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TOP NEWS 9th Circ. Revives Case Against CBS Over Pre-1972 Songs
The Ninth Circuit on Monday revived a lawsuit against CBS over radio broadcasts of so-called pre-1972 recordings, overturning a novel ruling that “remastered” versions of old tracks are entirely new copyrighted songs.
Calif. High Court Says Background Check Laws Can Overlap
California's highest court ruled Monday in favor of a class of current and former bus drivers who accused their employers and two investigative consumer reporting agencies of conducting background checks without permission, clearing up compliance guidelines that involve two overlapping state laws.
9th Circ. Won't Revive VidAngel's Claims Against Studios
The Ninth Circuit on Friday denied VidAngel Inc.'s bid to revive antitrust counterclaims targeting Disney Enterprises Inc., Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and other movie studios in a copyright suit against it, finding that the family-friendly streaming service hadn’t shown a conspiracy against it.
Ex-NFL Players Can't Sue EA Over 'Madden' Game As A Class
A California federal judge has ruled that retired players cannot collectively sue Electronic Arts Inc. for featuring them in Madden NFL video games without authorization, a major victory for the game maker after years of litigation.
Kellogg's Cereal Buyers Get Cert. In False Ad Row Over Sugar
A California federal judge certified three classes of Golden State consumers who claim Kellogg falsely advertises its Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Smart Start cereals as healthy when they’re actually loaded with added sugar.
Woman Used Asbestos-Laden J&J Talc, Jury Told In New Trial
The Johnson & Johnson baby powder once used by a woman with mesothelioma contained millions of asbestos fibers, her attorney told a California jury Monday during opening statements in another trial over the alleged link between the industry titan's products and the carcinogen, while the company countered that sometimes “cancer just happens.”
Transit Group Unlikely To Dodge Leaning Tower Of SF Suit
A San Francisco judge said Monday he’d likely find that the Transbay Joint Powers Authority can’t escape Millennium Tower residents’ litigation over the structure's tilting and sinking, pointing to a contract in which the public transit agency took on the tower developer's liability in exchange for permission to construct a nearby terminal.
Ex-Napoli Bern Atty Wants $4M Award Against Firm Confirmed
A former partner at the now-defunct asbestos plaintiffs firm Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates has asked a California federal court to sign off on a $4 million arbitration award, including sanctions, against the firm as part of a fee dispute.
Google Tracks Users After It's Told To Stop, Consumer Says
A California man has slapped Google Inc. with a putative class action in federal court accusing it of tracking users and recording their whereabouts even after they disabled the location feature on their smartphones.
PopSugar Seeks To Nip Instagram Influencer's IP Class Action
PopSugar Inc. urged a California federal court on Friday to toss a law degree-holding Instagram influencer’s proposed class action over allegedly copied posts, arguing that she can’t accuse them of copyright infringement without proving that she registered the copyrights before filing suit.
Sparse Detail Gets Parking Meter Co. $100K Of $1.4M Fee Bid
A California federal judge has slammed a Milwaukee-based parking meter company for not providing enough detail in its request for $1.4 million in attorneys' and expert fees, awarding the meter company just $100,000 for legal expenses it incurred defending itself against patent infringement claims levied by a San Diego-based telecommunications company.
Calif. Hotel Panic Button Bill Fails In Fiscal Committee
A proposed California "panic button" bill that would make hospitality companies protect employees who work alone in hotel rooms from sexual harassment and assault has stalled in the state Senate’s appropriations committee, but the bill's sponsor said he plans to reintroduce it.
Schwab, Chamber Back USC In ERISA Arbitration Fight
Charles Schwab Corp. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the full Ninth Circuit on Friday to overturn a panel’s decision that an arbitration agreement the University of Southern California forced workers to sign didn’t apply to Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary-breach suits.
Tesla Wants Model 3 Stock-Drop Suit Curbed
Tesla told a California federal judge Friday that investors in a stock-drop suit over its Model 3 manufacturing delays still have no facts backing up their claims that Tesla deliberately painted an overly rosy view of the pace of production, saying the suit ignores Tesla’s actual disclosures.
Calif. Fund Adviser Overcharged Clients By $7M, SEC Says
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in California federal court Monday alleging a San Francisco-based investment advisory firm’s founder financed millions of dollars worth of personal pet projects by overcharging investors in the venture capital funds he managed.
