California

  • September 09, 2026

    Wells Fargo Beats Cert. Bid In Rate-Lock Extension Fee Suit

    A California federal judge declined on Wednesday to certify a proposed class of Wells Fargo customers alleging it wrongly charged certain mortgage fees due to closing delays, ruling that liability cannot be determined without an individual file-by-file analysis to see whether the borrower or the bank was responsible for the delays.

  • September 09, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says FDIC Need Not File Claim To Save SVB Setoff

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is not required to file a claim in the bankruptcy case of Silicon Valley Bank's former parent to preserve its defensive setoff rights, the Second Circuit found Wednesday, delivering another blow to the company in its legal battle with the regulator.

  • September 09, 2026

    Wine Label Makers Spar Over Injunction In Trade Secret Fight

    A California federal judge on Wednesday weighed whether to grant a wine label company's motion for a preliminary injunction against rivals in a case accusing them of using trade secrets allegedly brought over by a former employee.

  • September 09, 2026

    States, Amici Ask Justices To Keep Mail Ballot Rules On Ice

    Nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to leave in place a federal judge's order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new mail-in ballot regulations in this year's midterms, arguing the changes are a major political decision USPS had no authority to make. 

  • September 09, 2026

    Justices Call For Early Response Over Paramount Merger

    The U.S. Supreme Court is giving California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. until later this month to respond to Iowa and Montana's bid to block the merger challenge.

  • September 09, 2026

    Biz Group Says Centene 401(k) Suit Threatens Investor Choice

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supported Centene Corp.'s effort to toss a suit claiming it mismanaged its $4.7 billion retirement plan through excessive management fees and opaque trusts, arguing the suit is improperly attempting to cast certain investment vehicles as inherently untrustworthy.

  • September 09, 2026

    Disney Gets Fubo Streaming Rate Claims Sent To Arbitration

    A California federal court ordered Fubo subscribers to arbitrate their antitrust claims in a case accusing Disney of driving up the cost of subscriptions by forcing the streaming platform to carry a package of channels instead of just ESPN.

  • September 09, 2026

    Unions, Feds Reach Deal In Gov't Shutdown Layoffs Suit

    A coalition of unions has reached a settlement in principle with the Trump administration resolving litigation in California federal court challenging layoffs at federal agencies during the 2025 government shutdown, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 09, 2026

    Calif. Judge Hands Eli Lilly Mixed Bag In Compound Drug Suit

    Eli Lilly failed to plausibly allege that a physician group and pharmacy conspired to falsely advertise compounded versions of its diabetes and weight loss drugs, but can continue with allegations they conspired to unfairly compete with Lilly, a California federal judge held.

  • September 09, 2026

    California Judge Ends Tribe's Challenge Over Village Site

    A federal magistrate judge has ended a dispute between two California tribes over the management of an Indigenous coastal village site, determining that the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria is an indispensable party in the litigation that is protected by sovereign immunity.

  • September 09, 2026

    Munger Tolles Adds Paul Hastings IP Pro In San Francisco

    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP has added to its growing San Francisco intellectual property practice with a partner from Paul Hastings LLP, whose high-profile clients include Meta, Google, Comcast and Netflix, the firm announced Tuesday. 

  • September 09, 2026

    Paramount Doubles Down On $1.9B Bond Bid In Merger Suit

    Paramount has insisted the Writers Guild of America and state attorneys general cannot avoid putting up a roughly $1.9 billion bond as they challenge the media company's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying their arguments against its bond bid fail under the Clayton Act.

  • September 09, 2026

    Womble Bond Adds 15 Lewis Brisbois Auto Defense Attys

    Womble Bond Dickinson has added a 29-person consumer warranty and product liability litigation group from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP that specializes in defending automobile manufacturers, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • September 09, 2026

    Calif. Judge Seeks Clearer Limits On ICE Use Of Medicaid Data

    A California federal judge ordered 22 states and the Trump administration to reach an agreement on the proper scope of his injunction limiting Medicaid data use for immigration enforcement, saying he's unsure how it should apply to people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status.

