Class Seeks $1.5B Settlement In Payday Loan Dispute

By Crystal Owens

A class of borrowers has urged a Virginia federal court to approve what would be the largest settlement ever obtained in a challenge to participants in the tribal lending industry, arguing that the agreement would give significant relief to hundreds of thousands in the form of debt cancellations and cash payments.

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Jury Finds Gibson The Rightful Owner Of Liberace Piano

By Brian Dowling

A Boston federal jury on Friday affirmed Gibson Guitars' right to have Liberace's bedazzled 9-foot-long grand piano returned to it from a Massachusetts piano store to which it loaned the entertainer's iconic instrument more than a decade ago.

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9th Circ. Judge Open To Reversing Google's Privacy Win

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit judge appeared receptive Friday to reversing Google's summary judgment win in Chrome users' proposed privacy class action, telling Google's counsel that the standard is what a reasonable consumer would expect and "you have a much higher opinion of the average intelligence of the computer user than I."

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FTC Says Microsoft Price Hike Shows Activision Deal Harm

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission told the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft's recently announced Game Pass price increase is an example of the harm caused by the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.

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San Francisco Lawmaker Floats Rent Algorithm Software Ban

By Isaac Monterose

A San Francisco lawmaker proposed a ban that would prohibit selling or using software that can be used for rent price fixing, and took aim at property management software companies such as RealPage and Yardi for their software allegedly being used for such a purpose.

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McCarter & English Pushes To End Biotech Malpractice Row

By Jake Maher

McCarter & English LLP faced accusations Friday in New Jersey state court that it was making "fictitious" defenses in a malpractice suit by a biotechnology company, saying in response that it was being treated as a "scapegoat."

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Lin Wood Loses Bid To DQ Judge In Ga. Defamation Case

By Emily Johnson

A Georgia federal judge on Friday refused to recuse himself from presiding over a trial in the defamation case against retired attorney L. Lin Wood from his former colleagues, ruling that Wood's disqualification bid against him is "untimely and, in any event, meritless."

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Judge Recuses As Tech Firm Slams Dow Chemical's Request

By Ryan Harroff

An Ohio federal judge has recused himself from a trade secrets case brought against Dow Chemical Co. after the technology firm that sued it showed the court a settlement offer without approval that would grant Dow Chemical's recusal motion, which the tech firm said was a "cavalier approach to a drastic remedy."

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Co. Says La. Utility Ditched Millions In Restitution Claims

By Isaac Monterose

A Louisiana utility company wrongfully refused to accept $42.3 million in restitution for deficiencies found by a consulting company in meter technology that collects energy usage data, the consulting company alleged in Louisiana federal court.

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Gemini, IRA Biz Settle Fraud Case Over $36M Crypto Hack

By Grace Elletson

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust has struck a settlement deal in a suit alleging it cost customers of self-directed retirement and pension account provider IRA Financial Trust $36 million in crypto-assets in a cyberattack after misrepresenting its security capabilities, according to a filing in New York federal court.

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Judge Tosses Traders' Counterclaims In Trade Secrets Case

By Ivan Moreno

A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that Millennium Management LLC and two of its employees cannot yet use the federal trade secrets law to claim attorney fees with their allegation that investment firm Jane Street Group LLC sued them in bad faith over a proprietary trading strategy.

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

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen a libel clash between comedian Paul Currie and the Soho Theatre Company over allegations of anti-semitism, technology giant Huawei face a patents claim by Mediatek, Westfield Europe pursue action against Clearpay Finance for contract breaches and tour operating company Carnival hit chartered airline Maleth Aero for significant flight delays. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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'Vanderpump' Stars Face Fresh Sandwich Shop Suit

By Hailey Konnath

The former chef at a Los Angeles sandwich shop owned by "Vanderpump Rules" cast members Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney has accused the reality stars of refusing to honor a partnership agreement under which she was entitled to a 10% ownership stake, according to a suit filed in Los Angeles County.

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Off The Bench

Off The Bench: Trial Time For Jerry Jones, Sunday Ticket Row

By David Steele

In this week's Off The Bench, Jerry Jones' legal battle with the woman claiming to be his daughter reaches a courtroom, Sunday Ticket subscribers clap back at the NFL, and soccer fans go after the stadium they could not enter for the Copa America final.

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NC AG Looks To Stave Off Deposition In Hospital Contract Suit

By Hayley Fowler

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein doesn't want to be deposed in his suit accusing a for-profit health network of breaking its promise to maintain the standard of care at an Asheville hospital, saying he has no unique knowledge of the situation and should be shielded from testifying as a high-ranking government official.

