Left Coast Appeals
Keeping Tabs on the Ninth Circuit
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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.

Follow us on Twitter @LeftCoastAppeal. And check out our sister blog Federal Circuitry, which takes a data-driven look at the Federal Circuit.

  • This Week at The Ninth: Conspiracy Theories
    - This Week at the Ninth

    This Week at The Ninth: Conspiracy Theories

    By: Adam L. Sorensen

    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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  • This Week at The Ninth: Contractor Speech and Seized Cars
    - 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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  • Oral Argument Innovations at SCOTUS
    - 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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  • This Week at The Ninth: Abatement and Discharge
    - This Week at the Ninth

    This Week at The Ninth: Abatement and Discharge

    By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes

    This week, the Court considered the retroactivity of California’s Proposition 22—which designates “app-based drivers” as independent contractors under certain conditions—and addressed the requirements for Clean Water Act citizen suits. LAWSON v. GRUBHUB, INC. The Court holds that California’s Proposition 22 does not apply retroactively
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  • This Week at The Ninth: PowerPoints and Payday Loans
    - This Week at the Ninth

    This Week at The Ninth: PowerPoints and Payday Loans

    By: Lena H. Hughes

    This week, the Court revives an ERISA claim and compels arbitration of a dispute over tribal internet payday loans. WARMENHOVEN v. NETAPP, INC. The Court holds that PowerPoint presentations did not constitute plan documents and thus any representations in them could not override ERISA’s
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  • This Week at the Ninth: Class Objections and Robocalls
    - This Week at the Ninth

    This Week at the Ninth: Class Objections and Robocalls

    By: Lena H. Hughes and Adam L. Sorensen

    This week, the Court addresses when a defendant can raise personal jurisdiction objections to non-resident members of a putative class, and explains the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition on robocalls to cell phones. MOSER v. BENEFYTT The Court holds that a
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  • This Week at the Ninth: Toxic Water and Railroad Taxes
    - This Week at the Ninth

    This Week at the Ninth: Toxic Water and Railroad Taxes

    By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen

    This week, the Court examines whether EPA guidance on water toxicity tests could be challenged under the APA, and addresses whether California’s scheme for taxing railroad property contravenes federal law. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE v. EPA The Court holds that trade associations for California water
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  • This Week at the Ninth: Beef Speech and Presumptive Plaintiffs
    - 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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