California

  • March 05, 2025

    Senators Press Trump's NIH Nominee On Grant Cuts, Vaccines

    Dr. Jay Bhattacharya vowed to support research into chronic diseases but repeatedly refused Wednesday to express an opinion on cost-cutting efforts at the National Institutes of Health, sidestepping bipartisan questions during a hearing on his nomination to run the biomedical research agency.

  • March 05, 2025

    Trump's NIH Cost-Cutting Measure Blocked By Judge

    A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot cap indirect costs for research grants at the National Institutes of Health, rejecting the move as a rushed cost-saving measure that violates federal law governing the expenses.

  • March 05, 2025

    Pot Co. Hit With Class Action Over Unwanted Mass Texts

    A California man is suing a dispensary and cannabis delivery service in federal court, alleging that it has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by repeatedly sending unsolicited marketing text messages.

  • March 05, 2025

    Ex-Girlfriend Of $36M Crypto Schemer Admits Hiding Profits

    The ex-girlfriend of a cryptocurrency founder who evaded taxes on a $36 million hacking scheme admitted to hiding profits from the IRS and participating in the ploy by heading shell companies and paying Los Angeles sheriff's deputies to target his enemies, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • March 05, 2025

    Davis Wright Adds K&L Gates Energy Ace In San Francisco

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP has added a former K&L Gates LLP attorney in San Francisco who brings over two decades of private practice and in-house experience to the firm's expanding national energy practice.

  • March 05, 2025

    Skin Care Tech Co. Files Ch. 11 With $400M Prepackaged Plan

    Skin care and beauty technology company Cutera Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court Wednesday with over $429 million in debt and a prepackaged debt-swap plan to cut that number by nearly $400 million.

  • March 04, 2025

    Avalara Investor Asks 9th Circ. To Revive $8B PE Buyout Suit

    An Avalara shareholder urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive a proposed securities class action alleging the tax software company duped investors into approving a "deficient" $8.4 billion private equity buyout, arguing the trial court erred in finding Avalara's statements tied to "numerically specific metrics" weren't false or misleading.

  • March 04, 2025

    Musk Fails To Block OpenAI From Turning Into For-Profit Entity

    A California federal judge on Tuesday denied Elon Musk's bid to preliminarily bar OpenAI Inc. from converting into a for-profit entity, saying that a threshold question of whether Musk's over $44 million in donations created a charitable trust was a "toss-up."

  • March 04, 2025

    Banks To Face New Defenders Of CFPB Overdraft Rule

    A Mississippi federal judge said Tuesday that he will allow two outside nonprofits to step into litigation over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $5 overdraft fee rule and defend the Biden-era regulation against a banking industry-backed legal challenge.

  • March 04, 2025

    Chinese Theme Park Co. Can't Nix Investors' 'Hellscapes' Suit

    A California federal judge will allow investors' securities fraud claims against a Chinese amusement park operator to proceed, finding they plausibly claimed that the company inflated visitor numbers and financials for its park, causing an 89% stock price decline when the truth was eventually revealed.

  • March 04, 2025

    3 Takeaways From The High Court's SF Water Permit Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court's Tuesday ruling siding with San Francisco to strike down parts of a federal water pollution permit demonstrated a majority of justices' reluctance to force permit holders to interpret gray areas that could get them in trouble.

  • March 04, 2025

    Semiconductor Co. Faces Suit Over Apple Biz Loss, AI Hype

    Semiconductor maker Skyworks Solutions Inc. was hit Tuesday with a proposed investor class action alleging it hurt investors by downplaying the risks posed by the loss of business from iPhone maker Apple, a major customer, and overplaying the strength of artificial intelligence to its business.

  • March 04, 2025

    Blockchain Org. Wins $3.5M Fees From Trader's Seized Assets

    Crypto project the ICON Foundation is set to receive $3.5 million in attorney fees and costs after it successfully turned the tables on a user who sued the project after it took action to freeze millions of tokens he created by exploiting a bug in the project's software.

  • March 04, 2025

    Gov't Says 2 Lab Owners Billed $40M In COVID Test Scheme

    Federal prosecutors opened their case Tuesday against two laboratory owners, telling jurors in Florida that they ran a more than $40 million scheme to submit medically unnecessary COVID-19 testing claims to healthcare benefit programs.

  • March 04, 2025

    PTAB Orders Mostly Backing Apple, Others Upheld On Appeal

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that Apple and others had shown most claims of a patent on using cameras to sense gestures by users are invalid, but said the board correctly upheld two claims.

  • March 04, 2025

    Phillips 66 'Trickery' Merits $1.2B More Damages, Judge Told

    A startup that won a $605 million trade secrets verdict against oil giant Phillips 66 argued Tuesday in California state court that its would-have-been acquirer owes an additional $1.2 billion for reprehensible conduct, including by in-house counsel who supposedly made "efforts to cover up" information theft.

