California

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Judge Open To Rebooting CoStar Antitrust Fight

    A Ninth Circuit judge on a three-judge panel appeared open Wednesday to reviving counterclaims alleging CoStar monopolizes commercial real estate information markets, telling CoStar's counsel repeatedly that the lower court's ruling "reads more like summary judgment" than the granting of a motion to dismiss and improperly draws inferences in favor of CoStar.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Grills Geico, Assignees Over Failed Settlement

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared conflicted over both Geico and a policyholder's assignees' arguments regarding whether the carrier acted in bad faith toward its insured when it prioritized a release of the insured's father-in-law during failed settlement negotiations with the family of a pedestrian fatally struck by the insured driver.

  • October 09, 2024

    SF Leaders Not Backing City's High Court Case Against EPA

    With oral arguments just a week away, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the city attorney to drop a U.S. Supreme Court case against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a Clean Water Act permit.

  • October 09, 2024

    'San Francisco' In Oakland Airport Name Is Fair Use, Port Says

    The Port of Oakland has told a California federal judge that San Francisco's preliminary injunction bid should be rejected as the city is not likely to prevail on its trademark infringement claims over the renaming of Oakland's airport to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport," saying it doesn't create confusion.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Doubts 'Weak' Jeep Transmission Defect Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday about reviving a putative class action over alleged defects in the automatic transmission systems of some Jeep and Dodge car models, with one appellate judge saying the plaintiff has "a weak case." 

  • October 09, 2024

    Settlement Approved For DACA Loan Discrimination Suit

    A California federal judge gave the green light to a settlement that will end a proposed class action accusing First Tech Federal Credit Union of denying home loans to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

  • October 09, 2024

    Thomson Reuters Gets Initial OK On $27.5M Privacy Suit Deal

    A San Francisco federal judge Wednesday preliminarily approved Thomson Reuters' $27.5 million deal to settle a certified class action alleging that the information conglomerate violated the privacy rights of 40 million Californians by secretly collecting their data to sell "cradle-to-grave dossiers."

  • October 09, 2024

    EPA Will Clean Up 7 Abandoned Mines On Navajo Land

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has committed to cleaning up seven abandoned uranium mine sites via projects aimed at addressing more than 1 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and restoring approximately 260 acres of Navajo Nation land.

  • October 09, 2024

    Truckers' $700K Wage Settlement Gets Final Approval

    A California federal judge granted final approval of a $700,000 proposed class action settlement between a class of truck drivers, an agricultural product transportation company and a labor contractor, ending the wage lawsuit Wednesday.

  • October 09, 2024

    Companies' Kratom Supplements Are Addictive, Class Says

    A proposed class of buyers is suing Thang Botanicals Inc. and FTLS Holdings in California federal court, alleging that they failed to disclose that their kratom-derived 7ΩHMZ products are as addictive as opioids, if not more.

  • October 09, 2024

    Girardi Seeks New Fraud Trial Over Memory Issues

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi has called on a California federal court to overturn his conviction for misappropriating $15 million in client settlement funds, arguing he was not competent to stand trial due to memory problems that left him unable to remember witnesses or even his own attorneys.

  • October 09, 2024

    Disbarred Calif. Atty To Pay $14M Over Crypto Ponzi Scheme

    A disbarred California attorney was ordered by a Nevada federal judge to pay nearly $14 million in restitution for his role in promoting a $9.5 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Judicial Ethics Complaint Over Case Delays

    The Ninth Circuit has tossed an attorney's ethics complaint against a federal district judge accused of failing to promptly rule on a motion to dismiss as part of an alleged pattern of slow rulings by the court.

  • October 09, 2024

    GSK Settles Nearly All State Zantac Cases For Up To $2.2B

    GSK said Wednesday that it will pay up to $2.2 billion to settle roughly 80,000 state court cases claiming Zantac heartburn medication or the generic ranitidine caused them to develop cancer.

  • October 09, 2024

    Medical Device Service Co. Hits Ch. 11 After Fight With Rival

    The parent company of medical device sale and service business Avante Health Solutions filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware court, saying prepetition litigation with competitors drained significant resources that led to a default on its secured debt obligations.

  • October 08, 2024

    Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Inks Plea Deal Over Firm Embezzlement

    Girardi Keese's former Chief Financial Officer Christopher K. Kamon reached a plea agreement Tuesday with Los Angeles federal prosecutors, who allege he spearheaded a "side fraud" that bilked millions of dollars from the embattled law firm's accounts behind disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's back.

  • October 08, 2024

    Western Digital Owes $334M Over Data Security IP, Jury Told

    Hard disk drive behemoth Western Digital owes up to $334 million for selling portable data security storage devices that infringe a SPEX Technologies patent, SPEX's attorney told California federal jurors during opening statements Tuesday, while defense counsel said the claimed invention has been in the public domain for years.

