California

  • July 01, 2024

    Crumbl Aims To Burn Privacy Suit Over Info-Tracking Cookies

    Crumbl LLC has urged a California federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the cookie maker helped payments processor Stripe Inc. illegally track customer activity and collect sensitive information via website cookies, saying the plaintiff's "poorly drafted" complaint fails to allege an underlying privacy violation.

  • July 01, 2024

    9th Circ. Cites Led Zeppelin In Affirming 'SmartBiz' TM Loss

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed a trial loss by the user of the "SmartBiz" trademark against Collins Cash, the user of the "Smart Business Funding" mark, citing the circuit's own ruling that sided with Led Zeppelin in a copyright dispute to find the lower court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to give the plaintiff's requested jury instruction.

  • July 01, 2024

    Aerospace Co. Escapes 401(k) Mismanagement Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge tossed a suit alleging an aerospace technology company failed to swap out an underperforming suite of investment funds from its $930 million retirement plan, ruling the workers behind the case needed to show how the company went wrong in its decision-making processes.

  • July 01, 2024

    UC Riverside Profs Win Combined $6.1M In Retaliation Trial

    Two former University of California, Riverside professors were awarded a total of $6.1 million in damages by a jury that found they were retaliated against in violation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act after making official complaints about alleged misdeeds their supervisor was engaging in, including misuse of government funds. 

  • July 01, 2024

    'Science Guy' Bill Nye Can't Revive Disney Royalty Fight

    A California appellate court backed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by famed 'Science Guy' Bill Nye claiming The Walt Disney Co. cheated him out of millions for his educational television show, saying Monday the trial judge didn't err by deciding the accounting dispute instead of sending it to a jury.

  • July 01, 2024

    Judge Partially Ends Flores Deal For Detained Migrant Kids

    A California federal judge has partially terminated the long-running Flores settlement governing detention conditions for immigrant children, giving the federal government the green light to partly replace the settlement with an April regulation.

  • July 01, 2024

    Gluten Abounds In Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Bagels, Suit Says

    Trader Joe's has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court claiming its "Gluten Free Almost Everything Bagels" actually contain high levels of gluten that exceed the legal limits for the claim.

  • July 01, 2024

    Wash. Law Firm, Ex-Atty Aided In $20M Fraud, Suit Alleges

    A Washington attorney and her former law firm are accused of lending "an air of legitimacy" to an alleged scheme to bilk an asset management firm out of $20 million by using forged invoices to obtain financing for computer equipment, according to a complaint filed in Washington state court.

  • July 01, 2024

    Workers Accuse Kanye West Of 'Extreme' Racism On The Job

    Eight young app developers have sued "Heartless" rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, his company and its former chief of staff, conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos, in California federal court, alleging they fostered a hostile and abusive working environment, subjecting them to "extreme racism," bullying and harassment without pay.

  • July 01, 2024

    Wolfgang Puck Judge Chops Sanctions Bids In Royalty Fight

    A Florida magistrate judge on Sunday rejected competing sanctions bids in a contentious lawsuit filed by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and interior designer Barbara Lazaroff claiming the owner of an appliance company hid assets to get out of paying a $2.4 million arbitration award for unpaid royalties.

  • July 01, 2024

    Atty Warned Not To 'Gamble' In Bid To DQ Quinn Emanuel

    A California federal judge considering Bright Data's bid to disqualify Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing X Corp. in the social media company's data scraping lawsuit suggested Monday that Bright Data's Proskauer Rose LLP counsel is "gambling" by withholding a document from the judge.

  • July 01, 2024

    Car Loan Co. Cuts $1.25M Deal To End ESOP Valuation Suit

    A car loan provider will pay $1.25 million to resolve a suit claiming it breached federal benefits law when it revalued its stock early in the pandemic and forced retirees to sell their shares at a lower value, a former plan participant told a California federal court.

  • July 01, 2024

    Atty Not 'Annoying' Enough For Restraining Order

    A California appeals court affirmed Monday a finding that a personal injury attorney's aggressive behavior toward another attorney only rose to the level of "annoying" and thus didn't warrant a permanent restraining order, saying the behavior must rise to the level of "seriously annoying" to be considered harassment.

  • July 01, 2024

    Caribou Bio Inks $3.9M Deal In Investors' Cancer Therapy Suit

    Caribou Biosciences Inc. has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a proposed class action alleging it misled investors about the durability of its most advanced cancer-fighting therapy before and after the gene-editing biotechnology company went public, investors told a California federal judge on Friday.