  • March 04, 2025

    Intel Beats Investor Suit Over 'Foundry' Losses, For Now

    Intel Corp. has beaten a proposed securities class action accusing it of misleading investors about the financial health of its so-called foundry segment, with the court finding Intel made all required disclosures regarding the segment's performance.

  • March 04, 2025

    Albright Rejects Transfer Bid In Another Apple Patent Feud

    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright rejected Apple and Qualcomm Inc.'s bid to transfer Red Rock Analytics' patent suit against them from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California, saying in a redacted order made public Tuesday that the tech companies have not established the case "would be clearly more convenient" in the preferred venue.

  • March 04, 2025

    Disney Animator Tells Jury 'Moana' Was His Original Idea

    A longtime animation director for The Walt Disney Co. testified in California federal court Tuesday that his blockbuster movie "Moana" was inspired by Polynesian mythology and extensive research into the region and its culture, not the work of another artist now suing for copyright infringement.

  • March 04, 2025

    Anthropic CEO Must Sit For Depo In Authors' OpenAI Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in authors' high-stakes copyright suit against OpenAI ruled Tuesday that the CEO of AI startup Anthropic must sit for a six-hour deposition, after the authors argued that he previously worked at OpenAI and was responsible for the datasets used to train its machine-learning model.

  • March 04, 2025

    Volkswagen Settling Drivers' Suit Over Turbocharger

    Volkswagen and Audi drivers who claim their cars contained defective turbochargers have asked a New Jersey federal judge to preliminarily approve a proposed class settlement that would have the automaker cover as much as half of certain out-of-pocket expenses the vehicle owners paid during the first 85,000 miles.

  • March 04, 2025

    Calif. PBM Opioid Suit Belongs In Federal Court, 9th Circ. Told

    Pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts Inc. and OptumRx Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to require California to litigate its public nuisance claims over their opioid dispensing practices in federal court, arguing that allowing the state to litigate in state court would create a circuit split.

  • March 04, 2025

    Special Master Recommends Win For UnitedHealth In FCA Suit

    A massive False Claims Act case targeting Medicare Advantage plans operated by UnitedHealth relies on "speculation and assumptions," according to a special master's report that recommends ruling in the company's favor and ending the lawsuit.

  • March 04, 2025

    9th Circ. Questions UPS' Teamster Election Challenge

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of UPS' argument that Teamsters representatives tainted a union representation election by chatting with workers in a warehouse parking lot while a union vote went on inside.

  • March 04, 2025

    FCC Dismisses Bid To Revisit Local Unbundling Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission has dismissed a petition to restore local telecom unbundling rules, reiterating the agency's 2020 reasons for lifting a number of restrictions on local incumbents and restating that those limitations are no longer necessary.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

    Author Photo

    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • A Guide To Significant 2024 Data Broker Legal Developments

    Author Photo

    2024 saw notable developments in U.S. data broker regulation and enforcement, and this momentum will likely carry into 2025, despite hypothetical efforts to the contrary under the new administration, say attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • How Changes In State Gift Card Laws May Affect Cos. In 2025

    Author Photo

    2024 state legislative movements around the escheatment of unused gift card balances and consumer fraud protections should prompt issuers to consider whether changes in company domicile or blanket cash-back policies are needed in the new year, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Retailers Must Adapt As Courts Shift On False Price Claims

    Author Photo

    The increasing frequency with which courts are denying motions to dismiss false reference price claims signals that these lawsuits are not going away anytime soon, so retailers must be prepared for a more complex and prolonged defense process, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025

    Author Photo

    With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

    Author Photo

    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • The Justices' Securities Rulings, Dismissals That Defined '24

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 securities rulings led to increased success for defendants' price impact arguments, but the justices' decisions not to weigh in on important issues relating to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's pleading requirements may be just as significant, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • 2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

    Author Photo

    Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.

  • 2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

    Author Photo

    In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

    Author Photo

    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • Trends In Section 101 Motions 6 Years After Berkheimer

    Author Photo

    A half-dozen years after the Federal Circuit's landmark patent eligibility ruling in Berkheimer, empirical data offers practitioners some noteworthy insights on Section 101 motions, both nationally and across four exemplary jurisdictions, says Alexa Reed at Fisch Sigler.

  • Ledbetter's Legacy Shines In 2024 Equal Pay Law Updates

    Author Photo

    The federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act turned 15 this year, and its namesake's legacy is likely to endure in 2025 and beyond, as demonstrated by 2024's state- and local-level progress on pay equity, as well as several rulings from federal appellate courts, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • Opinion

    Justices Rightly Corrected Course In Nvidia And Facebook

    Author Photo

    By dismissing both the Nvidia and Facebook class actions, over investors' ability to hold corporations accountable for fraud, the U.S. Supreme Court was right in refusing to favor corporations over transparency, and reaffirmed its commitment to corporate accountability, investor protection and the rule of law, says Laura Posner at Cohen Milstein.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the California archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!