Appellate Litigation
Federal circuit, state supreme court, and U.S. Supreme Court appellate counsel.
Appellate work is often thought of as something that begins after the verdict. The most consequential appellate decisions are made earlier — in how the liability theory is framed, how the expert record is built, and how rulings are preserved long before any judgment is entered. Bona Law's appellate practice is built around that insight. We work with clients and trial teams from the earliest stages of litigation to identify and preserve appellate issues, test case theories against the applicable standards of review, and build the record that will support the arguments that will matter most on appeal.
Several of our attorneys are former federal court law clerks, including on federal circuit courts. We argue our own cases. Our appellate record reflects the kind of high-stakes, legally significant matters that shape the law — published opinions resolving circuit splits, cases argued with the U.S. Department of Justice and the AFL-CIO participating as amici curiae, and Supreme Court amicus work that has helped define the contours of modern antitrust law.
Our appellate experience spans the federal circuit courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, and state appellate courts in California and Minnesota, including the Supreme Courts of both states.
Why Bona Law for Appellate Work
- Former federal court law clerks, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals. That clerkship perspective shapes how we frame appellate issues, brief them, and anticipate how judges and clerks will read them.
- We argue our own cases. The lawyers who develop the issues, build the record, and write the briefs are the same lawyers who stand at the lectern. Clients do not pay for a separate appellate-argument layer.
- Boutique with BigLaw bench. Bona Law's attorneys trained at top antitrust and litigation groups, including Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DLA Piper, Cooley, Winston, the Department of Justice, and the European Commission's DG Comp. We bring that depth to a boutique structure.
- Integrated with trial teams. We work with general litigation firms, large law firms, and trial counsel who hold the client relationship and want appellate depth built into the matter from the beginning — not parachuted in after an adverse ruling. We stay engaged through trial and argue our own cases on appeal.
- Antitrust federalism and state-action immunity depth. Bona Law is one of the nation's leading practices on the antitrust state-action immunity doctrine. The firm has appeared as counsel or amicus curiae in several major U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate state-action immunity cases over the past decade, including N.C. State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC and FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System.
Appeals
A selection of the firm's federal and state appellate matters:
PharmacyChecker.com v. LegitScript, LLC, 137 F.4th 1031 (9th Cir. 2025)
In a published decision, the Ninth Circuit rejected LegitScript's argument that PharmacyChecker lacked antitrust standing because its business model allegedly facilitated illegal drug importation. The court reaffirmed that private antitrust enforcement remains available even where a defendant points to alleged wrongdoing by the plaintiff — holding that "two wrongs don't make a right" — and found LegitScript's allegations unsupported by the evidence. The decision allows PharmacyChecker's group boycott claims to proceed in the District of Oregon.
Chase Manufacturing, Inc. v. Johns Manville Corp., 84 F.4th 1157 (10th Cir. 2023)
Sherman Act Section 2 monopolization appeal against a near-100% market monopolist. The Tenth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of our client, with DOJ participating as amicus curiae. Our client ultimately prevailed at trial on remand.
Ariix, LLC v. NutriSearch Corp., 985 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 2021)
Federal Lanham Act false-advertising appeal on behalf of a nutrition-supplement company. The Ninth Circuit held that a purportedly independent product-ratings guide can be held liable under the Lanham Act when it secretly rigs its ratings to favor a commercial partner, clarifying the boundaries of commercial speech in deceptive-marketing cases.
Drabinsky v. Actors' Equity Association, 106 F.4th 206 (2d Cir. 2024); U.S. Supreme Court (cert petition)
Sherman Act appeal presenting a novel first-impression question on the scope of the statutory labor exemption — specifically, whether it constitutes an affirmative defense or an element the plaintiff must plead. The Second Circuit resolved a circuit split on this question, with the AFL-CIO participating as amicus curiae.
Western Star Hospital Authority v. City of Richmond, 986 F.3d 354 (4th Cir. 2021)
Sherman Act Section 2 challenge to a municipal monopoly over the non-emergency ambulance market. The published Fourth Circuit opinion addressed the scope of state-action immunity under the Parker doctrine, including whether a market-participant exception to that immunity exists.
AmeriCare MedServices, Inc. v. City of Anaheim, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court (cert petition)
State-action immunity issues argued in the Ninth Circuit on behalf of a plaintiff ambulance company in antitrust actions against Orange County municipalities, and a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court on the appealability of state-action immunity denials and the market-participant exception.
