Trials

  • January 27, 2025

    Zurich Owes Solar Co. $12.2M For Rain Damage, Judge Says

    Zurich American Insurance Co. owes over $12.2 million to a solar energy company for damages from heavy rainstorms at a 2,000-acre solar farm, a Georgia federal court ruled after a jury found the insurer liable for additional costs related to the rain events.

  • January 27, 2025

    Biz Adviser, Relative Beat SEC's Investment Fraud Claims

    A Boston federal judge rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that a business adviser and his brother-in-law traded penny stocks to further a $2.3 million fraud scheme.

  • January 27, 2025

    Pool Co. To Face Rival's Contempt Bid Over $16M Judgment

    A Chinese pool parts supplier will have to appear for a show cause hearing to address whether it should be held in contempt for allegedly funneling money out of the country to avoid paying a $16 million judgment, a North Carolina federal judge said Monday.

  • January 27, 2025

    Baker Botts Partners Join Boutique Litigation Firm In DC

    A pair of powerhouse litigators from Baker Botts LLP who scored a nearly billion-dollar verdict in a complex securities fraud case have stepped away from BigLaw to join Washington, D.C.-based boutique litigation firm Bourelly George & Brodey PLLC, launched less than a year ago.

  • January 27, 2025

    High Court Passes On Solar Project Fine Levied Without Jury

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the Vermont Supreme Court's ruling that the state Public Utility Commission has the authority to bypass a jury trial and unilaterally impose civil penalties on solar energy project backers that allegedly cleared land without a permit.

  • January 24, 2025

    Intuitive Doesn't Owe 'Free-Riding' Firm $140M, Expert Says

    Robotic surgery pioneer Intuitive Surgical isn't a monopolist since it competes with other surgery options and a "free-riding" surgical repair company isn't due up to $140 million in profits allegedly lost due to Intuitive blocking its unauthorized part-refurbishment service, an economist testified Friday in a California antitrust trial.

  • January 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Partly Revives Steuben's Win In $38M IP Trial

    The Federal Circuit largely revived Steuben Foods' infringement victory from a jury trial on Friday, in an opinion that also delved into the status of the rarely used reverse doctrine of equivalents.

  • January 24, 2025

    BCBS Has 'High Hurdle' For New $13M Trial, Mich. Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge on Friday told Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan it had a "high hurdle" to meet for him to say a new trial is warranted, after a jury awarded almost $13 million to a worker who was fired after being denied religious accommodation from the company's COVID-19 mandatory vaccine policy.

  • January 24, 2025

    Syngenta, Chevron Headed For October Paraquat Bellwether

    An Illinois federal judge has set an October date for Syngenta and Chevron's first trial in a multidistrict litigation alleging that the pesticide paraquat causes Parkinson's disease, after the previous dismissal of trial-selected plaintiffs and the disqualification of an expert.

  • January 24, 2025

    Shyamalan, Apple Cleared Of Copyright Infringement By Jury

    A California federal jury on Friday delivered M. Night Shyamalan from a real-life Hollywood nightmare when it cleared the director and others of stealing an independent filmmaker's work for his Apple TV+ show "Servant."

  • January 24, 2025

    Anschutz Gets Trade Secrets Trial Delayed Amid Sale Dispute

    A Colorado state judge on Friday delayed an upcoming trial in a trade secrets suit brought by Anschutz Exploration Corp., giving the parties more time to deal with a discovery fight over a recent sale that left the jurist "totally dumbfounded" and "furious" at a Denver oil prospector earlier this week.

  • January 24, 2025

    Deere Loses Fed. Circ. Bid To Revive Seeding Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Friday shot down John Deere's appeal of its loss at the lower court in a case where a jury found that a rival's SpeedTube products didn't infringe a pair of patents, affirming a lower court's denial of the farming equipment giant's bid for a new trial.

  • January 24, 2025

    Ford Fails To Block Evidence Of Other Crashes In Death Trial

    A Georgia federal judge refused to block evidence of similar crashes from being presented at a trial over the deaths of a couple in a rollover wreck of their Ford Motor Co. vehicle, but he limited the number of incidents that the plaintiffs can present from the 110 that the plaintiffs proposed to 50.

  • January 24, 2025

    EEOC Disability Bias Suit Tossed Following Nixed Evidence

    A mortgage and financial services company on Friday defeated a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to hire a woman because she took pain medication, after a Washington federal judge ruled midtrial that a key piece of evidence shouldn't have been shown to jurors.

