Butler's Thursday Tips #5 | What is Appellate Law?
If I won my case, why do I need to worry about an appeal?
If an employee files a whistleblower complaint against their employer, should that employee be required to show “actual” knowledge of a violation, or should a “good faith, reasonable belief” showing suffice? Not all courts...more
In In re Mason, a trial court entered a discovery order requiring a defendant, who was an executor and trustee, to produce documents and information to the plaintiffs, his children. No. 12-24-00023-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
On Tuesday, oil and gas giant Shell won its appeal against a landmark 2021 court ruling that ordered the company to cut its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, including emissions caused by use...more
Pennsylvania law allows verdict winners in cases involving property damage, bodily injury, or death to request delay damages from the liable defendants. Delay damages are awarded for the period starting one year after initial...more
A version of this article was previously published in the Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2024). It is well-established that consent judgments and orders are not appealable, so parties should always be cautious...more
Florida’s Second district court of appeal recently issued another opinion in the long line of decisions to determine the gatekeeping question of arbitration under the Revised Florida Arbitration Code, §§ 682.01, Fla. Stat.,...more
The recent English Court of Appeal decision in Dos Santos v Unitel SA [2024] EWCA Civ 1109 provides welcome clarification as to the test for obtaining a freezing injunction. The English Court of Appeal found that an...more
The “right to alienate” (transfer) property is an important part of the legal “bundle of rights” regarding property ownership. But those rights, like most others, can be altered by court orders....more
The Florida Third District Court of Appeal recently ruled that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in striking Plaintiff’s causation expert in a medical malpractice case. In Berta Fertil v. University of Miami,...more
On July 30, 2024, the Court of Appeals of Virginia overturned a two billion dollar (yes, billion with a ‘b’) jury verdict in the Appian v. Pegasystems trade secret lawsuit. Although the Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of...more
The path to bringing claims against local governmental entities, such as cities and counties, is one filled with obstacles that can deliver a fatal blow to the uninformed claimant’s claim. The creation of California’s...more
Cell phones have now been around for decades. Along the way, they have grown up, became “smart” and are now indispensable to daily life, offering limitless options to communicate, shop and entertain ourselves. How prominent...more
On May 23, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by former shareholders of a fantasy sports company (the “Company”) against its directors and other defendants...more
A recent decision by a San Francisco federal district court judge imperils the way many significant patent portfolios are developed. In Sonos v. Google, Judge William Alsup held that two patents asserted by Sonos against...more
Can you get a court to stop someone from sharing customer/client lists in Arkansas? As explained in this blog post, it depends. But often the question is debatable and hiring an attorney experienced in unfair competition...more
On March 4, 2024, a federal trial court in New York immediately banned a slew of debt relief service providers from charging and/or collecting any advance fees for debt relief services, finding that the defendant’s initial...more
Asserting claims derivatively on behalf of an LLC, as opposed to directly on behalf of an LLC member, can be tricky business for even experienced litigators. The requirements for derivative claims have been explored in...more
With the expansion in the size and scope of the Court of Appeals of Virginia on January 1, 2022, civil litigators in Virginia have an increased likelihood of a full appeal of virtually any trial court decision. However, since...more
Florida litigators are well aware of the power of a properly used proposal for settlement and the potentially devastating consequences of rejecting such a proposal. Such proposals are powerful tools designed to facilitate...more
The California Supreme Court has issued its much-anticipated decision in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., determining whether Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be dismissed as unmanageable. The Court...more
In Westminster Am. Ins. Co. a/s/o Androulla M. Toffalli v. Bond, No. 538 EDA 2023, 2023 Pa. Super. LEXIS 626, 2023 PA Super 272, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (Appellate Court) recently discussed the impact of silence on...more
In Parker v. Filip, a trust owned a limited partnership interest and the partnership owned real property in Fayette County, Texas. No. 14-23-00372-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 6976 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] August 31, 2023,...more
On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire decided Brown v. Secretary of State, a 3–2 decision that held that partisan gerrymandering (the act of drawing voting districts in a way that favors one political party...more
Q: I was involved in a now closed receivership. I want access to some of the records of the entity that was in receivership and some emails and information I believe was sent to the receiver or her counsel....more
The Texas Legislature created a statute to protect parties’ rights to freedom of speech and to petition the courts: the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001-.011....more