  • September 09, 2026

    AMC Settles 'Walking Dead' Suit With Creator, Producers

    Television studio AMC has reached a deal to pay the creator of its hit show "The Walking Dead" and some of its producers $120 million to settle claims that they were not paid the correct amount under their contracts and left out of a previous settlement with the show's former executive producer.

  • September 09, 2026

    Analog, Alif Ink $1.4B Deal Steered By Wachtell And DLA Piper

    Analog Devices said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Alif Semiconductor for $1.35 billion in cash, with Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and DLA Piper advising on the transaction. 

  • September 09, 2026

    Katten Adds Kasowitz Data Strategy Team Leader In LA

    Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has bolstered its offerings in Los Angeles with the addition of the chair of Kasowitz LLP's data strategy, privacy and security team and co-chair of its artificial intelligence industry group.

  • September 08, 2026

    Eli Lilly 'Sabotaged' Rezpeg's Development, Nektar Tells Jury

    Eli Lilly & Co. breached its deal with Nektar Therapeutics to co-develop the autoimmune-disease drug Rezpeg and instead "sabotaged" its development in favor of a different Eli Lilly drug, a Nektar lawyer told a California federal jury during opening statements Tuesday, while Lilly's counsel countered that Nektar was unharmed by the deal's termination.

  • September 08, 2026

    Certain Apple Devices Infringe Touch Screen IP, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has held that some functions of certain Apple iPhones and iPads infringe some claims of a touch screen patent owned by Smith Interface Technologies LLC, though he also ruled that the functions don't infringe other claims and that other disputes belong before a jury.

  • September 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Former Atty's Murder-For-Hire Conviction

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday refused to disturb the conviction of a former New York attorney accused of arranging to pay a hitman to kill the mother of his two young children in the midst of a custody battle, ruling that it doesn't matter that his payment was made to an undercover agent rather than a person who really intended to arrange for murder.

  • September 08, 2026

    Feds Say Migrant Kids' Legal Aid Is Stalled By Bidding Process

    An Office of Refugee Resettlement official testified Tuesday during an evidentiary hearing into whether the Trump administration is violating an injunction requiring the government to provide legal representation to immigrant minors, blaming recent legal service interruptions on the federal government's contract bidding process.

  • September 08, 2026

    State Coalition Can Pursue Challenge To HHS Vax Overhaul

    A California federal judge allowed a coalition of states to proceed with their challenge to the Trump administration's decision to cut vaccine recommendations for children, ruling Tuesday the states plausibly alleged those decisions could increase costs of running their healthcare programs and burden them with having to adjust their laws. 

  • September 08, 2026

    WB Asks Panel To Pull Plug On Claim 'The Pitt' Copied 'ER'

    Warner Bros. Television told a California appellate panel Tuesday that a trial court should have tossed a lawsuit by writer Michael Crichton's widow alleging the studio ripped off her husband's show "ER" with the hit medical drama "The Pitt," arguing that a plaintiffs' expert who opined on similarities never even watched the Warner Bros. show.

  • September 08, 2026

    Apple Fights Masimo Bid To Add $243M To $634M Patent Win

    Apple has pressed a California federal judge to reject Masimo's request for nearly $243 million in interest atop a $634 million patent jury verdict on the Apple Watch's heart rate feature, saying the "staggering" damages are so large that adding more would be an "enormous windfall."

  • September 08, 2026

    Amazon Nearly Controls Full Delivery Driver Market, Suit Says

    Amazon rigged its delivery service partner program to abuse its monopsony power, suppressing wages and imposing working conditions so atrocious that drivers resort to relieving themselves in water bottles to meet inhuman delivery requirements, according to a proposed antitrust class action filed in California federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Looking Beyond Calif. Climate Laws As NY Bills Advance

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    California's climate disclosure legislation has made emissions and risk reporting a practical reality — and now that New York is working on its own climate disclosure bills, companies must confront a future in which compliance systems will need to be ready for multiple states' reporting regimes, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

  • 5 Rules In 10 Weeks: Inside Genius Act's Implementation Blitz

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    Regulators have proposed five Genius Act rules in a striking span of 10 weeks, building a stablecoin framework that, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at its operational center, will shape oversight and force issuers, banks and fintechs to take action as deadlines approach, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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