Trials

  • March 04, 2025

    Disney Animator Tells Jury 'Moana' Was His Original Idea

    A longtime animation director for The Walt Disney Co. testified in California federal court Tuesday that his blockbuster movie "Moana" was inspired by Polynesian mythology and extensive research into the region and its culture, not the work of another artist now suing for copyright infringement.

  • March 04, 2025

    Pa. Justices Question 'Key' Witness Test For Forum Change

    Members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court wondered Tuesday if a state appeals panel established an unfair test by requiring parties seeking a new forum to shoulder the difficult burden of proving, very early in litigation, that faraway witnesses would be "key" to their case.

  • March 04, 2025

    2nd Circ. Mulls Blackmail Case's Effect On Fraud Conviction

    Second Circuit judges looked tempted Tuesday to let Scott Tucker, who is incarcerated on charges that he ran a $2 billion payday lending scam, file a new appeal — after hearing that Tucker's trial counsel faced blackmail from an unrelated client during Tucker's $2 billion fraud trial.

  • March 04, 2025

    Atty Says He Feared For His Life Before Killing Attacker

    Cramer & Anderson LLP partner Robert L. Fisher Jr. said Tuesday he was afraid for his life when he fatally shot a man who attacked him in the parking lot of his Connecticut law firm, and felt that he could not retreat from the confrontation.

  • March 04, 2025

    Trump Asks 2nd Circ. To Take Over Hush Money Appeal

    President Donald Trump asked the Second Circuit to take over his New York state court appeal of his hush money conviction, saying the "extraordinary" case implicated official acts from his first term.

  • March 04, 2025

    NJ County Prosecutor Settles Detectives' Workplace Bias Case

    The county prosecutor for Cape May, New Jersey, and two detectives who accused the office of fostering a hostile work environment where sexism and racial slurs were commonplace told a Garden State federal judge Tuesday that they have agreed to settle their dispute.

  • March 04, 2025

    Lead Testing Operations Chief To Admit Misbranding Charge

    The former chief operating officer of Magellan Diagnostics will admit to defrauding the public by hiding flaws in the company's lead testing devices for years, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.

  • March 04, 2025

    Feds Seek 40 Mos. For Husband Of Ex-Takeda Exec

    The husband of a former Takeda Pharmaceuticals vice president should spend more than three years in custody for his role in a fraudulent invoice scheme that netted the couple $2.3 million, prosecutors have told a federal judge in Massachusetts.

  • March 04, 2025

    Soccer League Demands New Trial After $500M Antitrust Loss

    The defunct North American Soccer League asked a Brooklyn federal judge for a new antitrust trial over its claims that Major League Soccer and the American soccer governing body conspired to sabotage it, saying that improper instructions led a jury to reject the suit last month.

  • March 04, 2025

    New US Atty Wants 6-Month Pause Of Cognizant Bribery Trial

    A federal judge has ordered the parties in a long-running Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case to file their positions Wednesday about how a 180-day adjournment would affect the Speedy Trial Act clock after a newly anointed U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey asked to delay the trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executives.

  • March 03, 2025

    Calif. Jury Struggling To Reach Verdict In Judge's Murder Trial

    The murder trial of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson took a dramatic turn on the fourth day of jury deliberations when jurors indicated they were at an impasse on whether Judge Ferguson is guilty of second-degree murder for shooting his wife to death in August 2023.

  • March 03, 2025

    Calif. Court OKs Slash Of $30M Med Mal Verdict To $250K

    A California appeals court has agreed with the decimation of a $29.5 million wrongful death verdict against a chiropractor who cleared a teen with a heart condition for strenuous physical activity, saying the state's damages cap applies.

  • March 03, 2025

    Staffing Company Says Data Co. Dynata Stiffed It On $8M Bill

    Connecticut-based market research company Dynata LLC stiffed a staffing company to the tune of $8 million after the staffing company refused to foot the bill for a wage and hour class action against Dynata, a Dallas jury heard Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    Colo. Prospector Didn't Steal Anschutz Oil Secrets, Jury Told

    A Colorado prospector told a Denver state jury on Monday that its $9 million sale of land next to Anschutz-owned oil and gas wells was not the result of stolen well production data, arguing Anschutz Exploration Corp. has no proof the prospector stole secret statistics.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ex-McKool Smith Atty Opts For Reichman Jorgensen In Austin

    Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP has hired a former longtime McKool Smith patent litigator to run its office in Austin, Texas. 

  • March 03, 2025

    Nike Says Lululemon Owes $2.8M As Shoe Patent Trial Begins

    Nike opened a $2.8 million trial on Monday by telling a New York federal jury that athletic apparel maker Lululemon was only able to enter the shoe market by infringing Nike footwear manufacturing patents, while Lululemon suggested Nike's suit is aimed at hindering a key rival.

