Ex-J&J Exec Accused Of File Theft Has Died, Court Told

By George Woolston

A former competitive strategy director for Johnson & Johnson accused of stealing confidential files when he left the company to work for Pfizer has died, according to a court filing.

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4th Circ. Unwinds Rocket Mortgage Borrowers' Class Cert.

By Lauren Berg

A split Fourth Circuit on Thursday reversed the class certification of borrowers who accused Rocket Mortgage of inflating their home values, finding that not all potential class members could prove they were injured under the U.S. Supreme Court's heightened pleading standard in TransUnion.

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7th Circ. Says Ex-Manager's Noncompete Allowed Clawback

By Patrick Hoff

The Seventh Circuit reopened an auto parts company's lawsuit seeking to recover proceeds a plant manager got from selling shares he was granted, saying Delaware's top court has made clear that a lower court shouldn't have analyzed whether the forfeiture-for-competition provisions of the stock agreements were reasonable.

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Brief

Judge Throws Out Minor League Owners' Suit Against Rival

By Ryan Harroff

A New Jersey federal judge dismissed a suit brought against a minor league baseball team owner by a rival company over his alleged moves to undermine its position in financial negotiations with Major League Baseball, ruling that the owner had no duty to his rival during those talks.

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Wells Fargo Prevails In $25M Mortgage Default Dispute

By Isaac Monterose

A Pennsylvania state court sided with Wells Fargo in a foreclosure suit accusing a Philadelphia property owner of defaulting on a nearly $25 million mortgage loan, finding the owner failed to abide by the loan agreement.

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Catholic University, Students' $2M Deal Wraps Up COVID Suit

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge gave final approval to a $2 million settlement between Catholic University and a class of students who say they lost opportunities when the school shut down in-person learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NC Biogas Co. Sidesteps Sanctions For Now In Lender Fight

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina Business Court judge held back on sanctioning a biogas company for allegedly violating a court order to pay its lender before pursuing new contracts on a renewable energy project, reasoning that he needs more information about the terms of the agreement to see if a contempt ruling is warranted.

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Fla. Insurer Tries To Toss Suit Blaming It For Black Mold Death

By Carolina Bolado

A Sunshine State insurer accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination after it didn't send a promised team to her home to fix hurricane damage has urged a Florida judge to dismiss the suit, calling it a bad-faith case in disguise trying to get around an already pending contract dispute.

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Conn. High Court Snapshot: Atty's Bonus, Burn Verdict

By Brian Steele

In its next term starting Monday, the Connecticut Supreme Court will hear an appeal from an acupuncturist who doesn't want to share liability for a judgment paid to a burn victim, and consider whether to reverse a seven-figure verdict for a private equity management firm's founder, who claims other members improperly cut him out.

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'Not Just A Game': Producers Fight Pause On 'The Deb' Suit

By Rachel Scharf

Producers of the musical film "The Deb" urged a Los Angeles judge on Thursday not to pause Rebel Wilson's embezzlement claims while the actress appeals another portion of the case, saying they need a resolution in order to sell the movie and recoup nearly $14 million for investors.

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AT&T, Fidelity Beat Retiree's Suit Over Mistaken Benefits

By Grace Elletson

A retiree who claimed he was misled by AT&T and Fidelity into thinking he was owed more retirement benefits than he received cannot proceed with his suit, a Colorado federal judge ruled, stating that the snafu resulted in a miscommunication, not a violation of federal benefits law.

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Starbucks Claims Ex-Exec Owes Company $830K

By George Woolston

Starbucks claimed in New Jersey federal court Wednesday that a former senior vice president has failed to pay back the pro rated portion of his $1 million signing bonus, saying the former employee owes $830,000.

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Feds Want 14 Years For Fraudster Who Scammed NBA Pros

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence a recidivist fraudster who was convicted of swindling two former NBA players out of $8 million to up to 14 years in prison, saying his previous sentences had not deterred him and he'd committed repeated bail violations.

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Wash. Justices Back Workers' View On Moonlighting Law

By Rachel Riley

Washington's highest court clarified on Thursday that the state's moonlighting protections shield low-wage workers from noncompete terms that would outright ban them working for any competitor in any capacity, concluding that employers must narrowly tailor such restrictions to be line with employees' common-law duty of loyalty.

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Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

By Brian Dowling

A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

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Brief

NY Federal Judge Urged To OK $149M Grain Exporter Award

By Elliot Weld

Corporate trustee services provider Madison Pacific Trust Ltd. asked a Manhattan federal judge to confirm a $149 million arbitration award that it won from the founders of a Ukrainian grain exporting conglomerate that allegedly failed to pay its debt.

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White And Williams' NY Office Head Named Bankruptcy Chair

By Emily Sawicki

The managing partner of White and Williams LLP's New York office has taken on the role of chair of the firm's financial restructuring and bankruptcy practice, where she plans to focus on improving the practice group's visibility while ensuring high quality of client service and helping its attorneys to excel.

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Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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.

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Analysis

Companies Risk White House Wrath By Keeping DEI Programs

By Sarah Jarvis

For companies pushing forward with their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid a torrent of attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies, there are myriad potential risks ahead — and murky questions about the legal parameters of Trump's anti-DEI agenda.

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Law Students Scramble As Federal Gov't Yanks Job Offers

By Alison Knezevich

Law students across the country are scrambling to figure out their next steps after a range of federal agencies yanked job and internship offers this week because of the new hiring freeze imposed by the Trump administration.

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Mass Tort Atty Files Ch. 11 Owing $202M To Litigation Funders

By Hilary Russ

A Houston plaintiffs attorney has filed for personal Chapter 11 protection with more than $202 million of litigation funding liabilities, according to his petition in the Southern District of Texas.

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Feud Heats Up Over Estate Of Wife Killed By Ex-BigLaw Atty

By Emily Johnson

The godson of a Georgia woman killed by her husband, former Fisher Phillips partner Claud "Tex" McIver, has said her cousins shouldn't get proceeds from a settlement of an underlying wrongful death suit, calling them "strangers" to her and claiming "the redistributive windfall" they're asking for "has no place in Georgia law."

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Boston Firm Says IT Vendor Holding Computers 'Hostage'

By Julie Manganis

Boston-based law firm Melick & Porter LLP says a company it hired to manage its information technology is now holding its computer network and data "hostage" by refusing to cooperate with the transition to a new vendor unless Melick pays it $380,000.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Phillips Black Inc., Ridley McGreevy & Winocur PC and King & Spalding LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived claims from a woman on death row in Oklahoma that prosecutors unfairly sex-shamed her and relied on gender-based stereotypes to convince a jury that she had killed her estranged husband for insurance money.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A new Law360 Pulse survey shows that more than 90% of in-house counsel have no regrets about their decisions to join companies. In litigation stemming from Purdue Pharma's sales of OxyContin that fueled the opioid crisis, the Sackler family would lose control of Purdue and pay $6.5 billion in the latest proposed settlement. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Axa Insurance and Admiral face a claim from a former lawyer recently exposed for personal injury fraud, the owner of Reading Football Club sue a prospective buyer and mobile network Lycamobile tackle action by Spanish network Yogio. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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