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August 06, 2024
Tech Giants' Fight To Ax Fintiv Rule Returns To Fed. Circ.
Apple and three other major technology companies have again asked the Federal Circuit to abolish a rule allowing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to refuse to review patents based on related litigation in court, saying it is unlawful because it was implemented without formal rulemaking.
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August 06, 2024
9th Circ. Kills Trustee Fee Refunds After Justices' Ruling
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a district court decision that granted a partial refund of $600,000 in fees a tobacco distributor paid to the U.S. Trustee's Office, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court found in June that a disparity in fees paid by debtors in different jurisdictions was not to be remedied by returning overpayments.
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August 06, 2024
Investment Adviser Must Face Union Fund's $30M ERISA Suit
A union pension fund has carried its $30 million Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit against an investment advisory firm past the motion-to-dismiss phase on its second try, with a California federal judge holding that the fund qualified for an extension to its deadline to sue over pre-2016 conduct.
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August 06, 2024
Truckers Association Challenges AB 5 At 9th Circ.
A trade association representing small trucking businesses told the Ninth Circuit that California's classification test in Assembly Bill 5 will obliterate the lease owner-operator system, urging the panel to flip a federal court's decision keeping the law running.
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August 06, 2024
Fed. Circ. Knocks Out Scottish Search Co.'s Patent Case
A Scottish tech company failed to breathe new life into patents that cover supposed advances in reverse image searching on the internet when the Federal Circuit on Tuesday ended its suit against a different, more successful rival.
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August 06, 2024
San Diego Bar Taps Longtime Biz Leader As Exec Director
The San Diego County Bar Association has hired a new executive director, bringing in a former San Diego chamber of commerce president to serve as its new head.
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August 06, 2024
Funko Settles Derivative Litigation In Delaware, California
Pop culture lifestyle brand Funko Inc. has agreed to resolve derivative claims in multiple stockholder suits in California federal court and Delaware's Court of Chancery by implementing corporate governance reforms and paying up to $2.15 million to plaintiffs' attorneys, the company has announced.
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August 06, 2024
AI Security Biz Sets Sights On IPO After $5.1B Valuation
Artificial intelligence company Abnormal Security, advised by Cooley LLP, announced Tuesday that it has hit a $5.1 billion valuation after closing its Series D funding round with $250 million in tow.
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August 06, 2024
More Training Needed On SF Encampment Rule, Judge Says
A California federal magistrate judge has partially sided with homelessness advocates and San Francisco residents accusing the city and county of violating the U.S. and state constitutions by destroying homeless residents' self-made encampments and forcing them out of the city with citations, fines and arrests.
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August 06, 2024
Solar Tech Co. SunPower Hits Ch. 11 With $2B Of Debt
Residential solar technology company SunPower Corporation filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware with more than $2 billion of funded debt obligations and plans for an asset sale.
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August 05, 2024
Elon Musk Can't Beat Twitter Investors' Suit Over Bot Claim
A California federal judge on Monday denied Elon Musk's bid to escape a shareholder suit alleging he misled Twitter investors by claiming the company had to provide information on an alleged bot problem before he could move forward with his $44 billion acquisition, saying Musk leaned on already-rejected arguments.
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August 05, 2024
Chamber, Others Back 9th Circ. Ax Of Shopify Privacy Row
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several tech trade groups are among those pushing the full Ninth Circuit to affirm the toss of a proposed class action accusing Shopify of unlawfully collecting shoppers' sensitive information, arguing that overriding the decision would unfairly allow plaintiffs to sue online businesses in any court across the country.
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August 05, 2024
Kia Atty Reduced To 'Monty Python' Knight By Tentative Order
Kia and Hyundai's attorney told a California federal judge Monday that his tentative order denying the companies' motion to dismiss Chicago's claims in multidistrict litigation over car thefts left him feeling like the knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" who loses his arms and legs but keeps fighting.
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August 05, 2024
Coinbase Broke Campaign Finance Laws, Crypto Critics Say
Crypto exchange Coinbase violated campaign finance laws when it donated $25.5 million to political action committees while negotiating a federal contract, prominent crypto critics told a federal election watchdog — a claim the firm's legal chief has staunchly denied.
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August 05, 2024
EBay Resists Calif. Damages In Mass. Stalking Case
Married Massachusetts bloggers who were stalked and terrorized by eBay Inc. employees shouldn't be able to seek punitive damages available under California law while having Massachusetts law otherwise govern liability for their myriad civil claims, the e-commerce giant is arguing.