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2nd Circ. Rejects Webuild Discovery Bid In Panama Arbitration

By Elliot Weld

The Second Circuit on Friday affirmed a Manhattan federal judge's order that quashed a subpoena from Italian builder Webuild SPA to engineering firm WSP USA for use in an arbitration related to an expansion of the Panama Canal.

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BCLP Seeks Merger Partner As Departures Continue

By Aebra Coe

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP's headcount has declined by more than 20% since the law firm's seminal combination, according to firm data, with a surge of lateral departures this spring and summer. Sources have told Law360 Pulse that firm leaders are currently seeking a merger partner.

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Several State Courts Impacted By Global Tech Outage

By Sarah Martinson

Several state courts have been impacted by a global Microsoft Windows outage Friday morning causing operational challenges and courthouse closures.

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DOJ Seeks Probe Of Conflicts In Ex-Fed. Judge's Cases

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked its internal watchdog to look into why federal prosecutors kept quiet about the fact that they allegedly knew now-resigned Alaska federal Judge Joshua Kindred had inappropriate relationships with several attorneys appearing before him, the DOJ confirmed to Law360 Friday.

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NASCAR Names New General Counsel Amid Shake-Up

By Sue Reisinger

NASCAR Holdings' has named a new general counsel and a new deputy general counsel and head of privacy to fill out the team of chief legal officer Amanda Oliver.

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Calif. Bar Backs Creating New Virtual Bar Exam To Cut Costs

By Hailey Konnath

The State Bar of California's Board of Trustees has signed off on plans to negotiate a potentially $8 million, five-year deal with Kaplan North America LLC to replace the Multistate Bar Exam with its own state exam that could be taken remotely, according to a statement issued Friday.

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Kavanaugh Murder-Attempt Suspect Set To Face Trial

By Rae Ann Varona

A man charged with attempting to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has failed to reach a plea deal after nearly two years of negotiations, setting his case up for trial in Maryland federal court, federal prosecutors said Friday.

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2nd Circ. Upholds Ax Of Ex-Ropes & Gray Clerk's Bar Exam Suit

By Ryan Boysen

A former Ropes & Gray LLP attorney who was fired after twice failing the New York bar exam can't sue the state agency that administers the test for failing to accommodate her disabilities, the Second Circuit ruled Friday, finding the agency is protected by sovereign immunity.

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Apple Wants Litigation Funder To Explain Role In Patent Row

By Rose Krebs

Apple Inc. wants a Delaware federal judge to order litigation funder Omni Bridgeway LLC to turn over documents explaining its relationship with Finnish company MPH Technologies Oy and its financial interest in MPH's ongoing patent litigation against Apple in California.

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NYC Bar OKs Attys' Financial Stakes In Alternative Biz Entities

By Andrea Keckley

A new ethics committee report says a New York City lawyer may hold a financial interest in alternative business structures in jurisdictions that let them provide legal services, provided the lawyer is merely a financial investor, not practicing law through the entity.

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Law Profs Throw Flag On NFL's 'Unconscionable' Arbitration

By David Steele

Allowing the NFL's arbitration system, with commissioner Roger Goodell as the arbitrator, to prevail in Brian Flores' discrimination dispute with the league is "unconscionable" and "egregious," a dozen law professors have told the Second Circuit in an amicus brief supporting the former Miami Dolphins head coach.

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Calif. Firm Beats Rival's Claims In 'Sweet Justice' TM Fight

By Rachel Rippetoe

A California federal court on Thursday nixed a personal injury firm's countersuit against its rival in a battle over the trademark use of the term "Sweet Justice," ruling that the firm's counterclaims are a "mirror-image" of the underlying suit.

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'Texit' Atty Sues State Rep., Judge Over Defamation Fees

By Catherine Marfin

A civil rights attorney who has represented the group behind the "Texit" movement filed a lawsuit against a state representative and court officials in a North Texas county, accusing the group of colluding to run up attorney fees against him in a defamation case connected to the pro-Texas-secession group.

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Colo. Federal Judges Point Out Recent High Turnover

By Daniel Ducassi

Colorado's chief federal judge on Friday observed "there has been a lot of turnover" on the bench in the district over the past several years, noting five out of the seven active district court judges were nominated by President Joe Biden. 

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Blanche Law PLLC and Continental PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Florida federal judge tossed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A kidney care company has asked a federal judge to throw out a former in-house counsel's lawsuit that claims she was fired for raising concerns about violations of federal anti-kickback statutes, and a study showed the world's most extensive public country-by-country tax reporting rules would require 51% of large U.S. multinational corporations to disclose tax arrangements. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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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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