Quinn Emanuel Loses Bid To Get $1.7M Bill From Sheriff Case

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state appeals court Thursday shot down Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's effort to recover a more than $1.7 million bill for representing a former Los Angeles County sheriff in a suit county supervisors lodged, finding that the sheriff lacked authority to retain the firm.

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Columbia University Wants Out Of Sportswear Trademark Suit

By Elliot Weld

Columbia University has asked an Oregon federal judge to toss a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Columbia Sportswear, saying it had been using the name for about 200 years prior to the sportswear company putting it on a shirt.

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NC Judge Dubious Of NASCAR's 'Cartel' Counterclaims

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina federal judge appeared skeptical Thursday of letting NASCAR bring to trial its antitrust counterclaims against a pair of stock car racing teams, one owned by retired NBA legend Michael Jordan, questioning how the teams could have colluded to force more favorable contract terms when there seems to be evidence NASCAR was able to negotiate with them individually.

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Conn. Judge Awards $71K Fees In 'Minute Entry' Appeal Loss

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday awarded $71,050 in attorney fees to a company that defeated a Second Circuit challenge questioning whether an oral ruling and a "minute entry" were real judicial decisions that triggered a 30-day appeal deadline, finding the charges reasonable.

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Conference Set In Discovery Fight Amid $900K Fee Dispute

By Emily Sawicki

A Connecticut state judge has called a status conference but denied a request for an "urgent" evidentiary hearing in a fee dispute between two law firms stemming from a $900,000 personal injury settlement, noting in an order that the conference would be held to discuss outstanding discovery issues ahead of trial.

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Electric Co. Says Contractor Owes $5M For Denver Airport Job

By Zach Dupont

An electric infrastructure company accused a contractor in Colorado state court Wednesday of withholding over $5 million in payments for work completed in an expansion project at the Denver International Airport.

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Texas Appeals Court OKs Challenge To $1M Default Judgment

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appeals court said Thursday that an energy company on the hook for a $1 million default judgment can have a second shot at seeking a new trial because it filed the request just before midnight on the date it was due, reversing a lower court decision that found the filing came too late.

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Ga. Panel Says Statute Noncompliance Dooms Crash Deal

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court order granting a man's motion to enforce a settlement agreement in a personal injury suit where he was accused of hitting someone with his truck, finding the agreement wasn't a "valid offer capable of being accepted."

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Shipbuilder Can't Ax Md. Bridge Collapse Suit, Court Told

By Linda Chiem

The Singaporean owner and manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and triggered its collapse maintained that South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. should be held accountable in Pennsylvania federal court for designing and building a "fatally flawed" ship.

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Eli Lilly Says Pharmacy Mass-Producing Weight Loss Drug

By Spencer Brewer

Drugmaker Eli Lilly is suing a compounding pharmacy in Texas federal court, alleging the pharmacy ripped off its lucrative weight loss drug, began mass-producing it, and made as much as $2 million per month last year from its misdeeds.

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Wash. Justices Skeptical Of Debtor's Collection Notice Stance

By Rachel Riley

Washington Supreme Court justices appeared wary Thursday of second-guessing a Seattle federal judge who asked them to decide whether a hospital billing disclosure law applies to debt collectors, as the plaintiff in the underlying proposed class action pressed the court to "reformulate" the certified question.  

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Ex-Exec Accused Of Stealing IVF Co.'s Trade Secrets

By Carla Baranauckas

The co-founder of a Garden State genetic testing company abruptly quit, deleted all the data on his company laptop — including the only copy of some materials — then took the trade secrets to help a competitor, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

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RingConn Settles With Oura After ITC Import Ban

By Adam Lidgett

Ouraring Inc. has inked a deal allowing RingConn to keep its smart rings on the U.S. market following the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision to block Ultrahuman and RingConn from importing products it held infringed a wearable computing device patent.

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$5M Lindell Arbitration Fight Submitted For High Court Review

By Caroline Simson

A software developer trying to revive his $5 million arbitral award against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he is urging the justices to finally resolve whether manifest disregard of the law is a valid basis on which arbitral awards may be vacated.

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Avadel, Jazz Settle Sleep Disorder Drug Claims

By Elliot Weld

Avadel Pharmaceuticals has announced it reached a global settlement with Irish rival Jazz Pharmaceuticals to dismiss their lawsuits against each other that alleged patent and antitrust violations related to sleep disorder drug Lumryz.

