The Fifth Circuit has shown a willingness to invalidate agency actions like the FTC rule being challenged here. In recent years, the court has struck down a variety of rules after finding their implementation ran afoul of either the enacting agency’s authority or the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
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H.T. Flanagan Joins Kirkland & Ellis
The debt finance lawyer moves from Freshfields where he officed in New York.
Dallas Real Estate Partner Conrad Steele Returns to Jones Day
Steele, who started his career in private practice at Jones Day in 2015, was most recently at Winstead. He has handled large acquisitions of distressed hospitality loan portfolios, single-family housing portfolios, self-storage portfolios, and life sciences properties.
The Ghosts of Loper Bright
October was a fitting month for the Court to take up the ghost gun case. After all, the discretion left to an administrative agency after Loper Bright might be as elusive as a spirit in the night.
Who Qualifies as an ‘Officer of the United States?’ The Answer May Surprise You
Courts have historically wrestled with who qualifies as an “Officer of the United States”— a term that is used five times in the Constitution and its amendments. Considering that the federal government employs nearly 3 million people, some of the confusion is warranted. But not all. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court faced the question of whether the president qualified as an officer of the United States. The Court ultimately decided the case on different grounds without clarification on this point.
A federal district court in Florida ruled three weeks ago that any individual who files a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act is an officer of the U.S. and that the FCA’s qui tam provisions are unconstitutional because whistleblowers are not appointed by the executive branch.
Litigation Roundup: Phillips 66 Faces Potential $1.8B in Damages for ‘Willful’ Misappropriation
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit wades into a discovery dispute between X. Corp. and Media Matters, Beck Redden secures a complete defense win for HP in New York, and a jury in California wallops Phillips 66 in a trade secret misappropriation trial.
Rapper Travis Scott, Live Nation Settle Scores of Personal Injury Suits with Astroworld Plaintiffs
Three bellwether plaintiffs were set to have their day in court Tuesday. But late last week, two bellwether plaintiffs were among nearly 100 parties who settled their claims with the performer and venue operator. The trial for a third bellwether plaintiff will be rescheduled.
Legal Fees Hitting $2K an Hour in J&J’s Talc Powder Bankruptcy
The Johnson & Johnson talc powder bankruptcy filing in Houston is less than a month old, but new documents filed Sunday in the case show that it is going to be highly profitable for the lawyers and law firms involved. Over the past three days, lawyers for Jones Day, Porter Hedges, King & Spalding, Skadden Arps, Shook Hardy & Bacon and McCarter & English have filed their official applications to represent Red River Talc, the J&J subsidiary. Jones Day’s Dallas office is the biggest financial beneficiary.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 11 Firms, 136 Lawyers, $5.3B
Dykema’s 20th anniversary M&A Outlook Survey is grounded in optimism, a far cry from the doom-saying that characterizes these final days of the presidential race. The survey, taken between late July and early August suggests that M&A may well thrive between now and mid-2025. The CDT Roundup takes a look at the apparent reasoning behind such optimism, along with the usual list of Texas-related transactions reported last week.
Apache Names David Bernal New VP of Legal
Bernal succeeds long-time general counsel Anthony Lannie, who retired.