California

  • May 16, 2025

    Western Digital Agrees To End Patent Suit After $262M Verdict

    Data storage giant Western Digital and MR Technologies told a California federal judge Friday they agreed to end a patent dispute that last summer had put Western Digital on the hook for $262.4 million in damages to MR Technologies for infringing patents for increasing storage capacity on disk drives.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds California's Employee Classification Test

    California's worker-friendly employee classification test doesn't violate the dormant commerce and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, upholding the lower court denial of a preliminary injunction.

  • May 16, 2025

    Calif. Atty Caught Using Claim Construction Made Up By AI

    A San Francisco-based attorney representing Magpul Industries in patent litigation has been effectively removed from the case after admitting that the claim construction chart he submitted was nearly all fabricated by artificial intelligence.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Reopen Ex-Police Officer's Religious Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a former police officer's lawsuit claiming an Arizona town fired him because it believed he was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, saying his allegations weren't detailed enough to stay in court.

  • May 16, 2025

    Criminal Case Dropped Against Girardi In Illinois

    An Illinois federal judge has nixed the criminal charges against disbarred attorney Tom Girardi after the government's move to dismiss the case, citing his age and conviction in California.

  • May 16, 2025

    1st Circ. Rejects Appeals By Trio Of 'Varsity Blues' Parents

    The First Circuit has upheld the guilty pleas of three parents in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scheme, finding that a past ruling in the long-running case undercut their bids to unwind the convictions.

  • May 16, 2025

    23 States Win Order Halting Billions In HHS Public Health Cuts

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from cutting off billions of dollars in funding to state public health programs, determining the abrupt grant terminations likely violated congressional authority over spending.

  • May 16, 2025

    Judge Blocks Energy Department's Cap On Research Costs

    A Boston federal judge blocked a U.S. Department of Energy policy capping research costs, saying the suit was "far from identical" to another case in which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to education grant cuts.

  • May 15, 2025

    J&J Unit's Economist Rips Rival's $147M Antitrust Damage Bid

    Biosense Webster's economic expert took the stand Thursday in California federal court to criticize Innovative Health's claim it suffered $147 million in damages from Biosense's policy withholding clinical support to hospitals using third-party reprocessed catheters, arguing Innovative lost nothing and saved on clinical support costs it otherwise would've incurred.

  • May 15, 2025

    Each Justice's Key Comments At Universal Injunction Args

    U.S. Supreme Court justices conducted a searching inquiry Thursday regarding the Trump administration's quest to curtail sweeping injunctions against its agenda, sometimes sounding sympathetic but also wary of alternative remedies and the White House's willingness to accept any future courtroom losses.

  • May 15, 2025

    Taylor Swift Fans Get Final Shot At Ticketmaster Antitrust Suit

    A California federal judge said Thursday he will give hundreds of Taylor Swift fans one more opportunity to amend a complaint against Ticketmaster alleging antitrust violations related to ticket sales for the pop superstar's Eras tour, but stressed it will be the last amendment he will allow.

  • May 15, 2025

    Zuckerberg Can't Avoid Deposition In Meta Health Privacy Suit

    A California federal judge on Wednesday refused to rethink her earlier order forcing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to give a limited deposition in privacy litigation over a Facebook tool's alleged collection of patient health information, rejecting Meta's arguments that other executives are better suited to testify.

  • May 15, 2025

    Paul Mitchell Buyers Near Cert. In Cruelty-Free False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge indicated on Thursday that he'd likely certify a Golden State class of Paul Mitchell customers who allege the hair care products maker deceptively concealed its animal testing in China while touting its U.S. products as cruelty-free.

  • May 15, 2025

    Coinbase May Avoid BiT Global's $1B Antitrust Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday she'll likely toss a $1 billion antitrust case against Coinbase claiming the cryptocurrency exchange delisted BiT Global after launching a competing "wrapped" bitcoin product for trading on decentralized exchanges, saying the suit didn't plausibly allege that Coinbase gave false justifications for dropping the rival.

  • May 15, 2025

    LG Cheats Buyers By Starting Warranties Early, Suit Says

    LG Electronics is cheating consumers and breaking California's consumer warranty law by starting warranty periods at the dates consumers buy the appliance company's products and not when products are delivered, two California residents alleged in a putative class action filed Wednesday.

  • May 15, 2025

    Polar Air Vendor Gets 2 Years For $32M Kickback Scheme

    The owner of a California aviation company was sentenced Thursday in New York federal court to two years in prison for paying Polar Air Cargo executives $4.4 million in kickbacks in exchange for lucrative contracts, as part of a $32 million scheme to enrich the cargo airline's C-suite and others, at the company's expense.

  • May 15, 2025

    Anthropic's Atty Says Client's Own AI Created Error In Filing

    A Latham & Watkins LLP associate representing Anthropic in the artificial intelligence company's copyright fight with music publishers said Thursday that she used Anthropic's own Claude.ai tool to help draft an expert's declaration that included an erroneous citation, but she argued the error was "an honest citation mistake and not a fabrication of authority."

  • May 15, 2025

    Live Nation's Atty Fails To 'Move The Needle' In Discovery Bid

    A California federal judge appeared likely Thursday to stick with his tentative ruling that Live Nation's ticketing rivals can protect documents they say could facilitate the very conduct at issue in an antitrust case, telling an attorney for the company his arguments did not "move the needle."

