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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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December 03, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Credibility Determinations
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit applied its “totality of circumstances” test for credibility determinations in immigration proceedings. KUMAR v. GARLAND The Court applied its recent en banc decision in Alam v. Garland , 11 F.4th 1133 (9th Cir. 2021) to hold that because the
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November 22, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Title VII and Discretionary Jurisdiction
By: James R. Sigel
This week, the Ninth Circuit explores what constitutes a hostile work environment and unravels a tricky jurisdictional puzzle that arises when a defendant brings a conditional counterclaim in an action for declaratory relief. FRIED v. WYNN LAS VEGAS LLC The Court holds that an
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November 12, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Sovereign Immunity and Plausible Defamation
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit examines whether private companies can count as foreign sovereigns for purposes of immunity, and when broad statements can plausibly be read to refer to specific individuals under Washington State defamation law. WHATSAPP INC. ET AL. V. NSO GROUP TECHNOLOGIES
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November 05, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Compulsion and Coercion
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit explains the requirements for administrative summonses compelling testimony, and addresses whether a farm laborer was subjected to economic duress and undue influence when signing an arbitration agreement. UNITED STATES V. BEN GHEE TAN The Court holds that 19 U.S.C.
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October 28, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Cars and Chickens
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit explores the constitutionality of a state statute aimed at protecting consumer information given to car dealers, and clarifies the preemptive scope of federal regulatory approval of food labels. CDK GLOBAL LLC v. BRNOVICH The Court holds that plaintiffs were
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October 22, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Schedules and Informants
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit explains the ins-and-outs of property abandonment under the Bankruptcy Code, and explores the government’s privilege to withhold the identity of informants in discovery. IN RE STEVENS The Court holds that 11 U.S.C. § 554(c), a provision of the Bankruptcy Code
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October 15, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Conspiracy Theories
This week, the Ninth Circuit explores permissible theories of liability in a bank fraud conspiracy case. USA V. DIANA YATES The Court holds that theories of conspiracy liability premised on a bank’s right to accurate information and its right not to continue to pay
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October 08, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Contractor Speech and Seized Cars
By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Court confronted constitutional challenges to a California statute altering the test for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors and an Arizona statute governing civil forfeitures. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS, INC. v. BONTA The Court holds that California’s
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October 06, 2021 - Announcements
Oral Argument Innovations at SCOTUS
By: James R. Sigel
While Ninth Circuit oral arguments are still fully remote, the U.S. Supreme Court has returned to in-person arguments. The Court has adopted a hybrid of its old free-for-all style of questioning and the more orderly Justice-by-Justice questioning format it used over the phone. MoFo
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October 01, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Fair Housing and "Solid Waste"
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Court clarifies the Fair Housing Act and Resource Conservation Recovery Act. CITY OF OAKLAND V. WELLS FARGO & COMPANY The en banc Court holds that Oakland failed to adequately plead proximate cause under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) for its claims
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