California

  • August 19, 2024

    FERC Can't OK Calif. Hydropower Permit Delays, DC Circ. Told

    A Northern California water district has told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrongly concluded that the state water board did not waive its Clean Water Act permitting authority with regard to two hydroelectric dam projects, adding that it is not blocked from arguing so. 

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Revives State Farm Car Value Class Action

    A split Ninth Circuit panel partially revived a class action accusing State Farm of undervaluing policyholders' totaled vehicles when paying out claims, saying Monday that a Washington federal court abused its discretion in decertifying one of two classes based on a previous Ninth Circuit ruling.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Told Psilocybin Petition Is Backed By Precedent

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday dissected opposing arguments from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a Seattle doctor over whether there is precedent to allow the dispensing of psilocybin — a psychedelic compound — to treat terminally ill patients.

  • August 19, 2024

    California Rips Challenge To Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation

    California officials have urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit from trade groups challenging new regulations requiring large commercial truck and bus fleets to start transitioning to electric and be completely zero-emission by 2036 and beyond, saying the mandates haven't even been enforced yet.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Agrees Nursing Home Must Pay Fees In COVID Case

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled that a nursing home must pay plaintiffs' legal fees in an appeal over the remand of a suit accusing it of causing two dozen patients' COVID-19 deaths, saying the home knew the court had already issued a precedential ruling on the issue.

  • August 19, 2024

    MOVEit MDL Judge's Call For Order Met With Atty Squabbles

    A federal judge's effort to streamline multidistrict litigation over a 2022 data breach involving Progress Software's MOVEit file transfer tool instead led to a lengthy and contentious joint filing in which the parties accused one another of gamesmanship.

  • August 19, 2024

    Feds Trim Sentencing Request For Atty In Email Fraud Case

    Massachusetts federal prosecutors have shaved 11 months off of a nine-year sentencing request for an Illinois attorney who was convicted of collecting proceeds from an email fraud scheme, after the First Circuit vacated three of the lawyer's six counts on venue grounds.

  • August 19, 2024

    Roku Takes Dispute Over ITC Powers To Supreme Court

    Roku is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. International Trade Commission doesn't have the power to ban the import of patent-infringing software if those patents only have a limited connection to products on sale in the market.

  • August 19, 2024

    Gov't, Contractor Urge Against Sanctions Over Doc Dispute

    Both the federal government and a contractor have urged a Court of Federal Claims judge not to sanction the government for the mislabeling of documents in a dispute over a U.S. Air Force construction deal, after the government argued its mistakes were inadvertent.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Sends Northrop Pension Disclosure Row To Trial

    The Ninth Circuit revived a class claim Monday from a group of Northrop Grumman retirees who said they were kept in the dark about how much they would get in pension benefits, ruling their allegations that the defense contractor shirked its disclosure duties were filed on time.

  • August 19, 2024

    NCAA Defends $2B NIL Deal Amid Growing Opposition

    The NCAA is pushing back against critics of its more than $2 billion proposed name, image and likeness settlement with college athletes, arguing the deal is the result of "intense and carefully structured negotiations" by competent class counsel, and detractors have baseless objections.

  • August 19, 2024

    Calif. Lawmakers Decline To Advance Hemp THC Law

    A California bill that would have imposed new THC limits on hemp consumables is unlikely to become law this year, after lawmakers declined to move it out of committee.

  • August 19, 2024

    Baker McKenzie Adds M&A Atty From Skadden

    Baker McKenzie announced Monday that a longtime Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP mergers and acquisitions attorney joined the firm's Palo Alto, California, office as the latest addition to its fast-growing transactions practice in the state.

  • August 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Atty Behind Google IP Win Joins Debevoise

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has brought on a former Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner to its San Francisco office, strengthening its intellectual property litigation group with an attorney who helped Google convince a federal judge last year to wipe out speaker maker Sonos' nearly $33 million jury award against Google.

