Washington

  • May 05, 2026

    Bittrex Seeks To Undo $24M Judgment After SEC Crypto Pivot

    Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex urged a Seattle federal judge to toss a $24 million judgment entered as part of a 2023 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that the agency has since done an "about-face" on crypto and abandoned its position that digital tokens are securities.

  • May 05, 2026

    Tribal Loan Co. Wants To Arbitrate Predatory Lending Claims

    Tribally owned online direct lender WithU Loans is urging a Washington federal judge to send a consumer's proposed class action over alleged predatory lending practices to arbitration, arguing that the plaintiff agreed to arbitrate any claims against the company when he signed the loan agreement at issue.

  • May 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Renews Biz Nuisance Claim Over Seattle BLM Protest

    A Ninth Circuit panel partly revived a Korean restaurant and apartment complex owner's lawsuit accusing Seattle of abandoning several city blocks during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, ruling Tuesday that the businesses can potentially advance nuisance claims by arguing for the suspension of the statute of limitations.

  • May 05, 2026

    Hockey Players Urge 9th Circ. To Revive U.S. Antitrust Claims

    A U.S. federal court erroneously ruled that federal antitrust law did not apply in a case involving Canada-based hockey leagues and teams, players hoping to revive their suit alleging mistreatment by the developmental leagues told the Ninth Circuit on Monday.

  • May 05, 2026

    Wash. Panel Upholds Seizure-Prone Driver's Crash Conviction

    A Washington state appeals court on Tuesday upheld the vehicular homicide and assault conviction of a driver who suffered a seizure, finding a jury could reasonably find the driver culpable for ignoring pre-seizure symptoms prior to the crash.

  • May 05, 2026

    Wash. Justices Say Millionaire Tax Shielded From Referendum

    Washington's recently passed tax on income over $1 million cannot be subject to a voter referendum, the state Supreme Court ruled, finding that the tax falls under a referendum exception because of its deemed necessity.

  • May 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Chip Injunction In Google Contract Case

    The Ninth Circuit refused to lift an injunction against Point Financial Inc. barring it from interfering with Google's license to manufacture certain computer chips while a case plays out over Google's contract with a chipmaker that went out of business.

  • May 05, 2026

    Freight Carrier Denied Workers Breaks, OT, Suit Says

    A Washington freight carrier denied workers meal and rest breaks, failed to pay overtime and sick leave and required employees to sign unlawful noncompete agreements, a proposed class action filed in state court said.

  • May 04, 2026

    Apple Asks High Court To Pause Epic Games App Store Order

    Apple on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a mandate directing a lower court to move forward with determining exactly what Apple can charge developers on in-app purchases, arguing there are important questions that need to be resolved by the justices first.

  • May 04, 2026

    Wash. Bar Task Force Spotlights Atty Mental Health Issues

    A Washington State Bar Association wellness survey of roughly 900 members found that nearly 10% said they experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm in the past year, and about 20% expressed concerns about their alcohol consumption, a task force reported to bar leadership on Saturday.

  • May 04, 2026

    Lee & Hayes Wins Liability Ruling In Fee Fight With Ex-Client

    An Idaho-based 3D printing firm broke a fee contract with its former legal counsel at Lee & Hayes PC, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting the company's contention that the firm had agreed to reduce its $7.2 million contingency fee to a $3 million fixed rate.

  • May 04, 2026

    Kroger Fights AGs' $10M Fee Ask In Albertsons Merger Case

    Kroger and Albertsons are urging an Oregon federal judge to reject a $10 million legal fee request from nine attorneys general who joined the Federal Trade Commission in successfully challenging a proposed $24.6 billion merger of the grocery giants, saying the plaintiff states played a "minimal role" in the litigation.

  • May 04, 2026

    Utility Districts Violated Canada-US River Treaty, Judge Says

    A federal judge found Monday that a group of public utility districts in Washington state had breached the U.S.' Columbia River Treaty by failing to contribute their pledged share of hydroelectric power to Canada.

  • May 04, 2026

    OCC Pushes Back On Ex-Rabobank Officer's $4M Fee Bid

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has told the Ninth Circuit a former Rabobank compliance officer is not entitled to $4 million in attorney fees and expenses over costs purportedly incurred during an abandoned enforcement proceeding, arguing the record "raises serious questions as to whether the request is excessive."

  • May 04, 2026

    Justices Urged Not To Take Up Macy's Thryv Challenge

    Macy's Inc.'s challenge to a Ninth Circuit ruling upholding a National Labor Relations Board order to reinstate strikers misstates the controlling precedent and mounts an "academic" attack on the board's heightened remedies, the operating engineers said Monday in a brief opposing U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • May 04, 2026

    Carpenters Trustees Reach Deal In Allianz Loss Suit

    A group of union carpenters and the trustees of their retirement plans have reached a proposed settlement in a class action accusing the fiduciaries of mismanaging pension assets by investing in risky hedge funds that lost more than $250 million.

