California

  • April 24, 2024

    California Atty Must Face Defamation Claims Over Texts

    An Orange County attorney cannot hide behind claims of litigation privilege and must face defamation claims over disparaging text messages he sent about a contractor working on his home, a California state appeals court said Tuesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Baker McKenzie Adds 17-Atty Deals Team From Munger Tolles

    A team of 11 transactional partners and six associates in Los Angeles is heading to Baker McKenzie from Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, according to an announcement Wednesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Calif. Fertility Clinic Implanted Dead Embryos, Couples Say

    An Orange County, California, fertility clinic accidentally destroyed embryos but still implanted them into patients in an attempt to cover up its mistakes, nine couples said in a suit filed Tuesday in Golden State court.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy Tech Exec Doubted 'Bizarre' $6M Deal, Jury Told

    Autonomy's ex-chief technology officer testified Tuesday in the California federal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he had concerns about Autonomy's "bizarre" 2010 deal to sell $6 million in repackaged hardware, which prosecutors allege was never delivered and was only used to artificially inflate Autonomy's revenues.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Williams Sonoma Exec Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud

    A former Williams Sonoma executive appeared remotely before a U.S. magistrate judge in California federal court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to an 18-count superseding indictment alleging he orchestrated a kickback scheme and another involving the diversion of payments.

  • April 23, 2024

    Tracking Tech Maker Calls USPS' $282M Deal Redo Irrational

    A software company pressed the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to again order the U.S. Postal Service to redo a $281.8 million vehicle tracking deal, saying the agency's course correct ignored that one-third of the agreement had been completed.

  • April 23, 2024

    NY Judge Won't Allow Default Judgment On Tekashi 6ix9ine

    A New York federal judge said a Miami rapper's motion for default judgment against Tekashi 6ix9ine, aka Daniel Hernandez, in a copyright infringement lawsuit should be denied, saying the rapper hadn't fully complied with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to show Hernandez isn't in the military.

  • April 23, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Megan Thee Stallion's Ex-Worker Alleges Hostile Workplace

    Megan Thee Stallion's former cameraman filed a labor violation and harassment complaint in California state court Wednesday alleging the rapper created a hostile work environment by having sex in his presence during an Ibiza car ride and subjecting him to fat-shaming comments.

  • April 23, 2024

    Medtronic Patent Fight With Axonics Set For September Trial

    A California federal judge has lifted a stay in Medtronic's patent infringement suit against Axonics over an electrical stimulation system, while also scheduling a trial for September.

  • April 23, 2024

    CoStar Rival Is Asking To Free Ride, 9th Circ. Told

    CoStar urged the Ninth Circuit not to revive antitrust counterclaims from Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc., despite backing from the Federal Trade Commission, arguing the rival is trying to use antitrust law to get free access to its platforms.

  • April 23, 2024

    Hot Spot Co. Investors' Revised $2.4M Deal Gets Initial OK

    Investors in mobile hotspot-maker Franklin Wireless Corp. have received an initial green light for their $2.4 million deal to end claims the company knowingly sold devices with defective batteries that could burst into flames after a federal judge rejected an earlier iteration of the proposal.

  • April 23, 2024

    GoodRx Hid Revenue Reliance On Kroger, Suit Claims

    GoodRx Holdings Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed from investors the indispensability of its relationship with Kroger, leading to share declines when GoodRx announced revenue would be severely impacted because the grocery chain would no longer be accepting its discount codes.

  • April 23, 2024

    Firefighters Want LA County's Early Win Bid Axed In Hotel Suit

    Los Angeles County firefighters urged a California federal judge to deny the county's bid for an early win in their suit alleging they weren't paid for time they spent quarantined in hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the motion attempts to use the courts as a "pawn to escape liability."

  • April 23, 2024

    Blue States Leap To Defend EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule

    California and 21 other blue states, along with a smattering of cities and the District of Columbia, have told the D.C. Circuit that they want to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defend its rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans from legal attack by red states.

  • April 23, 2024

    Hunton Hires Martin Marietta Assistant GC In San Francisco

    Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP said Tuesday it is growing its environmental team by bringing in a land use and mining expert as a partner in the firm's San Francisco office from building supply company Martin Marietta Materials Inc., where he was assistant general counsel.

