California

  • February 27, 2025

    Ford's Electric Mustang Can Trap Occupants, Drivers Say

    The Ford Motor Co.'s electric Mustang's electronically latched doors could pose a significant danger and trap the car's occupants in the event of a battery failure or loss of power to the vehicle, according to a proposed class action filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • February 27, 2025

    Meta's Held-Back Docs In AI Suit Merit Discovery, Authors Say

    The California federal judge overseeing a proposed class action claiming Meta Platforms Inc. is using copyrighted material to train its large language model product said Thursday he will consider allowing the author plaintiffs more discovery in response to the tech giant's assertion that it had "inadvertently" held back up some 18,000 documents.

  • February 27, 2025

    States Say DOD Transgender Ban Puts Public Safety At Risk

    Twenty-one states on Wednesday threw their support behind transgender service members and human rights organizations challenging the Trump administration's executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military, arguing that it will harm their efforts to protect their communities.

  • February 27, 2025

    Apple Falsely Touted Watches As 'Carbon Neutral,' Buyers Say

    Apple Watch purchasers on Wednesday lodged a proposed class action in California federal court, claiming that the tech giant marketed various smartwatch products as "carbon neutral" despite Apple not actually providing "genuine, additional carbon reductions."

  • February 27, 2025

    PennyMac Can't Avoid Investors' Suit Over Post-Libor Rate

    A California federal judge has ruled PennyMac's mortgage investment arm must face a suit accusing it of using last year's discontinuation of Libor to unlawfully lock in a lower dividend for some of its preferred stock, saying the plaintiffs have adequately pled that the company violated the LIBOR Act when it issued dividends at a fixed rate.

  • February 27, 2025

    Safeway Peanut Butter Cookies Caused Death, Suit Says

    Albertsons and Safeway are facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of an elderly Washington woman who allegedly bought supermarket cookies mislabeled as oatmeal raisin that contained undeclared peanuts, which triggered a fatal allergic reaction.

  • February 27, 2025

    Food Startup Owes $575K In TM Fight With Jaden Smith's Co.

    A disagreement over how food startup Eat Just capitalized on the word "Just" in branding will cost it over half a million dollars after a California federal court decided its conduct went against the company's agreement with the Just Water brand started by celebrity Jaden Smith and his actor dad, Will Smith.

  • February 27, 2025

    SEC Says Meme Coins Are Not Securities

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff declared Thursday that so-called meme coins do not fall under the agency's jurisdiction and that purchasers of the coins should not expect to be protected by federal securities laws.

  • February 27, 2025

    Artist Immediately Knew 'Moana' Was A Ripoff, Jury Hears

    An artist testified in California federal court Thursday that he was "shocked" upon taking his stepson to see "Moana" in a movie theater in 2016, saying he was certain the first time he saw the blockbuster film that The Walt Disney Co. had copied his own animated work.

  • February 27, 2025

    Alsup Halts 'Illegal' Firings Of Probationary Federal Workers

    U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Thursday temporarily blocked the mass firings of probationary federal employees ordered by President Donald Trump's administration, determining that the Office of Personnel Management illegally directed government agencies to terminate the probationary employees without authority to do so from Congress.

  • February 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Partially Upholds Ruling In Ariz. Voting Rights Row

    A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a lower court's ruling that certain provisions of two Republican-backed Arizona voting laws requiring residents to provide proof of citizenship to vote by mail and in presidential elections violated federal law, saying several of the measures are examples of voter suppression.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Urges $15.5M Tax Judgment Against Ex-NFL Champ

    A federal magistrate judge recommended a default judgment against four-time Super Bowl champion Bill Romanowski and his wife for $15.5 million in taxes, saying in a report Thursday that the couple failed to respond to the underlying government complaint against them.

  • February 27, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks 1st Circ. To Let It Enforce Birthright Ban

    President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday asked the First Circuit to let it begin enforcing its executive order restricting birthright citizenship while it appeals a Massachusetts federal judge's preliminary injunction.

  • February 27, 2025

    Calif. Data Broker Gets 3-Year Ban For Not Registering

    The California Privacy Protection Agency has notched another settlement in its investigative enforcement of data broker registration compliance, announcing Thursday it had secured a deal that requires a company touting its ability to unearth "scary" amounts of consumer information to cease operations for the next three years.

