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April 10, 2024
NBC, Universal Sued Over 'Harry Potter' Ride Malfunction
Riders who were stuck for over an hour on a ride at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Hollywood that left them suspended midair have sued NBCUniversal and the theme park in California court, accusing them of negligently failing to safely maintain the attraction.
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April 10, 2024
EEOC Throws Weight Behind AI Bias Suit Against Workday
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Workday shouldn't be able to dodge a Black job seeker's California federal court suit claiming it uses biased algorithms to screen out applicants, arguing that the software company can't evade liability by claiming it's not an employer.
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Says Arbitration Carveout Doesn't Apply To Cos.
Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act only applies to humans, not companies, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, affirming a Washington federal court decision shipping three Amazon workers' misclassification suit to arbitration.
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April 10, 2024
Musk Deposition Decision Put Off In Twitter Layoff Fight
A California federal judge deferred ex-Twitter employees' request to depose X Corp. owner Elon Musk until after other defendants gave their depositions in a suit alleging the company violated federal laws requiring advance warning of mass layoffs.
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April 10, 2024
Feds Cleared To Use Undercover Recording In Atty's Tax Trial
Federal prosecutors trying an attorney next week on charges he orchestrated a tax fraud scheme that spanned seven states will be allowed to play for the jury an audio recording made by an undercover agent, a North Carolina federal judge ruled.
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April 10, 2024
'Smart' Glass Maker View Escapes SPAC Merger Suit For Good
"Smart" glass manufacturer View Inc. has permanently beaten a proposed investor class action over an internal probe it announced following its go-public merger with a special purpose acquisition company, with a California federal judge ruling that the lead plaintiff did not own View stock when the identified corrective disclosures occurred.
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April 10, 2024
Venable Adds Cybersecurity Leaders In San Francisco, DC
Venable LLP has hired a senior director of cybersecurity services and a director of global security and technology strategy — additions joining on opposite sides of the U.S., the firm announced Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
Children Fight Feds' Bid To Dodge Constitutional Climate Suit
A group of children has fired back at the federal government's attempt to dismiss its California federal court lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency knowingly allows unsafe levels of climate pollution despite the Constitution guaranteeing "a life-sustaining climate system."
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April 10, 2024
Freshfields Guides EBay On Multipronged Trading Card Deal
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is guiding eBay Inc. on new agreements with collectibles grading company Collectors that include eBay acquiring Collectors' Goldin auction house, in what the companies said Wednesday is an effort to streamline the trading card hobby in the U.S.
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April 10, 2024
Pot Cos. Say California City Reneged On Fee Waiver Promise
Six cannabis companies are suing the city of Cudahy in California federal court, saying the city breached its contracts by refusing to waive fees accrued during national emergencies and city-caused delays, costing the companies more than $26 million in damages.
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April 10, 2024
Kirkland-Led Lone View Secures $850M For Inaugural Fund
Growth-oriented private equity shop Lone View Capital, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Wednesday announced that it clinched its inaugural fund after raising $850 million from investors, bringing the firm's total assets under management to roughly $1.1 billion.
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April 09, 2024
'You're Going To Lose These People,' Judge Tells Lynch Atty
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Tuesday chided a Steptoe partner representing former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch in his criminal fraud jury trial, saying that his hourslong questioning of a Deloitte partner shouldn't go on much longer, or "you're going to lose these people."
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April 09, 2024
9th Circ. Says Hotel, Restaurant Virus Losses Not Covered
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday said two groups of Washington state restaurants and hotels can't claim COVID-related business losses under their insurance policies because they failed to show they physically lost functional use of their properties as a result of the virus.
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April 09, 2024
Investor Can't Get Approval Of Hong Kong Award In Calif.
A California judge has thrown out a petition filed by a biotechnology company investor seeking to enforce a Hong Kong arbitral award that found she is the proper owner of the company's shares, saying the case has an insufficient connection to the Golden State.
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April 09, 2024
Prime Healthcare Lacked Oversight Of 401(k) Plan, Judge Told
An attorney who specializes in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation testified on Tuesday as the first witness in a California bench trial for two certified classes claiming Prime Healthcare Services Inc. poorly managed their 401(k) plans, and said the company's oversight of its investment committee was "almost a dereliction of duty."
