Left Coast Appeals

October 22, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: FCRA Dicta and Medicare Channeling
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we examine two decisions confronting novel procedural issues. In the first, the Ninth Circuit sought to promote development of the law by encouraging courts to alter how they address claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In the second, the Court
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October 16, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Mobile Billboards and Secret Systems
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we take a look at Ninth Circuit cases holding a ban on mobile billboards subject to strict scrutiny given the vehicles exempted from its scope, and addressing the standards governing summary judgment and discovery in trade-secret litigation. BRUCE BOYER V. CITY OF
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October 09, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Counterfeiting and Superfund
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we examine a Ninth Circuit decision addressing whether a plaintiff pursuing a Lanham Act counterfeiting claim must demonstrate that consumers were likely to be confused (the answer: yes), and another resolving the tricky issue of whether the federal government’s regulation of a
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October 02, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: The FAA and the FAAAA
By: James R. Sigel
This week at This Week, we take a look at two cases that divided the panels deciding them. In the first, the Ninth Circuit (splitting from the Fourth) held an arbitration clause the plaintiff had signed with a third party to be unenforceable even
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September 25, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Class Waiver and FINRA
This week, we take a look at the Ninth Circuit’s decision handing an important victory to banks by declaring FINRA rules against compelled arbitration don’t bar enforcement of class waivers. LAVER v. CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA), LLC The Court holds that a FINRA rule
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September 17, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Informational Injury and Union Dues
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we examine one Ninth Circuit decision exploring the extent to which the deprivation of information and statutorily-conferred powers can satisfy Article III’s injury-in-fact requirement, and a second declining to extend the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus to former union-members asserting First Amendment
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September 11, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Jersey Boys and Restroom Doors
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we highlight Ninth Circuit decisions denying copyright protection to assertions of fact (even if those facts were made up), and deepening a slight Circuit split on the Americans with Disabilites Act's burden-shifting framework. CORBELLO v. VALLI The Court holds that factual descriptions
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September 03, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: Long Arms and Sore Backs
By: James R. Sigel
This week, the Ninth Circuit explains when courts have personal jurisdiction over foreigners who contract with U.S.-based businesses, and whether severe pain can qualify as a disability under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. GLOBAL COMM. TRADING GRP. v. BENEFICIO DE ARROZ CHOLOMA
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August 29, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at the Ninth: In Rem and Out of Time
This week, the Ninth Circuit creates a potential circuit split on personal jurisdiction in in rem proceedings, and clarifies whether a post-judgment motion for attorneys’ fees extends the time to appeal (spoiler alert: it does not). UNITED STATES v. TAREK OBAID The Court held
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August 20, 2020 - This Week at the Ninth
This Week at The Ninth: Employees, Independent Contractors, and ERISA
By: James R. Sigel
This week, this Ninth Circuit once again issued a number of opinions arising from the employment relationship. Here, we focus on two of particular interest. In the first, the Court sought to unravel whether an emergency room physician was an employee of the hospital
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