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SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon appellate court held that a state law prohibiting sales of any vape product deemed to be packaged in a manner attractive to minors violates the state constitution’s protection of free speech because it controls the packaging of products sold only to adults and remanded the suit.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Oct. 18 that a California federal judge wrongly dismissed a complaint stemming from a dispute over patents related to buried utility lines, holding that the judge must conduct a “fuller claim-construction analysis” to “determine the scope of the dispute claim language” for the plaintiff company’s claim of patent infringement.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 21 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking the justices to consider whether a provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA) grants the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for judicial review of the EPA’s decisions to deny several small refineries’ requests for exemptions from the law’s Renewable Fuel Standard program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Questions posed in two petitions for a writ of certiorari, one by Oklahoma and Utah and one by a power company and other companies and agencies, seeking a ruling on whether the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to disapprove state implementation plans for new air quality standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) will be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the court's Oct. 21 order list.
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 17 reversed a lower federal court’s imposition of statutory penalties, attorney fees and costs in favor of a church insured in its lawsuit alleging that the insurer underpaid its losses arising from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, finding that the lower court erred when it determined that the insurer’s conduct was arbitrary and capricious and without probable cause.
SEATTLE — Attorneys gave opening statements in Washington state court on Oct. 17 in a case in which 15 plaintiffs contend they were poisoned at a Seattle area school by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were manufactured by Monsanto Co. The plaintiffs’ attorney said Monsanto “manipulated science” and “hid the truth” in promoting PCBs for public use, while the company’s counsel said that there is a “lack of scientific consensus” about the dangers of PCBs and that Monsanto worked to “safeguard” the public against possible hazards.
PASADENA, Calif. — Focusing on claims not at issue during a bench trial in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act pension benefits class action, the appellant urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to deny a petition for panel or en banc rehearing that is supported by an amicus curiae brief.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal panel on Oct. 17 affirmed an $8.8 million judgment in favor of a dead smoker’s estate, rejecting a tobacco company’s argument that due to intervening appeals the judgment was rendered no longer final and therefore must be reduced to lost support and services damages of $295,000.
NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that the creator of popular horror video game franchise be awarded more than $35,000 in statutory damages, attorney fees and costs from a defendant Chinese company that the creator said infringed his copyrights by selling unauthorized clothing items featuring characters he designed, due to the company’s failure to appear and defend itself from the complaint.
DENVER — Affirming dismissal of a putative class action in which a shareholder asserted securities fraud claims against an online retailer and some executives, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in part “that an open-market transaction may qualify as manipulative conduct, but only if accompanied by plausibly alleged deception,” noting that it was an issue “of first impression for this court.”
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 affirmed a lower federal court’s “carefully crafted opinion” that dismissed with prejudice an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its Hurricane Zeta damage, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s action is time-barred by the one-year statute of limitations pursuant to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP).