California

  • September 08, 2026

    Walmart Illegally Fired Worker For Positive Pot Test, Suit Says

    Walmart illegally fired an employee who tested positive for a nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolite that showed up on his urine drug test, despite lacking evidence that he possessed or used cannabis at the workplace or showed any signs of impairment, alleges a wrongful termination suit removed to California federal court on Friday.

  • September 08, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes involving a former NFL star and a $2.5 million solar venture, Morgan Stanley's role in Fox Corp.'s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s effort to pause more than $20 million in legal-fee payments to former Frank executives.

  • September 08, 2026

    Top LA Prosecutor Faces New DQ Attempt After 9th Circ. Ruling

    A criminal defendant has renewed his attempt to disqualify top Los Angeles federal prosecutor Bill Essayli from overseeing his case, following a Ninth Circuit decision that upheld a similar ruling against Nevada's lead federal prosecutor, saying the government is "playing shadow games" with prosecutorial powers.

  • September 08, 2026

    Calif. Urges Justices To Let Paramount Merger Case Play Out

    California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery have urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to expedite Iowa and Montana's case seeking to block the merger challenge.

  • September 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Reopens Immigration Case After Flat-Tire Delay

    A split panel of the Ninth Circuit has found immigration officials erred by not reconsidering the case of a Guatemalan man facing removal after he was five minutes late to his hearing, saying documentation was not required to prove a flat tire caused the delay.

  • September 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Atty Fees In 3D Motion Sensor Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday turned down network testing company Viavi Solutions Inc.'s challenge to a lower court's decision ordering it to pay another company's attorney fees after Viavi unsuccessfully brought suit alleging patent infringement.

  • September 08, 2026

    Former Fox Legal Chief Joins Sullivan & Cromwell In Calif.

    Fox Corp.'s former legal and policy chief, Viet D. Dinh, has returned to private practice as a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • September 08, 2026

    777 Partners Gets OK To Ditch 6 Leases In Ch. 11 Case

    Investment firm 777 Partners secured a Texas bankruptcy judge's approval Tuesday to reject six leases for offices the debtor occupied before seeking Chapter 11 protection in August.

  • September 07, 2026

    USPS Asks High Court To Allow 'Modest' Mail Ballot Rules

    The Trump administration has once again asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Massachusetts federal judge's order barring the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new mail-in ballot regulations ahead of this year's midterms, arguing the "modest" changes are well within USPS' authority and don't affect election administration. 

  • September 04, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Law Firm Office Tips, Remote Data Centers

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insights into law office strategies in premier markets and the pros and cons of building data centers on unincorporated land.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Tosses Conviction Over Hand Tattoo Testimony

    The Ninth Circuit has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of robbing a store in Washington, finding that he was not testifying in his own defense when he showed jurors that he had tattoos on his hand, unlike the hand of the man seen committing the robbery in security camera footage.

  • September 04, 2026

    Verisign, ICANN Accused Of Locking In .Com Monopoly

    Verisign, which controls the database that makes every .com website functional, has monopolized .com registry services and keeps its power through a financial arrangement with the nonprofit charged with promoting competition in the domain name marketplace, according to a consumer antitrust lawsuit filed Friday in California federal court.

  • September 04, 2026

    Calif. Privacy Agency Flags Data Brokers' Reporting Gaps

    California's privacy agency is warning data brokers that they run the risk of accumulating hefty daily fines for not only failing to register with the agency, but also for providing inaccurate information about their data collection and sale activities in connection with that registration. 

  • September 04, 2026

    DivX Loses Bid For New Patent Trial After Loss To Netflix

    DivX cannot have a new trial over anti-copying and image-quality patents after a California jury cleared Netflix of infringement in March, a federal judge ruled Friday, saying the video compression technology company hasn't shown the jury's decision was not supported by substantial evidence.

  • September 04, 2026

    Injury Law Roundup: Meta's Social Media Addiction Deal

    A $17.1 billion social media addiction settlement between Meta and 29 states and Johnson & Johnson's $5.5 billion ovarian cancer deal over its talc products lead Law360's Injury Law Roundup.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Restores Idaho Abortion Ban Enforcement, For Now

    The Ninth Circuit will allow Idaho to fully enforce its abortion ban while the state briefs its request for emergency relief from an order that blocked the ban's application in certain health-related circumstances and declared a fundamental right to some abortions under the U.S. Constitution.

