California

  • August 19, 2024

    FERC Can't OK Calif. Hydropower Permit Delays, DC Circ. Told

    A Northern California water district has told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrongly concluded that the state water board did not waive its Clean Water Act permitting authority with regard to two hydroelectric dam projects, adding that it is not blocked from arguing so. 

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Revives State Farm Car Value Class Action

    A split Ninth Circuit panel partially revived a class action accusing State Farm of undervaluing policyholders' totaled vehicles when paying out claims, saying Monday that a Washington federal court abused its discretion in decertifying one of two classes based on a previous Ninth Circuit ruling.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Told Psilocybin Petition Is Backed By Precedent

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday dissected opposing arguments from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a Seattle doctor over whether there is precedent to allow the dispensing of psilocybin — a psychedelic compound — to treat terminally ill patients.

  • August 19, 2024

    California Rips Challenge To Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation

    California officials have urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit from trade groups challenging new regulations requiring large commercial truck and bus fleets to start transitioning to electric and be completely zero-emission by 2036 and beyond, saying the mandates haven't even been enforced yet.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Agrees Nursing Home Must Pay Fees In COVID Case

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled that a nursing home must pay plaintiffs' legal fees in an appeal over the remand of a suit accusing it of causing two dozen patients' COVID-19 deaths, saying the home knew the court had already issued a precedential ruling on the issue.

  • August 19, 2024

    MOVEit MDL Judge's Call For Order Met With Atty Squabbles

    A federal judge's effort to streamline multidistrict litigation over a 2023 data breach involving Progress Software's MOVEit file transfer tool instead led to a lengthy and contentious joint filing in which the parties accused one another of gamesmanship.

  • August 19, 2024

    Feds Trim Sentencing Request For Atty In Email Fraud Case

    Massachusetts federal prosecutors have shaved 11 months off of a nine-year sentencing request for an Illinois attorney who was convicted of collecting proceeds from an email fraud scheme, after the First Circuit vacated three of the lawyer's six counts on venue grounds.

  • August 19, 2024

    Roku Takes Dispute Over ITC Powers To Supreme Court

    Roku is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. International Trade Commission doesn't have the power to ban the import of patent-infringing software if those patents only have a limited connection to products on sale in the market.

  • August 19, 2024

    Gov't, Contractor Urge Against Sanctions Over Doc Dispute

    Both the federal government and a contractor have urged a Court of Federal Claims judge not to sanction the government for the mislabeling of documents in a dispute over a U.S. Air Force construction deal, after the government argued its mistakes were inadvertent.

  • August 19, 2024

    9th Circ. Sends Northrop Pension Disclosure Row To Trial

    The Ninth Circuit revived a class claim Monday from a group of Northrop Grumman retirees who said they were kept in the dark about how much they would get in pension benefits, ruling their allegations that the defense contractor shirked its disclosure duties were filed on time.

  • August 19, 2024

    NCAA Defends $2B NIL Deal Amid Growing Opposition

    The NCAA is pushing back against critics of its more than $2 billion proposed name, image and likeness settlement with college athletes, arguing the deal is the result of "intense and carefully structured negotiations" by competent class counsel, and detractors have baseless objections.

  • August 19, 2024

    Calif. Lawmakers Decline To Advance Hemp THC Law

    A California bill that would have imposed new THC limits on hemp consumables is unlikely to become law this year, after lawmakers declined to move it out of committee.

  • August 19, 2024

    Baker McKenzie Adds M&A Atty From Skadden

    Baker McKenzie announced Monday that a longtime Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP mergers and acquisitions attorney joined the firm's Palo Alto, California, office as the latest addition to its fast-growing transactions practice in the state.

  • August 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Atty Behind Google IP Win Joins Debevoise

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has brought on a former Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner to its San Francisco office, strengthening its intellectual property litigation group with an attorney who helped Google convince a federal judge last year to wipe out speaker maker Sonos' nearly $33 million jury award against Google.

  • August 19, 2024

    Latham, Paul Weiss Guide AMD's $5B Buy Of ZT Systems

    Latham & Watkins LLP is advising Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the semiconductor company known for its AMD computer processors, on an agreement to acquire Paul Weiss-led ZT Systems for $4.9 billion in cash and stock, according to a Monday statement. 

  • August 19, 2024

    Ex-Sheppard Mullin M&A Partner Joins Pierson Ferdinand

    A veteran mergers and acquisitions attorney has jumped from Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP to Pierson Ferdinand LLP in California

  • August 16, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Cases To Watch, DC Flooding, NYC Hotels

    Catch up on the past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the commercial real estate cases to watch in 2024's second half, one BigLaw attorney's thoughts on new Washington, D.C., flood construction rules and the NYC hotel license bill that has hospitality attorneys rattled.

  • August 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Throws Alaska Fishers A Lifeline In Orca Food Case

    Alaskan salmon fishers got the green light to continue their hunts as the Ninth Circuit on Friday said a Washington federal judge "glossed over" severe economic consequences in holding that the fishing illegally reduced a food source for endangered orcas in Washington state.

  • August 16, 2024

    49ers Can't Beat Data Breach Suit, But Damages In Question

    A California federal judge has rejected the San Francisco 49ers bid to toss a proposed class action claiming that the NFL team didn't protect 20,000 current and former employees' personal information from hackers, but he said a filing issue could put California Consumer Privacy Act statutory damages out of reach.