  • January 24, 2025

    Feds' Madigan Theory 'Doesn't Line Up,' His Atty Tells Jury

    Counsel for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told an Illinois federal jury Friday that prosecutors attempting to convict him of racketeering have painted an "incomplete and misleading" picture of a crooked politician at trial, but have failed to meet their burden to prove he ever acted with corrupt intent or engaged in a "this for that" exchange for his official action.

  • January 24, 2025

    Trial Delayed For Ailing Wife Of Former Sen. Menendez

    The bribery and corruption trial of Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, was delayed from Feb. 5 to March 18 by a Manhattan federal judge Friday due to health issues following a cancer diagnosis.

  • January 24, 2025

    Blank Rome Attys Fight Lawyer's Bid For New Trial

    A team of Blank Rome LLP attorneys accused another attorney in Pennsylvania federal court of "seeking another bite at the apple" by moving for a new trial after a jury rejected her malicious litigation claims against the team and an aviation company.

  • January 24, 2025

    Conn. Oil Trader Says Timing Of Money Moves Sinks Verdict

    A onetime Connecticut oil trader has asked a federal judge to erase a September 2024 conviction on charges he used a go-between to bribe an official at Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, arguing the jury verdict hinged on third-party wire transfers that occurred beyond the statute of limitations.

  • January 24, 2025

    Philip Morris Settles Tobacco Liability Trial After Openings

    Philip Morris and a supermarket chain have reached a settlement with the family of a Massachusetts woman who died of lung cancer in 2022 after decades of smoking the company's Marlboro cigarettes, ending the case a day after trial began.

  • January 24, 2025

    Calif. Panel Remands Ex-DA Worker's Bias Suit Over Slur

    A California appeals panel reopened a discrimination lawsuit against the San Francisco District Attorney's Office by a Black ex-employee, saying a trial court should evaluate the city's response to a co-worker's racial slur given a state Supreme Court ruling that a single epithet can create a hostile work environment.

  • January 23, 2025

    Think, McFly! 'Back To The Future' Writer Says No Apple Theft

    The co-writer of "Back to the Future" suggested to a California federal jury Thursday that an independent filmmaker suing Apple and acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan for copyright infringement should make like a tree and get out of the courtroom because her film bears no resemblance to the Apple TV+ show, "Servant."

  • January 23, 2025

    Intuitive Judge Walks Back 'Inappropriate' Witness Instruction

    Counsel for Intuitive Surgical objected Thursday to a California federal judge's "inappropriate instruction" to a witness testifying in a trial over allegations it abused its market power by blocking hospitals from using a refurbished part for its surgery robot, prompting the judge to walk back the direction.

  • January 23, 2025

    Marlboro Smoker Was Target Of Deception, Jury Hears

    Philip Morris targeted a Massachusetts preteen as a "replacement" customer for others who were dying of lung disease, a Springfield jury heard Thursday, though the company's lawyer said the woman had free will and knew enough to stop smoking.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ryanair's 'Piracy' Jury Win Over Booking.com Gets Undone

    A federal judge has decided that Ryanair failed to show that Booking.com made enough money scraping flight data from the discount Irish airline to justify a verdict in its favor, overturning a jury verdict out of Delaware last year that found the website broke computer fraud laws.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

    A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons In High-Profile Jury Selection Amid NY Trump Trial

    Author Photo

    Richard Gabriel and Michelle Rey LaRocca at Decision Analysis consider how media exposure can affect a prospective juror in a high-profile case, the misunderstood nature of bias, and recommendations for jury selection in these unique situations as the Trump hush money trial continues in New York.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

    Author Photo

    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

    Author Photo

    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

    Author Photo

    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Crypto Mixer Laundering Case Provides Evidentiary Road Map

    Author Photo

    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent decision to allow expert testimony on blockchain analysis software in a bitcoin mixer money laundering case — which ultimately ended in conviction — establishes a precedent for the admissibility of similar software-derived evidence, say Peter Hardy and Kelly Lenahan-Pfahlert at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

    Author Photo

    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • 5 Lessons From Ex-Vitol Trader's FCPA Conviction

    Author Photo

    The recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering conviction of former Vitol oil trader Javier Aguilar in a New York federal court provides defense takeaways on issues ranging from the definition of “domestic concern” to jury instruction strategy, says attorney Andrew Feldman.

  • 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.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

    Author Photo

    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • 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.

  • Measuring Early Impact Of Rule 702 Changes On Patent Cases

    Author Photo

    Since Federal Rule of Evidence 702 was amended to clarify the standards for admitting expert witness testimony five months ago, emerging trends in patent cases suggest that it may be easier to limit or exclude expert testimony, and hold key practice takeaways for attorneys, say Manuel Velez and Nan Zhang at Mayer Brown.

  • 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.

  • 'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea

    Author Photo

    Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

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 Trials 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!