California

  • March 11, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery became a hot topic in New Orleans last week as litigators and judges at an annual convention acknowledged the First State's corporate law preeminence is under scrutiny. Back home, the court moved ahead on disputes involving Meta Platforms, Abercrombie & Fitch and Donald Trump.

  • March 08, 2024

    Trump 'An Existential Threat' To Rule Of Law, Attys Warn

    Former President Donald Trump represents an "existential threat" to democracy and the rule of law, legal experts said Friday at a conference on white collar crime in San Francisco.

  • March 08, 2024

    Disney TV Unit Must Face Fired Actor's COVID Vax Suit

    A California federal judge Friday ordered 20th Television to go to trial on an actor's claim of failing to provide religious accommodations when he sought COVID-19 vaccine exemptions, citing "sparse record evidence of any meaningful discussion of potential accommodations" and triable issues of whether the actor's religious beliefs were sincerely held.

  • March 08, 2024

    Amid Recall, Calif. DA Price Calls Job Political 'Punching Bag'

    San Francisco's ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Friday defended his progressive prosecution stance during a contentious panel discussion at a UC Berkeley School of Law event co-hosted by The Heritage Foundation while another Bay Area district attorney currently facing recall said she and Boudin have become conservatives' "punching bag."

  • March 08, 2024

    2 Calif. Union Dues Cases Echo Janus Ruling, 9th Circ. Told

    An attorney for an anti-union think tank urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to revive a pair of lawsuits alleging his public sector employee clients' constitutional rights were violated by union dues being collected against their will, likening the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2018 Janus ruling.

  • March 08, 2024

    Real Estate Authority: SEC Climate Regs, State Of The Union

    Law360 Real Estate Authority covers the most important real estate deals, litigation, policies and trends. Catch up on key news from this week by state — as well as how President Joe Biden aims to improve affordable housing and what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate rule means for public real estate companies.

  • March 08, 2024

    Judge Keeps Novel Insider Trading Indictment Alive

    A California federal judge has refused to throw out a novel insider trading indictment against a former healthcare CEO, saying that the federal prosecutors provided sufficient information to sustain their allegations that the executive acted criminally by shedding millions of dollars worth of stock at the same time an important client relationship was nearing its end. 

  • March 08, 2024

    Lizzo, WME's Win Upheld In Calif. COVID Force Majeure Fight

    California appellate justices upheld Lizzo, Ellie Goulding and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC's win against an organizer's breach suit over COVID-19 cancellations, finding the artists could keep their secured deposits under the contracts' force majeure provision as they showed they were ready to perform but for the force majeure event.

  • March 08, 2024

    SF Giants Don't Owe Penalties To Stadium Staff For Late Pay

    The San Francisco Giants defeated claims that they owed ballpark concessionaires accrued wages after each work assignment, as a California state appeals court ruled that an amendment to a termination pay law retroactively nullified a worker's claims. 

  • March 08, 2024

    Lizzo Seeks $85K In Fees For Partial Win In Dancers' Suit

    Pop star Lizzo has asked a California state judge for nearly $85,000 in fees to fend off her former dancers' disability discrimination and tortious interference claims, arguing that she significantly streamlined the scope of the dispute, which wasn't a "straightforward matter" and dealt with complex First Amendment issues.

  • March 08, 2024

    DOJ Eyes FCPA For New Whistleblower Rewards Program

    U.S. Department of Justice officials on Friday signaled a renewed emphasis on fighting foreign corruption, saying its planned whistleblower rewards program should prove useful in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases against private companies, and warned companies against running afoul of new rules barring the sale of personal data to foreign adversaries of the U.S.

  • March 08, 2024

    Apple Settles Long-Running Patent Fight With Israeli Startup

    More than six years after an Apple negotiator allegedly told an Israeli startup that "it would take years and millions of dollars in litigation" before the smartphone maker would settle patent infringement accusations involving iPhone lenses, Apple has settled with the startup, now owned by rival Samsung.

