Transportation

  • July 15, 2024

    Detroit Must Face Bus Rider's Injury Suit, Mich. Panel Says

    The city of Detroit can't escape a lawsuit claiming one of its bus drivers intentionally hit the brakes in an effort to injure a passenger she was arguing with, causing injuries to another commuter, a Michigan appeals court ruled, saying the claims fall squarely with the motor-vehicle exception to governmental immunity.

  • July 15, 2024

    GM Eyes Deal In Design Patent Fight At PTAB

    LKQ Corp. and General Motors Co. are looking to come to a deal to settle a legal dispute over GM's design patent covering fenders at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • July 15, 2024

    Yellow Corp. Denied Redo In $137M Teamsters Fight

    A Kansas federal judge held firm Monday on her decision to throw out Yellow Corp.'s $137 million lawsuit against the Teamsters, in which the trucking company accused the union of driving it into bankruptcy by fighting a necessary corporate restructuring.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Review Toss Of Youths' Climate Case

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected youth plaintiffs' request for an en banc rehearing of a May ruling that dismissed their climate change suit against the U.S. government.

  • July 15, 2024

    UAW Staff Culture Needs More Work, Monitor Says

    Remnants remain of the "culture of fear and reprisal" that gripped the United Auto Workers when union leaders were embezzling funds and accepting bribes from automakers in the 2010s, but progress has been made toward cultural change at the union, a court-appointed monitor said in his latest report.

  • July 15, 2024

    NHTSA Fuel Economy Suits Consolidated In 6th Circ.

    Eight separate legal challenges to the U.S. Department of Transportation's newly finalized fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks have been consolidated in the Sixth Circuit, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Friday.

  • July 15, 2024

    Auto Defect Suits Taxing Mich. Court Resources, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge indicated Monday he would approve a $150 million settlement to end class claims that General Motors sold vehicles with defective batteries that make cars overheat and cause fires, as he noted major auto defects cases have been straining the court's resources. 

  • July 15, 2024

    Fiat Chrysler Gets More Infotainment-Defect Claims Slashed

    A Michigan federal judge has further slashed a consolidated proposed class action alleging that certain Chrysler minivans and sedans had malfunctioning infotainment systems, axing some claims under Illinois and Pennsylvania consumer protection laws but allowing some claims under California and Florida law to proceed.

  • July 15, 2024

    Polaris Throttle Defect Blamed For Paralyzing Off-Road Crash

    Polaris has been hit with a negligence suit in Washington federal court by an Evergreen state couple who say the motorsport manufacturer is to blame for a throttle malfunction that caused the husband's off-road vehicle to ram into a tree, paralyzing his lower body.

  • July 15, 2024

    PBGC Seeks Early Win In $7.8B Pension Fight In Yellow Ch. 11

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has filed a motion for partial summary judgment in the Chapter 11 case of trucking firm Yellow Corp., telling a Delaware bankruptcy judge the $7.8 billion dispute over Yellow's withdrawal from multistate employee pension programs is a pure question of law that can be decided in the PBGC's favor.

  • July 15, 2024

    State Troopers Settle Ford Interceptor Suit After Sanctions

    A group of Washington state troopers have settled claims alleging they were "poisoned" by Ford Motor Co.'s Interceptor vehicles, according to a docket note Monday, less than a week after the troopers' attorney failed to show up for a sanctions hearing on missed discovery deadlines.

  • July 15, 2024

    Mich. Judge Recuses Himself From Ford Engine Fire Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has recused himself, without explanation, from overseeing a proposed class action alleging that Ford Motor Co. concealed a defect in some of its engines that caused fires.

  • July 15, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Chancery Court news was full of fees and settlements last week, with three multimillion-dollar deals getting a court OK, and a daylong discussion over a potentially multibillion-dollar fee award for attorneys who got Tesla CEO Elon Musk's astronomical pay package thrown out. The court also banged the gavel in cases involving e-payment venture SwervePay and managed care company Centene Corp., and heard arguments from software company SAP SE and biotech Renmatix Inc.

  • July 15, 2024

    BorgWarner Accuses Supplier Of Sabotaging Supply Chain

    Auto parts manufacturer BorgWarner risks running out of an important part after its supplier allegedly wreaked havoc on the supply chain by refusing to deliver unless BorgWarner agreed to certain price hikes, according to a newly filed federal lawsuit in North Carolina.

  • July 15, 2024

    Ga. Man Wants $10M After Carnival Truck Collision

    A Columbus, Georgia, man is asking for more than $10 million in damages after a truck driver for a South Carolina amusement rides company rear-ended and seriously injured him, according to a suit removed to Georgia federal court Friday.

  • July 15, 2024

    BMW, Customer Agree To Drop Motorcycle Gear Display Fight

    BMW of North America and a customer who brought a proposed class action against the company, alleging it sold motorcycles with defective gear indicators, have agreed to drop their dispute from New Jersey federal court, according to a joint stipulation.

