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California
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September 25, 2024
Ex-American Airlines Pilot Cleared In Sex Assault Trial
A California federal jury on Wednesday cleared a former American Airlines pilot of liability in a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted two flight attendants at a hotel during a round-trip journey between Los Angeles and São Paulo, Brazil.
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September 25, 2024
Akin Adds Energy-Sector Adviser From Greenberg Traurig
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced Wednesday that it's welcoming an energy-sector-focused attorney from Greenberg Traurig LLP, as the firm says opportunities to invest in sustainable energy projects have fueled client demand.
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September 25, 2024
Courthouse Bomb Suspect Faces Attempted Murder Charges
A California man is in custody on charges of attempted murder and using an explosive device after allegedly throwing a bomb that injured five people inside a Santa Barbara County courthouse on Wednesday morning, according to the county sheriff's office.
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September 24, 2024
Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper
Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Google Can't Ditch Privacy Suit Over Period App Data Sharing
A California federal judge has refused to release Google from a proposed class action alleging the company used a data analytics tool to wrongfully retrieve data from menstruation tracking app Flo, rejecting the tech giant's arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and had consented to the disclosures.
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September 24, 2024
Full 9th Circ. Vaporizes First-To-File Precedent For FCA Suits
The full Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overruled circuit precedent and held that the so-called first-to-file rule governing False Claims Act cases is not jurisdictional, meaning that courts can't toss a whistleblower action on jurisdictional grounds rooted in the first-to-file provision.
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September 24, 2024
Adult Actresses' Blacklist Suit Against Meta Nixed Before Trial
A California federal judge has dismissed a case claiming Meta conspired with OnlyFans and blacklisted adult entertainers who used competitors' risque platforms weeks before its October trial date, saying he had "no choice" and did so despite the social media giant's "questionable recordkeeping."
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September 24, 2024
Feds Charge AI Co. Founder With $40M Fraud
The founder and former CEO of a company that purported to sell artificial intelligence-based business automation software faces federal criminal charges and a civil lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, authorities announced Tuesday, alleging he lied about the firm's revenues and customer relationships to entice investors.
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September 24, 2024
SEC Orders Crypto Cos. To Pay $700K Over Stablecoin Offers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday unveiled a $700,000 settlement with stablecoin issuer TrueCoin and affiliated lending business TrustToken over alleged misrepresentations about the stability of the token and failures to register its use in "profit-making opportunities."
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September 24, 2024
Chance Cognizant Didn't Discriminate Is '1 In A Billion,' Jury Told
An attorney for a class of former Cognizant Technology employees alleging the company discriminated against non-South Asian and non-Indian employees told a jury during opening statements of a retrial Tuesday that the probability Cognizant's behavior wasn't racially biased is about one in a billion.
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September 24, 2024
Cathode Ray Class Attys Fight Over Fees At 9th Circ.
Plaintiffs firm Cooper & Kirkham urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to reverse a ruling slashing its $3.452 million fee award in since-settled cathode ray tube price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm was being unfairly punished for representing a subclass, while lead class counsel slammed the firm's tactics as "extreme mischief."
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September 24, 2024
SEC Fines Weedmaps' Parent Co. $1.5M Over User Metrics
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday fined the parent company of cannabis tech company Weedmaps $1.5 million for allegedly making misleading statements about its monthly active users.
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September 24, 2024
Calif. Gov.'s Emergency Hemp Intoxicant Ban Wins Approval
California retailers are no longer allowed to sell hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol after the Golden State's Office of Administrative Law on Monday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency ban, a move a leading hemp trade group has vowed to challenge.
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September 24, 2024
P&G Says FDA Review Moots Class Suit Over Lead In Tampons
Since the FDA has announced it will be looking into claims that commercially available tampons contain harmful levels of heavy metals, Tampax owner Procter & Gamble believes it shouldn't have to keep fighting a proposed California federal class action targeting alleged lead levels in its own products.
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September 24, 2024
Google Investors' Atty Defends Fees For $350M Privacy Deal
Counsel for Google LLC shareholders who reached a $350 million settlement with Alphabet Inc. over claims they were deceived about a 2018 data breach urged a California federal judge Tuesday to approve the deal, including about $66.5 million for attorneys, calling the fees more than reasonable.
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September 24, 2024
Judge Defends Atty Fees In Failed Law Firm Case
A California bankruptcy judge on Tuesday pushed back against criticisms of big fees for professionals in the case of defunct debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group and said he would approve interim professional fees and expenses of $8.1 million.
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September 24, 2024
Motorola Ducks Out Of Smartphone Camera Patent Suit
A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday decided to end one of the patent lawsuits by a retired businessman over operating smartphone cameras, ruling that "no reasonable jury could conclude Motorola is infringing the patent."
