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Illinois
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August 09, 2024
Illinois Appeals Court Nixes $7B Power Line Certification
A state appeals court scrapped Illinois regulators' authorization for part of the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission line, ruling that they issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the project even though the company behind the line had not shown any ability to pay for it, as required.
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August 09, 2024
Off The Bench: NCAA Antitrust Woes, Ohio Trans Sports Ban
In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA still faces pushback from athletes after an NIL settlement, transgender youth athletes in Ohio lost their legislative battle, and the Seventh Circuit set an insurance broker straight on its actions in an NFL team's settlement with a former player.
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August 08, 2024
Posner's Ex-Staffer Blasts 'Judicial Thuggery' In DQ Bid
The so-called pro se litigation expert suing retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner for $170,000 argued Wednesday that the magistrate judge handling the parties' discovery should be removed from the case because he has proven to be biased in Posner's favor.
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August 08, 2024
Judge Cites 'Evasive Tactics' In Axing Suit For Lost Evidence
An Illinois federal judge agreed Wednesday to permanently toss a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's retaliation suit and order him and his lawyer to split more than $75,000 in fees and costs for spoiling electronic phone evidence relevant to his case.
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August 08, 2024
Equifax Not Responsible For Mortgage Denial, 7th Circ. Rules
A split Seventh Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive an Illinois woman's suit claiming she was denied a mortgage because Equifax didn't accurately report her credit history, finding Equifax could not be held liable for errors in another company's report combining data from all three major credit bureaus.
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August 08, 2024
General Motors Fender Patent Won't Be Challenged, After All
General Motors Co. says that it has come to a deal with a Chicago auto parts supplier who went all the way to the full Federal Circuit — and changed design patent jurisprudence — in a now-abandoned challenge to a patent covering the design of a front fender.
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August 08, 2024
Sporting Good Cos. Fight Over Helmet Tech In Patent Suit
A company suing football helmet manufacturer Certor for patent infringement took aim Wednesday at its rival's interpretations of the disputed patent, accusing it of trying to sidestep the court's earlier construction of a term with "no change in the law, no new facts to consider, nothing."
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August 08, 2024
50 Cent Beats Liquor Consultant's 'Ridiculous' Wiretap Claim
A frustrated New York state judge on Thursday tossed a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor's reworked wiretapping allegations against rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in a $3 million embezzlement dispute, calling the claims "ridiculous" and an "obvious" delay tactic.
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August 07, 2024
Top Illinois Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Illinois so far this year, from brokerages' market forecasts and a casino deal to a $7 billion mixed-use project and a new stadium.
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August 07, 2024
10th Circ. Won't Undo Atty Fees In $1.5B Syngenta Corn Deal
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday backed a Kansas federal judge's allocations of attorney fees to three law firms representing individual claimants in multidistrict litigation over Syngenta's genetically modified corn that was resolved by a $1.5 billion class settlement, finding that the firms' arguments strayed from the issue at hand.
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August 07, 2024
Abbott Brass Trim But Can't Nix Investors' Formula Recall Suit
A Chicago federal judge on Wednesday substantially trimmed a derivative suit accusing Abbott Laboratories leaders of concealing known safety issues related to recalled infant formula but rejected the defendants' argument that tossing the suit in its entirety was in shareholders' "best interest."
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August 07, 2024
Shuttered Firm Partner Pulls $9.5M Fee Fight Out Of Arbitration
An Illinois appeals court has reversed the transfer to partial arbitration of a suit accusing a personal injury firm name partner of defrauding the other name partner by collecting $9.5 million in fees shortly before the firm's dissolution, saying the firm's operating agreement with an arbitration clause was superseded by the dissolution agreement.
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August 07, 2024
Delta Dental Can't Get Antitrust Standard Decided Early
An Illinois federal judge denied a bid from Delta Dental to have the court decide what legal standard should apply to claims that it violated antitrust law through a $13 billion scheme to restrict competition before ruling on a class certification motion.
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August 07, 2024
'The Eggs Are Fresh From A Farm': Kroger Fries False Ad Suit
Kroger defeated a proposed class action accusing it of misleading customers into thinking its "farm fresh eggs" came from free-roaming hens on grassy fields, despite coming from caged hens, after an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday the term "means precisely what it says: the eggs are fresh from a farm."
