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Massachusetts
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February 21, 2024
CoStar, Hotel Giants Accused Of Data-Driven Price-Fixing
Hilton, Hyatt and other big name hotel operators are the target of a proposed class action alleging they colluded with hospitality industry analytics firm CoStar Group Inc. to fix prices in luxury hotel markets in Seattle and other major U.S. cities, according to a suit filed in Washington federal court.
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February 21, 2024
Morgue Manager's Wife Cops To Role In Body Part Sales
The wife of a Harvard University morgue manager will cop to interstate transport of stolen goods for her role in the alleged scheme to steal and sell human remains to a nationwide network, prosecutors said Wednesday.
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February 21, 2024
Mass., Property Developer Strike Deal Over Wetlands Pollution
The state of Massachusetts and a nationwide residential property developer have settled claims the company caused sediment runoff in wetlands in a town about 16 miles south of Boston, in violation of the Clean Water Act.
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February 21, 2024
1st Circ. Won't Revive $19M Casino Deal Suit Against Wynn
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a real estate executive's suit claiming Wynn Resorts reneged on a handshake deal to pay him $19 million for helping it obtain a casino license, pointing to an opinion from Massachusetts' top appellate court saying the agreement is unenforceable on public policy grounds.
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February 21, 2024
Feds Seek 5 Years Over Red Sox Network Exec's Billing Fraud
Federal prosecutors are arguing for a prison sentence of more than five years for a former executive with the network that broadcasts Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins games after he was convicted of stealing more than $575,000 from the company through a sham billing scheme.
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February 20, 2024
Crypto-Friendly Atty Challenges Warren For Senate Seat
An attorney known for his pro-crypto views and criticism of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Tuesday a campaign to unseat incumbent and crypto critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the Massachusetts senatorial race.
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February 20, 2024
How Future Litigators Are Training In A 'Flight Simulator'
Law students who would traditionally experience only a few courtroom scenarios over a semester have begun working with programs that can provide an entire array of courtroom curveballs, thanks to large language model artificial intelligence technology.
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February 20, 2024
Angry Buyer Told Machine Seller, 'I'll Kill You All,' Jury Hears
Counsel for an Italy-based woodworking machinery manufacturer told an Atlanta federal jury Tuesday that their client's employees had been subjected to "profanity, and insults, and actual threats of physical violence" from a disgruntled customer who claimed his company had been sold a "lemon" of a high-tech wood cutting device.
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February 20, 2024
Warhol Faker Gets 37 Mos. As He Awaits Murder Trial
A Massachusetts man who is awaiting trial for allegedly murdering his wife was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in federal prison for a yearslong scheme to sell forged artworks purporting to be original Andy Warhol pieces.
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February 20, 2024
Justices Decline Malpractice Dispute Over $6M Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the appeal of a Massachusetts legal malpractice suit in which Lubin & Meyer PC was accused, and cleared by a lower court, of pressuring a family into accepting a $6 million settlement that the family claims could have been higher.
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February 20, 2024
Justices Pass On Discrimination Suit Over Calif. Bar Exam
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a Massachusetts patent attorney's suit alleging age discrimination is baked into the California bar exam.
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February 20, 2024
Pot Shop Says Trade Group CEO Bungled License Bid
The leader of a cannabis industry trade group is being accused in a lawsuit of convincing the owner of a dispensary to invest in what he was promised would be a "guaranteed" license to operate another retail location, only to mishandle the process.
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February 20, 2024
High Court Denies Review Of Wrestler Attorney Sanctions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a petition from an attorney seeking to vacate a $312,000 sanctions order over his representation of former wrestlers over brain injuries they suffered while working for World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
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February 20, 2024
1st Circ. Backs Genzyme Win In Worker's Race Bias Case
Genzyme Therapeutic Products LP saw its pretrial win in a discrimination case upheld by the First Circuit, which found that a Black manager did not offer enough proof to show that his poor performance review was the result of racial bias.
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February 16, 2024
Stop Trying To Relate To Jurors If You Liked Harvard: Judge
A senior federal district judge from Oregon on Friday urged intellectual property attorneys to stop pretending they can connect with juries when their backgrounds at times make it impossible to do so.
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February 16, 2024
The Congressman Who Reps Cannabis Reform On Capitol Hill
Rep. Earl Blumenauer speaks to Law360 about the prospects for Congress enacting marijuana reform, why he supports moving cannabis to Schedule III and some of the drug policy triumphs and setbacks in his home state of Oregon.
