Stanford Accused Of Fostering Antisemitism In Bias Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

A former Stanford University research fellow from Israel sued the university and a lab director in California federal court on Thursday, alleging that they fostered antisemitism on campus, retaliated against him for reporting discrimination and ultimately forced him to resign.

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WilmerHale, US Trustee Spar Over Work In 23andMe Ch. 11

By Emlyn Cameron

The U.S. Trustee's Office argued Thursday the consumer privacy ombudsman in genetic testing company 23andMe's Chapter 11 shouldn't be allowed to hire lawyers from WilmerHale over conflict of interest concerns the firm disputed, an issue the presiding Missouri bankruptcy judge promised to rule on promptly.

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$33M Sonos Appeal Has Fed. Circ. Asking: What's Up, Alsup?

By Dani Kass

A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to piece together the different interpretations of what U.S. District Judge William Alsup decided before upending Sonos Inc.'s $32.5 million jury verdict against Google LLC, with one judge claiming disbelief that there could be such a "fundamental disconnect" between the companies' understandings.

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​​​​​​​DOJ Says Calif. Animal Welfare 'Red Tape' Inflates Egg Prices

By Bonnie Eslinger

The U.S. Department of Justice sued California and state officials over several animal welfare laws passed in the Golden State that the federal government claims has contributed to the "historic rise in egg prices by imposing unnecessary red tape on the production of eggs."

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9th Circ. Upholds Converse's Win In Website Chat Wiretap Suit

By Allison Grande

The Ninth Circuit has refused to revive a proposed class action accusing Converse Inc. of allowing a third-party vendor to intercept website visitors' chats, finding that there was "no evidence" that the sneaker maker had violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

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X Can't Escape Don Lemon Suit, But Musk Can, Judge Says

By Adam Lidgett

X Corp. has lost its bid to ditch all of former CNN anchor Don Lemon's lawsuit claiming the social media platform reeled him into a talk show partnership and then unceremoniously canceled the deal, although its leader Elon Musk was allowed to duck out of the case.

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Groups Ask 9th Circ. To Sink EPA Pesticide Seed Exemption

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Green groups on Wednesday asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is violating federal law by failing to regulate pesticide-coated crop seeds.

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9th Circ. Backs Geico Win In COVID Auto Rebate Class Action

By Gina Kim

The Ninth Circuit affirmed Geico's victory in a certified class action alleging it owed additional refunds to drivers who overpaid their auto insurance premiums during COVID-19 stay-home orders, ruling on Wednesday that Geico charged rates that were previously approved by California's insurance commissioner, which bars the plaintiff's state Unfair Competition Law claim.

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Chhabria's Privacy Ruling An 'Outlier,' Judge Tells Tech Giants

By Bonnie Eslinger

Google and Meta urged U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on Thursday to toss putative class claims alleging the companies unlawfully collected information from website users buying erectile dysfunction medication, pointing in part to a ruling on intent from her Northern District colleague, which the judge called an "outlier."

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States Fine Payment Co. Wise $4.2M Over Compliance Lapses

By Sarah Jarvis

Wise has agreed to pay $4.2 million and take various remediating actions to end six states' claims that the global money transfer fintech had inadequate anti-money laundering programs.

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Uber, Instacart Fight Seattle's Driver Rights Law At 9th Circ.

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel appeared split on Thursday while hearing Uber and Instacart's challenge to a Seattle city ordinance regulating deactivation of app-based worker accounts, with the judges seemingly at odds on whether the law forced commercial speech while still unconvinced of a First Amendment violation.

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Stitch Fix Must Face Most Claims In Investor Action

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has declined to toss a revised complaint alleging that Stitch Fix Inc. and two of its former executives deceived investors about the impact of a new business line, saying the suit adequately made the case that the defendants knowingly made misleading statements.

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DOL Urges 9th Circ. To OK Toss Of HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Ninth Circuit to reject HP Inc. workers' bid to revive a proposed class action alleging forfeited employee 401(k) plan contributions were mismanaged, arguing a lower court properly tossed the case for failure to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

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Apple Tees Up Bid To End App Store Antitrust Class Action

By Matthew Perlman

Apple is preparing to file a summary judgment motion in California federal court seeking to end claims from a class of more than 185 million users in a long-running case accusing it of monopolizing the distribution of apps on its devices.

