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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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February 25, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Fire Investigators and Nursing Homes
By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses the district court’s gatekeeping role for expert testimony and examines whether federal courts have jurisdiction over COVID-related suits against nursing homes. ELOSU v. MIDDLEFORK RANCH INCORPORATED The Court holds that the district court abused its discretion in excluding
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February 18, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Class Settlement and Certification
By: James R. Sigel
This week, the Court addresses objectors’ challenges to the approval of a settlement of class and California Labor Code Private Attorney General claims, and considers the propriety of certifying a class with parties who experienced variable injuries. PECK v. SWIFT TRANSPORTATION COMPANY OF ARIZONA,
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February 10, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Credit Reports and Public Unions
By: Lena H. Hughes and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses the standards for liability under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and rebuffs a pre-enforcement First Amendment challenge to a state law concerning public unions. GABRIEL MORAN V. THE SCREENING PROS, LLC The Court holds that a credit reporting
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February 04, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Money, Money, Money, Money
This week the Court addresses the constitutionality of Oakland’s Uniform Residential Tenant Relocation Ordinance’s “relocation fee,” and the proper method for calculating an employer’s “withdrawal liability” under ERISA. BALLINGER v. CITY OF OAKLAND The Court holds that money may be the subject of a
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January 27, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Disagreements on Display
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit parts ways with the Second Circuit on whether unnamed real defendants in interest can remove state cases to federal court and issues a split decision on Title IX liability. SHARMA V. HIS ASSET LOAN OBLIGATION TRUST 2007-1 The Court
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January 21, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Wait Until Next Time
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Court addressed two questions of appellate jurisdiction, holding there is no right to immediate appellate review of a district court’s denial of derivative sovereign immunity or of a fact-bound district court order certified for review under section 1292(b). CHILDS v. SAN
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January 14, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Arbitration Two Ways
By: Lena H. Hughes and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses the ability of non-parties to invoke arbitration agreements, and refreshes its law on the applicability of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity in the arbitration context. KIM NGO V. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC The Court holds that a non-signatory
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January 07, 2022 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Delegation and Wildfires
By: Lena H. Hughes and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit resolves whether parties can delegate issues of contract formation to an arbitrator, and explains the bounds of federal courts’ jurisdiction over ratemaking orders in a challenge to the procedure for capitalizing a California wildfire fund. AHLSTROM V. DHI MORTGAGE
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December 30, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Tribal Disputes and Interstate Mushrooms
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit explores the limits of federal subject matter jurisdiction over intratribal governing disputes and addresses the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act’s exception for workers engaged in “interstate commerce.” NEWTOK VILLAGE v. PATRICK The Court holds that a district court
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December 23, 2021 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Controlled Burns
By: Lena H. Hughes
This week, the Ninth Circuit addresses the United States’ immunity from suit for fire suppression efforts. ESQUIVEL v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The Court held that the district court correctly dismissed plaintiffs’ claims against the United States arising out of the intentional burning of
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