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September 06, 2024
Airline Asks 9th Circ. Panel To Reconsider Military Leave Suit
A Ninth Circuit panel didn't address whether a former Alaska Airlines pilot advanced enough evidence to show the airline denied him accrued vacation and sick time while on military stints, the company said, urging the panel to revisit its decision flipping the airline's earlier win.
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September 06, 2024
Epstein Becker Employment Ace Joins Fisher Phillips In SF
Labor and employment firm Fisher Phillips is expanding its California team, bringing in an Epstein Becker Green litigator as a partner in its San Francisco office.
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September 05, 2024
Nvidia, Microsoft Face Patent, Cartel Allegations In Texas Suit
A new lawsuit accuses Nvidia of holding "monopoly power" over the market on graphics processing in the artificial intelligence space and alleges the tech company is colluding with Microsoft and a prominent patent risk management company to squeeze out a small startup that claims to have developed the "fundamental intellectual property" behind that technology.
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September 05, 2024
MGA's O.M.G. Dolls Imitated Girl Group's Looks, Member Says
Toy company MGA Entertainment Inc.'s line of O.M.G. dolls imitated the signature looks of a pop group created by rapper T.I. called OMG Girlz, a member of the singing group testified Thursday in a California federal court retrial of a long-running intellectual property fight.
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September 05, 2024
LA Courts Expand Recordings, Citing Court Reporter Shortage
Los Angeles County Superior Court's presiding judge issued an order Thursday expanding the use of electronic recordings in certain civil proceedings due to a "chronic" lack of court reporters, drawing concerns the recordings violate state law and threaten quality transcripts.
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September 05, 2024
NCAA's $2.78B NIL Deal Misses 1st Shot At Initial OK
A California federal judge declined Thursday to preliminarily approve a $2.78 billion deal to settle an antitrust class action targeting the NCAA's name, image and likeness compensation rules, saying counsel must "go back to the drawing board" on some of the deal's terms.
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September 05, 2024
GitLab's AI Hype Was Too Optimistic, Investor Suit Says
Software development collaboration platform GitLab is the latest company to face claims that it misguided investors about how artificial intelligence might bolster its fortunes as it faced other headwinds, including mounting costs for a China-based joint venture, that caused its share price to sink.
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September 05, 2024
Lawmakers, AGs Urge Justices To OK Denial Of E-Cig Apps
A coalition of state attorneys general and a group of Democratic Congress members are backing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in its fight to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision striking down the denials of applications to market flavored vapes.
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September 05, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court 'Lost The Letter' In ERISA Coverage Row
A California federal court "lost the letter" in remanded proceedings over allegations that United Behavioral Health improperly denied nearly 70,000 claims for mental health coverage, the Ninth Circuit has said in a new memorandum.
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September 05, 2024
Clubman Talc Settles Prominent Developer's Asbestos Claims
The company behind Pinaud Clubman talcum powder products has settled claims that its merchandise contained asbestos and caused cancer in a real estate developer described by attorneys for co-defendant Johnson & Johnson as the "Donald Trump of Springfield, Massachusetts."
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September 05, 2024
LA Developer Beats RICO Suit Over CEQA Fight At 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Thursday a decision tossing a Hollywood hotel developer's $100 million racketeering suit against rival hotel developers, rejecting the plaintiff developer's allegations that its competitors had pursued "objectively baseless" sham California Environmental Quality Act litigation to extort the firm.
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September 05, 2024
KC Chiefs 'Superfan' Gets 17.5 Years For Robberies
A man widely known as a Kansas City Chiefs superfan nicknamed "ChiefsAholic" was sentenced Thursday to 17 and a half years in prison over charges that he robbed several Midwestern banks and laundered the money through nearby casinos.
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September 05, 2024
Talks In Geothermal Fight Go On Amid Request For Monument
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, a California tribe and a group of nonprofits say proposed settlement talks in a dispute over a series of geothermal energy leases will continue despite a recent bid by federal lawmakers to have the land in question designated as a national monument.
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September 05, 2024
Google Wants To Know Now What Search Fixes DOJ Will Seek
The U.S. Department of Justice and Google are offering a D.C. federal judge opposing views about how the remedy phase should go in the search monopolization case, with Google pressing to know as soon as possible what enforcers will be asking for.
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September 05, 2024
Guess What? The Guess Who Settled Their Intra-Band TM Suit
The trademark dispute between two halves of the Canadian rock band The Guess Who ended Thursday when the four rockers filed a joint stipulation asking a California federal judge to toss the lead singer and lead guitarist's claims that their two former bandmates were using the group's trademarks without permission.
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September 05, 2024
OpenAI Slams YouTuber's AI Training Class Action
OpenAI told a California federal judge that a proposed class action accusing it of unjustly enriching itself by training its large language model programs with transcripts of YouTube videos is just a "carbon copy" of similar claims already thrown out by the courts, arguing the complaint should be dismissed.