  • September 04, 2026

    Judge Asks Atty To Explain Absences In Nurses' Wage Suit

    A Colorado federal magistrate judge ordered Friday that an attorney for nearly 40 nurses in a wage lawsuit against Colorado-based U.S. Nursing Corp. explain why he has not appeared in the case for months and why the court should not therefore toss the suit.

  • September 04, 2026

    Split PTAB Gives Amazon Win On Speech Patent

    A split Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that Amazon was able to show that claims in a speech recognition patent were invalid, the latest in a larger fight involving a patent litigation outfit that targeted the retail giant's Alexa virtual assistant.

  • September 04, 2026

    Judge Again Blocks USPS Mail Ballot Rule

    A Massachusetts federal judge late Friday again blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing a new rule that would allow it to refuse delivery of mailed ballots in this November's midterm elections.

  • September 04, 2026

    Meta Hit With Class Action Claiming AI Tools Aid Crypto Fraud

    Three cryptocurrency scam victims hit Meta Platforms Inc. with a proposed class action Thursday, accusing the social media giant of turning a blind eye to reports of rampant crypto-ad scams on its platforms and instead perpetuating the scams by providing scammers with artificial intelligence tools that boost their impact.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Let Roblox Arbitrate Online Safety Suit

    The Ninth Circuit denied Roblox Corp.'s bid to compel arbitration in a suit by a man alleging his daughter was targeted on the platform by adult predators, saying its delay in seeking arbitration while it litigated the suit on the merits waived any right to arbitrate.

  • September 04, 2026

    SF Archdiocese Seeks Approval Of Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures

    The Archdiocese of San Francisco asked a California bankruptcy judge Thursday to approve its Chapter 11 plan disclosure statement and the form of ballots to be sent to voting creditors as the organization moves toward confirmation of a $395 million settlement with childhood sexual abuse victims.

  • September 04, 2026

    Passengers Say State Laws Offer No Immunity In Lyft MDL

    Lyft Inc. passengers are urging a California federal court to reject the company's bid to throw out their claims in multidistrict litigation that it failed to protect them from sexual assault, saying no Texas or California law or regulation offers the immunity Lyft seeks.

  • September 04, 2026

    ERISA Recap: 5 Appellate Rulings To Know From August

    The Seventh Circuit kept an Arkansas pharmacy benefit manager rule in place as not preempted by federal benefits law, the Fourth Circuit revived an Altria ex-worker's dispute over benefit plan documents, and the Eleventh Circuit reversed a pretrial win for Royal Caribbean in cruise workers' suit challenging 401(k) funds. Here, Law360 looks at those and two other major appellate decisions from August involving ERISA that benefits attorneys may want to know.

  • September 04, 2026

    'Bad Faith' Subpoenas On Apple Execs Spur Fee Sanctions

    A California federal magistrate judge imposed sanctions Thursday on Joseph M. Alioto of Alioto Law Firm for repeatedly trying to depose senior Apple executives, including then-CEO Tim Cook, in an attempt to drag the iPhone-maker back into consumer antitrust litigation accusing Google of shutting out rival search engines.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Safeguarding RWI Coverage As Materiality Focus Persists

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    As first-quarter broker claims reports reveal that materiality disputes remain a key driver of representations and warranties insurance claims, the scarce case law in this area indicates that including a materiality scrape provision in an RWI policy may aid policyholders with recovery, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • How Oregon Ruling Affects Federal Gender Care Crackdown

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    In a favorable development for healthcare providers, an Oregon federal court recently vacated certain U.S. Department of Health and Human Services restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, but the government's broader campaign against this care, including proposed rulemaking and agency investigations, leaves significant uncertainty, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Ax Privacy Bill For Not Shielding Consumers

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    The SECURE Data Act should be rejected because, despite Congress' claims, it would not meaningfully rein in data practices, but instead would weaken enforcement, eliminate stronger protections and prioritize data extraction over consumer protection and accountability, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

  • AI Data Center Boom May Spur Wave Of Toxic Tort Suits

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    Nascent litigation matters against data center operators, set against limited government regulation and a growing body of public health research, suggests we may be on the cusp of an era of mass toxic tort claims, with a liability framework firmly rooted in precedent from other industries, says Benjamin Heller at RFZ Law.

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

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