  • October 08, 2024

    Cedars-Sinai OB-GYN Accused Of Abusing, Harassing Patients

    A Beverly Hills, California-based obstetrician-gynecologist who practiced at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has been accused of sexually assaulting, battering and harassing hundreds of patients under his care, according to a suit filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

  • October 08, 2024

    PetroSaudi Says US Not Entitled To All Of $380M Award

    A PetroSaudi unit said it wants a California federal court to make clear that only 5% of funds should go to the Biden administration in a dispute over the proceeds of a nearly $380 million arbitral award allegedly tied to embezzled 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.

  • October 08, 2024

    Apple Loses Bid For Jury Trial In Masimo Trade Secrets Fight

    A California federal judge on Monday granted Masimo's request for a bench trial to address its trade secrets claims against Apple, noting that bench trials are almost always granted in situations where the plaintiff is seeking only equitable relief, and Apple hasn't convinced the court to deviate from that norm.

  • October 08, 2024

    'Alarming' AI Might Aid Research In Patent Fights, Judge Says

    A Federal Circuit judge on Tuesday told law school students at the University of California, Berkeley that while he finds artificial intelligence tools "a little alarming and frightening," he could see how they might be useful for finding prior art in patent disputes.

  • October 08, 2024

    Ex-Uber Exec's Actions Smell Like Cover-Up, 9th Circ. Judge Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of Uber's ex-security chief's effort to overturn his convictions for obstructing an investigation into an Uber data breach, with one judge saying the defendant's abrupt changes to Uber's policies "does smell to me like a cover-up."

  • October 08, 2024

    Kimberly-Clark Says Plaintiff Can't Link Tampon To Lead Test

    Kimberly-Clark moved Monday to toss a California woman's proposed class action accusing the personal care goods multinational of concealing unsafe lead levels in a line of its U by Kotex tampons, saying the consumer did not even say she used the tampons.

  • October 08, 2024

    Adobe Slams FTC, DOJ For 'Rewrite' Of Subscription Law

    Adobe Inc. blasted a federal government lawsuit over its annual subscription plan and early termination fees on Monday, saying the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice are improperly attempting to "rewrite existing law" with the case.

  • October 08, 2024

    ITC Erred With Oil Drilling Tech IP Ruling, Fed. Circ. Told

    US Synthetic Corp. on Tuesday urged the Federal Circuit to reverse a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that allows rivals to import a diamond oil drilling tool material the Utah-based company says infringes its intellectual property, arguing the agency wrongly found its drilling technology invention is abstract and patent-ineligible.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Provides NY Pathway For Fighting Foreign Infringers

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    A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provides a road map for expeditiously obtaining personal jurisdiction in New York against foreign trademark infringers based on a single purchase of counterfeit goods, meaning the Second Circuit could now be the preferred venue for combating foreign infringement, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • How A Trump Win Might Affect The H-1B Program

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    A review of the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program suggests policies Donald Trump might try to implement if he is reelected, and specific steps employers should consider to prepare for that possibility, says Eileen Lohmann at BAL.

  • Compliance Considerations For Calif. Child Labor Audit Law

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    California employers will need to conduct a fact-intensive analysis to determine whether a new state law that imposes transparency rules for child labor audits applies to their operations, and should look out for regulatory guidance that answers open questions about deadlines and penalties, says Sylvia St. Clair at Faegre Drinker.

  • Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures

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    Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.

  • Sublimit And Policy Interpretation Lessons From Amtrak Case

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    The recently settled dispute between Amtrak and its insurers over sublimit coverage illustrates that parties with unclear manuscript policies may wish to avoid litigation in favor of settlement — as the New York federal court declined to decide the case by applying prior term interpretations, says Laura Maletta at Chartwell Law.

  • Harris Unlikely To Shelve Biden Admin's Food Antitrust Stance

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    A look at Vice President Kamala Harris' past record, including her actions as California attorney general, shows why practitioners should prepare for continued aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly in the food and grocery industries, if Harris wins the presidential election, says Steve Vieux at Bartko.

  • 3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory

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    The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging

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    More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future

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    As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.

  • New Law May Move Calif. Toward Fashion Sustainability

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    California’s recently signed Responsible Textile Recovery Act seeks to increase sustainability innovation in the fashion industry, but it could also create compliance hurdles for brands, especially smaller fashion houses that do not have ample resources, say Warren Koshofer and Maggie Franz at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Politics In California Workplaces: What Employers Must Know

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    As the election looms, it is critical that California employers ensure their compliance with state laws providing robust protections for employees' political activity — including antidiscrimination laws, off-duty conduct laws, employee voting leave laws and more, say Bradford Kelley and Britney Torres at Littler.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Licensing And Protections For Voice Actors In The Age Of AI

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    While two recently enacted California laws and other recent state and federal legislation largely focus on protecting actors and musicians from the unauthorized use of their digital likenesses by generative artificial intelligence systems, the lesser-known community of professional voice actors also stands to benefit, says attorney Scott Mortman.

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