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
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
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
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
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
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
Chris Popov and Mike Heidler, partners at Vinson & Elkins, talk through a major opinion from the Texas Supreme Court, their role in the case, and what it means for investors in Texas companies....more
Ask any good attorney a question, and you will probably be given the following response: “It depends.” The answer usually serves as a preface to a more thorough discussion about the specific facts of your case, what the...more
Class action disability discrimination cases can be particularly difficult. While there is little question of whether a particular individual is in a protected group in a typical case involving race, gender or age, the...more
STATIC MEDIA LLC v. LEADER ACCESSORIES LLC - Before Dyk, Reyna, and Taranto. Appeal from the Western District of Wisconsin. Summary: It was an abuse of discretion to hold a party in contempt for an alleged protective...more
In Ahlgren v. Ahlgren, the plaintiff asserted that the defendant breached fiduciary duties by taking assets held in trust for the plaintiff’s father. No. 13-22-00029-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2843 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi...more
This case was the second opinion in a patent dispute saga between two poultry processing competitors over patented poultry chilling technology. See John Bean Tech. Corp. v. Morris & Associates, Inc., 887 F.3d 1322 (Fed. Cir....more
[co-author: Jamie Dohopolski] Last year, the continued global COVID-19 pandemic forced American courts to largely continue the procedures set in place in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was no...more
A common complaint of a minority shareholder is the denial of access to the corporation’s books and records. A shareholder enjoys the right to examine and copy certain records of the corporation in which the shareholder owns...more
In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction that would have forced the accused infringer to seek dismissal of its petitions for inter partes review (IPR) based on a...more
Kathryn Isted In Harbor Healthcare System, L.P. v. United States, 5 F.4th 593 (5th Cir. 2021), the court of appeals ruled that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to exercise its equitable jurisdiction over a...more
In Part I of this two-part series, we covered the basic procedure for attacking a negative net-worth affidavit filed to supersede a money judgment. This post offers a case study for successfully applying that procedure and...more
As discussed in our recent article, the Virginia General Assembly voted to allow most criminal defendants and civil litigants to have an appeal as of right to the Court of Appeals of Virginia starting on January 1, 2022. ...more
Q: I have handled a number of health and safety receiverships. A city I have worked with before asked me to look at a property and prepare a proposed remediation plan, so they could have me appointed receiver under Health and...more
An intriguing by-play between judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently emerged into public view in the case of State v. Calvin Lee Miller. After shooting his wife, Miller was convicted of attempted...more
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in In re the Matter of the Estate of Dean C. Krieger, reversing summary judgment dismissal of a will contest. The appellate court found that the opposing party presented...more