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August 07, 2024
7th Circ. Says Atty Inadequacy ID'ed Too Late In Asylum Case
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday refused to reopen a Mexican family's asylum proceedings despite finding that the family's attorney cost them their case by arriving unprepared at their immigration hearing, saying the family should have flagged the lawyer's ineffectiveness earlier.
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August 07, 2024
7th Circ. Keeps 3M PFAS Pollution Suit In State Court
The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday rejected 3M's bid to send back to federal court a lawsuit brought by the state of Illinois alleging that the company polluted local waters with toxic "forever chemicals," saying a federal government contractor defense would be "wholly irrelevant" to the state's case.
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August 07, 2024
Thompson Coburn Adds Willkie Benefits Atty
Thompson Coburn LLP has brought on an employee benefits litigator from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as a partner in Chicago, picking up a lawyer with over two decades of experience advising and representing employers, plan administrators and fiduciaries.
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August 07, 2024
Split 7th Circ. Axes Forced Labor Suit Against Salvation Army
A group of former participants in the Salvation Army's rehabilitation programs didn't show how the work they performed for the organization represented forced labor, a split Seventh Circuit panel ruled, keeping an Illinois federal court's decision tossing their suit.
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August 07, 2024
Jury Deadlocks In Third Illinois Zantac Cancer Trial
An Illinois state judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in a man's lawsuit claiming Boehringer Ingelheim's over-the-counter Zantac caused him to develop prostate cancer, after a jury signaled it could not reach a unanimous verdict.
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August 07, 2024
GrubHub Must Face Restaurants' TM Infringement Suit
Grubhub Inc. must face a proposed class action brought against it in Illinois federal court for allegedly using restaurants' trademarks without permission and listing them on its food delivery app without their consent, even though most of the lead plaintiffs have not registered the marks at issue.
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August 06, 2024
7th Circ. Axes Broker's Win In Buccaneers Deal Coverage Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday reversed an Indiana federal court's finding that an insurance broker didn't need to indemnify Axis Insurance Co. for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' voluntary settlement with a player, ruling that the insurers' contract clearly calls for Axis to be indemnified.
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August 06, 2024
Lensa AI App Creator Shakes Ill. Biometric Privacy Suit
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday tossed a proposed class action accusing the developer of a popular "magic avatar" app of unlawfully harvesting biometric data to fuel its service, finding that the plaintiff had failed to show that his information was included in the massive database relied on by the company.
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August 06, 2024
7th Circ. Rejects Lion Air Families' Bid For Boeing Jury Trial
The Seventh Circuit ruled Tuesday that a more-than-century-old law governing fatal accidents on the high seas does not allow two remaining victims' estates suing Boeing over 2018's Lion Air crash to demand a jury trial.
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August 06, 2024
4 Takeaways From Landmark Google Search Ruling
A landmark ruling in D.C. federal court Monday found that Google illegally maintains its search engine monopoly, and experts say the case could have broad implications for the company as well as the wider internet and shows how existing antitrust laws can apply to modern technology.
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August 06, 2024
Ill. Jury Hits Cop With $22.5M Wrongful Conviction Verdict
An Illinois federal jury awarded $22.5 million on Monday to the estate of a man who served 22 years in prison for a 1995 arson-murder he was later acquitted of committing.
Expert Analysis
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7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation
The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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A Look At State AGs Supermarket Antitrust Enforcement Push
The ongoing antitrust intervention by state attorneys general in the proposed Kroger and Albertsons merger suggests that states are straying from a Federal Trade Commission follow-on strategy in the supermarket space, which involved joining federal investigations or lawsuits and settling for the same divestment remedies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws
The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Navigating The Extent Of SEC Cybersecurity Breach Authority
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's broad reading of its authority under Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act in the R.R. Donnelley and SolarWinds actions has ramifications for companies dealing with cybersecurity breaches, but it remains to be seen whether the commission's use of the provision will withstand judicial scrutiny, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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7th Circ. Exclusion Ruling Will Narrow BIPA Coverage
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Thermoflex Waukegan v. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, holding that the access or disclosure exclusion applies to insurance claims brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, departs from the majority rule and opens the door to insurers more firmly denying coverage under general liability policies, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections
While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law
Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.