California

  • October 11, 2024

    Monsanto Inks $35M Deal With LA For Waterway Cleanup

    Los Angeles announced Friday it inked a $35 million settlement with Bayer AG's Monsanto Co. and two other companies over their alleged contamination of the city's bodies of water with toxic chemicals, ending the 2½-year-old lawsuit, with the companies agreeing to various cleanup efforts and reimbursement for previous costs.

  • October 11, 2024

    Sleep Machine Maker Sued Over Recalled Baby Devices

    A New Yorker hit a California-based sleep product manufacturer with a proposed class action alleging that one of the company's products for babies — which has been recalled — has a defective power adapter that can cause shocks.

  • October 11, 2024

    Electric Vehicle Maker Fisker Cleared To Exit Chapter 11

    Electric car maker Fisker Inc. is set to exit Chapter 11 after a Delaware bankruptcy judge on Friday ruled that opt-out forms sent during plan voting showed creditor consent for third-party releases, but that shareholders who didn't vote on the plan hadn't agreed to the releases.

  • October 11, 2024

    Google Appeals Epic Injunction To 9th Circ.

    Google is appealing a California federal judge's recent order that it allow for third-party app distribution on its Android phones, taking the company's long-running fight with Fortnite-maker Epic Games to the Ninth Circuit with just weeks before the injunction is set to take effect.

  • October 11, 2024

    NCAA Says SD Suit Over NIL Deal Belongs In Federal Court

    The NCAA has removed to federal court a lawsuit filed by South Dakota's attorney general that argues the organization's proposed $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement unlawfully tosses its guiding principle of amateurism.

  • October 11, 2024

    Court Allows Calif. Hemp Ban To Remain In Effect

    A California state judge on Friday ruled that the Golden State's new ban on hemp products with THC will remain in effect, rejecting a bid by a leading hemp industry trade organization and the cannabis brand fronted by stoner comedians Cheech and Chong to halt the emergency rules.

  • October 11, 2024

    RICO Suit Accuses VC Co. Of Falsely Claiming Native Ties

    Three California corporations have hit the owners and operators of a venture capital firm with a racketeering suit in federal court, accusing them of falsely claiming they have Native American ties and can procure grants and loans for development projects managed by non-Native entrepreneurs.

  • October 11, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Stanford Law's Easha Anand

    Fresh off her shot-from-a-cannon debut during the U.S. Supreme Court's previous term, Easha Anand of Stanford Law School is moving full steam ahead into the new term, arguing Tuesday against one of the nation's most accomplished oral advocates. If things go as usual, Anand says she'll have nerves "out the wazoo" before and even after the showdown — but none at all when staying calm matters most.

  • October 11, 2024

    Feds Designate 3rd-Largest Marine Sanctuary Off Calif. Coast

    The Biden administration on Friday said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is designating more than 4,500 square miles of ocean off California's central coast as the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

  • October 11, 2024

    Cable Co. CEO Says Buyer Fired Him In Violation Of Deal

    An owner of a Colorado aerospace manufacturing company is suing a buyer in state court for allegedly violating the terms of their asset purchase deal, claiming the buyer fabricated a reason to fire him as CEO in order to avoid paying half a million dollars that it would otherwise owe to his company.

  • October 11, 2024

    TV Show Used Rock Star Pics Without Permission, Suit Says

    A photographer is suing two production companies behind the TV show "Music Mayhem" for copyright infringement, claiming the program used his photos of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose and other rock stars without permission.

  • October 11, 2024

    Huawei Judge Asks If Netgear Suit Stretches Antitrust Law

    A California federal judge expressed some skepticism Friday about allowing router maker Netgear Inc. to proceed with monopolization claims over Huawei Technologies Co.'s patents, wondering aloud whether this would amount to "saying any breach of contract claim can be turned into an antitrust case."

