Oral Arguments from the U.S. Court of Appeals

Case Summary: Gemini said In the case of Legacy Re, Ltd. v. 401 Properties Limited Partnership (Docket No. 1-24-1341), which was argued before the Illinois Appellate Court, First District on February 10, 2026 , the relevant facts are as follows: The litigation originates from a complex commercial foreclosure action involving a $15 million commercial property located at 401 S. LaSalle St. in Chicag...

Case Summary: In the case of Vargison v. Paula's Choice, LLC (Docket No. 25-2452), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 9, 2026 , the relevant facts are as follows: The case is a putative class action brought by consumers alleging that the skincare company, Paula's Choice, falsely advertised its products as "cruelty-free" and "never tested on animals." The plai...

Case Summary: The case involves a criminal appeal by the defendant, Isaac Tekola , following a conviction and sentencing in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The defendant was charged and subsequently convicted for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances , a violation of federal narcotics laws. In September 2024, the district court imposed...

Case Summary: In SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. v. DOD (Docket No. 25-5367), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on February 6, 2026, the case involves a high-profile challenge to the Department of Defense's designation of the world's largest drone manufacturer as a "Chinese military company." The factual record centers on the Pentagon's decision to place DJI on the "Section...

Case Summary: In Kelvin Nolen v. Steven Ford (Docket No. 25-1370), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on February 5, 2026, the case pertains to a civil rights action involving allegations of police misconduct and the scope of qualified immunity. The factual record centers on a confrontation between Kelvin Nolen and Steven Ford, an officer acting in an official capacity,...

Case Summary: In Ethan Ennes v. Presque Isle County MI (Docket No. 25-1389), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on February 4, 2026, the case involves a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights claim brought by a student with physical and cognitive disabilities against a county sheriff’s deputy and the county itself. The factual record stems from a 2021 incident in a special educat...

Case Summary: In Google LLC v. Wildseed Mobile, LLC (Docket No. 24-2178), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on February 4, 2026, the case involves a complex patent dispute following a rare split decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The factual record centers on several patents held by Wildseed Mobile relating to mobile advertising and user interface...

Case Summary: In Alignment Healthcare Inc. v. HHS (Docket No. 25-5239), argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on February 2, 2026, Alignment Healthcare appealed a lower court ruling regarding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) "Star Ratings" program. The factual record focuses on CMS's use of the Tukey Outlier Rule to set quality thresholds and allegatio...

Case Summary: The case originated from a class-action lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s use of pretextual traffic stops and warrantless arrests during immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area. A 2022 consent decree resulting from the litigation required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow specific protocols for warrantless arrests, including do...

Case Summary: In the case of Ryan v. Department of Veterans Affairs (Docket No. 24-1814), the petitioner, a veteran, is appealing a denial of service-connected disability benefits originally issued by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The core factual dispute involves whether the veteran’s medical condition was directly caused or aggravated by toxic exposures encountered during their period of activ...

Case Summary: In Alignment Healthcare Inc. v. HHS (Docket No. 25-5239), argued before the D.C. Circuit on February 2, 2026, Alignment Healthcare challenged the methodology used by CMS to determine Medicare Advantage "Star Ratings." The crux of the dispute centers on the Tukey Outlier Rule , which Alignment argues is an arbitrary statistical method that unfairly lowers quality scores by deleting va...

Case Summary: Victor Palencia Gomez v. Chiquita Brands International Inc. is a personal‑injury, human‑rights–related appeal arising out of the long‑running multidistrict litigation over Chiquita’s alleged support for Colombian paramilitary groups, in which a group of Colombian plaintiffs including Victor Palencia Gomez seek to uphold a Rule 54(b) final judgment entered in their favor against Chiqu...

Case Summary: United States v. Tommie Haney is a federal criminal appeal in which Tommie L. Haney is challenging the judgment entered against him in the United States Court of Appeals under docket number 25‑1302, with oral argument held on January 30, 2026. At the trial level, Haney was prosecuted in the Western District of Wisconsin for participating as a local leader in a methamphetamine and coc...