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Investor Says Biotech Co. Rigged Votes To Expand Share Pool

By Jarek Rutz

A stockholder of Pennsylvania-based Ocugen Inc. sued the biotech company Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging that the company's board contrived a "clever" but unlawful scheme to push through a 2024 charter amendment that expanded its authorized share count without the required majority approval.

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Chancery Maps Out Math For Hefty Drug Co. Breach Interest

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware vice chancellor late Thursday issued a road map for calculating tens of millions of dollars in interest due after a ruling in June that Alexion Pharmaceuticals failed a "best efforts" duty to fulfill an autoimmune drug candidate deal with Syntimmune Inc.

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9th Circ. Calls For Evidence Hearing Over ICE Facility Access

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday partially remanded the Washington State Department of Health's lawsuit accusing GEO Group of illegally blocking access to an immigration facility for safety inspections, calling for an evidentiary hearing into how the refusal for access played out.

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Walgreens Urges Pretrial Win In Shelf Space Fight

By Lauraann Wood

Electronics accessories manufacturer Zeikos Inc. should not be allowed to take its product placement contract suit against Walgreens to trial because it's clear Zeikos misinterpreted sales data that spurred an agreement the company itself never fully satisfied, the pharmacy retailer argued Wednesday.

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Series

Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

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Columbia-Based Advocate Sues For Law Firms' DEI Details

By Grace Elletson

A free speech institute at Columbia University told a New York federal court Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration effectively denied its requests for information related to the government's demands that law firms supply details about their diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

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Judges Admit AI Missteps After Grassley's Oversight Push

By Courtney Bublé

Federal judges in New Jersey and Mississippi admitted their staff used artificial intelligence in faulty orders they had to redo over the summer, according to correspondence released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is investigating the matter.

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Sanctions Threats Mount For Atty Who Ignored Citation Order

By Emily Sawicki

An attorney who ignored a show cause order earlier this summer after his co-counsel included a fake case citation in a filing for their then-client, a former in-house attorney for Workday Inc., told a San Francisco federal judge Thursday that his failure to respond was a "mistake," in response to a renewed show cause order.

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5th Circ. Vacates Lewis Brisbois' $1.5M Trademark Award

By Elliot Weld

The Fifth Circuit vacated a $1.5 million damages award Thursday that Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP won against three attorneys who registered a business with the same name, saying the Texas federal judge who granted the award had not explained his reasoning under the relevant statutes.

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Baldwin Opposes 7th Circ. Pick For Her State

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., on Thursday officially opposed the nomination to the Seventh Circuit of Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, who would serve in her state.

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Judge Dings Law Profs In Judge-Shopping Sanctions Case

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judge behind a controversial sanctions order accusing three attorneys of judge shopping while challenging an Alabama gender care law is pushing back on claims that he lacked jurisdiction, as the ruling is on appeal in the Eleventh Circuit.

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Derailment Counsel Fee Provision 'Troubles' 6th Circ. Judge

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A three-judge Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday seemed skeptical that counsel representing victims of the fiery 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was blindsided by a "quick-pay" provision in the attorney fee agreement that saw class lawyers get paid before their clients.

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'Civility' A Concern As IP Atty Asks To Depose Party Suing Her

By Lauren Berg

A Florida federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in a patent licensing company executive's defamation suit against a Baker Botts LLP intellectual property litigator told the parties Thursday that she's inclined to appoint a special master to oversee depositions in the case to ensure "the appropriate decorum and civility."

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Squire Patton Boggs Partner Confirmed To Kentucky Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 48-45, along party lines, on Thursday to confirm former Kentucky Solicitor General and Squire Patton Boggs LLP partner Chad Meredith to the Eastern District of Kentucky.

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McGuireWoods Asks NC Justices To Stay Defamation Case

By Andrea Keckley

McGuireWoods LLP and a former partner are asking North Carolina's highest court to halt a defamation case over statements made in connection with an investigation into the former CEO of a managed care organization, saying they risk permanently losing their immunity defense if the suit is allowed to move forward.

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Ky. Rep. Revives Attempt To Abolish PTAB, Expand Eligibility

By Dani Kass

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Thursday he's again attempting to overhaul the patent system, including abolishing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, normalizing injunctions and broadening what can be patented.

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