A California federal judge overseeing a class action accusing Google of illegally collecting information from 98 million cellphone users said Wednesday that he probably will not let Google decertify the class, but he is also unlikely to add $2.36 billion in alleged wrongful profits on top of a jury's $425 million verdict.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Google Likely Stuck With $425M Loss, But Bid For $3B Flops

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge overseeing a class action accusing Google of illegally collecting information from 98 million cellphone users said Wednesday that he probably will not let Google decertify the class, but he is also unlikely to add $2.36 billion in alleged wrongful profits on top of a jury's $425 million verdict.

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Businesses Seek OK On $436M Toyota Forklift Emissions Deal

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of businesses is asking a California federal court to give the go-ahead on a $436 million settlement with Toyota Industries Corp. and its material handling affiliates in a suit that alleged the company misled them on their forklift and construction engine emissions.

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Medtronic 'Blocked' Surgical Device Competition, Jury Told

By Craig Clough

An executive at Applied Medical Resources Corp. on Tuesday told a California federal jury considering antitrust claims against Medtronic Inc. that a surgical device his company introduced a decade ago had great success in Europe but was "blocked" in the U.S. by Medtronic's practice of "bundling" products.

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'Out Of Control': Coach Says He Placed Bets For Ex-MLB Star

By Gina Kim

A baseball coach who placed illegal sports wagers for former MLB star Yasiel Puig took the stand Wednesday in the player's obstruction of justice trial, telling a California federal jury that Puig's gambling got "out of control" and that the coach feared repercussions from bookies after Puig didn't pay his debts.

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AI Recruiting Co. Eightfold Sued Over Job Applicant 'Dossiers'

By Dorothy Atkins

Job applicants have hit Eightfold AI with a proposed class action in California court, alleging the artificial intelligence company's business model violates longstanding consumer protection statutes by using "opaque" closely guarded AI algorithms to scrape personal data and generate "dossiers" on job applicants for major employers without applicants' knowledge or consent.

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Apple Shakes Mobile Users' Suit Over App Data Collection

By Allison Grande

A California federal judge released Apple from a putative class action accusing it of improperly collecting mobile device users' data when they interacted with Apple's App Store, Music and other proprietary apps, finding "perplexing" contradictory allegations and other deficiencies doomed plaintiffs' claims, including those under California and Pennsylvania's wiretap laws. 

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POLICY & REGULATION

Calif. GOP Asks Justices To Block New Congressional Map

By Lauren Berg

California Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block the state's new, voter-approved congressional districts before they can be used in this year's midterm election, arguing that the redrawn map constitutes illegal racial gerrymandering with Democratic officials "maximizing Latino voting strength."

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Fed. Circ. Gives Apple New Shot At Axing Smart Mobile Patent

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday undid the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Apple failed to show a Smart Mobile wireless patent was invalid, saying the first claim was unpatentable and that the board needs to rethink the other challenged portions.

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Bill Would Require Stays On Patent Claims Against End Users

By Elliot Weld

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to mandate that a stay be implemented on claims against retailers or end users in patent infringement cases when a manufacturer steps in to defend those claims.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Disney Can't Dodge 'Toy Story 3' TM Claim On Remand

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has refused to grant Disney a partial win in a trademark infringement case brought by a stuffed animal manufacturer over the "Toy Story 3" character Lotso, ruling that the manufacturer had established a Lanham Act case against Disney before the U.S. Supreme Court considered the case.

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Brief

Netflix's $83B Warner Bros. Deal Draws DOJ Scrutiny

By Bryan Koenig

Warner Bros. Discovery has disclosed that Netflix's proposed $82.7 billion purchase of the entertainment giant is now under an antitrust microscope, after the U.S. Department of Justice kicked off an in-depth probe that keeps the deal from closing for the time being.

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EMPLOYMENT & BENEFITS

UFC Asks 9th Circ. To Nix 'Overbroad' Discovery In Wage Suits

By Benjamin Morse

The Ultimate Fighting Championship urged the Ninth Circuit to immediately stop a Nevada federal court from enforcing a "breathtakingly overbroad" discovery order in wage suppression lawsuits, saying it violates attorney-client privilege and the First Amendment.