  • April 23, 2024

    Williams-Sonoma To Pay $3.2M Over 'Made In America' Claims

    Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a $3.18 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly mislabeling Chinese-produced products as American-made.

  • April 23, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Reinstate Pilot After High-Flying Pot Deliveries

    The Ninth Circuit won't undo the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to revoke the pilot certificate of a pilot who transported cannabis within the state of Alaska, saying the state's legalization of cannabis doesn't block the FAA's rules and regulations.

  • April 23, 2024

    Feds Want About 3 Years In Prison For LA Bank Embezzler

    The former chief financial officer at a community bank in Los Angeles should spend nearly three years in prison after admitting he embezzled more than $700,000 and used employee identities in a life insurance scheme, the government told a California federal court.

  • April 23, 2024

    DOJ Unveils $139M Deal For Larry Nassar Victims

    The U.S. Department of Justice will pay $138.7 million to settle 139 tort claims accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigation of not doing enough to stop the sprawling, decades-long sexual abuse of hundreds of victims at the hands of USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • April 22, 2024

    Pornhub Cos. Urge Judge To Drop Trafficking Suit Claims

    Attorneys for companies associated with Pornhub urged a California federal judge Monday to trim a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims she was sex trafficked by the defunct website GirlsDoPorn, saying it is full of excessive claims and that the court lacks jurisdiction over some defendants.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ex-Twitter Workers Can't Arbitrate Until Class Cert. Resolved

    A proposed class of former employees of Twitter, now known as X, cannot yet force the company to move forward with their various employment claims in arbitration, a California federal judge determined Monday, saying the issue of class certification needs to be decided first.

  • April 22, 2024

    Los Angeles Sues 3M, DuPont Over 'Forever Chemicals'

    The city of Los Angeles is the latest to sue 3M, DuPont and other chemical companies over contamination caused by "forever chemicals," saying the substances from firefighting foam leech into the environment and that the companies "should pay to help clean up the mess that they created."

  • April 22, 2024

    PacWest Wants Suit Over Alleged Rate Hike Exposure Axed

    PacWest Bancorp has urged a California federal judge to toss a proposed class action from an investor who alleges the California regional bank ignored warning signs posed by last year's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, saying the fact that it did not anticipate the "unprecedented turmoil in the banking industry" is not a violation of federal securities laws.

  • April 22, 2024

    Real Estate Investment Cos. Owe SEC $8.4M For $17.5M Fraud

    A pair of companies allegedly used in service of a fraudulent real estate investment scheme will pay over $8.4 million to end claims they were part of the $17.5 million ploy that took in more than 150 would-be investors with claims that the securities involved were "recession-proof."

  • April 22, 2024

    Ex-Tech CEO Gets 18 Months, $1M Fine For Investor Fraud

    The former CEO of software company HeadSpin Inc. will spend 18 months in prison and pay a $1 million fine after pleading guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud for cooking the books as he pitched investors and raised over $100 million.

Expert Analysis

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing

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    For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.

  • Fintech Compliance Does Not Always Equal Bank Compliance

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    Recent enforcement actions are a reminder for banks working with financial technology providers — whether as partners to extend their reach or as internal resources to support existing operations — that few areas of risk need more frequent attention than Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance, says Christopher Couch at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Opinion

    9th Circ. Nazi Art Theft Ruling Is Bad For Repatriation Cases

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, holding that a Spanish museum doesn't have to return a Nazi-stolen painting to the original Jewish owners, spells trouble for future heirloom repatriation cases, which hinge on similar archaic laws, say Andrea Perez and Josh Sherman at Carrington Coleman.

  • Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use

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    While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.

  • Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories

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    The greater frequency and scale of wildfires in the last several years have created operational and fiscal challenges for electric utility companies, including new theories of liability and unique operational and risk management considerations — all of which must be carefully considered by utility investors, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Can A DAO Be Sued? SDNY Case May Hold The Answer

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    A case pending in the Southern District of New York will examine whether decentralized crypto co-op MakerDAO is a partnership with the capacity to be sued in federal court, and the decision could shape how legal frameworks will adapt to accommodate blockchain technologies moving forward, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

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