  • May 15, 2025

    Consumer Bid To Block Capital One-Discover Deal Falters

    A California federal judge Wednesday rejected a group of consumers' last-minute bid to delay Capital One Financial Corp.'s impending purchase of Discover Financial Services, unpersuaded that the deal poses serious enough potential antitrust concerns to support a preliminary injunction.

  • May 15, 2025

    Unions, Groups Seek Injunction To Block Gov't Restructuring

    A California federal judge must greenlight a nationwide injunction to stop multiple federal agencies from moving ahead with implementing reorganization and mass termination plans linked to an executive order, a coalition of unions and groups argued, making their request on the heels of a temporary restraining order.

  • May 15, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Pausing Sweeping Injunctions In Birthright Case

    A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed eager Thursday to limit lower courts' use of universal injunctions generally, but several justices voiced concerns about the effect such a ruling would have on lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's executive order that aims to limit birthright citizenship.

  • May 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Anti-Trans Orgs Can Nix Youth Runaway Law

    Ninth Circuit judges questioned Thursday if anti-transgender groups and parents had standing to challenge a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for runaway teens seeking gender-affirming care, with one judge asking "where are the parents" who have been adversely affected.

  • May 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Questions University's Limits On Professor's Speech

    Two Ninth Circuit judges cast doubt on the University of Washington's defense in a First Amendment lawsuit on Thursday, questioning why the college would remove a professor's parody of a Native American land acknowledgment from his class syllabus while permitting him to broadcast the same opinions elsewhere in the academic setting.

  • May 15, 2025

    SEC Focused On 'Rooting Out' AI Abuse, Agency Atty Says

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is focused on "rooting out" the misuse of artificial intelligence by brokerage firms and publicly traded companies, a California audience heard Thursday as agency attorneys tried to combat the perception that the SEC's enforcement arm has gone silent.

  • May 15, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. Affirms BNSF Railway's Win In Retaliation Suit

    The full Ninth Circuit upheld a win for BNSF Railway on Thursday in a now-deceased conductor's lawsuit alleging he was fired in retaliation for testing train cars' brakes, finding the railroad had met the high bar required for lawful firing under whistleblower protection law. 

Expert Analysis

  • A Close-Up Look At DOJ's Challenge To HPE-Juniper Deal

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    The outcome of the Justice Department's challenge to Hewlett Packard Enterprise's proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks will likely hinge on several key issues, including market dynamics and shares, internal documents, and questions about innovation and customer harm, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Justices Likely To Issue Narrow Ruling In $1.3B Award Dispute

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    After last week's argument in Devas v. Antrix, the Supreme Court appears likely to reverse the holding that minimum contacts are required before a federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign state and remand the case for further litigation on other important constitutional questions, say attorneys at Cleary. 

  • AG Watch: Texas Is Entering New Privacy Enforcement Era

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    The state of Texas' recent suit against Allstate is the culmination of a long-standing commitment to vigorously enforcing privacy laws in the state, and while still in the early stages, it offers several important insights for companies and privacy practitioners, says Paul Singer at Kelley Drye.

  • IRS Scrutiny May Underlie Move Away From NIL Collectives

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    The University of Colorado's January announcement that it was severing its partnership with a name, image and likeness collective is part of universities' recent push to move NIL activities in-house, seemingly motivated by tax implications and increased scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • 6 Laws Transforming Calif.'s Health Regulatory Framework

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    Attorneys at Hooper Lundy discuss a number of new California laws that raise pressing issues for independent physicians and small practice groups, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to wage standards for healthcare employees.

  • Opinion

    NCAA Name, Image, Likeness Settlement Is A $2.8B Mistake

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    While the plaintiffs in House v. NCAA might call the proposed settlement on name, image and likeness payments for college athletes a breakthrough, it's a legally dubious Band-Aid that props up a system favoring a select handful of male athletes at the expense of countless others, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • Implications Of Kid Privacy Rule Revamp For Parents, Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act will expand protections for children online, meaning parents will have greater control over their children's data and tech companies must potentially change their current privacy practices — or risk noncompliance, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

  • Copyright Ruling Could Extend US Terminations Worldwide

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    If upheld on appeal, Vetter v. Resnik, a recent ruling from a Louisiana federal court, could extend the geographical scope of U.S. copyright termination rights to foreign territories, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare

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    A new bill recently introduced in the California Senate revives last year's attempt to increase oversight of healthcare transactions involving private equity groups and hedge funds, meaning that attorneys may soon need to assess the compliance status of existing management relationships and consider modifying contract terms, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Recent Cases Suggest ESG Means 'Ever-Shifting Guidelines'

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    U.S. courts have recently handed down a number of contradictory decisions on important environmental, social and governance issues, adding to an already complex mix of conflicting political priorities, new laws and changing regulatory guidance — but there are steps that companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Pepperdine Case Highlights Shift In Collegiate IP Landscape

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    A complaint filed by Pepperdine University against Netflix and Warner Bros. two weeks ago alleges that a comedy series unlawfully copies the school's trademarks, and the decision could reshape the portrayal of collegiate athletics on screen and the legal tools schools use to defend their emblems, says Mindy Lewis at Michelman & Robinson.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Greenwashing

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    As the number of public and private lawsuits relating to greenwashing dramatically grows, risk managers of companies making environmental claims should look to several types of insurance for coverage in the event of a suit, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

  • Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector

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    As Texas looks to become the next state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence, the healthcare industry should consider how AI regulation will continue to evolve in the U.S. and how industry members can keep up with compliance considerations, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.

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