  • July 01, 2024

    Top Personal Injury, Med Mal News: 2024 Midyear Report

    A high court ruling over whether bump stocks can be considered machine guns under a federal agency's rule banning the devices and a huge railroad settlement over a Norfolk Southern derailment disaster are among Law360's top personal injury and medical malpractice cases for the first six months of 2024.

  • July 01, 2024

    Ex-Calif. Law Firm CFO Charged in $1.2M Embezzlement

    The former chief financial officer of two related San Francisco law firms now faces federal criminal charges that he embezzled at least $1.2 million from the companies, and the government is trying to seize some of his properties.

  • July 01, 2024

    Kilpatrick Taps First Woman Atty To Lead IP Group

    Kilpatrick has elevated a longtime trademark partner based in Atlanta to lead its global intellectual property department, making her the first woman to lead the IP department.

  • July 01, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Two multimillion-dollar settlement approvals, a $25 million fee-shifting demand, and a biotech merger spoiled by murder: This was just the beginning of the drama last week in the nation's preeminent court of equity. Shareholders in satellite companies filed new cases, a cannabis company headed toward trial, and there were new developments in old disputes involving Tesla and Truth Social.

  • July 01, 2024

    Apple Scores Some Patent Board Reviews In Watch IP Fight

    Yet another front has opened in Apple's ongoing legal war with a small medical software company that claims the tech giant used its patents in a blood oxygen sensor found in the newer version of the Apple Watch.

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Camping Ban, Mobile Money, Post-Surfside

    Catch up on this week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on an Oregon town's anti-camping ordinance, government incentives for manufactured housing communities, and the progress states have made toward building safety in the three years since the tragic condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.

  • June 28, 2024

    'Nothing Stopping' Collection On $10B Verdict, LA Judge Says

    A Los Angeles judge on Friday decided to amend the judgment from a $10 billion verdict that found business owner Haresh Jogani stole a multibillion-dollar real estate business from his four brothers, awarding stock potentially worth billions to the brothers while dismissing his attorney's objections that the order is not allowed due to Haresh Jogani's appeal.

  • June 28, 2024

    Girardi Wins Bid To Offer Mental Condition Testimony At Trial

    Tom Girardi's defense team can call a doctor to testify at his upcoming trial as to a potential "mental condition" that they say might indirectly have bearing on his intent to defraud clients, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting prosecutors' argument that the testimony is irrelevant.

  • June 28, 2024

    LawFirms.com Can't Dodge LegalForce's Ad Trademark Suit

    A California federal judge has denied a bid by online legal services website LawFirms.com to escape a trademark suit accusing it of ripping off law firm LegalForce's stylized text and symbol used in advertisements.

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

Expert Analysis

  • The Current State Of Healthcare Transaction Reviews In Calif.

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    As of April, certain healthcare transactions in California have been subject to additional notification compliance requirements, and complying with these new rules could significantly delay and discourage some deals, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Big Banks Face Potential Broader Recovery Plan Rules

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent call for potentially subjecting more banks to recovery planning standards would represent a significant expansion of the scope of the recovery guidelines, and banks that would be affected should assess whether they’re prepared, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims

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    Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • What Companies Should Consider Amid Multistate AG Actions

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    The rise of multistate attorney general actions is characterized by increased collaboration and heightened scrutiny across various industries — including Big Tech and gaming — and though coalitions present challenges for targeted companies, they also offer opportunities for streamlined resolutions and coordinated public relations efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Atmospheric Rivers: Force Majeure Or Just A Rainy Day?

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    As atmospheric rivers pummel California with intense rainfall, flooding and landslides, agencies and contractors in the state struggling to manage projects may invoke force majeure — but as with all construction risk issues, the terms of the agreement govern, and relief may not always be available, say Kyle Hamilton and Corey Boock at Nossaman.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Best Practices For Chemical Transparency In Supply Chains

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    A flurry of new and forthcoming regulations in different jurisdictions that require disclosure of potentially hazardous substances used in companies' products and processes will require businesses to take proactive steps to build chemical transparency into their supply chains, and engage robustly and systematically with vendors, says Jillian Stacy at Enhesa.

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

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    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Flawed Fintiv Rule Should Be Deemed Overreach In Tech Suit

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    A pending federal lawsuit over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's unilateral changes to key elements of the America Invents Act, Apple v. Vidal, could shift the balance of power between Congress and federal agencies, as it could justify future instances of unelected officials unilaterally changing laws, say Patrick Leahy and Bob Goodlatte.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation

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    Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • 5 Steps To Navigating State Laws On Healthcare Transactions

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    As more states pass legislation requiring healthcare-transaction notice, private equity investors and other deal parties should evaluate the new laws and consider ways to mitigate their effects, say Carol Loepere and Nicole Aiken-Shaban at Reed Smith.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions

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    A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.

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