  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 12, 2024

    Engineering Firms Ink $26.5M Deals To End 'No-Poach' Claims

    Four engineering firms have agreed to shell out a total of $26.5 million, while a fifth has pledged to cooperate, to settle a proposed class action alleging they conspired to restrict hiring through "no-poach" agreements, leaving RTX Corp. unit Pratt & Whitney as the sole defendant, plaintiffs told a Connecticut federal judge on Friday.

  • July 12, 2024

    Loper Bright Is Shaking Up Dozens Of Regulatory Fights

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, the landmark decision has emerged as a live issue in dozens of administrative challenges, with federal courts already pausing agency regulations expanding LGBTQ+ rights in education and healthcare and with a wave of parties seeking to use the new decision to win their cases.

  • July 12, 2024

    5 Firms Steer Chinese EV Co.'s $1B SPAC Merger

    Chinese electric vehicle maker Huture Ltd. plans to go public at an estimated $1 billion value through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Aquaron Acquisition Corp., both parties announced Friday, in a deal steered by five law firms.

  • July 12, 2024

    BNSF Puts Up $426M To Stay Tribe's Win Pending Appeal

    BNSF Railway Co. on Friday asked a federal judge to approve a $426 million security bond and to stay enforcement of a nearly $400 million judgment for trespassing across a Washington tribe's territory, while the railroad appeals.

  • July 12, 2024

    VW Lawyers Win Fees From 'Sloppy' Texas Patent Atty

    A federal judge in Houston has said a lawyer behind over 700 patent lawsuits over the past three years is personally liable to pay Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP's fees over his "sloppy" and "offensive" case against Volkswagen.

  • July 12, 2024

    Tire Cos. Can't Pause Fish-Harming Chemical Suit

    A California federal judge rejected a group of tire companies' efforts to stay an Endangered Species Act suit accusing the companies of killing fish on the West Coast with their use of a rubber additive, saying that waiting for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking on the additive "makes little sense."

  • July 12, 2024

    Delta Slams Flyers' Facebook Data Sharing Class Action

    Delta Air Lines has asked a California federal judge to dump a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully shared customers' sensitive personal data with Meta's Facebook through online tracking tools embedded in its website, saying its contract of carriage clearly discloses its digital advertising practices.

  • July 12, 2024

    11th Circ. Ends Widow's Crash Suit Against Trucking Broker

    The widow of a man killed in a collision with a tractor trailer won't be able to press her negligent selection claim against the company that hired the trucker and his carrier after the Eleventh Circuit this week backed a district court's ruling that federal transportation law preempts her case.

Expert Analysis

  • Car Apps, Abuse Survivor Safety And The FCC: Key Questions

    Author Photo

    A recent request for comment from the Federal Communications Commission, concerning how to protect the privacy of domestic violence survivors who use connected car services, raises key questions, including whether the FCC has the legal authority to limit access to a vehicle's connected features to survivors only, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Insurer Quota-Sharing Lessons From $112M Bad Faith Verdict

    Author Photo

    In Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, an Indiana federal jury recently issued a landmark $112 million bad faith verdict, illustrating why insurers must understand the interplay between bad faith law and quota-sharing before entering into these relatively new arrangements, say Jason Reichlyn and Christopher Sakauye at Dykema. 

  • Insurance Types That May Help Cos. After Key Bridge Collapse

    Author Photo

    Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, businesses that depend on the bridge, the Port of Baltimore and related infrastructure for shipment and distribution of cargo should understand which common types of first-party insurance coverage may provide recoveries for financial losses, say Bert Wells and Richard Lewis at Reed Smith.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

    Author Photo

    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark

    Author Photo

    Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Unwitting Disclosure, Agency Deference

    Author Photo

    Roke Iko at MoFo examines two U.S. Court of Federal Claims decisions highlighting factors to consider before filing a protest alleging Procurement Integrity Act violations, and a decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the capacity of an agency to interpret its own solicitation terms.

  • Global Bribery Probes Are Complicating FCPA Compliance

    Author Photo

    The recent rise in collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and foreign authorities in bribery enforcement can not only affect companies' legal exposure as resolution approaches vary by country, but also the decision of when and whether to disclose Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to the DOJ, say Samantha Badlam and Catherine Conroy at Ropes & Gray.

  • Airlines Must Prepare For State AG Investigations

    Author Photo

    A recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and 18 states and territories will allow attorneys general to investigate consumer complaints against commercial passenger airlines — so carriers must be ready for heightened scrutiny and possibly inconsistent enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

    Author Photo

    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • What A Louisiana Ruling Means For Pipeline Crossings

    Author Photo

    After a Louisiana appeals court's recent ruling on a conflict between two pipeline projects, operators and developers should review pipeline crossings to ensure that they occur at safe distances — and keep in mind the value of crossing agreements for protecting both sides in case of a dispute, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

    Author Photo

    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

    Author Photo

    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

    Author Photo

    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Rebuttal

    Time For Congress To Let Qualified Older Pilots Keep Flying

    Author Photo

    While a previous Law360 guest article affirmed the current law requiring airline pilots to retire at age 65, the facts suggest that the pilots, their unions, the airlines and the flying public will all benefit if Congress allows experienced, medically qualified aviators to stay in the cockpit, say Allen Baker and Bo Ellis at Let Experienced Pilots Fly.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Transportation archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!