3 More Ex-Navy Officers Indicted In 'Fat Leonard' Case
Three retired naval officers, including a former captain, have been indicted in California federal court on various bribery and fraud charges, accused of being part of the wide-ranging “Fat Leonard” bribery scheme related to in-port service contracts for the Navy, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
Construction Co. Placed Fake Bids With DOE, Jury Told
Prosecutors told a California federal jury Monday that a family-owned construction company participated in a bid-rigging conspiracy by placing an artificially high bid on a U.S. Department of Energy contract for a University of California, Berkeley laboratory, but the defendants’ attorneys accused the government of trying to entrap their clients with an undercover informant.
California Diaper Co. Can't Dodge Massachusetts FCA Suit
The largest supplier of adult diapers and other incontinence products to patients covered by California’s Medicaid program cannot prevail over a False Claims Act case just because the company settled similar allegations years ago, a Massachusetts federal judge has ruled.
UK Online Fashion Retailer Joins Wave Of IPO Filings
U.K.-based online fashion retailer Farfetch Ltd. on Monday filed an initial public offering preliminarily estimated to raise $100 million, making it the latest of five companies to submit recent IPOs that could price after Labor Day, when deals are expected to gain steam after a summer break.
9th Circ. Rejects Due Process Claims From Adopted Honduran
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that a Honduran man who was adopted by a U.S. citizen as a child cannot claim the government violated his adoptive mother’s constitutional rights by failing to process his citizenship application, finding that the naturalization requirements for adopted children do serve a legitimate government interest.
9th Circ. Sets Oral Reargument In Altera Suit For October
The Ninth Circuit has scheduled a rehearing in Altera Corp.’s cost-sharing suit against the Internal Revenue Service for Oct. 16, which will give a replacement judge on the appellate court’s three-member panel a chance to directly question counsel in the case.
Voluntary Calif. Tax Proposed To Fund Clean Water Projects
Amid California’s endemic water crisis, two Senate bills that aim to fund clean water projects through a voluntary water tax on households and a fee on fertilizing materials have been referred to the Assembly Budget Committee.
The Developing Concept Of Fair Pay In Calif.
Gov. Jerry Brown recently approved AB 2282, yet another amendment to California's laws addressing pay equity issues. Lindsay Hutner and Tayanah Miller of Greenberg Traurig LLP review the state's current fair pay laws and explain how employers can prepare before the new law takes effect next year.
Firms Saw Growth Surge In First Half Of 2018
During the first half of the year, law firms enjoyed one of the strongest periods of growth since the onset of the Great Recession, according to a quarterly survey of firms' financial health released on Monday. Effort To Boost Diversity In Leadership Touts Top Law Firms
An effort launched last summer to encourage law firms to affirmatively consider women and attorneys of color for leadership roles and promotions by taking a page from the NFL's diversity playbook is cheering its first-year success — with 41 law firms crossing the goal line. Vendors Say AI Will Allow Attorneys To Do Better Legal Work
Artificial intelligence is not yet a part of the standard operating procedure at all large law firms, but in a decade it probably will be, Womble Bond Dickinson chief knowledge officer Bill Koch predicted at a legal technology conference on Monday. Law Firms' Dominance In Crosshairs Of 'Emerging' Providers
The challenges to law firms’ dominance in the legal sector coming from alternative legal services providers and others are just beginning, according to a group of panelists who spoke Monday at a legal technology conference in Maryland. Jones Day's Francisco Got $2.2M After Taking Solicitor Job
U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco took in more than $2.23 million from Jones Day last year after making the jump to the Trump administration, according to recent financial disclosures. Kavanaugh Meets Top Senate Dem Opposing His Confirmation
President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court hopeful, D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, on Monday met with his first Democratic critic: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Judiciary Committee ranking member who has been leading the charge against Judge Kavanaugh's nomination. Feature Lawyers Need To Disrupt Themselves To Succeed
Even if their business models don’t seem broken, lawyers in the 21st century must fight against complacency, push themselves to adopt unfamiliar skills and maintain an open mind, according to a new book published by a University of Miami professor of law, who contends that embracing innovation is the way for attorneys to keep up with clients’ ever-evolving needs. Interview 15 Minutes With Plated's General Counsel
Tina Mohanty didn't envision making an in-house transition until the co-founders of meal kit maker Plated approached her with an opportunity she couldn't refuse. Here, the company's first general counsel shares how her plan to remain in private practice transformed into an almost four-year career — and which is her go-to recipe.
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