  • March 08, 2024

    AI-Focused Chip Provider Astera Labs Tees Up $507M IPO

    Astera Labs Inc., a provider of connectivity chips designed to boost the potency of artificial-intelligence software, on Friday set a price range on an estimated $507 million initial public offering, represented by Goodwin Procter LLP and underwriters counsel Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

  • March 08, 2024

    Deadline Drama Briefly Threatens Suit Against Insurer VSP

    A California federal judge threatened Thursday to toss Total Vision's antitrust claims accusing eye care insurance giant VSP of hamstringing it, in what appears to be a misreading of the schedule over missed deadlines that were actually pushed back, prompting the threat's retraction the next day.

  • March 08, 2024

    Ex-DA Heads Into Trial On Bribe-Induced Prosecution Charges

    A former top prosecutor will soon head to trial in Honolulu federal court over charges that a CEO funded his re-election campaign in exchange for the filing of baseless charges targeting an enemy of the donor, putting before a jury the claim that an officer of the court abused his power to threaten a citizen's liberty.

  • March 08, 2024

    Consumers Fight Dismissal Bids In Microsoft And OpenAI Suit

    Consumers who say their privacy was violated by Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI LP's products are urging California federal court not to dismiss their complaint, saying it clearly and in detail lays out the basis for their allegations.

  • March 08, 2024

    DocuSign Brass Accused Of Misleading Investors On Growth

    DocuSign's board of directors has been hit with a derivative shareholder suit in Delaware Chancery Court alleging that the e-signature giant misled investors by framing its 2020 growth as a sustainable shift in demand and not just a result of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

  • March 08, 2024

    Sorrento Gets OK For $2M Ch. 11 Funding Infusion, Asset Sale

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Friday approved drug developer Sorrento Therapeutics Inc.'s bid for an asset sale and $2 million in funds to fuel its Chapter 11 case, saying they represented the only option outside of a transition to Chapter 7.

  • March 08, 2024

    League Of Legends Maker Facing $1B Suit Over FTX Promos

    League of Legends video-game maker Riot Games has been hit with a potential billion-dollar class action accusing the company of fraud and conspiracy for its alleged role in helping deceive investors of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange platform.

  • March 08, 2024

    Hunter Biden's Trump Conspiracy Theory Baseless, US Says

    Hunter Biden's claim that former President Donald Trump is improperly driving his criminal prosecution on nine counts of tax violations is nothing more than a baseless conspiracy theory, the U.S. government told a California federal court Friday, arguing against Biden's efforts to get the case tossed.

  • March 08, 2024

    Debt-Stricken Homeowners Fight Back After High Court Ruling

    Ten months after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision finding a Minnesota county wrongly held onto excess proceeds it reaped after seizing a woman’s condominium and selling it to settle a tax debt, states are scrambling to reexamine their laws as financially distressed homeowners file new suits challenging the practice.

  • March 08, 2024

    Calif. County Hasn't Fixed Oil Permitting Rules, Court Says

    A California appeals court again nixed a Kern County, California, ordinance that paves the way for faster oil and gas development in the area, saying the court-ordered, revised policy still doesn't comply with the state's bedrock environmental law.

  • March 08, 2024

    Calif. Union Pension Plan Strikes Deal In Early Retirement Suit

    A California metalworkers' pension plan and its fund manager agreed to end a proposed class action alleging over two dozen retirees had their pension payments slashed even though they were promised full benefits when they retired early, according to an order issued Friday in federal court.

  • March 08, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Fried Frank, Latham

    In this week's Taxation with Representation, Viavi acquires Spirent, Cadence Design Systems purchases Beta Cae Systems International, and United Rentals buys Yak.

  • March 07, 2024

    Tesla Can Force Individual Arbitration In EV Mileage Fight

    A California federal judge on Thursday ruled that Tesla can force individual arbitration in two proposed class actions alleging the carmaker falsely advertised inflated mileage ranges for its electric vehicles, but stayed the suit in case an arbitrator determines that certain relief is barred under Tesla's arbitration agreement.

