California

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Seek To Throw Out States' Challenge To DEI Contract EO

    The Trump administration told a Maryland federal court that it should toss a lawsuit from states challenging its implementation of an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the government contracting space, arguing the order falls within well-settled law.

  • September 29, 2026

    A's Player Sues Tigers Over Exposed Fence Injury

    A third baseman ​​​​​​for Major League Baseball's Athletics is suing the Detroit Tigers, its parent company and the Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority in Michigan state court, claiming they are responsible for an injury he suffered in July after sliding to catch a ball and banging his knee against a metal fence.

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Say Pot Co. CEO Lied About Business To Get PPP Loans

    The federal government is urging a California federal judge not to throw out its suit seeking to recoup $2.5 million in PPP loans from the CEO of a group of cannabis companies, saying she hasn't denied that she sought the loans despite knowing her business was federally illegal.

  • September 29, 2026

    Latham, Wilson Sonsini Guide AMD's $8.2B World Labs Buy

    AMD has agreed to buy AI model developer and research lab World Labs in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $8.2 billion, acquiring a team that the chipmaker said will help bolster its efforts to develop AI infrastructure for emerging models and applications.

  • September 28, 2026

    Grok-Maker Can't Get Deepfake Suit Paused Or Transferred

    Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company must continue battling a proposed class action brought by women suing over Grok-generated deepfakes of them in sexual situations, a California federal judge ruled Monday, declining to pause or transfer the suit to Texas.

  • September 28, 2026

    ChatGPT Users' Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Gets Trimmed

    Microsoft isn't going to be able to force into arbitration claims that it undermined OpenAI by forcing the artificial intelligence giant into using only its cloud computing, but it did convince the California federal judge overseeing the case to toss the proposed class's federal antitrust claim.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Attys Face New Penalties For Paying To Recruit Clients

    Lawyers convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — in California will now face a $25,000 civil penalty and face disbarment under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Governor Vetoes Broad Ban On Sensitive Data Sales

    California's governor has refused to sign off on legislation that would have made the state the latest to restrict the sale and sharing of consumers' geolocation, biometric and other sensitive information, saying the proposed "categorical ban" on these online data practices was "a step too far."

  • September 28, 2026

    Apple Briefs Set Stage For Challenge To Record $5.7B Verdict

    Friday's $5.7 billion verdict against Apple Inc. for infringing Taction Technology Inc.'s vibration technology patents is the largest in history, eclipsing many others that have been overturned, and filings by Apple preview its arguments for why this one should meet the same fate.

  • September 28, 2026

    Wash. Can Pursue Gold Mine Pollution Claims, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel revived Washington state's Clean Water Act lawsuit against the operator of the Buckhorn Mountain gold mine Monday, reversing a district court's ruling that the state's claims were barred because of another plaintiff's settlement in the consolidated case.

  • September 28, 2026

    Netflix Gets Atty Fees From Ramey For 'Bad Faith' Conduct

    A California federal judge Monday refused to let intellectual property attorney Bill Ramey off the hook for paying Netflix's attorney fees, attributing nearly $1.4 million to the Houston-based attorney's misconduct, including the concealment of the fact that his client didn't own a patent they accused Netflix of infringing.

  • September 28, 2026

    Lucid Investors Get Class Cert. In Production Forecast Suit

    Investors in electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. were granted class certification in their suit alleging they suffered damages when the company disclosed it was not on track to meet its 2022 vehicle output projections.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Calif. Pesticide PFAS Tracking Bill Into Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new regulations requiring state officials to track and publicly disclose when pesticides that are used on state produce contain "forever chemicals."

  • September 28, 2026

    Paramount, States Urge Court To Approve Merger Deal

    State enforcers and Paramount Skydance responded Monday to several questions raised by a lawmaker over a settlement ending the states' challenge of Paramount's deal for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., telling a California federal court there's no need for a full-blown review.

  • September 28, 2026

    Black Tesla Workers In Calif. Fired At Higher Rates, Judge Told

    An economics professor testified in a California state bench trial Monday over the California Civil Rights Department's claims Tesla fostered racism at its Fremont factory that he found Tesla's Black workers in California are paid 4.37% less, and involuntarily terminated at a 75% higher rate, than their white counterparts.

  • September 28, 2026

    'Migration' Copying Suit Is For The Birds, Mike White Says

    Universal City Studios, Illumination Entertainment and "White Lotus" creator Mike White urged a California federal judge Monday to toss a writer's lawsuit claiming they stole his script for the 2023 film "Migration," saying the movie is not substantially similar to the unpublished screenplay, and the complaint does not plausibly allege that they had access to it.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Expands Reproductive Care, Abortion Access

    A series of new laws in California aim to expand access to medication abortion on community college campuses, bolster veterans' access to reproductive care including abortions, and make it easier for nursing parents to access lactation support, according to an announcement made Sunday.

  • September 28, 2026

    Cannabis Distributor Says Partner Denied Its $332K Stake

    The manager of a Los Angeles cannabis cultivation facility seized an entire harvest without his business partner's permission, selling much of it until armed men raided the facility and took a significant portion of the inventory, according to a state lawsuit seeking more than $300,000 for the iced-out partner.

  • September 28, 2026

    9th Circ. Rules Cops' Gunpoint Arrest Constitutional

    A Ninth Circuit panel has ruled that two California police officers who allegedly aimed their guns at a compliant suspect acted reasonably and enjoyed qualified immunity protection from the man's civil rights lawsuit, reversing a district court's finding that they may have used unconstitutional excessive force.

  • September 28, 2026

    Feds Defend Handling Of Legal Services For Migrant Kids

    The Trump administration told a California federal judge that it hasn't withheld funding for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children in violation of an injunction, with a $158 million contract award tied up in a bid protest.

  • September 28, 2026

    US Presses High Court To Skip Tesla Case Over PTAB Review

    The federal government has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on Tesla Inc.'s challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's limits on patent challenges, arguing Friday that the agency is under no obligation to grant requests for patent review.

  • September 28, 2026

    WordPress Parent Ducks Extortion But Not Antitrust Claims

    A California federal judge issued a mixed ruling last week in the two-way fight between WordPress parent Automattic and web hosting company WPEngine, dismissing digital extortion claims against Automattic while preserving WPEngine's antitrust allegations, and preserving Automattic counterclaims of trademark infringement but dismissing false advertising accusations.

  • September 28, 2026

    SilverRock Trustee Dismissed Over Ch. 11 Fund Transfers

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge terminated the litigation trustee appointed under the confirmed Chapter 11 plan of California resort developer SilverRock Development on Monday after hearing from creditors that more than $2.2 million had been transferred out of trust accounts in recent months.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Bans Officials From Meme Coin Profits In Trump Callout

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill barring the state's officials from issuing or lending their likeness to meme coins, criticizing President Donald Trump's hundreds of millions in profits from meme coin projects.

  • September 28, 2026

    Ex-Electric Parts CEO Drops ERISA Suit Over Firing

    The former CEO of an electric parts manufacturer has agreed to end his suit alleging the trustee of the company's employee stock ownership plan unlawfully pushed him out without investigating a competing executive's misconduct accusations, according to a filing in California federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

    Author Photo

    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

    Author Photo

    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

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.