Giuliani's New Atty Faults Previous Counsel As NY Trial Nears

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge declined Tuesday to delay a January trial over whether Rudy Giuliani must turn over his Florida condo and World Series rings to fund a $148 million defamation judgment, after the former New York City mayor's new lawyer criticized outgoing counsel.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Groups, Truckers Say Congestion Pricing Unconstitutional

By Linda Chiem

A New York teachers union, and coalitions of residents and truckers have told a federal judge that Manhattan's recently resurrected congestion pricing is still unconstitutional and discriminatory, and federal and state transportation agencies shouldn't be allowed to shake their claims just because the tolls will be reduced.

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

Fox News Host Beats Biden Associate's Defamation Suit

By Chart Riggall

A New York federal judge has spiked a defamation suit filed against a Fox News analyst by Anthony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden's, finding that an on-air erroneous comment "does not impact Bobulinski's reputation meaningfully more" than his own decisions already have.

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

Nadine Menendez's Atty Seeks Trial Delay Due To Jan. 6 Case

By Carla Baranauckas

Counsel for Nadine Menendez in a bribery case that toppled her husband, former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, asked a New York federal judge to delay her January trial date because it would likely conflict with the trial of another client facing charges in March in the 2021 Capitol insurrection.

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

Warner Bros. Hit With Investor Suit Over Failed NBA Deal

By Hailey Konnath

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. investors Monday filed a proposed class action claiming that the entertainment company and its top brass made false and misleading statements about how negotiations with the NBA were really going and the state of its overall business and financial prospects.

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

Susman Godfrey Riding 'Coattails' In $147.5M Deal, Court Told

By Craig Clough

Susman Godfrey LLP should be denied fees for representing objectors to a $147.5 million global settlement of a life insurance proposed class action in Connecticut, class counsel has argued, saying the firm sought to "impede" rather than secure the deal and only rode class counsel's "coattails."

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

Best Buy Must Face Suit Over Deliveryman Sex Assault

By Y. Peter Kang

A New York state appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a suit seeking to hold Best Buy liable for a delivery worker's sexual assault of a customer, saying the dismissal was improperly based on the testimony of a manager who was hired seven years after the incident occurred.

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

DraftKings Wants Damages In NFLPA's Licensing Suit Axed

By Katryna Perera

DraftKings Inc. wants partially tossed a suit launched by the NFL Players Association alleging the sports betting giant failed to make good on a licensing agreement related to nonfungible tokens, saying that the players are not entitled to any damages but that as a threshold matter, the maximum potential damages should be capped.

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

MLBPA, FanDuel Ink Licensing Deal After Settling Legal Spat

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

The Major League Baseball Players Association, FanDuel and OneTeam Partners on Tuesday announced that they are teaming up on a product and marketing licensing agreement, a move that comes just weeks after FanDuel was dropped from an MLBPA lawsuit over the alleged use of players' photos to promote sports gambling.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Regeneron Director Says FMLA Suit Should Stay In Court

By Emmy Freedman

A former Regeneron Pharmaceuticals director asked a New York federal court not to toss her suit, saying she put forward sufficient details to back up her accusations that she was fired for lodging a complaint about her supervisor's abuse and requesting a flexible schedule to care for her daughter.

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

2nd Circ. Nixes VR Capital Venezuela Fraud Suit

By Caroline Simson

The Second Circuit has refused to revive VR Capital's lawsuit accusing Venezuela's state-owned oil company of fraud in connection with its issuance of some $2 billion in since-defaulted bonds, ruling Tuesday that the asset manager hadn't adequately pled its case.

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

GE Inks $362.5M Settlement In Investors' Stock Fraud Suit

By Lauren Berg

General Electric Co. shareholders asked a Manhattan federal judge to greenlight a $362.5 million settlement resolving long-running litigation on the cusp of trial that alleged the industrial giant's stock price plummeted after it was revealed the company fraudulently concealed cash flow problems.

