On August 22, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to deny a petition to remove the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of attorneys’ fees to the defendant after it prevailed at trial in a copyright infringement suit, concluding that the district court adequately...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that a district court abused its discretion by striking several of the plaintiff’s trade secrets, concluding that the court improperly relied on Rule 12(f) and failed to...more
JIAXING SUPER LIGHTING ELECTRIC APPLIANCE, CO. v. CH LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. - Before Dyk, Chen, and Hughes. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The Federal Circuit reversed...more
In a recent decision designated as Informative, the USPTO Director determined that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board abused its discretion by instituting two inter partes review proceedings challenging the same patent, based...more
Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) are a critical currency in the world of government contracting—shaping future awards, past‐performance evaluations, and a contractor’s reputation. Positive assessments can...more
On May 21, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, reversed a $20 million damages award against Google LLC in a patent infringement dispute with EcoFactor, Inc. EcoFactor, Inc. v....more
[DISCLOSURE: Although I do not represent the defendant hospital in Jabbi v. Adventist Healthcare, Inc. No. 2071 (Sept. Term, 2023) (March 5, 2025) (reported), I often represent Maryland hospitals seeking to exclude causation...more
On March 5, 2019, Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued his opinion in Wit v. United Behavioral Health, in which he attempted to significantly change how...more
Government contracts often include a termination for convenience clause, generally allowing federal agencies to cancel agreements when it serves the government’s interest. While this power is fairly broad, it is not absolute...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s decision to admit expert testimony and remanded the case to a different judge, noting that “from the moment this case fell in his lap, the trial...more
On February 7, 2025, the Second Circuit ruled that the crime-fraud exception would prevent the former CEO of a public company from invoking attorney-client privilege to prevent an outside lawyer and his law firm from...more
A change from heavy regulation of vineyards to a complete ban on new vineyards did not so destabilize the original project description as to amount to a prejudicial abuse of discretion and require a new EIR. Gooden v. County...more
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a sanction decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, ruling that the lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s case for lying in...more
Precedential and Key Federal Circuit Opinions - 1. ASTELLAS PHARMA v. SANDOZ INC. [OPINION] (2023-2032, 2023-2063, 2023-2089, 9/18/24) (Lourie, Prost, Reyna) - Lourie, J. The Court vacated and remanded the district...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
Before Moore, Lourie, and Albright. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Summary: Awarding attorneys’ fees may be an abuse of discretion if the court relies on factors that should be...more
In In re Kelly, a former executor and the trustee of a testamentary trust initiated a probate proceeding in a county court at law. No. 11-24-00066-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3735 (Tex. App.—Eastland May 30, 2024, original...more
5 On July 16, 2024, the Federal Circuit affirmed both the sua sponte order issued by the District of Delaware requiring Lori LaPray, the purported owner of all of the plaintiff LLCs created by the patent monetization firm, IP...more
Damages experts in patent cases have a tough task. They must construct a hypothetical negotiation between the parties that would have taken place just before the alleged infringement started. And the goal of this hypothetical...more
California’s Second District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Los Angeles’s legislative actions related to the Metro Exposition Light Rail Transit Line (commonly known as the Expo Line) in a February 2024 ruling that...more
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act. Honeyfund.Com Inc, et al. v. Governor, State of...more
On November 15, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court released its decision on the much anticipated issue of whether Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) testimony is admissible under New Jersey Rule of Evidence 702. The Court...more
Is there a limit on the number of times the federal government can request extensions of the 60-day period under seal to decide whether to intervene in a qui tam relator's False Claims Act (FCA) case? The appellants in U.S....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a grant of summary judgment made prior to discovery, holding that the district court abused its discretion in finding a draft contract agreement admissible under Federal...more