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April 09, 2024
Calif. AG Backs Bill To Revamp 'Abysmal' Corporate Penalties
California Attorney General Rob Bonta gave his full support Tuesday to a state bill that would increase the cap on criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance from the "abysmal penalty" of $10,000 per felony to $25 million, or twice the value of the inflicted loss, and provide all proceeds to California's crime victim services.
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April 09, 2024
Calif. Addiction Clinic Can't Shake Off Copyright Suit
An intellectual property and false advertising feud between two rival addiction outpatient clinics in Sacramento will go on, a federal judge in California has ruled.
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April 09, 2024
99 Cents Only Moves Forward On Ch. 11 Shutdown Plans
Discount retail store 99 Cents Only is on track to close its 371 stores by the end of May as part of its Chapter 11 case after a Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved first-day motions that lay groundwork for the company to close down, but held off on approving a debtor-in-possession package until terms reached during hallway negotiations can be memorialized.
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April 09, 2024
Venable Snags Trio Of Product Liability Partners From Steptoe
Three Steptoe LLP product liability and mass torts partners have departed the firm and joined Venable LLP in Chicago and Los Angeles, according to an announcement Tuesday.
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April 09, 2024
Pfizer Cancer Drug Way Too Expensive, Biden Told
The U.S. government is being asked yet again to use patent laws to lower the price of a prostate cancer drug that was developed at UCLA and is being sold by Pfizer for $136 a pill in the U.S.
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April 09, 2024
'No Merit' To Talent Co.'s Bid To DQ Execs' Attys, Judge Says
A California state judge on Tuesday told attorneys for A3 Artists Agency and its chair, Adam Bold, that their allegation of a conflict of interest "has no merit" and that she tentatively would deny their motion to disqualify opposing counsel representing executives suing Bold and the agency for breach of contract.
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April 09, 2024
Dole Escapes Fruit Snack False Ad Suit, For Now
A California federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing Dole Packaged Foods LLC of falsely labeling its fruit snacks as nutritious and healthy when the products are filled with sugar, saying the challenged statements are "puffery."
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April 09, 2024
Starbucks' Calif. Stores Lack Lactation Spaces, Suit Says
A Starbucks employee brought a proposed class action in California state court on behalf of similarly situated workers in the Golden State over the coffeehouse chain's "systemic failure" to provide adequate lactation spaces and sufficient pumping time for nursing employees.
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April 09, 2024
StarKist, PE Co. Settle Tuna Price-Fixing Claims For $3.9M
Canned tuna buyers are hoping to settle their long-running price-fixing suit with StarKist and Bumble Bee, asking a California federal judge for preliminary approval of two class action payouts worth a total of $3.87 million.
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April 09, 2024
9th Circ. Open To Reviving Calif. Cannabis Abatement Fight
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday appeared open to reviving a proposed class action alleging that Humboldt County's abatement fines for unlicensed cannabis growing structures is an unconstitutional "dragnet scheme," with two judges suggesting the magistrate judge inappropriately resolved material factual disputes against the property owners at the pleading stage.
Expert Analysis
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
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.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
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.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing
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.
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Fintech Compliance Does Not Always Equal Bank Compliance
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.
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Opinion
9th Circ. Nazi Art Theft Ruling Is Bad For Repatriation Cases
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.
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Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use
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.
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Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
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.
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Opinion
The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs
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.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories
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.
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The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases
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.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Can A DAO Be Sued? SDNY Case May Hold The Answer
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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Tips For Counsel Seeking Balance In The ESG Political Divide
Corporate counsel tasked with navigating environmental, social and governance factors in the current polarized political environment should not lose sight of best practices, including sticking to what the law requires and always telling the truth, say Jennifer Rubin at Mintz and Mike Rider at ResMed.
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Disney Copyright Expiration Spurs Trademark Questions
While the recent expiration of Disney’s Steamboat Willie copyright is not likely to have an immediate impact, it could provide clarity on the extent to which trademark rights in character names and appearance affect what others can do with characters from works whose copyright has expired, says Bryan Wheelock at Harness IP.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.