Albertsons Judge Hears Testimony On Rx Opioid, Abuse Link

By Ben Adlin

An "undeniable" causal link exists between excess prescription opioids and problem use of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, an expert witness testified during a bench trial Wednesday in Washington's lawsuit accusing Albertsons of fueling the state's overdose crisis by irresponsibly dispensing opioids.

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Trump, DOJ Say Firing Seattle US Atty Was Within Their Rights

By Emily Sawicki

The White House and the U.S. Department of Justice are fighting a demand for immediate reinstatement brought by Seattle's former top federal prosecutor, who was fired within an hour of a court appointing him to the role, arguing his due process rights were not violated.

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Delta, Japan Airlines Sued Over Runway Jet Collision

By Jonathan Capriel

A passenger who claims he was injured when a Japan Airlines flight wing clipped his Delta Air Lines Inc. flight during a ground collision at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is suing the two companies in Washington federal court, where his wife, daughter, and granddaughters are already pursuing claims.

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Trump Repeats Call To Remove Stay On Mail-In Ballot Order

By Katie Buehler

The Trump administration prodded the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to "promptly" lift a Massachusetts judge's order prohibiting the enforcement of new restrictions on mail-in ballots in 23 states and the District of Columbia in this year's midterm elections. 

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'Core' Generics Leader Must Face Most AG Price-Fix Claims

By Bryan Koenig

A Connecticut federal judge ruled Wednesday that G&W Laboratories Inc. must face most price-fixing claims from dozens of state attorneys general targeting generic-drug makers, teeing the shuttered company up for trial as one of four companies deemed the "core group of leaders most responsible" for the conspiracy.

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Feds Granted More Time To Defend College Data Ask

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge granted the Trump administration an opportunity to explain its rationale for fast-tracking a demand for detailed admissions data from U.S. colleges and universities.

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Norwegian Air Affiliates Seek Boeing Exec Depo In 737 Case

By Rachel Riley

Norwegian Air subsidiaries that claim Boeing duped them into a 737 Max deal by overstating the jets' safety urged a Washington federal judge Tuesday to order the deposition of a former Boeing executive, contending he has unique insight into information shared with top corporate leaders during the aircraft's development.

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Wash. County Wants Out Of Burial Site Development Suit

By Corey Rothauser

Whatcom County, Washington, has asked a federal court to dismiss the sole claim against it in a lawsuit from the Lummi Nation over broadband construction that allegedly disturbed ancestral remains, arguing that the county cannot be held liable for how it reviewed permits for the projects.

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Moving Co. Says Chubb Owes Coverage For Employee Theft

By Hope Patti

A moving company said its insurer wrongfully refused to cover a loss resulting from a former manager's fabrication of time sheets for an independent contractor in exchange for kickbacks, telling a Washington state court that the scheme triggered its policy's $2 million employee theft coverage.

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9th Circ. Enforces $2B Devas Satellite Award

By Caroline Simson

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday enforced an over $2 billion arbitral award issued to a satellite communications company, ruling for the first time that the legal concept that a dispute might be better heard elsewhere does not apply in cases seeking to enforce international arbitral awards.

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9th Circ. Backs Extradition For Al Qaeda In Iraq-Linked Killings

By Rachel Riley

The Ninth Circuit said Wednesday that a U.S. citizen can't escape his extradition to Iraq to be tried for the murders of two Iraqi police officers because the killings constitute international terrorism, meaning he is not protected by a political-offense exception to the relevant extradition treaty.

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9th Circ. Says Aetna Must Face Benefit Misrepresentation Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Ninth Circuit revived allegations that Aetna misrepresented how much it would pay toward a patient's $150,000 surgery, finding that federal benefits law didn't preempt a claim brought under state law because the dispute centered on the payment commitments rather than the health plan itself.

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9th Circ. Upholds Ex-ITT Students' $12M Loan Fraud Win

By Emily Lever

The Ninth Circuit Wednesday affirmed a $12 million judgment to former students of bankrupt for-profit college ITT Education Services Inc., saying their RICO claims against student loan servicers weren't time-barred because evidence showed the students had no way of knowing they were being scammed more than four years before they filed suit.

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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