  • August 19, 2024

    Latham, Paul Weiss Guide AMD's $5B Buy Of ZT Systems

    Latham & Watkins LLP is advising Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the semiconductor company known for its AMD computer processors, on an agreement to acquire Paul Weiss-led ZT Systems for $4.9 billion in cash and stock, according to a Monday statement. 

  • August 19, 2024

    Ex-Sheppard Mullin M&A Partner Joins Pierson Ferdinand

    A veteran mergers and acquisitions attorney has jumped from Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP to Pierson Ferdinand LLP in California

  • August 16, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Cases To Watch, DC Flooding, NYC Hotels

    Catch up on the past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the commercial real estate cases to watch in 2024's second half, one BigLaw attorney's thoughts on new Washington, D.C., flood construction rules and the NYC hotel license bill that has hospitality attorneys rattled.

  • August 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Throws Alaska Fishers A Lifeline In Orca Food Case

    Alaskan salmon fishers got the green light to continue their hunts as the Ninth Circuit on Friday said a Washington federal judge "glossed over" severe economic consequences in holding that the fishing illegally reduced a food source for endangered orcas in Washington state.

  • August 16, 2024

    49ers Can't Beat Data Breach Suit, But Damages In Question

    A California federal judge has rejected the San Francisco 49ers bid to toss a proposed class action claiming that the NFL team didn't protect 20,000 current and former employees' personal information from hackers, but he said a filing issue could put California Consumer Privacy Act statutory damages out of reach.

  • August 16, 2024

    TikTok Nonusers Fight Uphill For 100M-Member Privacy Class

    A California federal judge on Friday tentatively declined to certify a class of over 100 million nonusers of TikTok over allegations it illegally scraped their personal data from third-party websites, noting the "extraordinary" class size and questioning whether the plaintiffs have shown their injuries are typical of the proposed class.

  • August 16, 2024

    Intuit Decision Shows 401(k) Forfeiture Suits Gaining Traction

    A California federal judge's recent decision refusing to toss a federal benefits lawsuit alleging Intuit misspent 401(k) plan forfeitures shows how a novel pleading under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act has gained a foothold in some district courts, attorneys say. Here's a rundown with attorneys on the Intuit ruling and what to expect as more large employers are being targeted with proposed class action litigation challenging 401(k) forfeiture spending.

  • August 16, 2024

    PepsiCo Can't Nix Suit Over Gatorade Bars' 'Health Halo'

    A California federal judge trimmed but declined to toss a putative consumer class action alleging PepsiCo created a "deceptive health halo" around its Gatorade brand protein bars, ruling that three self-proclaimed fitness enthusiasts plausibly alleged reasonable consumers could be misled by the company's marketing, ads and labels.

  • August 16, 2024

    Ex-Twitter Workers Seek Conditional Cert. In Age Bias Suit

    Counsel for a former Twitter employee urged a California federal judge at a hearing Friday to conditionally certify a proposed age discrimination collective action on behalf of workers 50 and older who were fired after Elon Musk acquired the company, pointing to Musk's remarks as evidence of bias.

  • August 16, 2024

    Nikola, Romeo Power Targeted In Del. Derivative Complaint

    A former Romeo Power Inc. stockholder has launched a double derivative suit seeking derivative damages from nine former Romeo directors and officers in part through derivative claims via Nikola Corp., which acquired Romeo in August 2022 for a fraction of the company's once $1 billion-plus valuation.

  • August 16, 2024

    Airbnb Says Travel Insurance Fee Fight Must Be Arbitrated

    Airbnb and an Italian insurer are urging a California federal court to send a proposed class action over allegedly unfair fees on travel insurance policies to arbitration, arguing Thursday that the plaintiffs are ignoring an arbitration clause they had to sign to use the Airbnb platform.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

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    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers

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    With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.

  • Compliance Countdown To New Calif. Workplace Safety Rules

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    Nearly all California employers should be taking steps to prepare for the July 1 deadline to comply with a Labor Code update that will introduce the first general industry workplace violence prevention safety requirements in the U.S., say attorneys at Littler.

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