  • March 03, 2025

    Film Exec Testifies She Felt 'Set Up' By 'Moana' IP Claims

    A movie executive told a California federal jury on Monday that she never shared a distant family member's script with The Walt Disney Co., and that she later felt "set up" and pressured to lie for this relative's copyright suit over the blockbuster animated film "Moana."

  • March 03, 2025

    VLSI Maintains Intel Doesn't Have A Free License To Its IP

    VLSI Technology has urged U.S. District Judge Alan Albright to reinstate his 2022 decision that Intel Corp. doesn't have a license to its patents, saying no facts impacting a potential license have changed in the interim.

  • March 03, 2025

    DOJ Opposes Anthropic's Amicus Bid In Google Search Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice is telling a D.C. federal judge to keep Anthropic PBC out of the remedies phase of its search antitrust case against Google, arguing that the artificial intelligence company is trying to backdoor its way to intervenor privileges through an amicus curiae request.

  • March 03, 2025

    Some 'ComEd Four' Bribery Counts Vacated Over Jury Charge

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday ordered a retrial on four bribery charges in the case against an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive and three lobbyists convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, finding the jury was improperly instructed in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling but leaving intact the overarching conspiracy conviction.

  • March 03, 2025

    Jarkesy Can't Get Penny Stock Co. Out Of SEC Penalty

    The Second Circuit on Monday upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's courtroom victory against a penny stock company found to have misled its investors about its financial state, ruling that the company couldn't lean on the U.S. Supreme Court's Jarkesy ruling to argue that a jury should have determined its punishment.

  • March 03, 2025

    Smoothie King Wins $374K Judgment From Ex-Franchisees

    Following a bench trial in Georgia federal court last December, Smoothie King Franchises Inc. won a $374,000 judgment Friday against a company accused of ripping off its products after setting up shop in a former Gwinnett County franchise location.

  • March 03, 2025

    Sutter Settles Years-Old Antitrust Suit On Courthouse Steps

    Attorneys for a class of millions of health insurance premium payors announced an eleventh hour deal staving off a new antitrust trial Monday in California federal court over claims that hospital chain Sutter Health drives up costs by pushing all-or-nothing network deals on insurers.

  • March 03, 2025

    Convicted Drexel Professor Gets 2 Years For Tax Evasion

    A Drexel University accounting professor convicted on tax evasion charges for failing to report $3.3 million in income from a Trenton, New Jersey, pharmacy was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Monday, according to acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna.

  • March 03, 2025

    Sgt. Fired While On Leave For Amputation Nabs $400K Verdict

    A federal jury decided that a Tennessee county owes a former sergeant nearly $400,000 after it found he was fired from a sheriff's office for taking medical leave to have his leg amputated because of his diabetes.

Expert Analysis

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

    Author Photo

    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Plugging Gov't Leaks Is Challenging, But Not A Pipe Dream

    Author Photo

    As shown by ongoing legal battles involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sean “Diddy” Combs, it’s challenging for defendants to obtain relief when they believe the government leaked sensitive information to the media, but defense counsel can take certain steps to mitigate the harm, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

    Author Photo

    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • IP Ruling Likely To Limit Arguments Against Qualified Experts

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Osseo v. Planmeca, clarifying when experts may offer testimony from the perspective of a skilled artisan, provides helpful guidance on expert qualifications and could quash future timing arguments regarding declarants' expertise, says Whitney Jenkins at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Navigating 4th Circ.'s Antitrust Burden In Hybrid Relationships

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review the Fourth Circuit's Brewbaker decision, a holding that heightens the burden on antitrust prosecutors when the target companies have a hybrid horizontal-vertical relationship, but diverges from other circuits, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    Justices Should Squash Bid To Criminalize Contract Breaches

    Author Photo

    In Kousisis v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court should reject the sweeping legal theory that breaches of contract can satisfy the property element of the mail and wire fraud statutes, which, if validated, would criminalize an array of ordinary conduct and violate basic constitutional principles, say attorneys at The Norton Law Firm.

  • Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content

    Author Photo

    Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • FTC Focus: Zeroing In On Post-Election Labor Markets

    Author Photo

    The presidential election and the push-and-pull of the administrative state's reach are likely to affect the Federal Trade Commission's focus on labor markets, including the tenor of noncompete rule enforcement, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Purse-Case Scenarios: 'MetaBirkin' Appeal Tests TM Rights

    Author Photo

    A federal court's finding that "MetaBirkin" nonfungible tokens infringed on Hermes' iconic Birkin bag imagery is now on appeal in the Second Circuit, and the order will have a lasting effect on how courts balance trademark rights and the First Amendment, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

    Author Photo

    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • 8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions

    Author Photo

    Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.

  • How AstraZeneca Ruling Could Change Dosage Patent Claims

    Author Photo

    If affirmed on appeal, the rationale employed by the Delaware federal court in Wyeth v. AstraZeneca to find "unit dosage"-related patent claims invalid could lead to a significant paradigm shift in how active-ingredient-focused patent applications are drafted and litigated, say Matthew Zapadka and John Schneible at Arnall Golden.

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!