California

  • August 05, 2026

    Unread Arbitration Emails Are Unenforceable, 9th Circ. Rules

    Arbitration agreements sent to workers aren't arbitration agreements assented to by workers, the Ninth Circuit held Wednesday, rejecting assertions from medical supplies giant Thermo Fisher Scientific that its arbitration-related emails — even if never read — sufficed to keep an ex-employee's proposed class action out of court.

  • August 05, 2026

    Fed. Gov't Held In Contempt By Judge Over ICE Phone Data

    A California district judge held the federal government in contempt in litigation over immigration arrest tactics for not complying with a discovery order requiring forensic imaging of phones used by agents during their operations, imposing a fine of $500 per day until the government complies with the order.

  • August 05, 2026

    CREXi Wants 9th Circ. To Undo Quinn Emanuel CoStar Row DQ

    Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. doesn't want to replace Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP after a California federal judge disqualified the firm from defending a copyright infringement suit by CoStar, seeking Ninth Circuit intervention and a pause on the district court case.

  • August 05, 2026

    Tesla Says Ky. Man's Full Self-Driving Fraud Suit Is Untimely

    Tesla has moved to nix a customer's proposed class action alleging the company duped him into thinking its vehicles can fully drive themselves, arguing in California federal court Tuesday that his claims are untimely and overlap with a similar consolidated consumer protection action.

  • August 05, 2026

    Judge Backs Magistrate Judge's Order On 3rd-Party NIL Deals

    A California federal judge said she won't reverse a magistrate judge's decision rejecting a bid by college athletes seeking to limit oversight of third-party name, image and likeness deals under their landmark $2.78 billion class settlement with the NCAA.

  • August 05, 2026

    Judge Seeks More Info On Plumbing Co.'s 401(k) Suit Deal

    A California federal judge on Wednesday refused to greenlight a $1.8 million deal that would wrap up a proposed class action alleging a plumbing company's retirement plan was loaded with costly investment options and excessive management fees, ruling that the plan participants' bid for approval was lacking critical details.

  • August 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Urged To Revisit Klamath Project ESA Ruling

    A water association is asking the Ninth Circuit to rethink a ruling that held the Endangered Species Act applies to the operation and management of an Oregon irrigation project, arguing that the appellate court left "an unworkable" framework to determine a threshold question over nondiscretionary federal agency actions.

  • August 05, 2026

    Fenwick-Led Attovia Therapeutics Prices Upsized $289M IPO

    Early-stage biotechnology company Attovia Therapeutics hit the public markets on Wednesday after it raised $289 million in its upsized initial public offering.

  • August 05, 2026

    Feds Sued Over Man's Death After ICE Raid At Cannabis Farm

    The family of a man who died following a chaotic ICE raid last summer at a cannabis farm has sued the U.S. government for negligence in California federal court, alleging that law enforcement agents used excessive force during the incident and prevented him from receiving timely treatment by medical personnel.

  • August 05, 2026

    High Court To Hear Intel 401(k) Suit Arguments In October

    The U.S. Supreme Court has set an October date for oral arguments in an appeal from Intel workers who argued the Ninth Circuit imposed too strict a standard when it upheld the dismissal of their lawsuit alleging their retirement savings were dragged down by underperforming investment options.

  • August 05, 2026

    High Court's Trans Athlete Ruling Roils Volleyball Dispute

    A legal fight over San Jose State University's decision to roster a transgender player on its women's volleyball team has intensified as the litigants feverishly debate the impact of recent U.S. Supreme Court case law.

  • August 05, 2026

    Chubb Seeks Repayment For Skaggs Overdose Suit Defense

    A Chubb unit said it is entitled to recover costs paid to defend the Los Angeles Angels against wrongful death actions brought by the family of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who overdosed while traveling for an away game, telling a California federal court that another carrier improperly denied its coverage obligations.

  • August 05, 2026

    Shareholders Seek OK Of Deal On Inflated Weedmaps Metrics

    Shareholders leading a derivative action against executives and directors of the online cannabis marketplace Weedmaps' parent company are asking a California federal court to approve a settlement to end claims the executives inflated user numbers to bump up the stock price.

  • August 05, 2026

    Brown Rudnick Adds 34 Attys, Will Open Silicon Valley Office

    Brown Rudnick LLP announced on Wednesday that it had lured a 34-attorney intellectual property litigation group from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP and would be opening a Silicon Valley office with many of those lawyers.

  • August 04, 2026

    Edison Equipment Sparked Eaton Fire, LA County Report Says

    Los Angeles County fire authorities on Tuesday released an investigation report on the origins of the January 2025 Eaton Fire, finding that the devastating fire ignited after a "glowing material" fell from an electrical event on Southern California Edison transmission towers into a dry fuel bed.