  • August 16, 2024

    TikTok Nonusers Fight Uphill For 100M-Member Privacy Class

    A California federal judge on Friday tentatively declined to certify a class of over 100 million nonusers of TikTok over allegations it illegally scraped their personal data from third-party websites, noting the "extraordinary" class size and questioning whether the plaintiffs have shown their injuries are typical of the proposed class.

  • August 16, 2024

    Intuit Decision Shows 401(k) Forfeiture Suits Gaining Traction

    A California federal judge's recent decision refusing to toss a federal benefits lawsuit alleging Intuit misspent 401(k) plan forfeitures shows how a novel pleading under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act has gained a foothold in some district courts, attorneys say. Here's a rundown with attorneys on the Intuit ruling and what to expect as more large employers are being targeted with proposed class action litigation challenging 401(k) forfeiture spending.

  • August 16, 2024

    PepsiCo Can't Nix Suit Over Gatorade Bars' 'Health Halo'

    A California federal judge trimmed but declined to toss a putative consumer class action alleging PepsiCo created a "deceptive health halo" around its Gatorade brand protein bars, ruling that three self-proclaimed fitness enthusiasts plausibly alleged reasonable consumers could be misled by the company's marketing, ads and labels.

  • August 16, 2024

    Ex-Twitter Workers Seek Conditional Cert. In Age Bias Suit

    Counsel for a former Twitter employee urged a California federal judge at a hearing Friday to conditionally certify a proposed age discrimination collective action on behalf of workers 50 and older who were fired after Elon Musk acquired the company, pointing to Musk's remarks as evidence of bias.

  • August 16, 2024

    Nikola, Romeo Power Targeted In Del. Derivative Complaint

    A former Romeo Power Inc. stockholder has launched a double derivative suit seeking derivative damages from nine former Romeo directors and officers in part through derivative claims via Nikola Corp., which acquired Romeo in August 2022 for a fraction of the company's once $1 billion-plus valuation.

  • August 16, 2024

    Airbnb Says Travel Insurance Fee Fight Must Be Arbitrated

    Airbnb and an Italian insurer are urging a California federal court to send a proposed class action over allegedly unfair fees on travel insurance policies to arbitration, arguing Thursday that the plaintiffs are ignoring an arbitration clause they had to sign to use the Airbnb platform.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • The Tricky Implications Of New Calif. Noncompete Laws

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    Two new California noncompete laws that ban certain out-of-state agreements and require employers to notify certain workers raise novel issues related to mergers and acquisitions, and pose particular challenges for technology companies, says John Viola at Thompson Coburn.

  • Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split

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    A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

  • Calif. Ruling Shows Limits Of Exculpatory Lease Clauses

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    A California court's recent decision in Epochal Enterprises v. LF Encinitas Properties, finding a landlord liable for failing to disclose the presence of asbestos on the subject property, underscores the limits of exculpatory clauses' ability to safeguard landlords from liability where known hazards are present, say Fawaz Bham and Javier De Luna at Hunton.

  • What Nevada 'Superbasin' Ruling Means For Water Users

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    The Nevada Supreme Court's recent decision in Sullivan v. Lincoln County Water District, affirming that the state can manage multiple predesignated water basins as one "superbasin," significantly broadens the scope of water constraints that project developers in Nevada and throughout the West may need to consider, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of the year brought the usual onslaught of new regulatory developments in California — including a crackdown on junk fees imposed by small business lenders, a big step forward for online notarizations and a ban on predatory listing agreements, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Breaking Down California's New Workplace Violence Law

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    Ilana Morady and Patrick Joyce at Seyfarth discuss several aspects of a new California law that requires employers to create and implement workplace violence prevention plans, including who is covered and the recordkeeping and training requirements that must be in place before the law goes into effect on July 1.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • How Suit Over An AI George Carlin May Lead To Legislation

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    George Carlin’s estate recently sued a company over an artificial intelligence-generated podcast allegedly impersonating the late comedian, highlighting the importance of much-needed state and federal protection against unauthorized representations of an individual’s image in the time of AI, say Anna Chauvet and Maxime Jarquin at Finnegan.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Preparing For Possible Calif. Criminal Antitrust Enforcement

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    Though a recent announcement that the California Attorney General's Office will resume criminal prosecutions in support of its antitrust enforcement may be mere saber-rattling, companies and their counsel should nevertheless be prepared for interactions with the California AG's Antitrust Section that are not limited to civil liability issues, say Dylan Ballard and Lillian Sun at V&E.

  • California Shows A Viable Way Forward For PFAS Testing

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no good way of testing for the presence of specific per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in food packaging — but a widely available test for a range of fluorine compounds that's now being used in California may offer a good solution, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • Unpacking The Complicated Question Of CIPA's Applicability

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    As the number of California Invasion of Privacy Act cases increases, more and more companies with little-to-no California presence are being hauled into California court, raising questions of when CIPA applies and to whom, says Matthew Pearson at BakerHostetler.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Antitrust Ruling Shows Limits Of US Law's Global Reach

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    Antitrust plaintiffs often cite the legislative history of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act to support application of U.S. antitrust law to alleged injuries abroad, but as a California federal court recognized recently in Figaro v. Apple, the cited history does no such thing, say Daniel Swanson and Eli Lazarus at Gibson Dunn.

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