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Washington
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April 12, 2024
DEA Unlawfully Pushing Psychedelics Ban, Researcher Says
A psychedelic research company has asked a Washington federal judge to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from proceeding with its plan to ban two psychedelic substances, saying the agency's process for bringing the matter before an administrative judge has been unlawful.
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April 12, 2024
House To Retry Spy Bill After Warrant Measure Fails By 1 Vote
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to reauthorize government surveillance of foreigners without warrants, only to have a Florida Republican call for a reconsideration vote for Monday to require warrants for spying on Americans' communications caught up in the surveillance.
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April 12, 2024
Live Nation Sued Over Shooting Deaths At Wash. Concert
Live Nation is liable for the shooting deaths of two women at a Gorge Amphitheatre concert in Washington last summer, according to a complaint filed Thursday accusing the event promoter and security firms of allowing the shooting suspect to bring a handgun into the event campground.
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April 12, 2024
Mercedes-Benz Gets Fraud Claims Clipped In Brake Suit
A Washington federal judge has thrown out the bulk of a man's claims in a proposed class action alleging Mercedes-Benz USA LLC sold vehicles with defective brake sleeves that can cause corrosion, finding he hasn't adequately pled that the company fraudulently hid the existence of the alleged defect.
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April 11, 2024
Gerber, Others Must Face Calif. MDL Over Baby Food Toxins
A group of baby food manufacturers, including Gerber Products Co., Hain Celestial Group Inc. and Beech-Nut Nutrition Co., must face consolidated lawsuits alleging that heavy metals in their products cause autism spectrum disorder and other conditions in California federal court, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled Thursday.
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April 11, 2024
Wash. Justices Side With EB-5 Firm Over Arbitration Award
Washington's high court ruled on Thursday that the payment of an arbitration award does not resolve a case seeking to confirm that award, standing by a lower court's decision to enter a confirmation order on an investment firm's $11.5 million win against a beleaguered developer over missed payments on a loan.
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April 11, 2024
UnitedHealth Patients' Addiction Coverage Suit Revived, Again
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived for the second time a proposed class action accusing UnitedHealth of wrongly rejecting coverage for outpatient substance use disorder treatments in violation of federal benefits law, finding the plaintiff plausibly alleged the insurer employed an excessively strict review process for those claims.
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April 11, 2024
State Rules Can't 'Obliterate' Federal Rights, Justices Told
The U.S. Supreme Court must clarify that states are categorically prohibited from requiring plaintiffs to exhaust local administrative remedies before pursuing claims that state officials violated federal rights, several Alabamans told the court Thursday, warning that state prerequisites obliterate federal rights.
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April 11, 2024
Chipotle Pays $2.9M To End Seattle Wage Violation Probe
Fast-food chain Chipotle has agreed to pay nearly $2.9 million to more than 1,800 workers at eight of its restaurants in Seattle to resolve the city's investigation into employees' allegations that the employer violated local ordinances governing sick pay and scheduling, a city labor agency announced Thursday.
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April 11, 2024
Hospitals Responsible For Contract ER Docs, Justices Say
Washington state's high court ruled on Thursday that hospitals may be held liable for alleged neglectfulness of contracted doctors working in their emergency rooms, reviving negligence claims against the medical center brought by the estate of a woman killed by a flesh-eating disease that ER caregivers allegedly failed to diagnose.
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April 11, 2024
9th Circ. Nixes 'Super Snap Removals' In Dexcom Suits
The Ninth Circuit won't let Dexcom Inc. remove three suits alleging its glucose monitoring system is defective to federal court, saying its "super snap removal" motions were premature as they were filed before any of the cases actually commenced.
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April 11, 2024
Insurer Says Firm Not Covered For Bogus Check Scheme
An insurance firm has filed a complaint in Washington federal court seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe coverage to a Seattle-area firm and its sole attorney, who are embroiled in litigation with a bank after the firm fell prey to a counterfeit check scheme.
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April 11, 2024
Judge Won't Rethink Ax Of Tribes 'Cultural Resource' Claims
A Washington federal judge has refused to rethink his dismissal of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's claims for "tribal service losses" stemming from a smelter's Columbia River pollution, saying the tribes did not meet the standard required for reconsideration.
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April 10, 2024
Wash. Healthcare Workers Owed $100M In Wages, Jury Told
Counsel for two classes encompassing more than 30,000 current and former healthcare workers told a Washington state jury on Wednesday that Providence Health & Services should pay nearly $100 million in damages for using an illegal time clock rounding method that shortchanged employees and failing to provide required meal breaks.
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April 10, 2024
Full 9th Circ. Asked To Rethink Tanker Seizure Ruling
Several operators of liquid petroleum gas carrier vessels have petitioned the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a circuit panel ruling that a nearly 800-foot crude oil tanker cannot be seized to enforce approximately $10 million in arbitral awards against a defunct gas shipping company.
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April 10, 2024
Wash. Tribe Says $1M Fine Not Enough To Settle CWA Claims
A Washington tribe is opposing a proposed consent decree that would settle Clean Water Act claims against a hydroelectric dam operator, arguing that a $1 million penalty is vastly too low for violations of the law when the damage continues.
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April 10, 2024
Colo. AG Says Kroger Divestiture Plan Is Best Left For Trial
Colorado's attorney general wants a state judge to block Kroger and Albertsons from presenting evidence about a new divestiture plan at an upcoming hearing on the state's motion to temporarily block the grocers' merger, claiming the yet-to-be revealed plan is a strategy to "win by ambush."