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August 05, 2024
Insurers Can't Escape Coverage For Russian-Seized Aircraft
A group of insurers can't escape covering one of the largest aircraft lessors for aircraft seized by the Russian government, a California state court ruled, agreeing with the company that even a temporary seizure of its property constitutes physical loss for coverage purposes.
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August 05, 2024
EarnIn's Fees, Tips Are Usurious, Ga. Consumers Say
Pay advance app EarnIn has been hit with a proposed class action alleging its optional fees and tips are hidden interest payments that, on average, far exceed fair rates for consumer lending.
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August 05, 2024
Star Peak Shareholders Consolidate And Amend Class Action
Mix-and-match attorney teams will lead and manage a proposed class stockholder suit alleging damages from the blank check company deal that took artificial intelligence-driven energy storage business Stem Inc. public in April 2021, Delaware's chancellor has ruled.
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August 05, 2024
Org. Claiming To Own Michael Jackson Art Works Hits Ch. 11
A self-described "creative partnership" between the King of Pop and an Australian artist that purports to own art Michael Jackson created has filed for Chapter 11 protections, saying it was lugging between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities before a California bankruptcy judge.
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August 05, 2024
SpaceX Asks 5th Circ. To Block Transfer Of NLRB Challenge
SpaceX asked the Fifth Circuit on Monday to step in after a Texas federal judge ordered its challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board transferred to California, saying the appeals court should either vacate the order or pause it until the court can rule on the company's injunction request.
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August 05, 2024
BCBS Asks 9th Circ. To Undo Trans Patients' Win In Bias Suit
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse summary judgment in favor of trans patients who argued its exclusions for gender-affirming treatments violated the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination mandate, arguing Friday it is a third-party administrator that didn't design the exclusion nor exercised any control over it.
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August 05, 2024
Google, OpenAI Accused Of Using YouTube Videos To Train AI
A California man has hit Google and OpenAI with separate proposed class actions in federal court accusing the companies of unlawfully transcribing YouTube videos and using them to train their large language model artificial intelligence products without the permission of the people who uploaded those videos.
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August 05, 2024
Patreon To Pay $7.25M To End Subscribers' Video Privacy Suit
Patreon has agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a proposed class action on behalf of 1.2 million users who claim the content subscription-based platform violated the Video Privacy Protection Act by sharing their video-watching data with Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. without their consent, according to court documents filed Friday.
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August 05, 2024
GM Slams Investors' Suit Alleging AV Tech Lapses
General Motors has asked a Michigan federal court to dismiss a proposed securities fraud class action alleging it downplayed safety concerns about its autonomous vehicle technology, arguing the investors have contorted definitions of safety terms to bolster the suit.
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August 05, 2024
SVB Ex-Parent's Ch. 11 Plan OK'd With $1.9B FDIC Fight Alive
Silicon Valley Bank's former owner received a New York bankruptcy court's blessing to liquidate and emerge from Chapter 11, but the judge rejected portions of the plan that federal regulators argued would hamper their defense against SVB Financial Group's efforts to recoup some $1.9 billion seized by an FDIC receiver when the bank collapsed.
Expert Analysis
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9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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State Procurement Could Be Key For Calif. Offshore Wind
A recent ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights how the state's centralized electricity procurement mechanism could play a critical role in the development of long lead-time resources — in particular, offshore wind — by providing market assurance to developers and reducing utilities' procurement risks, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Calif. Budget Will Likely Have Unexpected Tax Consequences
A temporary suspension of net operating loss deductions and business incentive tax credits, likely to be approved on June 15 as part of California’s next budget, may create unanticipated tax liabilities for businesses that modeled recently completed transactions on current law, says Myra Sutanto Shen at Wilson Sonsini.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know
As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain
The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.
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4 Ways Businesses Can Address Threat Of Mass Arbitration
Attorneys at DLA Piper examine the rise of mass arbitration in light of JAMS' new procedures and guidelines, and provide four steps e-commerce businesses can take when revising their dispute resolution provisions to maximize the chances those revisions will be held enforceable.
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What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims
In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.
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9th Circ. Ruling Broadens Sweep Of Securities 'Solicitation'
The Ninth Circuit's recent revival of a putative securities fraud class action against Genius Brands for hiring a stock promoter to write favorable articles about it shows that companies should view "solicitation" broadly in considering whether they may have paid someone to urge an investor to purchase a security, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Opinion
The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage
The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.
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How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving
Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.