The Third Circuit on Monday vacated and sent back a district court's order for a New Jersey man convicted of stealing $40 million from settlements in stockholder class actions to pay $31 million in restitution, ruling the order didn't fully compensate each victim of the fraud.
Law360
New Jersey
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

3rd Circ. Says $31M Order To Refill Class Funds Isn't Enough

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit on Monday vacated and sent back a district court's order for a New Jersey man convicted of stealing $40 million from settlements in stockholder class actions to pay $31 million in restitution, ruling the order didn't fully compensate each victim of the fraud.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Justices Won't Review NJ Town Abortion Buffer Zone Law

By Ryan Harroff

A split U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not review the Third Circuit's decision to let Englewood, New Jersey, continue enforcing eight-foot "buffer zones" around abortion facilities that protesters are not permitted to enter, in a case brought by an activist who said the zones infringed her free speech.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law Firm Must Face Malpractice Suit Over Home Project Case

By Jake Maher

The New Jersey Appellate Division reinstated a malpractice suit against a Garden State firm on Monday in a published decision finding that the plaintiff was allowed to assign some of the proceeds of the case to third parties ahead of time.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Birthright Citizenship EO Must Stay Paused, States Say

By Hailey Konnath

A coalition of states on Monday urged a Massachusetts federal judge to leave in place his preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship while the government appeals, arguing that the injunction merely maintains a centurylong status quo recognizing those citizenship rights.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

THIRD CIRCUIT

3rd Circ. Says Discovery Defiance Dooms Vax Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Third Circuit backed the dismissal of a Jehovah's Witness' suit claiming 3M fired her out of religious bias for opposing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying it was a proper punishment for purposefully ignoring discovery orders probing whether her beliefs were sincere.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LITIGATION

Brief

Gaudreau Brothers' Widows Settle Civil Suits Over Fatal Crash

By Corey Rothauser

The widows of professional hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau have reached settlements in their wrongful death lawsuits against Sean Higgins, the driver accused of fatally striking the brothers while they were bicycling in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, in August.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Judge Who Ordered Pages Restored Put On Impeachment List

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican U.S. congressman announced Monday he has introduced articles of impeachment against a Washington, D.C., federal judge, following the judge's ruling ordering public health agencies temporarily to restore the web pages they took down in response to a Trump administration order to scrub pages of "gender ideology."

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Injury Attys Sanctioned Over AI-Hallucinated Case Citations

By Lauren Berg

A Wyoming federal judge overseeing a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart sanctioned the plaintiffs' attorneys from Morgan & Morgan PA and the Goody Law Group after they filed pretrial motions containing case law hallucinated by artificial intelligence, but acknowledged Monday their "remedial steps, transparency and apologetic sentiments."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Atty Dinged For AI-Generated Fake Citations In Briefs

By Emily Sawicki

A Texas lawyer could face a $15,000 personal sanction and other potential discipline for filing three separate briefs using generative artificial intelligence that included fake citations in an Indiana ERISA case, according to a report and recommendation by a federal judge in the Hoosier State.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA Suspends Law School DEI Standards Until Summer

By Tracey Read

The American Bar Association has announced that it is holding off on enforcing its diversity and inclusion standards for law schools in light of recent executive orders by the new presidential administration.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'It Was An Accident': Judge Denies Shooting Wife On Purpose

By Gina Kim

A California judge who shot his wife to death in their living room following an argument took the stand in his murder trial Monday, fighting hard to maintain his composure while explaining to jurors that his Glock discharged accidentally when he tried to set it down on the coffee table.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Reed Smith Adds 16 Laterals To Launch Denver Office

By Aebra Coe

Reed Smith LLP is bringing on more than a dozen lateral attorney hires from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, Foley Hoag LLP, Dentons, Akerman LLP, Greenberg Traurig LLP and Cooley LLP to launch its new Denver office, the firm announced Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Freshfields Launches In Boston, Led By Ex-Latham Partner

By Tracey Read

London-founded Freshfields LLP announced Monday that it has opened its fourth U.S. office in Boston, and that it has added a former Latham & Watkins LLP partner to lead the Beantown build-out.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

