Apple Accused Of Cloaking Conflict Minerals From Customers

By Lauren Berg

Apple tricks consumers into believing that it responsibly sources the key minerals used in its phones, computers and other tech products, when in reality it sources cobalt and coltan from companies that commit human and labor rights abuses, International Rights Advocates alleges in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.

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OpenAI Says ChatGPT Can't Be Blamed For Teen's Suicide

By Y. Peter Kang

OpenAI hit back at allegations that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot aided and abetted a California teen's suicide, saying the boy's misuse of the platform caused his actions, according to documents filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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Investors Say Synopsys Hid Risks Before $35B Deal

By Katryna Perera

Shareholders of Synopsys Inc. have launched a class action in California federal court alleging the chip software design company concealed concerns about its pre-designed semiconductor components business segment before it acquired Ansys for $35 billion.

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Databricks Attys Warned Not To Coach IP Suit Witnesses

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal magistrate judge on Wednesday warned attorneys representing Databricks in a group of writers' copyright lawsuit over AI training that they cannot discuss deposition testimony with witnesses during breaks other than for privilege reasons, but she rejected the writers' accusation that defense counsel had improperly coached witnesses.

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AGs Urge Congress To Reject Trump's Ban On State AI Laws

By Rachel Riley

Attorneys general from 32 states are urging Congress to preserve their ability to pass laws regulating artificial intelligence, contending that the Trump administration's renewed proposal to insert a moratorium into a federal spending bill would leave states powerless in the face of AI-powered scams, harmful chatbot hallucinations and other emerging dangers.

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21 AGs Sue USDA Over SNAP Rollbacks For Permanent Residents

By Ben Adlin

Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday over new agency guidance barring certain categories of permanent residents from receiving federal food assistance benefits.

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Voting Group Fights DOJ's Demand For Michigan Voter Data

By Carolyn Muyskens

The U.S. Department of Justice has not sufficiently justified its demands for Michigan voters' personal information, so a lawsuit seeking the data should be dismissed, the League of Women Voters of Michigan has told a federal judge.

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Title Co., Investor Must Split Blame In $13M Escrow Fraud Suit

By Jennifer Mandato

A title company is partially liable for mishandling $13 million wired into escrow by an investor seeking a 50% ownership interest in a 17-hotel deal, a California federal judge ruled, finding that the title company owed the investor a duty of reasonable care.

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Developer Tells 9th Circ. SF Island Wrongly Labeled Wetlands

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The former owner of an island in the San Francisco Bay is asking the Ninth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling that he illegally destroyed "critical" wetlands without first receiving a Clean Water Act permit.

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Marshalls Isn't Liable For Shopper's Fall, Calif. Panel Says

By Gina Kim

California appellate justices refused to revive a lawsuit by a Marshall's customer who tripped and fell after hitting her ankle on a platform behind her while looking at vases on a shelf, pointing out that the customer admitted she wasn't looking at where she was going when she stepped backward.

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Kalshi Challenges Nev. Order Nixing Sports Contract Shield

By Aislinn Keely

Kalshi has asked the Ninth Circuit to weigh in on a Nevada federal judge's decision to vacate an earlier order shielding the trading platform's sports event contracts from the state's gaming regulators.

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Justices Urged To Mull 9th Circ. OK Of NLRB Order On Macy's

By Braden Campbell

The Ninth Circuit defied U.S. Supreme Court precedent and opened a circuit split when it upheld a National Labor Relations Board order making Macy's rehire striking workers and dole out novel remedies covering workers' losses, the company argued in a bid for the high court's review.

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Warner Bros. Studio Operations Hit With Wage And Hour Suit

By Gina Kim

Warner Bros. Studio Operations and related companies made California employees work through their meal breaks, required them to work unpaid overtime and didn't pay them for on-call or standby time, according to a proposed wage-and-hour class action filed Nov. 25 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.   

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Intel Prevails As Judge Finds Ex-Philips Patents Abstract

By Ryan Davis

A Delaware federal judge has ruled that two patents on transferring content, which were originally issued to Philips, are invalid for claiming only abstract ideas, handing a victory to accused infringer Intel Corp.

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Swimmers Defend $1.16M Fee In Antitrust Fight With Aquatics

By Elaine Briseño

Swimmers suing World Aquatics over alleged antitrust violations say the objection to an additional $1.16 million in attorney fees is "absurd," arguing the international governing body knows payment would come from a fund separate from the already negotiated attorney fees.

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Calif. Cannabis Workers Settle Suit Over Quotas, Lack Of Pay

By Jonathan Capriel

Hourly agricultural laborers who accused California cannabis company Glass House Brands Inc. and some of its subsidiaries of bilking them out of sick pay, minimum wage and lunch breaks while enforcing quotas have agreed to settle what is left of their state court labor violation lawsuit for $305,000.

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Investor Says Pot Co.'s Old Defenses Can't Stop Fraud Suit

By Mike Curley

An investor suing the principals of cannabis company Devi Holdings Inc. over an undisclosed $13 million tax liability is urging a Florida federal court to deny a motion for summary judgment from Devi's CEO, saying it ignores undisputed facts and rehashes old arguments that were rejected at the dismissal stage.

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Gordon Rees Adds Healthcare Litigator, Ex-DEI Leader In SF

By James Mills

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its California team, bringing in a healthcare litigator who recently was the director of diversity, equity and inclusion in the San Franciso City Attorney's office.

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Ending All-In Airfare Pricing Could Pose Ad Dilemma For Cos.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's plan to scrap its requirement that airfare ads include all fees and taxes in price listings means that airlines, travel agents and other affected businesses must balance competitive pricing against the risk of alienating consumers, say Kimberly Graber at Steptoe and Serena Viswanathan, formerly at the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices.

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3rd Circ. Says Habba Barred From Serving As Acting US Atty

By Carla Baranauckas

President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer cannot serve as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, the Third Circuit ruled Monday in a precedential opinion holding that her appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and undermined the constitutional safeguards of Senate confirmation.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court saw a slate of corporate law clashes this past week, from fast-moving injunction fights in consumer product and real estate markets to multibillion-dollar oversight claims against crypto executives and fresh battles over control for two sports teams.

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Calif. Ban On Fee-Sharing With 'Alternative' Firms Challenged

By Jack Karp

A new law barring California lawyers and firms from sharing fees with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers is unconstitutional and will harm the state's mass tort lawyers and their clients, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

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Analysis

What MDL Judges Can Get Done With A New Civil Rule

By Cara Salvatore

As the first federal procedure rule geared toward multidistrict litigation goes into effect, judges will have a new buffet of best practices to guide them, but little in the way of hand-tying mandates.

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