We round up the most significant appellate decisions relevant to commercial litigation each week.

To celebrate the arrival of summer, I am trying an experiment.

In this post–which covers almost all of June–I’ve sorted commercial rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and a selection from the highest state courts according to subject matter.

The resulting headings group decisions by broadly descriptive categories (e.g., Antitrust and Intellectual Property) for quicker reference. As usual, you may access the decisions by clicking on the case summary itself.

Please let me know you find these signposts worthwhile.
Continue Reading Commercial Roundup

We round up the most significant appellate decisions relevant to commercial litigation each week.

Note for readers

Because my practice focuses on complex commercial disputes–especially ones involving antitrust, energy, or intellectual property–I keep daily track of important decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the highest appeals courts in Delaware, New York, and Texas.

You can follow along during the week on Twitter (@contingencyblog) or here at The Contingency each Monday with this Commercial Appeals Roundup.

Continue Reading Commercial Appeals Roundup

COVID-19 didn’t slow the appellate courts last week, as you can see from the 16 entries below.

Be well.

In this time of concern and disruption over Covid-19, I and my colleagues at Susman Godfrey (SG) are busy taking steps to safeguard our firm family while continuing to be proactive in protecting the interests of our clients and moving matters forward as necessary and appropriate. I hope that you, your colleagues, and your families

497417651327Possible shift

In 2014, the ABA Journal called the Fifth Circuit the “nation’s most divisive, controversial and conservative appeals court”. Liberal blog Jezebel deemed it “exceedingly conservative”. Even The Wall Street Journal described the court this year as “conservative-leaning”.

But in a recent case over limits on voting rights, the court ruled for the left-leaning opponents of the restrictions. And last week, the court sitting en banc voted 11-5 to revive a $250+ million class action. Torres v. S.G.E. Management, L.L.C., No. 14-20128 (5th Cir. Sept. 30, 2016) (en banc).

Has the court’s center of gravity shifted?

Continue Reading A New Day in the Fifth Circuit?