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September 05, 2024
Fraud Claims Trimmed In Faulty VW Turbocharger Suit
A New Jersey federal judge has thrown out the bulk of a putative class action suit from a woman alleging vehicles made and sold by Volkswagen Group of America Inc. had faulty turbochargers, only allowing a claim that the automaker was aware of the defect and failed to warn buyers.
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September 05, 2024
Marvel Illegally Coerced Silence, 'X-Men '97' Writer Says
Former "X-Men '97" series head writer has hit Marvel Animation Studio LLC with a lawsuit in California state court, seeking to invalidate a nondisparagement provision he claims Marvel coerced him into signing amid his alleged "forced ouster" this year.
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September 05, 2024
$9.1M In Fees Requested For Calif. Debt Relief Law Firm Ch. 11
Just days after a bankruptcy judge said in court that unsecured creditors in the case of collapsed California debt relief firm Litigation Practice Group will likely receive little to nothing, professionals working on the case filed about $9.1 million in fee requests — enough to use up most of the available cash.
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September 05, 2024
Calif. Firm Beats $9.5M Malpractice Loss Over Estate Work
A California state appeals court on Wednesday threw out a $9.5 million malpractice verdict against a Los Angeles-area lawyer and his firm over their handling of a noted burn surgeon's estate, holding that allowing the verdict and penalty to stand would be an 'intolerable burden' on the legal community.
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September 05, 2024
Calif. City Lodges Sick Leave Suit Against Southwest
Southwest Airlines failed to restore the paid sick hours to workers as part of a settlement it reached with the city of Oakland in 2020 and denied employees their right to take sick leave, the city said in a complaint in California state court.
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September 05, 2024
Latham-Led Topgolf Plans Spinoff Into 2 Separate Cos.
Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp., advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, has announced plans to spin off its golf entertainment business Topgolf into its own publicly traded company, creating two separate golf-focused businesses.
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September 05, 2024
Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty To Tax Charges In Surprise Move
Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea to nine criminal tax charges in California federal court on Thursday, bringing a dramatic conclusion to the case following a dizzying series of events on what was set to be the first day of his trial.
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September 05, 2024
UK Drops Weinstein Prosecution Over '90s Assault Charges
Harvey Weinstein will not be prosecuted for indecent assault in England after the Crown Prosecution Service said Thursday that it is dropping charges over an alleged assault in the 1990s.
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September 04, 2024
'I Was Blown Away': Tiny Harris Says MGA Stole Group's Look
Tameka "Tiny" Harris testified Wednesday in California federal court that she was taken aback the first time she saw MGA Entertainment's line of O.M.G. dolls because she believed they ripped off the OMG Girlz pop group she created, and said a survey of her Instagram followers confirmed her reaction.
Expert Analysis
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Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review
Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Utilizing Liability Exemption When Calif. Cities Lease Property
With rising costs pushing California municipalities to lease real estate assets instead of purchasing them, municipalities should review the ample case law that supports certain exceptions to California Constitution Section 18(a) requirements, providing that certain long-term lease obligations are not considered to be liabilities, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.
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Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming
Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.
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Dueling Calif. Rulings Offer Insight On 401(k) Forfeiture Suits
Two recent decisions from California federal courts regarding novel Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims around 401(k) forfeitures provide early tea leaves for companies that may face similar litigation, offering reasons for both optimism and concern over the future direction of the law, say Ashley Johnson and Jennafer Tryck at Gibson Dunn.
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3 Policyholder Tips After Calif. Ruling Denying D&O Coverage
A California decision from June, Practice Fusion v. Freedom Specialty Insurance, denying a company's claim seeking reimbursement under a directors and officers insurance policy for its settlement with the Justice Department, highlights the importance of coordinating coverage for all operational risks and the danger of broad exclusionary policy language, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.
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Loss Causation Ruling Departs From Usual Securities Cases
A California federal court recently dismissed Ramos v. Comerica, finding that the allegations failed to establish loss causation, but the reasoning is in tension with the pleading-stage approaches generally followed by both courts and economists in securities fraud litigation, say Jesse Jensen and Aasiya Glover at Bernstein Litowitz.
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PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance
Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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What FTX Case Taught Us About Digital Asset Recoverability
FTX's Chapter 11 plan has drawn lots of attention, but the focus should be on the anticipated outcome for investors, which counters several myths about digital currencies, innovation and recoverability, says Kyla Curley at StoneTurn.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Synapse Bankruptcy Has Ripple Effects For Fintech Industry
Synapse Financial Technologies’ recent bankruptcy filing marks a significant moment in the fintech industry's evolution, highlighting that stringent compliance and risk management in fintech partnerships are essential to mitigate risk and protect consumers, say Joann Needleman and Ryan Blumberg at Clark Hill.
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.