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9th Circ. Reverses Ruling In $4.1M Union Health Plan Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

A California district court erred in concluding a medical center where union dockworkers received treatments was not a hospital, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, sending the workers' $4.1 million claims dispute against a multiemployer health plan back to the lower court.

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Apple Workers In Wash. Sue Over Limits On Moonlighting

By Ben Adlin

Apple Inc. has broken a Washington state moonlighting law by prohibiting dozens of lower-wage workers from taking second jobs to supplement their incomes, according to a former employee's proposed class action against the company.

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SECURITIES & BANKING

Health Tech SPAC Execs Ink $10M Investor Settlement

By Emilie Ruscoe

Former executives of a health technology company that went public via merger with a blank check company have reached a $10 million deal to settle claims they wiped out investors with a bankruptcy filing after the company's product development projections derailed.

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Jump Trading Beats Crypto Class Action Over Terra Collapse

By Aislinn Keely

Brokerage firm Jump Trading and its crypto arm beat back claims that they failed to honor their market-making duties when certain holders of TerraUSD sought to sell their tokens during the algorithmic stablecoin's collapse, as a California magistrate judge found the holders have not tied the market maker to the state.

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Nationwide Unit Seeks Exit From Stock Dilution Scheme Suit

By Mark Payne

A Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. unit told a federal court that it doesn't owe coverage to a company and its officers for a shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging the officers schemed to dilute the stockholders' shares, saying the underlying suit doesn't allege a covered loss for disgorgement or restitution. 

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FINRA Says Firm Broke Reg BI By Not Spotting Risky Trading

By Sydney Price

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has accused a broker-dealer and its ex-CEO of violating Regulation Best Interest by failing to identify suspicious, excessive trading in a customer account by a representative of the firm, causing the client $1.2 million in losses.

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PRIVATE EQUITY

Brief

Blueprint Closes Oversubscribed $333M Tech-Focused Fund

By Al Barbarino

San Diego-based growth equity firm Blueprint Equity said Wednesday it has raised $333 million for its third fund, pushing the firm to more than $600 million of assets under management.

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PEOPLE

Cozen O'Connor Brings On Ex-Federal Prosecutor In LA

By James Mills

Cozen O'Connor is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as a member in its Los Angeles area offices.

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Data Center Power Co. Names GC To Oversee Real Estate

By Nate Beck

Data center infrastructure company Crusoe Inc. said Wednesday that it has added the managing partner of a boutique California business law firm as its general counsel.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

7 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2026

In 2026, cyber risk and insurance will be shaped by developments such as the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, ongoing privacy litigation and evolving regulatory requirements, as organizations that integrate AI into their operations contend with new vulnerabilities and a legal landscape that demands greater vigilance and adaptability, say attorneys at Wiley.

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How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

Nonprofits, Not BigLaw, Lead Legal Challenges To Trump

By Jack Karp

Public interest groups are handling a majority of the lawsuits filed against the second Trump administration, while most large firms remain on the sidelines, according to a review by Law360 of more than 400 lawsuits filed in the first year of Trump's second term.  

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Ballard Partners Led In Lobbying Earnings As Trump Returned

By Alison Knezevich

Ballard Partners more than quadrupled its annual federal lobbying revenue in 2025 amid President Donald Trump's return to office, surpassing the law firm policy practices that have led K Street in recent years.

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Former SG Prelogar Joins Cooley Team On Trump EO Appeal

By Alison Knezevich

Former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has joined the legal team representing Jenner & Block LLP in its fight with President Donald Trump's administration over his executive order targeting the BigLaw firm, according to a new court filing.

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Lawyer Testifies Goldstein Dodged $500K Poker Repayment

By Jared Foretek

A former employee at Thomas Goldstein's law firm recounted in court Wednesday that a U.S. Internal Revenue Service levy was placed on the SCOTUSblog founder's accounts, while a lawyer at another firm said Goldstein dodged repaying him for money invested in his poker-playing exploits.