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February 16, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Deadlines, Delivery Drivers & Smog
The U.S. Supreme Court will be closed Monday for Presidents Day and will begin a short oral argument week on Tuesday, during which the justices will consider the deadlines for challenging a federal agency's action and bringing copyright infringement claims.
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February 16, 2024
DOJ Says $3M Antitrust Deal Doesn't Fix Commission Rule
The U.S. Department of Justice urged a Massachusetts federal court to reject a proposed $3 million settlement in an antitrust class action alleging a multiple listing service's commission rule inflated fees, saying the deal "perpetuates the very same competitive concerns that trouble the current rule."
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February 16, 2024
Carl Icahn, JetBlue Strike Deal For 2 Board Seats
JetBlue Airways said Friday it has reached a deal with Carl Icahn to place two of the billionaire's handpicked nominees on the JetBlue board, just days after Icahn unveiled a nearly 10% stake in the airline.
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February 16, 2024
Feds Tell 1st Circ. Mass. Wind Farm Approval Was Sound
The federal government has said a Massachusetts federal judge properly dumped a challenge lodged by commercial fishing groups seeking to upend federal approvals of the Vineyard Wind project, telling the First Circuit that the record shows federal agencies thoroughly studied the project's potential impacts.
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February 16, 2024
Janssen FCA Claims Not Barred By Old Cases, Judge Says
Prior litigation that referred to Janssen Biotech's marketing practices does not bar a False Claims Act complaint from moving forward because the earlier cases did not allege the same type of fraud, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday.
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February 16, 2024
Delivery Co. Denied Early Appeal In Mass. Wage Dispute
A delivery company did not meet the standard for an immediate appeal of a ruling in favor of a group of drivers alleging they were misclassified as independent contractors, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled in denying the company's motion to appeal to the First Circuit.
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February 16, 2024
Telemedicine Exec Admits $110M Medicare Fraud Scheme
A Florida man agreed to plead guilty to orchestrating a $110 million Medicare fraud scheme using telemedicine and telemarketing companies to generate falsified orders for knee braces and other medical equipment, Boston federal prosecutors said Friday.
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February 15, 2024
Sens. Press Zelle To Clarify Fraud Reimbursement Policies
The chair of the U.S. Senate's banking committee and two of its members on Thursday pressed the CEO of the company behind Zelle to clarify the instant payment platform's policies protecting consumers from scams and fraud.
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February 15, 2024
Club, Insurer Resolve Fiduciary Breach Coverage Row
A country club owner, various club board members and Selective Insurance Co. agreed to dismiss their dispute Thursday in Massachusetts federal court over coverage for breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims that club investors lodged in arbitration, resolving the coverage case after reaching a settlement in January.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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Opinion
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
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History Supports 2nd Circ. View Of FAA Transport Exemption
In the circuit split over when transport workers are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, sparked by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Southwest Airlines v. Saxon, the Second Circuit reached a more faithful interpretation — one supported by historical litigation and legislative context, though perhaps arrived at via the wrong route, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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Beware Patchwork Of State NIL Laws For Student-Athletes
With each U.S. state at a different stage of engaging with name, image and likeness laws for collegiate and high school student-athletes, the NIL world is as much a minefield for attorneys as it is for the players themselves — and counsel must remain on red alert for any and all legislative changes, say Lauren Bernstein and Dan Lust at Moritt Hock.
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PFAS Coverage Litigation Strategy Lessons For Policyholders
While policyholders' efforts to recover insurance proceeds for PFAS-related costs are in the early stages, it appears from litigation so far that substantial coverage should be available for PFAS-related liabilities, including both defense costs and indemnity payments in connection with those liabilities, say Benedict Lenhart and Alexis Dyschkant at Covington.
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
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A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
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Tackling Long-Tail Legacy Liability Risk: A Defendant's Toolkit
Johnson & Johnson was recently rebuffed in its efforts to employ the "Texas Two-Step," which is likely to affect this increasingly popular method to isolate and spin off large asbestos and talc liabilities, but companies have multiple options to reduce long-tail legacy liability risk, says Stephen Hoke at Hoke LLC.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Opinion
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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Divergent Decisions Highlight Uncertainty Of IPR Estoppel
Two federal court decisions last month reached opposite conclusions regarding when defendants can rely on prior art to avoid discretionary denial of inter partes review challenges, creating confusion around the viability of Sotera stipulations, say Harper Batts and Li Guo at Sheppard Mullin.
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In Arbitration, Consider The Influence Of State Laws
A California appellate court's recent refusal, based in state law, to compel arbitration in Barraza v. Tesla illustrates the importance of understanding substantive and procedural differences between state arbitration law and the Federal Arbitration Act — and when those distinctions can alter case outcomes, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.