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April 10, 2024
Milliman Tells Trial Judge It Has No Liability For 401(k) Losses
Milliman Inc. said its directors had a limited duty related to alleged risky investments in employee retirement plans because responsibilities were delegated to a committee, in response to the Seattle federal judge who questioned during a trial's closing arguments Wednesday why the board "really didn't do much of anything."
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Mostly Affirms Industry Ban For COVID PPE Delays
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday largely upheld a district court's ruling requiring personal protective equipment suppliers to pay over $3 million after finding that they misrepresented the shipping times of hand sanitizer products at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reversing the Federal Trade Commission's injunction against one of the companies' owners.
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April 10, 2024
Emissions Rules' Foes May Be Forced To Yield To Automakers
Potential challengers of vehicle emissions rules were shown they're not necessarily in the drivers' seat on the issue when the D.C. Circuit upheld California's authority to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and run a zero-emission vehicles program while citing the auto industry's peace with the regulations.
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April 10, 2024
Skadden, Fenwick Lead $4.9B Alpine Immune Sciences Sale
Biotechnology company Alpine Immune Sciences Inc., advised by Fenwick & West LLP, on Wednesday revealed that it has agreed to be bought by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., led by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, in a $4.9 billion cash deal.
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Doubts Calif.'s Standing In DOL Union Transit Fight
The Ninth Circuit appeared open Wednesday to restoring the U.S. Department of Labor's power to deny California transit funding because of a perceived conflict between state pension law and bargaining rights, focusing on the state's standing in a dispute that began between the DOL and a union.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Coupang Atty Fights Bid To Toss Whistleblower Suit
A former in-house attorney at South Korean conglomerate Coupang told a Washington federal judge this week that his whistleblower claims against the company are valid according to the terms of his employment contract.
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Says Arbitration Carveout Doesn't Apply To Cos.
Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act only applies to humans, not companies, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, affirming a Washington federal court decision shipping three Amazon workers' misclassification suit to arbitration.
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April 10, 2024
BCLP Adds Former Prosecutor As Trial Partner In Seattle
One week after combining with a 12-member Seattle litigation group, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP has added a litigation and investigations partner in the Emerald City, the firm said Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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The Issues Brewing Around Starbucks Labor Practice Cases
Starbucks is faced with fighting off another push for a nationwide injunction against firing any employees that support unionization, and there's a distinct possibility that the company and the National Labor Relations Board could be fighting the same fight over and over in various locations, says Janette Levey at Levey Law.
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Tools To Fight Delay From Arbitrability Appeals After Coinbase
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Bielski decision mentioned a series of procedural tools litigants facing an automatic stay due to a Section 16(a) appeal can use to mitigate resulting harms and costs from the delay, and counsel should weigh the potential benefits and risks of these options, say Glenn Chappell and Spencer Hughes at Tycko & Zavareei.
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High Court's Tribal Water Rights Ruling Steadies The Boat
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Arizona v. Navajo Nation — concerning the federal government's obligations to help secure tribal access to water — overturns a Ninth Circuit decision that could have undermined existing state adjudication processes and unleashed a wave of tribal water rights claims, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Immigration Program Pitfalls Exacerbate Physician Shortages
Eliminating shortcomings from U.S. immigration regulations and policies could help mitigate the national shortage of physicians by encouraging foreign physicians to work in medically underserved areas, but progress has been halted by partisan gridlock, say Alison Hitz and Dana Schwarz at Clark Hill.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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9th Circ. Gap Ruling Creates Split On Forum Selection Clause
The Ninth Circuit recently held in Lee v. Fisher that a forum selection clause in Gap's bylaws requiring all derivative claims to be brought in Delaware state court is enforceable, but since the Seventh Circuit struck down a similar clause in Boeing's bylaws last year, Supreme Court review may be on the horizon, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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The Case For Quantifying The Impact Of 'Dark Patterns'
Recent lawsuits alleging that Amazon and Audible used so-called dark patterns to deceive customers show that federal agencies and consumers are actively challenging such conduct, and quantifying its impact on purchase decisions is an important step toward using an evidence-based approach for determining the appropriate level of deterrence, say economists at Brattle.
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Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too
While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.
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Keep Up With Telemarketing Compliance: State Law Roundup
As more states enact mini-Telephone Consumer Protection Acts to seemingly fill the "autodialer" void left by the U.S. Supreme Court's Facebook v. Duguid ruling, compliance will become a difficult game of whack-a-mole — some of the laws regulate equipment, while others restrict to whom calls can be made, and more, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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9th Circ. Expands TCPA Standing, Narrowing Defenses
While the Ninth Circuit's recent Hall v. Smosh Dot Com decision expands Telephone Consumer Protection Act standing, companies defending TCPA claims should watch the district court's ruling on remand for a potential narrow exception where a third-party user consents to contact for a number on the do-not-call registry, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
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The Supreme Court Is At War With Itself On Extraterritoriality
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued two conflicting pronouncements about the presumption against extraterritoriality without acknowledging the tensions between these decisions, which leaves lower courts, practitioners and potential defendants in the dark, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.
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Blunders That Made 'Bakked' Cannabis TM Go Up In Smoke
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s recent denial of National Concessions Group’s application to register the mark “BAKKED” illustrates mistakes that cannabis companies must be wary of in pursuing federal registration as examiners may look beyond the four corners of an application, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.