Washington

  • November 04, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs DOE's Tougher Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, rejecting arguments from gas utility and industry groups that the rules unlawfully force an expensive switch to new appliances.

  • November 04, 2025

    Judge Won't Yet OK Boeing Whistleblower Suicide Settlement

    A lawsuit accusing Boeing of instigating a "campaign of harassment" against a whistleblower leading to his suicide remains ongoing after a South Carolina federal judge declined to approve a $50,000 settlement, saying that the confidential terms of a separate but related deal prevent her from knowing if this agreement is fair.

  • November 03, 2025

    Harvard Prof Says Novo's Influence Didn't Boost Prescriptions

    A Harvard Medical School professor defended Novo Nordisk on Monday against allegations that it defrauded Washington state's Medicaid system by inducing doctors to overprescribe its hemophilia medication NovoSeven, testifying that his analysis showed the drugmaker's relationships with influential doctors didn't appear to increase prescriptions.

  • November 03, 2025

    Disney Freed Of Privacy Suit Over Kids' Video Data, For Now

    A group of families has agreed to drop a proposed class action accusing Disney of illegally collecting the personal data of minors viewing its YouTube videos by failing to tag them as "made for kids."

  • November 03, 2025

    Capital One 'Refer-a-Friend' Text Suit Dropped In Wash.

    People who say they were pelted with unsolicited Capital One texts due to the bank's "refer a friend" marketing initiatives have quietly dropped their suit against the financial institution in Washington federal court.

  • November 03, 2025

    Insurance Law Firm's Bid For $600K Biz Tax Refund Flops

    Washington appellate judges spurned a Pacific Northwest law firm's request for a roughly $600,000 tax refund on Monday, agreeing with state regulators that the firm owes business taxes on legal services for insurance clients when the litigation unfolded within the Evergreen State.

  • November 03, 2025

    College Apparel Co. Denied New Trial In Penn State TM Suit

    A Washington sportswear company can't get a new trial over its alleged infringement of Pennsylvania State University's trademarks on its print-on-demand merchandise, after the company was permanently barred from using the university's name or logos by a federal judge.

  • November 03, 2025

    Trump Blocked Again From Sending Guard To Portland

    An Oregon federal judge on Sunday again blocked President Donald Trump from deploying federalized National Guard troops to Portland, finding after a bench trial that the federal government hasn't shown local protests of Trump's immigration policies constitute a "rebellion" or impede agents from executing laws to justify the Guard's deployment.

  • November 03, 2025

    Philip Morris To Pay $66M Under New Wash. Tobacco Deal

    Washington will receive $66 million from Philip Morris under a new settlement resolving long-running disputes over annual payments owed by the major tobacco company under a landmark multistate deal with tobacco producers in 1998 over public health costs, according to the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

  • November 03, 2025

    Intel Says Engineer Absconded With Top Secret Files

    Intel Corp. has accused a former engineer of stealing nearly 18,000 files, including some marked as "top secret," before his employment was terminated in July, according to a lawsuit filed in Washington federal court.

  • November 03, 2025

    Tribe, Coalition Fight 9th Circ. Bid To Nix Ariz. Land Exchange

    An Apache tribe and conservation groups are fighting a Ninth Circuit bid to dismiss their efforts to block a 2,500-acre land exchange within Tonto National Forest, saying the federal government and mining company's arguments inaccurately center on a sentence in the 2014 Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act.

  • November 03, 2025

    New Loan Forgiveness Rule Targets Trump Critics, States Say

    Two lawsuits filed Monday, one by a coalition of states and the other by a group of cities, unions and advocacy organizations, are challenging a new Trump administration rule imposing "intentionally vague" and allegedly illegal restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public employees intended to stifle dissent.

  • November 03, 2025

    Landlords Fight States' Objection To RealPage Settlements

    A group of landlords urged a Tennessee federal court to reject arguments lodged by several attorneys general who criticized $141.8 million worth of proposed antitrust settlements that aim to resolve multidistrict litigation accusing the landlords of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price fixing.

  • November 03, 2025

    Justices Skeptical Of Tolling Supervised-Release Absconders

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to embrace the government's arguments that the "fugitive tolling" doctrine, which bans criminal defendants from earning credits to reduce prison sentences while they are not behind bars, should also be used to penalize defendants who abscond from supervised release.

