California

  • February 28, 2025

    Calif. Man To Admit $1.2M Stan Lee Merch Tax Fraud

    A California man has agreed to plead guilty to filing false tax returns related to $1.2 million in income he made from selling memorabilia signed by late Marvel Comics writer and publisher Stan Lee.

  • February 27, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Let ClassPass Arbitrate Auto-Renew Fight

    A split Ninth Circuit panel Thursday refused to send a proposed class action challenging ClassPass' subscription auto-renewal practices to arbitration, with the majority concluding that its online notices are too "muddled" while a dissenting judge slammed the majority's opinion for purportedly sowing "great uncertainty" in what constitutes a conspicuous notice.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • How D&O Coverage Can Aid Against Increased AI Scrutiny

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    The recent increase in regulatory enforcement and securities class actions stemming from corporate use of artificial intelligence should prompt companies to ensure that their directors and officers liability insurance coverage is appropriately tailored to AI-related risks, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Purse-Case Scenarios: 'MetaBirkin' Appeal Tests TM Rights

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    A federal court's finding that "MetaBirkin" nonfungible tokens infringed on Hermes' iconic Birkin bag imagery is now on appeal in the Second Circuit, and the order will have a lasting effect on how courts balance trademark rights and the First Amendment, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions

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    Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting

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    While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • TM Suit Over Google AI Name Points To New Branding Issues

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    Gemini Data’s recent lawsuit in California federal court alleging Google’s rebranded artificial intelligence chatbot stole its name may have broader implications for the scope of trademark rights for AI-related products and highlights that an evolving marketplace may force companies to recalibrate how they protect their brands, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Expect More State-Level Scrutiny Of Noncompetes Ahead

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    Despite the nationwide injunction against the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete ban, and the incoming Republican administration, employers should anticipate that state legislatures will continue to focus on laws that limit or ban noncompetes, including those that target certain salary thresholds or industries, says Benjamin Fryer at FordHarrison.

  • What's Still Up In The Air After Ruling On Calif. Climate Laws

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    A California federal court's recent ruling on challenges to California's sweeping climate disclosure laws resolved some issues, but allows litigation over the constitutionality of the laws to continue, and leaves many important questions on what entities will need to do to comply with the laws unanswered, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • The Do's And Don'ts Of Commercial Debt Under Calif. FDCPA

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    Lenders, servicers and attorneys collecting on their behalf should pay careful attention to the consumer protections under the newly expanded California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that may apply going forward to some commercial debts, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • A Look At The Hefty Demands In Calif. Employer AI Draft Regs

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    California's draft regulations on artificial intelligence use in employment decisions show that the California Privacy Protection Agency is positioning itself as a de facto AI regulator for the state, which isn't waiting around for federal legislation, says Lily Li at Metaverse Law.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • Video Privacy Law Claims After 2nd Circ. NBA Ruling

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Salazar v. National Basketball Association expanded the definition of what constitutes a consumer under the Video Privacy Protection Act, breathing new life into the law by making any newsletter subscriber to a platform that hosts video content a potential plaintiff, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

  • 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.

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