California

  • January 10, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: REIT Activism, Enviro Policy, Power Woes

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including one attorney's expectations for shareholder activism at real estate investment trusts in 2025, the environmental policies that are top of mind for attorneys going into the new year, and the impact power constraints may have on data center gains.

  • January 10, 2025

    Plex Says Subscriber's Privacy Lawsuit Must Be Arbitrated

    Streaming platform Plex is urging a California federal court to nix a proposed data privacy class action, accusing the plaintiffs of using the litigation as a tactic to "coerce" it into settling more than 400 pending arbitrations.

  • January 10, 2025

    Masimo, Apple Fight Over Watch IP In Post-Bench Trial Briefs

    Masimo and Apple have submitted dueling briefs to a California federal judge following a trade secret retrial over health sensing technology in Apple's smartwatches, with Masimo maintaining Apple poached its employees to steal its intellectual property and Apple contending Masimo failed for years to "back up their spurious claims" of misappropriation.

  • January 10, 2025

    Blue State AGs Urge Walmart To Reinstate DEI Initiatives

    A group of Democratic state attorneys general sent a letter to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Thursday urging the retail giant to reconsider scrapping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, saying such programs "are not just good policy, but in many cases are necessary to comply with the law."

  • January 10, 2025

    Telescope Indirect Buyers Want $10.6M Fees In Antitrust Fight

    Class counsel for a group of indirect purchasers who struck a $32 million settlement with Celestron and other companies in an antitrust case accusing them of conspiring to increase the prices of telescopes asked a California federal judge Thursday to grant $10.67 million in attorney fees and $771,461 in costs.

  • January 10, 2025

    Columbia Sportswear Tries To Extinguish Patent Challenge

    Columbia Sportswear wants a California federal judge to change his mind about letting a rival pursue a defense in a long-running legal fight over a heat lining design patent, saying that "new facts have emerged" about a challenge to that same patent at the patent office. 

  • January 10, 2025

    Patent Partner Leaves Kilpatrick Townsend For K&L Gates

    K&L Gates LLP has added to its Orange County, California, office a Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP partner with a practice of working with Chinese companies looking to file patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

  • January 10, 2025

    Paramount Wants Out Of User's Video Privacy Suit

    Paramount Global urged a New York federal court to dismiss a California man's putative class action accusing it of unlawfully sharing streaming platform users' personal information to third parties like Facebook and TikTok, saying the man lodged inadequate theories of disclosure and otherwise consented to the alleged disclosure.

  • January 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Hearing Aid Co.'s Win Over Investor Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday handed a win to Eargo Inc. and affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action against the hearing aid company, which alleged that the company and its top brass acted with intent to commit insurance billing fraud.

  • January 10, 2025

    Loggers, Landowners Ask 9th Circ. To Revive Antitrust Suit

    A group of loggers and landowners have asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their case accusing Iron Triangle LLC of monopolizing logging and related services in part of the Pacific Northwest after a lower court's dismissal.

  • January 10, 2025

    Social Media Apps Fail To Trim Calif. Mental Health Mass Tort

    Meta Platforms, YouTube, Snap and TikTok have lost a bid to cut failure-to-warn claims from consolidated litigation over their social media platforms' alleged harm to youth mental health, with a California state judge ruling that neither the Communications Decency Act nor the First Amendment bar liability based on an app's own features.

  • January 10, 2025

    Marlins, Collector Near Deal Over Ohtani's Historic Base

    The Miami Marlins appear close to resolving a federal suit brought by a baseball collector who claimed that the team reneged on a deal to sell him a base used in the game that saw Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani eclipse 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season, according to a Friday court filing.

  • January 10, 2025

    Couple Says EBay, Top Brass Can't Duck Trial In Stalking Suit

    A Massachusetts couple argued Friday that eBay Inc. and several of its top executives were at least aware of a harassment campaign perpetrated by employees of the online retailer and should not be let off the liability hook.

  • January 10, 2025

    Microscope Co. Didn't Infringe UMich Patent, Judge Finds

    A California federal judge has held that German microscope company Leica Microsystems Inc. didn't infringe a patent issued to the University of Michigan that covers a new way of measuring fluorescence.

  • January 10, 2025

    Fired Athletics Exec Slaps USC With Intersectional Bias Suit

    The University of Southern California fired a high-ranking Black woman from its athletics department after she complained that her boss made frequent racist and sexist remarks, according to a suit filed in state court that invokes California's new intersectionality bias law.