  • October 31, 2025

    9th Circ. Nixes Exemption To Bioengineered Food Label Rule

    The Ninth Circuit delivered a mixed ruling Friday in some food advocacy groups' challenge to federal food labeling regulations, affirming that the U.S. Department of Agriculture can use the term "bioengineered" over "GMO" or "genetically modified" but reversing an order exempting highly refined foods from receiving the bioengineered label.

  • October 31, 2025

    Seattle Wins Injunction Against Trump's Anti-DEI Grant Terms

    A Washington federal judge shielded Seattle on Friday from a pair of Trump administration executive orders requiring federal grant recipients to cease diversity programming and refrain from using any of the money to "promote gender ideology," saying the city's legal challenge will likely succeed.

  • October 31, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Retail Rebirth, Data Center Outlier, SCIFs

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a look at how recent big-box store bankruptcies could usher in a retail sector revival, Florida's comparative inertia building data centers, and a rise in the niche asset class known as "sensitive compartmented information facilities."

  • October 31, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Tariffs, Fugitives & Contractor Liability

    The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its November oral argument session Monday, during which the justices will consider President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs on foreign countries under an emergency statute, whether military contractors can be held liable for alleged breaches of contracts in war zones, and if there are time limits for litigants who want to vacate a void judgment. Here, Law360 breaks down the week's oral arguments.

  • October 31, 2025

    Valve Wants Sanctions In 'Patent Troll' Suit In Wash.

    Video game company Valve Corp. has asked for sanctions against a patent-licensing company executive in a lawsuit over alleged patent trolling, saying he hasn't properly responded to requests for information in the case.

  • October 31, 2025

    Gov't Owes $330K In Fees For NSF Funding Fight, Court Told

    A higher education association seeks more than $330,000 in attorney fees and costs from the government after winning a ruling blocking the Trump administration from cutting certain National Science Foundation funding, according to a memorandum filed in Massachusetts federal court.

  • October 31, 2025

    Trump Admin Must Keep SNAP Running, Federal Judges Say

    A Rhode Island federal judge Friday ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to sustain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown, while a Boston federal judge gave the government until Monday to choose one of two paths to keep the program running to some degree.

  • October 31, 2025

    Wash. High Court Disbars Oregon Lawyer Who Ghosted Client

    An Oregon attorney can no longer practice law in Washington state as the result of an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that found he took fees from a new client while his license was suspended, then ignored the woman's repeated attempts to contact him.

  • October 31, 2025

    3 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch In Nov.

    The Third Circuit will hear a union's appeal in a withdrawal liability battle, a union health plan defends its partial win in a coverage fight at the Ninth Circuit, and pharmacy benefit managers will take a challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's authority to the full Eighth Circuit. Here are three arguments to keep an eye on in November.

  • October 31, 2025

    Insurer, Subcontractor Settle Sinkhole Coverage Dispute

    A subcontractor and its insurer told a Washington federal court that they've settled their coverage dispute over whether the subcontractor lodged an untimely defense tender for a now-settled counterclaim concerning a sinkhole at a Seattle ship canal project.

  • October 30, 2025

    Lufthansa Must Face Same-Sex 'Outing' Suit, 9th Circ. Says

    Deutsche Lufthansa AG cannot ground a same-sex couple's lawsuit accusing the German airline of outing their marriage to the Saudi Arabian government, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, saying there are enough strings tying the case to California to meet jurisdiction requirements.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

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    A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Ruling Shows About Rebutting SEC Comments

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    The Ninth Circuit's June opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital suggests that a company's lack of pushback to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comment may be evidence of its state of mind for evaluating potential liability, meaning companies should consider including additional disclosure in SEC response letters, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • 9th Circ. Decisions Help Clarify Scope Of Legal Lab Marketing

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    Two Ninth Circuit decisions last week provide a welcome development in clarifying the line between laboratories' legal marketing efforts and undue influence that violates the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, and offer useful guidance for labs seeking to mitigate enforcement risk, says Joshua Robbins at Buchalter.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. Customs Ruling A Limited Win For FCA Plaintiffs

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    While the decision last month in Island Industries v. Sigma may be welcome news for False Claims Act relators, under binding precedent courts within the Ninth Circuit still do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate customs-based FCA claims pursued by the government, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

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