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September 24, 2024
Pac-12 Suit Says Mountain West 'Poaching' Fee Goes Too Far
The Pac-12 Conference, which has spent much of September luring away five Mountain West Conference universities to rebuild its depleted membership, sued the rival conference Tuesday for imposing a "poaching penalty" of tens of millions of dollars in exit fees that it called "one-sided" and anticompetitive.
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September 24, 2024
2 Ex-American Airlines Workers Seek $8M Sex Assault Verdict
Counsel for two former American Airlines flight attendants urged a California federal jury during closing arguments Tuesday to make a retired pilot pay $8.1 million over allegations he sexually assaulted the pair at a hotel during a round-trip journey between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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September 24, 2024
Musk, X Seek To End Ex-CNN Anchor's Talk Show Fraud Suit
Elon Musk and his social media platform X have asked a California federal judge to toss former CNN anchor Don Lemon's suit against over a collapsed talk show deal, saying the claims are insufficiently supported, Musk wasn't properly served, and there's no jurisdiction to proceed in the Golden State.
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September 24, 2024
Combs Accused Of Filming Woman's Rape In New Suit
Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was hit with a civil suit in New York federal court Tuesday alleging he and his former head of security raped a woman in 2001, recorded the assault and later disseminated the video.
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September 24, 2024
Darden Committed 'Wage Abuse' Against Workers, Suit Says
Darden Restaurants failed to pay workers for their overtime hours and did not provide them with full, uninterrupted meal and rest periods, a former employee said in a Private Attorneys General Act lawsuit filed in California state court.
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September 24, 2024
Meta Can't Nix Misrepresentation Claims In Revenue Split Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. can't nix misrepresentation claims by a Canadian news site alleging the social media giant rejected its ads without explanation in violation of its policy, after a California federal judge said Monday the plaintiff sufficiently alleged it relied on Meta's promises to provide such explanations when deciding to invest millions of dollars to advertise.
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September 24, 2024
Dems Urge Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Worker's Trafficking Loss
Democratic lawmakers urged the en banc Ninth Circuit to rethink a split decision tossing Cambodian workers' human trafficking suit against a California importer, arguing Congress specifically amended the federal law following another erroneous Ninth Circuit ruling in the case, and the majority's refusal to apply those amendments retroactively undermines congressional authority.
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September 24, 2024
Pilates Co. Stretches Patent Campaign To ITC
A San Francisco pilates equipment maker has persuaded the U.S. International Trade Commission to hear its patent infringement case against an assortment of companies that one of its lawyers calls "Chinese knockoff artists."
Expert Analysis
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Latest 'Nuclear Verdict' Underscores Jury-Trial Employer Risk
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury's recent $900 million verdict in a high-profile sexual assault and harassment case illustrates the increase in so-called nuclear verdicts in employment cases, and the need for employers to explore alternative methods of resolving disputes, say Anthony Oncidi and Morgan Peterson at Proskauer.
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Calif. Out-Of-State Noncompete Ban Faces Several Hurdles
California's attempt to bolster its noncompete law has encountered significant procedural and constitutional challenges, and litigating parties must carefully analyze not only the restrictive covenants contained in their agreements, but also the forum-selection and choice-of-law provisions, say Jennifer Redmond and Gal Gressel at Sheppard Mullin.
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Addressing The Growing Hazards Of Mass Arbitration
Though retail companies typically include arbitration provisions in their terms of service, the recent trend of costly mass arbitrations filed by plaintiffs may cause businesses to rethink this conventional wisdom, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Motion To Transfer Venue Considerations For FCA Cases
Several recent decisions highlight the importance for practitioners of analyzing as early as possible whether a False Claims Act case warrants a change of venue, and understanding how courts weigh certain factors for defendants versus whistleblowers, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Corey Lipton at DiCello Levitt.
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New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently announced final rule on new corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks will create challenges for manufacturers, which must also comply with the EPA's multipollutant rule and California's zero-emission vehicle programs, say Joanne Rotondi and Hannah Graae at Hogan Lovells.
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Autonomy Execs' Acquittal Highlights Good Faith Instruction
The recent acquittal of two former Autonomy executives demonstrates that a good faith jury instruction can be the cornerstone of an effective defense strategy in white collar criminal cases, in part because the concept of good faith is a human experience every juror can relate to, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Navigating The Murky Waters Of Patent Infringement Damages
Recent cases show that there is no easy way to isolate an infringed patent’s value, and it would serve all sides well for courts to thoroughly examine expert opinions of this nature and provide consistent guidance for future cases, say Manny Caixeiro and Elizabeth Manno at Venable.
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3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case
In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny
The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Proposed NIL Deal Leaves NCAA Antitrust Liability Door Open
The proposed House v. NCAA settlement filed in California federal court creates the possibility of significant direct payments to student-athletes for the first time, but the resulting framework is unlikely to withstand future antitrust scrutiny because it still represents an agreement among competitors to limit labor cost, says Yaman Desai at Lynn Pinker.