California

  • March 07, 2025

    Starbucks Liable For Hot Drink Spill On Driver

    A unanimous California state jury has found Starbucks was negligent in the case of a driver who had scalding water spill in his lap, sending the case to a damages phase.

  • March 07, 2025

    PepsiCo Again Gets Gatorade 'Health Halo' Suit Trimmed

    PepsiCo hasn't been able to fully shake a lawsuit brought by consumers who accuse the company of overhyping the health benefits of its Gatorade-branded protein bars, with a California federal judge knocking out a couple of avenues of relief sought by the buyers but allowing them to proceed with claims of deception.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Kirkland IP Atty Can't Fire Her Bias Suit Atty 'For Cause'

    A former Kirkland & Ellis LLP intellectual property associate suing the firm over bias claims cannot fire her counsel at Filippatos PLLC over professional misconduct allegations, a California federal judge ruled Thursday while allowing Filippatos to withdraw as her counsel.

  • March 07, 2025

    US Bank Loses Renewed Bid To Arbitrate Deposit Box Dispute

    A California federal judge denied U.S. Bancorp's renewed motion to compel arbitration in a suit alleging the bank unlawfully drilled into some of its customers' safe deposit boxes without consent, after the Ninth Circuit vacated the court's prior order compelling arbitration, finding the bank failed to prove the arbitration clause was properly incorporated into customer contracts.

  • March 07, 2025

    Cloud Network Co. Brass Face Suit Over Lockdown-Era Glut

    Officers and directors of cloud-based computer networking equipment maker Extreme Networks Inc. face shareholder derivative claims that they hurt investors by concealing how a glut of COVID-19 lockdown-era customer orders cast a yearslong shadow on its revenue.

  • March 07, 2025

    GAO Says Congress Can't Undo Calif. Emissions Waivers

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office is weighing in against the Trump administration's effort to team up with Congress to take away California's ability to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Novo Nordisk Worker Can't Reopen Harassment Suit

    A former employee of Novo Nordisk can't revive her lawsuit claiming she was let go because she is a Jewish woman and had a back and hip injury, a California state appeals court ruled, finding no issue with a trial court tossing the case after she failed to oppose the move.

  • March 07, 2025

    AGs Back Fight Against End Of Venezuelans' Protected Status

    The attorneys general of 18 states urged a California federal judge on Friday to postpone the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's early termination of deportation protections for more than 500,000 Venezuelans, saying DHS Secretary Kristi Noem gave no sound reason for ending the temporary protections.

  • March 07, 2025

    Calif. Bar Reenacts Civil Rights History In Courtroom Drama

    During the day, California Deputy Attorney General Arvon Perteet handles complex fraud cases, among other matters, for the state. But on a recent weeknight, he left his work behind and transformed into Thurgood Marshall in 1961, overseeing the work of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York City.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump DOJ's Shift Threatens To Upend Police Reform

    As the Trump administration abandons consent decrees — court-ordered agreements designed to curb police misconduct — experts warn that a crucial mechanism for law enforcement accountability is disappearing.

  • March 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Probes Ax Of Trader Joe's IP Suit Against Union

    Ninth Circuit judges on Friday questioned a federal judge's decision to toss Trader Joe's trademark suit against a union selling merchandise with the grocers' name, with one saying it was "a little bit unusual" to have a determination about the likelihood of confusion decided at the motion to dismiss stage.

  • March 07, 2025

    Cosmetics Co. Sues Insurer Over Calif. Water Pollution Claims

    A cosmetics company facing water pollution claims told a California federal court its insurer denied coverage in bad faith, saying though the insurer agreed to defend a lawsuit from the California attorney general, the insurer still wrongly refused to reimburse costs from two prior, related suits that were ultimately rescinded.

  • March 07, 2025

    Boeing Investors Certified As Class In 737 Blowout Suit

    A Virginia federal judge on Friday certified a class of Boeing investors in a securities fraud suit accusing the aviation giant of making false statements about the safety of its 737 Max fleet.

  • March 07, 2025

    Honda, Class Spar Over Defect Verdict And Fees At 9th Circ.

    Class counsel representing a certified class of Illinois Honda owners urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to reverse their partial summary judgment loss, along with a $1.5 million fee and cost award for securing a $1.4 million valve defect verdict, while Honda argued that the verdict should be tossed entirely.

  • March 07, 2025

    Nikola's Ch. 11 Sale Timeline Gets Court Approval

    Bankrupt electric vehicle and hydrogen fueling technology maker Nikola Corporation received approval Friday in Delaware for its proposed bidding procedures, which seek to conduct an auction for its asset in a month's time.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Olympian Added To FBI Most Wanted List, $10M Reward

    The FBI has placed former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, 43, on its ten most wanted list with a $10 million reward for his alleged role in running a drug enterprise and ordering several murders, according to a statement from the agency.

  • March 07, 2025

    'Exhausted' Jury To Deliberate 3rd Week In Judge Murder Trial

    A California state jury was told to come back Monday for a third calendar week of deliberations over whether Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson intentionally shot his wife in 2023, after reporting that they were "exhausted" but had "further movement" toward a verdict.

