Illinois

  • March 18, 2025

    Quaker Oats Beats Pesticide Suit As Judge Cites EPA Limits

    An Illinois federal judge threw out a putative class action Tuesday accusing Quaker Oats Co. of misleadingly marketing its products as healthy despite the presence of pesticides, saying the chemical levels identified in the case are far below the limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • March 18, 2025

    PVC Pipe Giant's Top Brass Sued For Hiding Price-Fix Scheme

    PVC pipe maker Atkore Inc.'s top executives and board members were hit with derivative claims Tuesday for allegedly shielding the company's participation in a pandemic-era price-fixing scheme, just days after investors sued the company and three executives for the same alleged conduct.

  • March 18, 2025

    Deere & Co. Attacks FTC's Right-To-Repair Suit As 'Vague'

    Farm machinery manufacturer Deere & Co. is asking an Illinois federal court to nix the Federal Trade Commission's right-to-repair suit, arguing that the company doesn't operate in or exclude others from the equipment repair market, and that the FTC lacks the constitutional authority to sue, among other failings.

  • March 18, 2025

    Ill. Senator Fights Gov't's Plan For Bribery Trial Recordings

    An Illinois state senator headed to trial on federal bribery charges argued Tuesday that the court should preserve his Sixth Amendment rights and block prosecutors from presenting evidence of prerecorded conversations involving a late former colleague who'd previously admitted to participating in a similar scheme.

  • March 18, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Says Texts For Free Services Don't Violate TCPA

    A divided Seventh Circuit panel on Monday refused to revive a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action over a company's texts and calls offering free nutritional services through the lead plaintiff's state and Medicaid funded healthcare plan, finding the messages weren't telephone solicitations because he wasn't being encouraged to purchase anything.

  • March 18, 2025

    Trump Hasn't Asked IRS For Immigrants' Tax Info, Gov't Says

    The IRS hasn't received any requests from President Donald Trump for immigrants' tax return information and hasn't released any such information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the government told a D.C. federal court in opposing a restraining order sought by immigrant rights groups.

  • March 18, 2025

    States Oppose Term In Sandoz Price-Fixing Deal With Fla.

    State enforcers still locked in price-fixing litigation against generic-drug maker Sandoz are raising objections to a cap on what they could win through settlements in Florida's recent agreement with the company, telling the Connecticut federal judge weighing approval that it would block or delay potential settlements of their own.

  • March 18, 2025

    Illinois Asbestos Injury Firm Escapes 'Fraud Playbook' Suit

    A Chicago federal judge on Tuesday tossed a racketeering suit an industrial pipe company brought against a "prolific" Illinois asbestos litigation law firm, finding that the pipe company failed to adequately plead that the law firm formed an "enterprise" with various clients, witnesses, co-counsel and staff.

  • March 18, 2025

    Bank Groups Push For Permanent Block On Ill. Swipe Fee Law

    Banking industry groups moved late Monday to deliver a final blow to an Illinois state law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip portions of payment card transactions, asking a Chicago federal judge to go ahead and finish off the ban before it takes effect this summer.

  • March 17, 2025

    OCC Green-Lights SmartBiz, Centrust Fintech Bank

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Monday it has given the green light for SmartBiz Loans to roll its new acquisition, CenTrust Bank NA, into a financial technology company called SmartBiz Bank NA.

  • March 17, 2025

    PVC Pipe Co. Faces Investor COVID-Era Antitrust Claims

    PVC pipe maker Atkore Inc. and three current and former executives face a proposed investor class action over the company's alleged involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices for PVC pipes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • March 17, 2025

    New Bills Target 'Patent Thickets' And 'Product Hopping'

    A bipartisan group of senators is backing two bills it says will use the patent system to lower the price of prescription drugs, in part by targeting "patent thickets" and making "product hopping" a violation of antitrust laws. 

  • March 17, 2025

    IPRs Are Going Too Far, Fed. Circ. Told In Samsung Dispute

    A late 1990s tech developer suing Samsung over LED patent claims wants the full Federal Circuit to "confirm the limits Congress placed" on patent challenges, after a panel decided that the patent board could accept patent applications that are not publicly accessible as prior art.

