas, a conservative activist group that engages in undercover journalism, challenging the constitutionality of an...more
You can hit your snooze button a little later on Tuesdays. Effective January 1, 2025, the Court of Appeals’ scheduled filing days for opinions will be the first and third Wednesday of the month, Since the Court will be...more