  • October 11, 2024

    Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Pleads Guilty In Calif. Wire Fraud Cases

    Girardi Keese's former Chief Financial Officer Christopher K. Kamon pled guilty Friday in California federal court to two counts of wire fraud, admitting that he conspired with the firm's disgraced co-founder Tom Girardi to steal millions from a client, while also stealing millions from the firm behind Girardi's back.

  • October 11, 2024

    BofA Must Face Iranian Bias Claims At 9th Circ.

    A Bank of America customer wants the Ninth Circuit to revive his proposed class action alleging the financial giant discriminates against Iranian citizens, according to a notice of appeal.  

  • October 11, 2024

    FERC Defends Keeping Calif. In Hydro Permitting Role

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its conclusion that California's water board didn't waive its Clean Water Act permitting authority over two hydroelectric dams, telling the D.C. Circuit there's nothing to suggest there was a coordinated effort to string out the permitting process.

  • October 11, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Planned Parenthood's $14M Atty Fee Win

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a nearly $14 million attorney fee award to Planned Parenthood after the reproductive health service provider won its suit claiming the Center for Medical Progress unlawfully recorded abortion service providers, saying Friday the award was not unreasonably disproportionate to the jury's $2.4 million damages award.

  • October 11, 2024

    6 Firms Guide IPO Trio From Biotech, Medical Device Cos.

    Two venture-backed biotechnology startups and a medical device maker began trading Friday after pricing three initial public offerings that raised $510 million combined — all of which were enlarged from original plans — under guidance from six law firms.

  • October 11, 2024

    Weinstein Charges Should Be Combined For Retrial, DA Says

    Prosecutors asked a New York state court judge to consolidate Harvey Weinstein's 2018 rape indictment with newly filed sexual assault charges ahead of his retrial, panning the former Hollywood producer's "creative" arguments for separate trials.

  • October 11, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA's NIL Deal Advances, QB Settles Again

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA and the athletes suing it over name, image and likeness money satisfy a judge with their proposed settlement revisions, an NFL quarterback settles yet another sexual assault accusation, and a legal battle between the NFL and one of its former reporters ends amicably.

  • October 11, 2024

    California High Court Rejects Bar Exam Alternative Program

    The California Supreme Court has rejected a proposal that would have allowed bar applicants to submit a portfolio of work they did with real clients under supervision instead of taking the bar exam.

  • October 11, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Latham, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Rio Tinto agrees to acquire Arcadium Lithium for roughly $6.7 billion, Ares Management Corp. and GCP International reach a $3.7 billion deal, and Butterfly Equity announces plans to buy The Duckhorn Portfolio for $2 billion.

  • October 10, 2024

    Bumble App Is Biased Against Straight Women, Suit Says

    Dating app Bumble discriminates against straight women by requiring them to make the first move and tries to justify the bias by portraying women as "perpetual victims" and men as "rude, sexually-forward ogres," two women alleged in a proposed class action removed to California federal court Wednesday.

  • October 10, 2024

    Western Digital Lifted Spex's Data Security IP, Expert Says

    Western Digital's My Book and Ultrastar storage devices infringe features in Spex Technologies' data security patent, including hardware encryption and a means of allowing a host computer to request and receive information from the device once it's plugged in, an expert witness testified during the infringement trial Thursday in California federal court.

  • October 10, 2024

    Social Media Apps Don't Need User Warnings, MDL Judge Told

    A lawyer for TikTok urged a California state judge on Thursday to cut failure-to-warn claims from multidistrict litigation over social media's alleged effects on youth mental health, saying this theory is akin to suing newspapers for "not including a warning that reading the news could put you in a bad mood."

  • October 10, 2024

    Ejudicate Ran 'Bogus' Student Loan Arbitrations, CFPB Says

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday that it has banned private dispute resolution platform Ejudicate from arbitrating disputes about consumer financial products, saying the company misled student borrowers about its neutrality and initiated "bogus" arbitration proceedings.

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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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 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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