Analysis

Google May See Some Light In The Ad Tech Ruling

By Matthew Perlman

The ruling this week in the U.S. Department of Justice's ad tech monopolization case against Google was a major victory but not a total win for the government, and it raises questions about what the fix should be, especially with a trial looming over remedies in a separate case over search.

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Analysis

Tariff Suits Could Benefit From Eroding Executive Deference

By Dylan Moroses

Lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump's emergency tariff actions taken under a law never before used for such purposes could benefit from court rulings that have eroded judicial deference for the executive branch, but it remains unclear if injunctive relief is within reach.

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Qualcomm Judge Bemoans 'Inefficiency' In Patent Fights

By Adam Lidgett

A Florida federal judge has scheduled a third hearing on claim construction in a ParkerVision Inc. lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. over wireless communications patents, while commenting about "the inefficiency of patent litigation."

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Fla. Jury Hits Expedia With $30M Helms-Burton Verdict

By Carolina Bolado

A Miami jury on Friday said Expedia and three related entities owe $29.85 million after finding the online booking companies liable for violating the Helms-Burton Act's anti-trafficking provision by offering reservations for resorts on a barrier island seized by Fidel Castro's government.

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Murdaugh's Banker Pleads Guilty To Fraud Ahead Of Retrial

By Cara Salvatore

A former bank CEO accused of helping ex-lawyer and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh steal client money pled guilty Friday to fraud ahead of a retrial, months after his initial conviction was overturned based on jury irregularities.

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OxyChem Unit Settles Bid To Share Ohio Derailment Blame

By Matthew Santoni

Chemical shipper OxyVinyls Inc. and Norfolk Southern struck a deal toward the end of a trial seeking to spread the blame — and the cost of a $600 million settlement — for the 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

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NC Can't Appeal Bias Ruling In Death Row Case, Justices Told

By Hayley Fowler

A Black man who won a seminal case proving racial bias tainted the jury selection process in his capital murder trial is fighting prosecutors' efforts to undo the ruling, telling North Carolina's highest court the state has no statutory right to appeal.

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Brief

4th Circ. Pauses Software TM Trial After Atty Held In Contempt

By Hayley Fowler

The Fourth Circuit has pressed pause on an upcoming trademark trial between rival software companies while the defendant and its counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson appeal a contempt order over misrepresentations they allegedly made in a foreign tribunal.

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Brief

DOJ To Move Ahead In SafeMoon Case Despite Crypto Memo

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors told a federal judge in Brooklyn on Friday that they plan to proceed with an investor fraud case against the CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon, having reviewed a Justice Department directive not to pursue certain charges related to digital assets.

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Insurance Exec Pleads Guilty In $134M ACA Plan Scheme

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida insurance executive pled guilty Friday for his part in a $134 million scheme to submit fraudulent applications to enroll customers in fully subsidized Affordable Care Act health insurance plans.

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Zurich Stuck With $12.2M Solar Farm Verdict, Judge Rules

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge has shot down Zurich American Insurance Co.'s bid to escape a $12.2 million judgment that followed a January trial where a jury found the insurer shortchanged a Peach State solar farm's claim for storm damage.

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11th Circ. Revives Fla. Lodge's Bad Faith Claim Over Shooting

By David Minsky

The Eleventh Circuit on Friday reversed a $3.3 million judgment against a Florida lodge over a shooting that resulted in a woman's death, finding in a split ruling a jury should decide the bad faith issue of whether its insurer should've offered to settle based on the premises' liability.

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An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

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WilmerHale, Feds Dispute Reach Of Trump Order Against Firm

By Jack Karp

WilmerHale and the U.S. Department of Justice traded salvos in the BigLaw firm's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting it, with the firm and the government offering "starkly different" versions of what's at stake in the dispute.

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Ex-Katten Partner Hits Firm With $67M Age Bias Suit

By Lauren Berg

A former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner launched a $67 million discrimination lawsuit against his one-time firm in New York federal court, alleging he was pushed out of the aircraft-finance practice group, pressured to resign and then fired because of the firm CEO's "stereotyped views of lawyers in their 60s."

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Joel Katz, Music Law's Longtime Power Broker, Dies At 80

By Chart Riggall

Joel Katz, the powerful music industry lawyer who co-founded Greenberg Traurig LLP's media and entertainment practice and helped bring the firm to the Atlanta market, has died at the age of 80, Law360 confirmed Friday.

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Sunoco Accused Of Age Bias By Ex-Chief Counsel

By Gina Kim

A former chief counsel for Sunoco LP sued her ex-employer in Texas state court Wednesday, alleging she was denied promotional opportunities and later terminated due to her age, while also accusing the company of replacing attorneys older than 50 with significantly younger attorneys with less experience.

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How They Won It

How Manatt Beat A Crypto Trader's 'Code As Law' Defense

By Aislinn Keely

After a crypto user exploited a software bug to create millions of dollars' worth of new tokens from a blockchain network, a Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP team defeated his claim to the tokens — and won an award worth millions — by showing that faulty code can't stand in for rule of law.

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Justices Temporarily Block Removals Under Wartime Law

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to halt removals of alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, pending further input from the court.

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High Court's Pause Of Removals Was 'Premature,' Alito Says

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision early Saturday morning to prohibit the Trump administration from using a 1798 wartime law to remove alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in northern Texas to an El Salvadoran prison was hasty and premature, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Convicted In 1MDB Case Ordered Disbarred In NY

By Craig Clough

A New York appellate court ordered Wednesday that a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney be disbarred due to his felony conviction as part of a sprawling, billion-dollar fraud scandal connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Fugees founder Pras Michél.

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Judge Nixes Feds' DQ Bid In Migrant Kids Legal Funding Case

By Ryan Boysen

A California federal judge has denied the Trump administration's bid to remove her from a lawsuit challenging funding cuts that prevent attorneys from representing child migrants, ruling her employment at one of the plaintiffs nearly seven years ago doesn't undermine her impartiality.

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PTAB Judge Heads To Boutique, Citing Return-To-Office Order

By Andrew Karpan

An outgoing Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge based in Austin, Texas, tells Law360 that President Donald Trump's return-to-office order was a "significant factor" in her decision to return to private practice, joining boutique patent firm Smith Baluch LLP as a partner.

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Judiciary Faces Security Risks Amid Spending Freeze

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary is warning congressional appropriators that funding shortfalls could threaten courthouse security.

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Wis. Sens. Renew Bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The Republican and Democratic senators from Wisconsin announced Friday they are renewing their bipartisan commission to recommend U.S. attorney and judicial nominees to the president.

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Up Next At High Court: Preventive HealthCare & LGBTQ Books

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in five cases this week, including disputes over the constitutionality of a task force that sets preventive healthcare coverage requirements, a school district's introduction of LGBTQ-themed storybooks and whether parties can establish standing based on harms affecting third parties. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Google and its chief legal officer have now lost two major antitrust cases to DOJ prosecutors after a federal judge ruled Thursday the search engine monopolized markets and servers related to display advertising. Meanwhile, a new study shows companies are disclosing their business risks, and how they are trying to mitigate those risks, amid changing tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S.-China trade war. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC and the University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived a class action from Cornell University workers who said their retirement plans were saddled with excessive fees.

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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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