McDermott Expands To Nashville With 4 Hires From K&L Gates

By Xiumei Dong

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has opened a new office in Nashville, Tennessee, bringing on four healthcare-focused partners from K&L Gates LLP to lead the expansion, the firm announced Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gunnercooke Opens In Chicago With Ex-FisherBroyles Team

By Matt Perez

U.K.-based law firm Gunnercooke LLP announced the launch of a Chicago office, marking the second state it has entered since launching in New York in 2022.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Media Co. Wants TRO Against Brazilian Justice

By Carolina Bolado

President Donald Trump's media company and online video sharing platform Rumble Inc. have asked a Florida federal court for a temporary restraining order blocking a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court justice's gag orders, arguing they illegally suppress political speech in the United States.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feature

'We Need Go No Further': 10 Notable Judge Bruce Selya Lines

By Chris Villani

Senior First Circuit Judge Bruce Selya, who died Saturday at age 90, will be remembered not only for the opinions he wrote but for the flowery language he used to write them. Here are 10 of the judge's notable "Selyanisms" from recent years.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Moves To Change Del. Corporate Law Spark Pushback

By Jeff Montgomery

A public opposition campaign complete with website and street signs has surfaced to oppose corporation and bar-backed legislation that would overhaul Delaware stockholder litigation rights and fee awards, intensifying an already unprecedented political fight that broke out last year over corporate governance concessions.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

DC Circ. To Hear Judge Newman's Appeal In April

By Andrew Karpan

The D.C. Circuit has set a date in April to hear an appeal from Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, who is fighting her suspension from the bench for refusing to undergo medical tests.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lloyd's Says Cadwalader's Suit Claims Nonexistent Tort

By Ryan Harroff

A Lloyd's of London syndicate has urged a North Carolina judge to toss part of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP's coverage lawsuit stemming from a data breach, saying there's no tort remedy for the allegation that the insurer exposed the firm's confidential information in a court filing.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Fight Reinstatement Of Ousted Inspectors General

By Ali Sullivan

The Trump administration fired back at a lawsuit brought by eight inspectors general who were fired last month, telling a D.C. federal judge that federal law does not require the president to hold off on the terminations for 30 days after notifying Congress.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DA Willis Says 'Makes No Sense' To DQ Her From Trump Case

By Emily Johnson

Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis is arguing to the Georgia Supreme Court that her disqualification from prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others was unprecedented, asserting that her ousting over the appearance of impropriety creates a dangerous precedent.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads 2024 Practice Groups of the Year Promo that reads Law360 Pulse In-House Counsel Satisfaction Survey

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Aboyoun Dobbs

Akerman LLP

American Center for Law & Justice Inc.

Boies Schiller

Brownstein Hyatt

Bryan Cave

Cadwalader Wickersham

Cooley LLP

Crowley Fleck

DLA Piper

Day Pitney

Dentons

Faegre Drinker

FisherBroyles

Foley Hoag

Foran Glennon

Freeman Mathis

Freshfields

Goody Law Group

Greenberg Traurig

Hunton Andrews

K&L Gates

Kirkland & Ellis

Klineburger & Nussey

Latham & Watkins

Marshall Dennehey

Mattingly Burke

McCoy Leavitt

McDermott Will & Emery

McElroy Deutsch

Morgan & Morgan

Morgan Lewis

Nelson Mullins

Ogletree Deakins

Reed Smith

Richards Layton

Robinson Bradshaw

Segal McCambridge

Simon Law Group LLC

Thompson Coe

Vinson & Elkins

Wachtell Lipton

Weil Gotshal

Weiner Law Group LLP

WilmerHale

gunnercooke LLP

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3M Co.

Activision Blizzard Inc.

American Bar Association

American Medical Association Inc.

American Psychiatric Association

American Psychological Association

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc.

Delaware State Bar Association

Fullbridge Inc.

Google LLC

Harvard University

Investments Ltd.

Jetson Electric Bikes LLC

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

Liggett Group LLC

Massachusetts General Hospital

Match Group LLC

Match.com Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Moelis & Co.

Monsanto Co.

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Inc.

New Civil Liberties Alliance

RELX PLC

Tesla Inc.

Twitter Inc.

United Services Automobile Association

Villanova University

Walmart Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Executive Office of the President

Federal Railroad Administration

Food and Drug Administration

Georgia Court of Appeals

Georgia Supreme Court

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New Jersey Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana