When it comes to handling a case in the Michigan Court of Appeals, one of the most useful resources may be the Court’s Internal Operating Procedures (commonly known as the “IOPs”). Although much of the information in the...more
Under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, in most federal civil actions, a notice of appeal must be filed with the district court clerk within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order being appealed, as...more
A version of this article was previously published in the Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 3 (2024). There may be times when a party facing an adverse summary disposition decision (whether it be the grant or denial...more
In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), decided the issue of...more
In an appeal from litigation-ending sanctions, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that misconduct in the face of judicial warnings supports the use of litigation-ending sanctions and that evidence a party...more
There are a number of reasons why parties in a civil case might consider filing a post-judgment motion before appealing an adverse decision. In fact, sometimes, a post-judgment motion is required to preserve an issue for...more
On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove me wrong, none of the published opinions...more
McNellis-Wallace v. Hoffman, et. al., Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Docket No. A-1488-19T1 - Brief Summary - A New Jersey appellate court held that a defendant in a malpractice case could not maintain a...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit closely guarded its own jurisdiction while putting government litigants on the back foot. Read on to find out why county jailors’ qualified immunity appeal was dismissed, and how the Court handled...more
An appeal from a bankruptcy court’s final judgment must be filed within 14 days of when an appealable order is entered on the docket. Parties should not delay past the 14 days even if, for instance, the bankruptcy court must...more
On November 20, 2019, the Federal Court (FC) issued its reconsideration decision on the quantum of damages owed by Apotex for its infringement of eight Eli Lilly process patents related to the antibiotic cefaclor: Eli Lilly...more
In In the Estate of Brazda, the trial court found an administrator guilty of neglecting to timely distribute the property and ordered the administrator to pay one of the heir’s damages for the neglect. No. 01-18-00324-CV,...more
A Central District of California judge has clarified his prior ruling on summary judgment that estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) that applies to certain obviousness invalidity grounds raised by Defendants. In the prior...more
The Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) decision refusing registration of an athletic apparel company’s trademark, holding that the trademark applicant waived its key arguments by not raising...more
The justices of the Supreme Court of the United States have again limited the reach of Chevron deference. On May 28, 2019, the Court in Smith v. Berryhill carved another exception into what has lately proven to be its...more
On May 28, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Berryhill, holding a dismissal by the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council on timeliness grounds after a claimant has had an administrative law judge...more
The U.S. Supreme Court suddenly seems to have a little time on its hands. Or at least on its mind. In two different class action cases on its docket this week, the question at hand was timeliness....more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case involving the court’s application of the plain error doctrine to reverse and remand a trial court’s order vacating a default judgment. The plain error doctrine is...more
This case involves a dispute between American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (“Aflac”) and a group of independent contractors (“associates”), arising out of alleged misrepresentations by Aflac. Pursuant to their...more
Rule 36 is a single sentence affirmance. Yet to explain the impact of a Rule 36 decision on later filed cases, the Court needed to issue a 7-page precedential decision. In Virnetx v Apple the Court held Rule 36 creates...more
On November 23, 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) allowed in part Apotex’s appeal of a decision awarding Eli Lilly over $100 million for Apotex’s infringement of eight process patents related to the antibiotic cefaclor:...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied an employee’s request to reopen her case based on alleged changed attitudes “post-Weinstein.” The Court also denied the employer’s request for sanctions but...more
When three gentlemen in their mid-eighties, one of whom is in a nursing home with failing health and onset dementia, are the key players in a disputed shareholder buy-out transaction, what are the odds they’ll all be around...more
After having its complaint for patent infringement dismissed for failure to state a claim and being denied its request to file an amended complaint in the Middle District of Georgia, Disc Disease Solutions turned to the...more
In two recent cases, the Federal Circuit addressed the role of factual questions in resolving patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The first case was Berkheimer v. HP Inc. and the second was Aatrix Software v. Green...more