United States v. Guillory — Ninth Circuit Bid-Rigging Conviction Appeal, Client: Glenn Guillory (defendant-appellant), convicted of a single count of bid-rigging following a jury trial.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (opening brief filed January 17, 2018)
Ninth Circuit appeal of a criminal antitrust bid-rigging conviction arising out of a highly publicized DOJ Antitrust Division investigation into alleged bid-rigging at real-estate foreclosure auctions in several San Francisco Bay-area counties.
SEC v. Casey (and Golden Genesis, Inc., d/b/a Spectrum Plasma), No. 25-7107 (9th Cir.); appeal pending
Ninth Circuit appeal of a more than $3.5 million SEC enforcement judgment against the founder of a Texas-based specialized blood-plasma clinic. Opening brief recently filed. The appeal challenges evidentiary rulings made during the underlying jury trial, the district court's summary-judgment determination that the relevant notes were securities as a matter of law, and the civil penalty imposed against the company.
Amicus Practice
Bona Law has filed amicus briefs on behalf of members of Congress, leading law and economics scholars, and industry groups in high-profile appellate matters. A selection:
- Supreme Court of the United States — Salt River Agricultural Improvement and Power District v. Tesla Energy Operations, Inc. (appealability of state-action immunity denials).
- Supreme Court of the United States — North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC (antitrust action against a state licensing board; state-action immunity).
- Supreme Court of the United States — FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. (hospital merger with governmental entity; state-action immunity).
- Supreme Court of the United States — Fourth Amendment civil forfeiture matter (constitutional issues beyond antitrust).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit — Illumina–Grail Merger (on behalf of 34 Members of Congress).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — FTC v. Qualcomm (on behalf of the International Center for Law & Economics and law-and-economics scholars).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit — Johnson & Johnson Vision Care v. Reyes (challenging Utah's prohibition on enforcement of uniform-pricing policies against contact-lens retailers).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit — American Farm Bureau Federation v. U.S. EPA (privacy rights of small businesses and farmers).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — Colon Health Centers of America v. Hazel (constitutional challenge to Virginia's certificate-of-need law under the Dormant Commerce Clause).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — FuboTV v. Disney et al. (sports-focused streaming joint venture; on behalf of antitrust law professors).
- Minnesota Supreme Court — Dean et al. v. City of Winona (on behalf of an association of rental property owners challenging a municipal rental ban).
Court Admissions
Bona Law attorneys are admitted to practice before:
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- California Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of California
- Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court
Resources and Further Reading
Bona Law has published an active body of writing on appellate practice — both the craft of appellate advocacy and the practical questions that arise at every stage of an appeal. A selection from The Antitrust Attorney Blog and our Legal Resources library:
Appellate craft and strategy
- → Three Reasons to Hire an Appellate Lawyer The Antitrust Attorney Blog
- → Three Components of Every Effective Appellate Argument The Antitrust Attorney Blog
- → How to Write a Significant Antitrust Appellate Brief The Antitrust Attorney Blog
- → Why You Should Consider Filing an Amicus Brief in an Appellate Case The Antitrust Attorney Blog
- → Appealing a Class Action Certification Order Under Rule 23(f) The Antitrust Attorney Blog
Federal appellate procedure
- → Calculating the Deadline for a Notice of Appeal in Federal Court Bona Law Legal Resource
- → What Are the Requirements to Appeal an Interlocutory Summary Judgment Ruling in Federal Court? Bona Law Legal Resource
- → How to Appeal a Case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Bona Law Legal Resource
State appellate procedure
- → The Basics of California State Appellate Procedure Bona Law Legal Resource
- → How Do I Seek Judicial Review of a California Administrative Agency or State Licensing Board Decision? Bona Law Legal Resource
Appellate argument, standards, and amicus practice
- → What is the Standard of Review on Appeal? Bona Law Legal Resource
- → What Arguments Can I Use to Challenge a Punitive Damages Award on Appeal? Bona Law Legal Resource
- → Should I File an Amicus Curiae Brief? Bona Law Legal Resource
For a complete archive of Bona Law's appellate writing, see The Antitrust Attorney Blog's Appellate Attorney category →
Have an appellate matter — or a trial that is heading there?
Bona Law represents appellants, appellees, and amici in federal circuit courts, state appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. We also work with trial teams from the earliest stages of litigation to preserve appellate issues and build a record that will support the arguments that matter most on appeal. To discuss a matter with experienced appellate counsel, please contact us.