Expert Analysis

  • Potential Defendant Strategies Amid Calif. Privacy Questions

    Author Photo

    Although the current case law surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act is in its infancy, courts have begun addressing important issues related to the notice-and-cure provisions of the statute, and these decisions show defendant-businesses would be wise to assert their notice rights early and repeatedly, say Viola Trebicka and Dan Humphrey at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Deferral Pointers For Employers After $700M Ohtani Deal

    Author Photo

    Darren Goodman and Christine Osvald-Mruz at Lowenstein Sandler examine the legal consequences of Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a high-profile example of nonqualified deferred compensation — and offer lessons for employers of all sizes interested in similar deals.

  • High Court Case Could Reshape Local Development Fees

    Author Photo

    If last month's oral arguments are any indication of how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, it's unlikely the justices will hold that the essential nexus and rough proportionality tests under the cases of Nollan, Dolan and Koontz apply to legislative exactions, but a sweeping decision would still be the natural progression in the line of cases giving property owners takings claims, says Phillip Babich at Reed Smith.

  • Employer Lessons From Nixed Calif. Arbitration Agreement

    Author Photo

    A California state appeals court’s recent decision to throw out an otherwise valid arbitration agreement, where an employee claimed a confusing electronic signature system led her to agree to unfair terms, should alert employers to scrutinize any waivers or signing procedures that may appear to unconscionably favor the company, say Guillermo Tello and Monique Eginli at Clark Hill.

  • How Poor Governance, Weak Contracts Harm Cannabis Cos.

    Author Photo

    Decades into cannabis decriminalization and legalization, many companies in the industry still operate on a handshake basis or fail to keep even minimally required records, which can have devastating effects and lead to costly, business-killing litigation, says Griffen Thorne at Harris Bricken.

  • EEO-1 Ruling May Affect Other Gov't Agency Disclosures

    Author Photo

    By tightly construing a rarely litigated but frequently asserted term, a California federal court’s ruling that the Freedom of Information Act does not exempt reports to the U.S. Department of Labor on workplace demographics could expand the range of government contractor information susceptible to public disclosure, says John Zabriskie at Foley & Lardner.

  • What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits

    Author Photo

    As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.

  • Copyright Lessons Following Ruling In Artist AI Suit

    Author Photo

    The recent California district court ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI — that artists needed to specify how the training of artificial intelligence tools violated their copyrights — shows that lawyers on either side of generative AI matters must carefully navigate copyright issues including temporary copying and data sourcing, says Carlos Araya at Magnolia Abogados.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

    Author Photo

    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders

    Author Photo

    The IRS is fulfilling its promise to crack down on those who have neglected to pay taxes on cryptocurrency earnings, as demonstrated by recently imposed prison sentences, enforcement initiatives and meetings with international counterparts — suggesting a few key takeaways for taxpayer compliance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

    Author Photo

    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Following Banking Regulators' Breadcrumbs To 2024 Priorities

    Author Photo

    Through blog posts, speeches, and formal guidance and regulations, prudential and other federal and state financial regulators laid out a road map last year pointing to compliance priorities that should be reflected in financial institutions' planning this year, say Laurel Loomis Rimon and Gina Shabana at Jenner & Block.

  • 1869 Case May Pave Off-Ramp For Justices In Trump DQ Fight

    Author Photo

    In deciding whether former President Donald Trump is disqualified from Colorado's Republican primary ballots, the U.S. Supreme Court could rely on due process principles articulated in a Reconstruction-era case to avert a chaotic or undemocratic outcome, says Gordon Renneisen at Cornerstone Law Group.

  • Directors And Officers Face Unique AI-Related Risks

    Author Photo

    As privacy, intellectual property and discrimination lawsuits focusing on artificial intelligence increase, corporate directors and officers must stay aware of associated risks, including those related to compliance, litigation and cybersecurity, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the California archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!