Civil Procedure

Blank Rome partner engaged in ‘secretive spying’ by accessing private computer files at ex-firm, suit alleges

A New York law firm has filed a lawsuit alleging that the former chief of its finance practice engaged in a pattern of “disloyal and improper conduct” that included a “secretive spying and cyberstalking campaign” against two firm leaders before he left the firm to become a partner at Blank Rome.

Nov 12, 2025 9:10 AM CST

Federal judge’s decision tossing youths’ climate lawsuit had ‘silver lining’

A federal judge had some good news for 22 youths in his Oct. 15 decision dismissing their lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels.

Oct 21, 2025 9:25 AM CDT

Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones’s bid to set aside $1.4 billion verdict

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a bid by conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones to set aside the historic $1.4 billion jury verdict against him for defaming families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary mass killing.

Oct 14, 2025 1:35 PM CDT

Lawyer’s defamation claim against attorneys who obtained sanctions is revived by 5th Circuit

A lawyer’s claim for defamation against two attorneys who obtained more than $330,000 in sanctions against him in a state-court racketeering suit isn’t barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Oct 13, 2025 2:54 PM CDT

Naked baby on Nirvana album cover wasn’t child porn victim, federal judge rules

A 1991 Nirvana album cover showing a naked baby floating underwater toward a dollar bill is not pornography, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Oct 3, 2025 9:27 AM CDT

Why a federal judge quickly tossed Trump’s ‘florid and enervating’ suit against the New York Times

Lawyers for President Donald Trump will have to trim more than half the pages from their $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times after a federal judge quickly tossed the suit for violating a procedural rule requiring a short and plain statement of the facts.

Sep 22, 2025 10:35 AM CDT

‘Hail Mary legal theory’ in Arizona voting suit didn’t justify attorneys’ sanction, dissenting 9th Circuit judges say

A federal trial judge should not have imposed a $122,200 sanction on two lawyers who filed a lawsuit seeking to replace electronic voting machines in Arizona with hand-counted paper ballots, according to six federal appeals judges who dissented from a refusal to grant an en banc rehearing in the case.

Aug 26, 2025 3:49 PM CDT

Judge tosses US suit against federal judiciary in Maryland, saying he can’t license ‘constitutional free-for-all’

A federal judge on Tuesday ticked off three reasons why the Trump administration can’t sue the Maryland federal court and its judges over standing orders that automatically pause the deportation of detained immigrants who file habeas petitions.

Aug 26, 2025 12:48 PM CDT

Compromise decision in Trump civil case tosses nearly $500M disgorgement order to pave way for appeal

A splintered New York appeals court gave President Donald Trump a partial victory Thursday, when it vacated an order for him to disgorge nearly $500 million for inflating the value of assets in statements to lenders and insurers.

Aug 21, 2025 1:07 PM CDT

DC Circuit vacates judge’s order to hold US in contempt for ignoring TRO blocking immigrant removals

A federal appeals court has vacated an order by a Washington, D.C., federal judge that found probable cause to hold the federal government in criminal contempt for violating his order blocking the removal of a group of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

Aug 12, 2025 9:28 AM CDT

Night-Shift Lawyering: Lessons from juggling kids, class and city attorney externship

It’s well past midnight. My desk is a toppling tower of case files and civil procedure treatises; from the next room, I hear the soft, hiccupping snores of my two daughters, ages 2 and 6. In seven hours, I’ll be standing in the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, ready to defend the city against a negligence claim. In nine, I’ll race to campus for evidence. And in 12, I’ll be back in the carpool lane, fielding a debate over whether one bedtime story really means three.

Aug 5, 2025 10:44 AM CDT

‘No further explanation is warranted’ for TRO opinion with made-up allegations, parties, federal judge says

A federal judge who issued an opinion referring to nonexistent allegations, parties and declarations has refused to provide an explanation other than to attribute the problems to “clerical errors.”

Aug 5, 2025 9:32 AM CDT

MyPillow CEO doesn’t have to pay $5M in ‘Prove Mike Wrong’ election-fraud challenge, 8th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has refused to affirm an arbitration panel decision that awarded $5 million to a software development expert who asserted that he won a “Prove Mike Wrong” election-fraud challenge by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Jul 28, 2025 3:42 PM CDT

9th Circuit upholds nationwide injunction in challenge to Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco has upheld a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocks President Donald Trump’s curtailment of birthright citizenship, finding that a U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting such injunctions does not foreclose universal relief in a lawsuit by four states.

Jul 24, 2025 12:03 PM CDT

Lawyers for MyPillow CEO sanctioned for fake case citations; judge questions their explanation

Updated: A federal judge has imposed a sanction of $3,000 each on two lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for submitting a brief citing cases that didn’t exist.

Jul 10, 2025 9:01 AM CDT