  • March 07, 2025

    How To Tell If A Litigation Funder Is Helping Your IP Opponent

    Knowing when a litigation funder is involved in an intellectual property case can help attorneys better understand their adversary's footing in a dispute, and while most courts don't have disclosure requirements, lawyers told Law360 there are several signs attorneys can look out for to determine whether their opponent is receiving funding from an outside party.

  • March 07, 2025

    Calif. Atty, Reality TV Hopeful Gets 5 Years For Client Theft

    A California lawyer who claimed to be developing a Bravo TV show about himself has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for looting his firm's client trust accounts, an offense that appears to be only one tentacle of "a larger criminal scheme."

  • March 07, 2025

    California Bar Orders Investigation Of Flawed Exam

    The State Bar of California is bringing on an independent investigator to look into the problem-plagued administration of the February bar exam, which left scores of test-takers feeling cheated.

  • March 07, 2025

    Workday Decries 'Staggeringly Broad' Age Bias Collective Bid

    A lawsuit accusing Workday of using automated hiring tools to unlawfully screen out applicants over 40 should not be given collective action status, the human resources platform told a California federal court, arguing the group would contain millions of dissimilar workers and innumerable employers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Womble Bond Adds Foley & Lardner Corporate Ace In SF

    Womble Bond Dickinson has hired a California-based attorney from Foley & Lardner who advises clients in technology, healthcare, energy and other industries on corporate and transactional matters.

  • March 06, 2025

    BofA Says COVID-Era Workers Too Dissimilar For Class Cert.

    Proposed classes of Bank of America loan officers include too many individualized claims for certification, the bank has argued in litigation alleging the loan officers were "short-changed" as they processed emergency small business loans during the pandemic.

  • March 06, 2025

    Disney Slams Paltry Evidence As 'Moana' IP Trial Nears End

    Counsel for a unit of The Walt Disney Co. urged a California federal judge to enter judgment in their favor as a copyright trial wound to a close Thursday, saying an artist has theories but no actual evidence that his work was stolen for the blockbuster animated movie "Moana."

  • March 06, 2025

    Calif. Woman Accuses Fla. Sugar Co. Of Greenwashing

    Florida Crystals Corp. is deceptively advertising sugar products as eco-friendly when it knows that its farming practices are "unnecessarily poisoning people and the planet," a Santa Cruz, California, woman has said in a proposed class action accusing the company of greenwashing.

Expert Analysis

  • Courts Must Stick To The Science On Digital Addiction Claims

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    A number of pending personal injury and product liability lawsuits allege that plaintiffs have developed behavioral addictions to the use of social media and video games — but this is not yet recognized by relevant authorities as an addiction, so courts must carefully scrutinize such claims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • 4 Property Insurance Action Steps For LA Policyholders

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    Property insurance will play a vital role in rebuilding the areas affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, and policyholders should be aware of key aspects of that coverage in order to maximize their insurance recovery, say attorneys at Cohen Ziffer.

  • Predicting Where State AGs Will Direct Their Attention In 2025

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    In 2025, we expect state attorneys general will navigate a new presidential administration while continuing to further regulate and police financial services, artificial intelligence, junk fees and antitrust, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Look At Sweepstakes Casinos' Legal Issues In Fla., Beyond

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    Scheduled for trial in Florida federal court this fall, the VGW sweepstakes case underscores the growing urgency for gambling states to clarify and enforce their laws in response to emerging online gaming models, as the expansion of sweepstakes casinos challenges traditional interpretations of gambling regulations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

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    In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.

  • The Fed. Circ. In 2024: 5 Major Rulings To Know

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    In 2024, the Federal Circuit provided a number of important clarifications to distinct areas of patent law – including design patent obviousness, expert testimony admissions and patent term adjustments – all of which are poised to have an influence going forward, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Mass Arbitration Procedures After Faulty Live Nation Ruling

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    Despite the Ninth Circuit's flawed reasoning in Heckman v. Live Nation, the exceptional allegations of collusive conduct shouldn't be read to restrict arbitration providers that have adopted good faith procedures to ensure that consumer mass arbitrations can be efficiently resolved on the merits, says Collin Vierra at Eimer Stahl.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

  • Roundup

    Banking Brief: State Law Recaps From Each Quarter Of 2024

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    In this Expert Analysis series, throughout 2024 attorneys provided quarterly recaps discussing the biggest developments in banking regulation, litigation and policymaking in various states, including New York, California and Illinois.

  • Calif. Justices' Options In Insurance Exhaustion Case

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    Fox Paine v. Twin City Fire Insurance may serve as the California Supreme Court's opportunity to firmly establish precedent with respect to a strict adherence to excess insurance policies' exhaustion provisions when the language is clear and explicit, says Aiden Spencer at Langsam Stevens.

  • Considering The Status Of The US Doctrine Of Patent Misuse

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision and a U.K. Court of Appeal decision demonstrate the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment has had on the principle that post-patent-expiration royalty payments amount to patent misuse, not only in the U.S. but in English courts as well, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

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    State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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