Case Summary: Rosenthal v. Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is a federal civil‑rights and due‑process appeal brought by former RIOC President and CEO Susan G. Rosenthal challenging the dismissal of her lawsuit against RIOC and state officials in the United States Court of Appeals under docket number 25‑1667, following oral argument on January 30, 2026. In the underlying federal case in the S...

Case Summary: iCare Child Development Center LLC v. Alethea Cicero‑Brown is a civil appeal pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in which iCare Child Development Center LLC and a co‑plaintiff are challenging an adverse judgment entered against them in their federal civil rights and related claims against Alethea Cicero‑Brown and other defendants, under docket numb...

Case Summary: Donnie Wittman v. Olin Winchester, LLC is a wage‑and‑hour appeal in which several current supervisory employees sue Olin Winchester, LLC for unpaid overtime at its East Alton, Illinois facility, now before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit under docket number 25‑1726, with oral argument held on January 30, 2026. At the district court level (Southern District...

Case Summary: Shasha v. Malkin is a long‑running business‑dispute case between members of the Shasha family and Peter L. Malkin (and related entities), which has produced both New York state‑court proceedings and federal litigation, and is now on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit under docket number 25‑442, where it was argued on January 30, 2026. At the lower‑cou...

Case Summary: Keisha Lewis v. Indiana Department of Transportation is an employment‑discrimination and disability‑discrimination case arising from Ms. Lewis’s work at INDOT, now on appeal in the Seventh Circuit under docket number 25‑1776 after oral argument on January 30, 2026. At the lower court, Ms. Lewis, an African American woman with a kidney transplant, worked for the Indiana Department of...

Case Summary: In the district court, Kenny Faulk proved a race‑discrimination hiring claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and obtained a multi‑million‑dollar jury verdict, and the case is now on appeal in the Eleventh Circuit under docket number 24‑12603 following the employer’s unsuccessful post‑trial challenge. At the lower court level, Faulk sued Dimerco Express USA Corp. in the Northern District of Ge...

Case Summary: Chicago Women in Trades v. Donald J. Trump is a federal civil rights case in which Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit that trains and supports women entering skilled trades, sued President Donald J. Trump and several federal agencies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to challenge two 2025 executive orders that seek to restrict and dismantle diversity,...

Case Summary: C.B. v. Naseeb Investments, Inc. is a civil human‑trafficking case in which C.B., who was a minor at the time, alleges she was sex trafficked in June 2010 at the Hilltop Inn in Conley, Georgia, a hotel owned and operated by Naseeb Investments, Inc., and she now appeals an adverse summary‑judgment ruling from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to the...

Case Summary: A.G. v. Northbrook Industries, Inc. (consolidated on appeal with G.W. v. Northbrook Industries, Inc., No. 25‑10829) is a civil sex‑trafficking case in which minor plaintiffs allege that Northbrook Industries operated a hotel that knowingly benefited from and facilitated their trafficking, and they now appeal adverse rulings from the federal district court to the United States Court o...

Case Summary: Haymarket DuPage, LLC v. Village of Itasca arises from Haymarket DuPage, a nonprofit substance-abuse treatment provider, seeking zoning approval to convert a former hotel in Itasca, Illinois into a treatment center for individuals with substance-use disorders and related disabilities, and the Village’s subsequent denial of that request, leading to federal civil-rights litigation and...

Case Summary: Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. ATF is a Freedom of Information Act and First Amendment case now on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in which a gun‑rights organization challenges a district court order requiring it to “claw back” and stop using documents that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) previously rele...

Case Summary: John Legros v. Secretary, Department of Corrections is a prisoner civil‑rights/habeas‑type appeal in which Florida inmate John Legros challenges the handling of his confinement and related constitutional claims, now pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit under docket number 24‑11693, with oral argument held on January 29, 2026. At the lower court level...