  • August 04, 2026

    Callaway Must Face Rival Golf Co.'s False Ad Suit, Judge Says

    TaylorMade Golf can proceed with a suit alleging TopGolf Callaway tricked customers into thinking it had superior golf balls through misleading UV light demonstrations and misinformation campaigns, a California federal judge said Tuesday, finding TaylorMade sufficiently alleged TopGolf engaged in dishonest advertising that instilled false product quality information.

  • August 04, 2026

    Wyden Presses States To Tackle Data Privacy Law Evasion

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has asked a handful of state regulators to issue clear guidance on their data privacy laws and band together and go after companies that are selectively ignoring consumers' requests to opt out of the sale of their data.

  • August 04, 2026

    Apple Says Even More OpenAI Workers Stole Trade Secrets

    Apple said Monday it now has reason to believe at least 11 additional former employees retained or used its proprietary information when they left the company for OpenAI, calling the situation at the artificial intelligence company "misappropriation at the organizational level."

  • August 04, 2026

    New Patent Suits Surge As PTAB Challenges Get Tougher

    More patent suits were filed in 2025 than in any year in the past decade, according to a new report, an increase attorneys said is likely tied to new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies that have made it harder to challenge patents.

  • August 04, 2026

    Calif. AG Says 82 Suits Have Saved $207B In Federal Funds

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that his office's flurry of legal filings against the Trump administration has protected about $207 billion in federal funding for the Golden State.

  • August 04, 2026

    AGs Can't Yet Get Discovery Into Live Nation's DOJ Deal

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by some state attorneys general for discovery into the Justice Department's antitrust settlement reached midtrial with Live Nation, ruling that the scope of the request is "unclear" but the AGs can try again with "narrow and targeted requests."

  • August 04, 2026

    States Warn SEC Against 'Unlawful' Climate Rule Withdrawal

    A coalition of Democratic attorneys general are warning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its plan to discard a corporate climate disclosure regulation is "unlawful," adding their voices to a chorus of state and local pension funds urging the agency to abandon the planned regulatory withdrawal.

  • August 04, 2026

    TikTok Settles 3 Teen Addiction Suits Before Bellwether Trials

    The company behind TikTok settled three lawsuits brought by young people alleging the social media platform caused them mental health harm, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said Tuesday, although three other social media companies are still scheduled to go to trial in Los Angeles on the claims in October.

  • August 04, 2026

    OpenAI To Pay $3.2M In DOJ Visa Worker Bias Settlement

    OpenAI and its subsidiary will pay $3.2 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division that the technology giant discriminated against U.S. workers in favor of workers with temporary employment visas in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the DOJ announced Tuesday.

  • August 04, 2026

    Paramount-Warner Merger Challenges Get March 2027 Trial

    The California federal judge overseeing challenges of Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery set a trial date for March 2027.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Sentencing Tips For Defending Crypto Conspiracy Cases

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    The sentencing of Evan Tangeman to 70 months in federal prison for laundering money in a cryptocurrency conspiracy illustrates that defense attorneys representing clients in multidefendant crypto cases need to understand the mechanics of conspiracy liability, loss attribution and restitution exposure before they reach the sentencing table, says Joseph De Gregorio at Sentencing Advocacy.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

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    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Operational AI Washing: A New Securities Class Action

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    In rising claims of operational AI washing — plaintiffs alleging that artificial intelligence was invoked to explain corporate business decisions in ways that may obscure underlying financial distress — earnings calls, restructuring disclosures and board-level communications will serve as key defense evidence, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • 1st Surveillance Pricing Law In Md. Reflects Broader Scrutiny

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    A new law will make Maryland the first state to target data-driven or surveillance-based price manipulation, highlighting increased scrutiny from federal and state enforcement agencies and policymakers as they consider whether new laws are required to regulate dynamic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Understanding The Insider Trading Gap In Prediction Markets

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    While the first-ever insider trading indictment involving a prediction market — the recent prosecution of a service member involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro — comprised extreme facts and straightforward legal theories, future cases will test the bounds of insider trading law, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year included reminders about the statute of limitations as a key defense for claims relating to allegedly deficient forms, the importance of focus on the specific contract at issue and further guidance on the contours of Rule 23, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • 9th Circ.'s Silence Prolongs Uncertainty On Cemex Framework

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    By affirming a bargaining order in Cemex Construction Materials v. National Labor Relations Board without opining on the NLRB’s 2023 expansion of its authority to issue such orders, the Ninth Circuit avoided direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s rejection of the same framework, prolonging uncertainty for employers facing union elections, say attorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl.

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