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House Speaker Johnson Supports Impeachment Of Judges

By Courtney Bublé

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday threw his support behind efforts to impeach federal judges in Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

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DOJ Outline Of New Fraud Role Doesn't Mention WH Oversight

By Courtney Bublé

A U.S. Department of Justice official explained the parameters of the new role of assistant attorney general for fraud in a recent letter to Congress, obtained Wednesday by Law360, but did not mention the individual will be overseen by the White House, as the vice president previously said.

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NYC Indigent Defense Program In 'Crisis,' Task Force Reports

By Andrea Keckley

The New York City Assigned Counsel Plan, which provides lawyers to indigent people in criminal and family courts who can't be served by institutional legal service providers, is "in a state of crisis," a New York City Bar task force said in an interim report released Wednesday.

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7th Circ. Cautions Pro Se Litigants To Avoid AI-Induced Errors

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit offered guidance to litigants using artificial intelligence while representing themselves in a ruling remanding a pro se plaintiff's civil rights case Wednesday, saying that AI has "great promise" for those who can't afford legal counsel, but that it doesn't abdicate them of their duty to avoid misrepresentations in court filings.

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Justices Wary Of Greenlighting Trump Bid To Fire Fed's Cook

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared reluctant to let President Donald Trump immediately oust Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, with multiple justices expressing doubts about administration claims of broad presidential removal power over the central bank.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Akin Gump

Arnold & Porter

Baron & Budd

Berger Montague

Boies Schiller

Brownstein Hyatt

Bursor & Fisher

Campbell & Williams

Claggett & Sykes

Cleary Gottlieb

Clement & Murphy

Cohen Milstein

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cozen O'Connor

Crowell & Moring

DTO Law

David Boies

Dhillon Law Group

Elias Law Group LLP

Emery Reddy

Erickson Kramer

Foley Hoag

Goldstein & Russell

Graves & Shaw

Greenberg Traurig

Haynes Boone

Hervas Condon

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Hueston Hennigan

Jenner & Block

Joseph Saveri Law Firm

K&L Gates

Kang Haggerty

Kantor & Kantor

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Knobbe Martens

Kobre & Kim

Langsam Stevens

Latham & Watkins

Lieff Cabraser

Lockridge Grindal

Lowell & Associates

Lynch Carpenter

Meritz Reddy

Milbank LLP

Morgan & Morgan PA

Munger Tolles

Napoli Shkolnik

Orrick Herrington

Outten & Golden

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pillsbury Winthrop

Qureshi Law

Robbins Geller

Seyfarth Shaw

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Squire Patton

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Waymaker LLP

Wiley Rein

Wilkinson Stekloff

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Accolade Partners

Alliance for Automotive Innovation

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

American Public Health Association

Apple Inc.

Applied Medical Resources Corp.

Association of American Universities Inc.

BGR Government Affairs LLC

Ballard Partners Inc.

Bayer AG

Boustead Securities LLC

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Cable News Network Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Cincinnati Reds

Cowbell Cyber Inc.

Dell Technologies Inc.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Disney Consumer Products Inc.

Eightfold AI

Endeavor Operating Company LLC

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Google LLC

Harvard University

Home Box Office Inc.

International Longshore & Warehouse Union

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc.

Jump Trading LLC

KBR Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LinkedIn Corp.

Lloyd's America Inc.

Major League Baseball Inc.

Makena Capital Management LLC

Medtronic PLC

Microsoft Corp.

Morgan Stanley

National Council of Nonprofits

National Retail Federation Inc.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

Netflix Inc.

OpenAI OpCo LLC

Pacific Maritime Association

Paypal Holdings Inc.

Public Citizen Inc.

RELX PLC

ROSS Intelligence

Rockley Photonics

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Scottsdale Insurance Co.

Skydance Media LLC

Starbucks Corp.

Sutter Securities Inc.

Tesla Inc.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

The Home Depot Inc.

The Software & Information Industry Association

The Walt Disney Co.

Thomson Reuters Corp.

Toyota Industries Corp.

Toyota Motor Corp.

UCLA School of Law

Ulta Beauty Inc.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Ltd.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Department of Justice

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Reserve System

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

Medical Board of California

National Institutes of Health

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Texas Legislature

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Nevada