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Welcome to Left Coast Appeals

At Left Coast Appeals, we provide insights into all things Ninth Circuit. Check out our Ninth Circuit Statistics page, which offers an empirical window into the Court’s workings. At our En Banc Tracker, we monitor the Court’s busy en banc proceedings. And at This Week at the Ninth, we highlight key recent decisions.

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July 29, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Beef Speech and Presumptive Plaintiffs
By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Court addresses the constitutionality of government assessments that fund third-party beef advertisements, and clarifies the burden-shifting framework for appointing lead plaintiffs under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. RANCHERS CATTLEMEN ACTION LEGAL FUND UNITED STOCKGROWERS OF AMERICA v. VILSACK The Court
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July 28, 2021 - Ninth Circuit Insights
The Ninth Quickens its Pace
By: James R. Sigel
A Ninth Circuit appeal is generally a long-term endeavor. The Court itself tells parties that the likely “time-to-argument”—i.e. the time between a filing a notice of appeal and the Court hearing oral argument—is between 12 and 20 months, and even that range may sometimes
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July 22, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Offshore Occupation
By: Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit resolves a split among trial courts about the application of California labor laws on drilling platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf. IAFETA MAUIA v. PETROCHEM INSULATION, INC. The Court holds that California labor laws requiring meal and rest breaks
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July 16, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Manuka Honey and Waterslides
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at a decision addressing what a “reasonable” consumer will know in purchasing a product (and distinguishing the Seventh Circuit in the process), and at another assessing the legality of Washington’s pandemic-related shutdown of a waterpark. MOORE v. TRADER
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July 08, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Drug Tests and Foreign Arbitration
By: James R. Sigel
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers a challenge to the constitutionality of the FAA’s regulations governing drug and alcohol testing for air-carrier employees, and it wrestles with difficult choice-of-law questions concerning foreign arbitration agreements. REGENCY AIR, LLC v. DICKSON The Court holds that FAA
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July 02, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Presumed Reliance and Evident Partiality
By: James R. Sigel
This week, a divided Ninth Circuit panel addressed when a plaintiff’s reliance on an omission may be presumed in a securities-fraud case, and another panel considered when an arbitration award must be set aside due to an arbitrator’s failure to disclose a relationship with
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June 24, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Injured Discriminators and Rails-to-Trails
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses whether a corporate shareholder has standing to challenge a statute allegedly requiring the corporation to discriminate, and considers the interaction between the 1922 Abandoned Railroad Right of Way Act and the 1988 Rails-to-Trails Act. MELAND v. WEBER The
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June 17, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Formation Trials and Tribal Corporations
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we take a look at a Ninth Circuit decision navigating the intricacies of appellate review of interlocutory arbitration orders, and another exploring the difference between a federally chartered tribal corporation and the tribe itself. HANSEN v. LMB MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. The Court
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June 11, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Poultry Preemption and ERISA Estoppel
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at a decision examining the preemptive effect of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and another considering the interaction between the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and principles of equitable estoppel. WEBB v. TRADER JOE'S COMPANY The Court holds
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June 04, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: The IGRA “Two-Step” and Class Action Collusion
By: James R. Sigel
This week: the Ninth Circuit elaborates on the Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s “two-step determination” regarding the effects of a new casino on tribal land and clarifies when a post-certification class action settlement agreement is unfair and collusive. KALISPEL TRIBE OF INDIANS V. U.S. DEPARTMENT
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