  • March 17, 2025

    Full 7th Circ. Won't Revive Suit Over Late Medicaid Payments

    The full Seventh Circuit has answered the "enormous question" of whether a Chicago hospital can sue the state of Illinois to force the managed-care organizations it contracts with to make timely Medicaid payments, concluding the hospital doesn't have a federal right to prompt payments for fear of turning federal trial courts into "de facto Medicaid claims processors."

  • March 17, 2025

    Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Licensee Sued By Backer

    A company that backs entrepreneurs qualified for social equity cannabis licenses alleged in a new federal lawsuit that a business owner it partnered with reneged on their agreement when he attempted to sell his retail marijuana license to another party.

  • March 17, 2025

    Wash. AG Seeks $32M In Legal Fees In Kroger Merger Case

    Washington's attorney general said the state is entitled to recover $32.4 million in legal fees for prevailing in its lawsuit opposing Kroger's $24.6 billion bid to buy Albertsons, including nearly $10 million for Munger Tolles & Olson LLP's assistance in the state court case.

  • March 17, 2025

    American Airlines Pension Data Suit Transferred To Texas

    American Airlines can ship to Texas a proposed class action alleging the company used outdated statistics to calculate retirees' pension payments, an Illinois federal judge ruled, finding the worker leading the case was one of the only things tying the suit to Illinois.

  • March 17, 2025

    Hair Care Co.'s Hair, Face Scans Violate BIPA, Consumer Says

    Hair care company Living Proof has been sued in Illinois state court by a consumer who says the company illegally collects and uses customers' biometric hair and face geometry to analyze their hair characteristics and recommend products to buy online.  

  • March 14, 2025

    Trump Revokes Paul Weiss Security Clearances

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP became the third law firm to have workers' security clearances suspended by President Donald Trump, who signed the executive order Friday, citing the firm's DEI hiring practices and the decision by a former attorney there to assist the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Trump.

  • March 14, 2025

    Justices Set Deadline In Birthright Citizenship Injunction Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday gave states and organizations challenging President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship until early next month to address Trump's request for the high court to limit three federal judge's injunctions that preliminarily blocked the order's implementation across the U.S.

  • March 14, 2025

    11th Circ. Again Upholds Fla. Ban On Under-21 Gun Sales

    Florida's law banning sales of firearms to anyone under 21 is constitutional, a divided Eleventh Circuit ruled Friday on en banc review, finding that America's 18- to 20-year-olds have had their gun rights checked since the nation's founding.

  • March 14, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Waldorf Reno, DEI Scrubbing, CFIUS Risk

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a chat with the legal team behind the 10-year renovation of Manhattan's iconic Waldorf Astoria, how real estate companies are dropping mention of diversity, equity and inclusion from public filings, and increasing scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

  • March 14, 2025

    Md. Judge Joins Calif. In Reversing Federal Workers' Firing

    A Maryland federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the Trump administration's lack of required notice left states "scrambling" to pick up the pieces.

  • March 14, 2025

    Home Depot Nixes 3rd Lynk Labs Patent Claim At Fed. Circ.

    Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. persuaded Federal Circuit judges on Friday to override the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and throw out another claim in a patent issued to a late 1990s tech developer that later pivoted to LED lights. 

  • March 14, 2025

    ITC To Review Toolmaker's Fish Tape, Safety Helmet Products

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate an Illinois company's complaint against a competing toolmaker for allegedly infringing three patents covering glow fish tape and a safety helmet system.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025

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    This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    While the last quarter of 2024 didn't bring any notable state financial legislation, Illinois banks did see developments in the challenge to the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, and received some awaited guidance on credit line disclosures and bank-fintech relationships, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Religious Accommodation Lessons From $12.7M Vax Verdict

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    A Michigan federal jury’s recent $12.7 million verdict against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan starkly reminds employers of the risks they face when assessing employees’ religious accommodation requests, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and raising the opportunity to consider best practices to follow, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • 5 Privacy Law Trends That Will Continue In 2025

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    While preparing privacy programs for the year, companies should keep in mind several developments from 2024 that will carry over — namely, in the realm of artificial intelligence, passive data collection, combining data from multiple sources, privacy program expectations and managing vendors, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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