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

Brief

Mexican Lender Seeks US Recognition Of UK Reorg

By Yun Park

The England and Wales-based subsidiary of a Mexican industrial equipment leasing and financing group has asked a New York bankruptcy court to grant Chapter 15 recognition of insolvency proceedings it launched in the U.K. to deal with about $351 million of debt.

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

Wells Fargo Dodges 2nd Circ. Rehearing In $500M Plunge Suit

By Sydney Price

The Second Circuit has rejected a rehearing bid by two investors seeking to revive their proposed class action accusing Wells Fargo Securities LLC of causing a Chicago fund manager lose at least $500 million by wrongfully forcing the liquidation of its mutual fund and other investments.

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

Ropes & Gray Atty Is Kirkland's Latest Debt Finance Hire

By Andrea Keckley

Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced the latest of several recent additions to its debt finance group on Monday, a Ropes & Gray LLP partner with a host of multibillion-dollar deals under his belt.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. AmTrust Decision Shows Audit Reports Still Matter

Though the Second Circuit eventually found on reconsidering a case over the high-profile accounting meltdown at AmTrust that audit reports are material to investors, its previous contrary holding highlights the seriousness of the ongoing crisis of confidence in the audit report, say attorneys at Bernstein Litowitz.

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

9th Circ.'s High Bar May Limit Keyword Confusion TM Claims

A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that a law firm did not infringe upon a competitor’s trademarks by paying Google to promote its website when users searched for the rival’s name signals that plaintiffs likely can no longer win infringement suits by claiming competitive keyword advertising confuses internet-savvy consumers, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

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

Series

Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

Bonus Season Heats Up As More Firms Match Milbank's Scale

By Xiumei Dong

The 2024 associate bonus season is heating up, with more law firms matching Milbank LLP's year-end and special bonuses and U.K. firms extending the same offering to their U.S.-based attorneys, according to firm memos shared with Law360 Pulse and media reports.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

King & Spalding Partner Selected As Trump's Trade Rep

By Hailey Konnath

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that King & Spalding LLP international trade partner Jamieson L. Greer was his pick for U.S. trade representative, noting that Greer played a "key role" in imposing tariffs on China during Trump's first term.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Atty Sanctioned For Citing Bogus Cases After Using AI

By Lynn LaRowe

A Texas lawyer pursuing a wrongful termination lawsuit against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been sanctioned for submitting a brief that included citations to nonexistent cases generated by an artificial intelligence tool, a Texas federal judge ordered this week.

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

Google Search Judge Says AI Will Affect Remedy Phase

By Matthew Perlman

The judge overseeing the government's search monopolization case against Google suggested Tuesday in D.C. federal court that artificial intelligence is shifting the market and will likely play a role in the remedies the court imposes on Google for allegedly violating antitrust law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Affinity Bar Groups Decry Colo. No-Poach Restrictions

By Thy Vo

Several attorney groups told Colorado's justices that barring lawyers from recruiting colleagues before officially leaving a firm would take away professional autonomy and harm lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds the most, filing briefs in support of a lawyer's challenge to her contract with a personal injury firm. 

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

Fulton County DA Seeks To Reinstate Trump Election Charges

By Emily Johnson

The Fulton County District Attorney's Office told the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday that six criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others should be reinstated as they have an "abundance" of information to prepare their defense against allegations of trying to subvert the results of the November 2020 election.

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

Ex-Faegre Drinker Atty Files Disability Bias Suit

By Andrea Keckley

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP was hit with a disability discrimination lawsuit on Monday by a Denver attorney who says she was pushed out after seeking accommodations for hip problems.

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

NJ Equal Pay Law Date Will Guide Atty's Discrimination Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Discovery and damages in a former Reed Smith LLP labor and employment attorney's suit claiming gender discrimination will be limited to the effective date of New Jersey equal pay law, a state judge ruled, saying the law doesn't apply retroactively.

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

Fla. Bar Alleges Atty Delayed Trial Over His Broken Tooth

By Dorothy Atkins

The Florida Bar has launched a complaint against a criminal attorney in the Florida Supreme Court, accusing him of violating state bar rules by refusing to proceed with a jury trial because he had a broken tooth.

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