  • February 27, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Netflix PTAB Win Over Chip Patent

    Netflix persuaded the Federal Circuit to sign off Thursday on another one of the streaming company's wins at the patent board in its fight with a Broadcom subsidiary over chip technology.

  • February 27, 2025

    Pepperdine's TM Fight Can't Block Netflix's New Show Release

    A California federal judge rejected on Wednesday Pepperdine University's bid for a temporary restraining order blocking Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. from releasing their new series "Running Point," finding that the Christian university is unlikely to win its claims alleging the new series rips off Pepperdine's "Waves" athletic team.

  • February 27, 2025

    Justices Told Bose Ruling Will Deter Patent Settlements

    A Bose rival is going to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing a Federal Circuit ruling last year that found its patents were doomed by the terms of how a related infringement case settled, warning that the decision would "dissuade parties from settlements."

  • February 27, 2025

    Cedars-Sinai Strikes Deal To End Retirement Plan Suit

    Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Inc. and a group of retirement plan participants agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging the healthcare system loaded the plan with excessive recordkeeping fees and underperforming investment options, according to a California federal court filing.

  • February 27, 2025

    O'Melveny Adds Ex-Paul Hastings Private Funds Partner In LA

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP has hired a former Paul Hastings LLP of counsel as a Los Angeles-based partner in its asset management and private equity practice groups, the firm said Thursday.

  • February 27, 2025

    Farmworker Union Sues Over Calif. Border Patrol Raid

    A farmworker union and Kern County, California, residents accused U.S. Border Patrol agents of carrying out an unlawful, nearly weeklong immigration enforcement sweep to arrest people of color who appeared to be farmworkers regardless of their immigration status.

  • February 27, 2025

    Calif. Panel Won't Send Class Wage Suit To Arbitration

    A California appeals court refused to overturn an order declining to send to arbitration a sanitation worker's wage and hour suit against his former employer, saying his Private Attorneys General Act claims were brought only on behalf of a class and therefore the case can stay in court.

  • February 27, 2025

    Barry Manilow Pushes Dispute Over Royalties To LA Court

    A London judge ruled Thursday that claims by British music royalties outfit Hipgnosis over unpaid royalties against singer Barry Manilow must be dealt with by a court in Los Angeles before proceedings in the U.K. can move forward.

  • February 27, 2025

    Stripe Says It's Valued At $91.5B Through Tender Offer

    Payment provider Stripe Inc., advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, on Thursday said it reached a $91.5 billion valuation after agreeing with investors to provide liquidity to current and former Stripe employees through a tender offer.

  • February 26, 2025

    Apple Comms Director's Texts Reveal Criticisms Of Judge

    An Apple communications director's text messages came to light Wednesday on the last day of a high-stakes hearing into whether Apple complied with a 2021 antitrust injunction, revealing the director had criticized the judge extensively when the hearing began in May.

  • February 26, 2025

    Snap Investors End Derivative Suit Over Apple Privacy Change

    Executives and directors of Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. have escaped a consolidated shareholder derivative suit alleging the social media company failed to warn investors about the impact that certain iPhone privacy changes would have on its advertising revenue, with a judge signing off on a voluntary dismissal order.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime

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    In the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice and several individual U.S. attorney’s offices have issued different pilot programs aimed at incentivizing individuals to blow the whistle on misconduct, but this piecemeal approach may create confusion and suboptimal outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied

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    Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

  • Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends

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    A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports

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    Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens

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    States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Comparing Antitrust Outlooks Amid Google Remedy Review

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    As the U.S. Justice Department mulls potential structural remedies after winning its recent case against Google, increased global scrutiny of Big Tech leaves ex post and ex ante antitrust approaches ripe for evaluation, say Nishant Chadha at the Indian School of Business and Manisha Goel at Pomona College.

  • What FTC's 'Bitcoin ATM' Report Tells Us About Crypto Scams

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent insights into bitcoin ATM scams highlight the technical evolution of fraudsters, the application of old scams to new technology, and the persistent financial impact on victims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.

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    The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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