  • May 04, 2026

    Justices Won't Hear Anti-Vaxxer Medical Board Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will not review a petition brought by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on behalf of doctors who challenged a Washington state medical board's investigation into an alleged COVID-19 misinformation campaign.

  • May 01, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Mapping The Affordability Crisis

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a breakdown of federal and state efforts to expand affordable housing and how real estate attorneys are responding.

  • May 01, 2026

    Pharma Aims Torpedo At FCA After Bombshell 9th Circ. Ruling

    A burgeoning campaign against the False Claims Act's whistleblower mechanism is suddenly center stage at the Ninth Circuit, where pharmaceutical companies say a momentous new ruling "illustrates perfectly" the constitutional concerns of U.S. Supreme Court justices regarding FCA enforcement.

  • May 01, 2026

    Live Nation Beats Punitive Damages In Festival Shooting Suit

    Live Nation won't face punitive damages in a lawsuit over two concertgoers' shooting deaths at the 2023 Beyond Wonderland music festival, a Washington state judge has ruled, finding that the plaintiffs failed to show the entertainment giant's alleged conduct was malicious.

  • May 01, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Tesla In Challenge To Race Bias Arbitration

    The Ninth Circuit rejected an appeal by a Black former Tesla employee who challenged the company's arbitration win over his claims of racial discrimination, agreeing with a California federal judge Friday that the plaintiff failed to meet the "high bar" to overturn the award.

  • May 01, 2026

    Amazon Accused Of Selling Kids Sunscreen With Lead

    Consumers on Thursday hit Amazon with a proposed class action in Washington federal court alleging that children's sunscreens it sells are contaminated with heavy metals such as lead and that its artificial intelligence shopping assistant Rufus doesn't disclose details about the product ingredients.

  • May 01, 2026

    Boeing, DOJ Say No Need For Full 5th Circ. Review Of NPA

    Boeing and the federal government have said the full Fifth Circuit doesn't need to revisit a panel's decision declining to upend the U.S. Department of Justice's nonprosecution agreement with Boeing closing out allegations the American aerospace giant conspired to defraud safety regulators about its 737 Max jets.

  • May 01, 2026

    Hospitals Say HHS Is Withholding Safety Net Reimbursements

    For more than 20 years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has failed to pay tens of millions in reimbursements to hospitals serving low-income populations by incorrectly factoring service days for patients enrolled in Medicare Part C, a coalition of 91 medical centers claimed in a D.C. federal lawsuit.

  • May 01, 2026

    Insurer Sanctioned For 'Willful' Discovery Defiance

    A Washington federal court on Friday said it would hold an auto insurer liable for bad faith, negligent claim handling, and violations of the state's Consumer Protection Act and Insurance Fair Conduct Act after the carrier willfully violated prior production orders in a dispute over underinsured motorist benefits.

Expert Analysis

  • Viral 'Brewers Karen' Incident Teaches Employers To Act Fast

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    An attorney who was terminated after a viral video showed her threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on an opposing team's fan at a Milwaukee Brewers game underscores why employers must take prompt action when learning of viral incidents involving employees, says Joseph Myers at Mesidor.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The third quarter of 2025 was another eventful quarter for total loss valuation class actions, with a new circuit split developing courtesy of the Sixth Circuit, while insurers continued to see negative results in cost-of-insurance class actions, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • How 9th Circ. Ruling Deepens SEC Disgorgement Circuit Split

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sripetch creates opposing disgorgement rules in the two circuits where the SEC brings a large proportion of enforcement actions — the Second and Ninth — and increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Justices' LabCorp Punt Leaves Deeper Class Cert. Circuit Split

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    In its ruling in LabCorp v. Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court left unresolved a standing-related class certification issue that has plagued class action jurisprudence for years — and subsequent conflicting decisions among federal circuit courts have left district courts and litigants struggling with conflicting and uncertain standards, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Lessons From Del. Chancery Court's New Activision Decision

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard, declining to dismiss certain fiduciary duty claims at the pleading stage, offers takeaways for boards considering a sale, including the importance of playing an active role in the merger process and documenting key board materials, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Continue Protecting Plaintiffs In Mass Arbitration

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    In recent years, many companies have imposed onerous protocols that function to frustrate plaintiffs' ability to seek justice through mass arbitration, but a series of welcome court decisions in recent months indicate that the pendulum might be swinging back toward plaintiffs, say Raphael Janove and Sasha Jones at Janove Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • How A 9th Circ. False Ad Ruling Could Shift Class Certification

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    The Ninth Circuit's July decision in Noohi v. Johnson & Johnson, holding that unexecuted damages models may suffice for purposes of class certification, has the potential to create judicial inefficiencies and crippling uncertainties for class action defendants, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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