  • January 10, 2025

    Ex-Twitter Exec Can't Snag Docs In Bonus Suit

    A former senior director of compensation for X Corp., previously known as Twitter, won't be able to recover communications from Twitter management or financial records in his suit alleging unpaid bonuses after Elon Musk took over the company, a California federal magistrate judge ruled.

  • January 10, 2025

    LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says

    Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.

  • January 10, 2025

    As Lawyers Face Wildfire Losses In LA, Firms Step Up To Help

    Amid the tragedy of losing their homes to the wildfires engulfing Los Angeles, attorneys have found hope in the support of their firms and colleagues.

  • January 10, 2025

    Stellantis Fights To Preserve Suit Over UAW's Strike Threat

    Stellantis' North American arm has asked a California federal judge to preserve its lawsuit accusing the United Auto Workers of making an unlawful strike threat, saying even though the union agreed to hold off on striking, the threat could still be a prosecutable contract violation.

  • January 10, 2025

    Ye Inks $625K Deal To End Misclassification Suit

    Ye and his clothing company, Yeezy Apparel LLC, will pay $625,000 to resolve a class action accusing them of incorrectly classifying design workers as independent contractors and thus causing them to lose out on overtime wages, an order in California state court said.

  • January 10, 2025

    EU Greenlights $35B Synopsys-Ansys Deal With Remedies

    The European Commission said Friday it has conditionally approved Synopsys Inc.'s proposed $35 billion acquisition of Ansys Inc. after the companies agreed to certain divestitures, as the megadeal continues to make regulatory progress across jurisdictions.

  • January 10, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Davis Polk, Wachtell

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Constellation acquires Calpine, Cintas seeks a deal with UniFirst Corp., Stryker Corp. acquires Inari Medical Inc., and Paychex Inc. buys Paycor.

  • January 10, 2025

    X Asks 9th Circ. To Back Dismissal Of $500M Severance Suit

    Social platform X urged the Ninth Circuit to uphold the dismissal of a suit claiming it owes workers $500 million in severance after Elon Musk bought the business and conducted mass layoffs, arguing the lower court correctly found that the ex-employees couldn't sue under federal benefits law.

  • January 10, 2025

    Couple Sue Feds Over Family Reunification Delay

    A California woman urged a federal judge to direct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to act on a pending petition to bring her husband to the country from Afghanistan, saying it has failed to resolve the petition for more than 13 months.

  • January 09, 2025

    'Stunned': Judge Rips Atty For Violating Antitrust Trial Order

    A California federal judge overseeing an antitrust jury trial over claims that Intuitive Surgical was a monopolist that abused its power by blocking hospitals from using a service to extend the life of a component related to its surgical-robot arms said Thursday she was "stunned" when plaintiff Surgical Instrument Service showed a video that violated a pretrial order.

Expert Analysis

  • Mich. Ruling Offers View On 'Occurrence' Coverage Definition

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    As demonstrated by a Michigan state court in its recent decision finding per-wound insurance coverage for a school shooting, the amount of coverage available under occurrence-based policies often depends on how courts interpret "occurrence," say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • What 2024's Noncompete Turmoil Means For Banks In 2025

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    A look back at the most significant legal challenges to the enforceability of various restrictive covenants like noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in 2024 can help financial institutions address the use of these critical tools this year, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.

  • How The UPC, ITC Complement Each Other In Patent Law

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss the similarities and differences between the Unified Patent Court and the International Trade Commission, as well as recent matters litigated in both venues and why parties choose to file at these forums.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • A Guide To Significant 2024 Data Broker Legal Developments

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    2024 saw notable developments in U.S. data broker regulation and enforcement, and this momentum will likely carry into 2025, despite hypothetical efforts to the contrary under the new administration, say attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • How Changes In State Gift Card Laws May Affect Cos. In 2025

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    2024 state legislative movements around the escheatment of unused gift card balances and consumer fraud protections should prompt issuers to consider whether changes in company domicile or blanket cash-back policies are needed in the new year, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Retailers Must Adapt As Courts Shift On False Price Claims

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    The increasing frequency with which courts are denying motions to dismiss false reference price claims signals that these lawsuits are not going away anytime soon, so retailers must be prepared for a more complex and prolonged defense process, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025

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    With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • The Justices' Securities Rulings, Dismissals That Defined '24

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 securities rulings led to increased success for defendants' price impact arguments, but the justices' decisions not to weigh in on important issues relating to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's pleading requirements may be just as significant, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • 2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

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    Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.

  • 2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

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    In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.

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