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Students Say Fee Concerns Unfounded In Aid-Fixing Case

By Matthew Perlman

Attorneys for students accusing elite universities of conspiring to limit financial aid told an Illinois federal court there's no need for the schools to look into ethical concerns raised about attorney fees by a "disgruntled" associate for one of the firms representing the proposed class.

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9th Circ. Sides With Civil Aid Attys In H-2A Farm Docs Dispute

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel said Thursday that a lower court overstepped its authority by restricting a civil legal aid organization from using for advocacy purposes information that was gathered during discovery in a class of seasonal farmworkers' now-settled forced labor case against a Washington fruit grower.

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Brief

Calif. Vape Co. Drops Claims Over Allegedly Counterfeit G Pen

By Jonathan Capriel

California-based GS Holistic LLC has reached a deal with a Michigan smoke shop that will end claims the retailer was selling counterfeit versions of its G Pen e-cigarettes without authorization at a fraction of the price, according to a notice issued by a federal judge.

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K&L Gates Class Action Litigator Jumps To Shook Hardy In SF

By James Mills

Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP is boosting its litigation team with the addition of a K&L Gates LLP class action defense attorney as a partner in its San Francisco office, the firm has announced.

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Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

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Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

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Series

Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

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Atlanta Atty's Death In Texas Floods Shocks Colleagues

By Emily Johnson

Josephine Hardin, an Atlanta-based Huff Powell & Bailey attorney who died last week in flash flooding in Texas, is being remembered for making colleagues "laugh out loud, come together, and think deeply about the needs of others" and making an impact as a volunteer at a local legal nonprofit.

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Analysis

Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

By Katie Buehler

In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

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Bove Faults 'Heavy-Handed' Jan. 6 Cases

By Courtney Bublé

Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove, who is currently serving in the U.S. Department of Justice, in his post-hearing questionnaire obtained by Law360 on Friday, drew what he says is a distinction between condemning violence against law enforcement officers and over-prosecution of Jan. 6 rioters.

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Analysis

DOJ Poised To Pounce On Data Security Violators

By Phillip Bantz

Companies and individuals that are not yet in compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice's sweeping, complex new national data security program should expect to face probes and potentially enforcement actions sooner than later, experts say.

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3rd Circ. Revives Benicar MDL Fees Suit Against NJ Law Firm

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action against Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys that claims they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, remanding the dispute for the district court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case.

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NCAA's $2.8B NIL Deal Nets Athletes' Firms Over $455M In Fees

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge Friday approved approximately $455 million in attorney fees for class counsel in the NCAA's $2.78 billion class action settlement that, for the first time, will provide for revenue sharing with college athletes, with additional fees set to roll in annually for 10 years.

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Litigation Funder Can't Escape Crash Loans Suit, Court Told

By Jake Maher

A married couple suing a litigation funding firm and multiple law firms, alleging they steered the couple into high-interest loans, told a New Jersey state court that they adequately pled fraud and urged the court not to dismiss their case against the funder.

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Calif. Panel Says Arbitration Provider Immune From Fraud Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

An arbitration provider is immune from a logistics company's suit accusing it of not properly vetting its arbitrators, including one who oversaw a wage and hour suit against the company, a California appeals panel ruled, affirming a lower court's decision to nix the case.

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Claims Stack Up Against Texas Judges Accused Of Tampering

By Emily Sawicki

A Texas judge embroiled in a scandal involving allegations of witness tampering has been suspended without pay following a federal indictment alleging she pressured a subordinate to withhold testimony in a separate proceeding against a local justice of the peace.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen HS2 hit with a defamation claim by two ex-employees who blew the whistle on alleged under-reporting of costs, Craig Wright and nChain face legal action brought by its former chief financial officer over a fraud scheme, and pro-footballer Axel Tuanzebe bring a clinical negligence claim against his former club Manchester United F.C. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Carma has accused its former chief legal officer and president of misappropriating the brand licensing company's trade secrets, filing a $10 million lawsuit in Illinois federal court. Meanwhile, T-Mobile became the latest company to end DEI programs under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission's chair. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Gilbert Harrell Sumerford & Martin PC and Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Eighth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission's planned "click-to-cancel" rule, which would have required companies to allow customers to ditch their subscriptions with a single click.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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