Hyundai Attacks Judge's 'Disdain For Arbitration' At 9th Circ.

By Bonnie Eslinger

Hyundai urged the Ninth Circuit Wednesday to revive its bid to arbitrate litigation over an alleged defect in its Palisade SUVs, saying that a district court judge erred by rejecting an arbitration agreement within a contract for complimentary "connected" services and arguing that the order "drips with disdain for arbitration."

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FCC Says It Might Ban Calls From 3 Chinese Telecoms

By Nadia Dreid

China's "Big Three" telecom operators will have their calls completely blocked from U.S. networks if they don't update their anti-robocall plans, the Federal Communications Commission has warned.

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FTC Upholds 2021 Ban On SpyFone CEO's Surveillance Apps

By Allison Grande

The Federal Trade Commission has refused to revisit its 2021 order permanently banning the marketer of the surveillance app SpyFone from distributing the product or similar monitoring services, finding that the company's CEO had failed to show that there had been any changes in the law, the agency's priorities or other relevant circumstances in recent years. 

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3rd Circ. Locks In 'Made In USA' False Ad Ruling

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $2.1 million disgorgement award to a Maryland caulking-gun manufacturer that accused a New Jersey competitor of falsely advertising its products as American-made when they were imported from Taiwan, in violation of the Lanham Act and state law.

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'Crazy' To Link Talc With Ovarian Cancer, J&J Expert Says

By Craig Clough

Johnson & Johnson rested its defense Wednesday in a Los Angeles bellwether trial over claims its talc products caused two women's ovarian cancer, with a gynecologic oncologist appearing as its last witness and telling the jury the idea of talc used for feminine hygiene reaching the ovaries is "crazy."

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Feature

Wyoming Charts New Legal Path To Launch Frontier Token

By Aislinn Keely

When a former federal prosecutor, now cryptocurrency regulator, was tasked with writing the rules to govern the first state-issued stablecoin, she looked to the U.S. Constitution and Wyoming's own laws to ensure the legality of the project rather than Congress' stablecoin law.

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Florida, Texas Sue FDA Over Abortion Drug Approval

By Emily Field

The states of Florida and Texas again took aim at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of abortion medication mifepristone, saying in a Tuesday suit that the agency flouted federal law in greenlighting the drug and signing off on several generic versions.

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OCC Review Flags Big Banks For Debanking Policies

By Jon Hill

A top U.S. banking regulator said Wednesday that some of the nation's largest banks improperly restricted services to industries including adult entertainment and oil drilling, according to preliminary findings from a White House-commissioned debanking review.

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Colo. Asks 10th Circ. To OK Social Media Law Aimed At Minors

By Zach Dupont

The Colorado Attorney General's Office asked the Tenth Circuit to review a lower court decision to enjoin the state from enforcing its recently passed law that would display warning messages to minors using social media platforms after a trade association claimed the law was unconstitutional.

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Regulate AI With Existing Regs, Financial Industry Lobby Says

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Services Institute on Wednesday recommended that regulators apply existing rules and standards to artificial intelligence, saying they should use new rules only when AI brings "genuinely new issues or significantly alters existing risks."

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Gov't Urges Combining Verizon, AT&T Cases Over FCC Fines

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pair Verizon's appeal of a $46 million FCC penalty with a similar case involving AT&T that centers on the FCC's ability to issue fines without a jury trial.

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Brief

Keep Power Limits Low To Protect Satellites, DirecTV Says

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has been toying with the idea of rising power limits for nongeostationary orbit satellites, and while the agency thinks the move could increase the availability of satellite broadband, DirecTV says the decision would be bad news for satellite TV.

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Teva Pulls 200 Patents From Orange Book Amid FTC Probe

By Elliot Weld

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday an investigation it conducted into Teva Pharmaceuticals prompted the company to remove over 200 patents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book.

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HPE Fights State AGs' Bid To Block Juniper Integration

By Matthew Perlman

Hewlett Packard Enterprise told a California federal court that even though it has already combined with Juniper Networks, state enforcers are seeking to temporarily break up the companies while the court mulls a U.S. Department of Justice settlement over the $14 billion wireless networking deal.

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Amazon Shoppers In Price-Hike Suit Say Retailer Deleted Docs

By Ben Adlin

Amazon shoppers accusing the e-commerce giant of price-gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic urged a Seattle federal judge to sanction the company for allegedly destroying an "untold number of documents" crucial to their proposed consumer class action.

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NAR, Brokerages Fight Antitrust Suit Renewal In 10th Circ.

By Grace Dixon

The National Association of Realtors and three brokerages are urging the Tenth Circuit not to revive a residential brokerage startup's antitrust suit, arguing that Homie Technology Inc. once flourished thanks to the same NAR rules it now claims are anticompetitive.

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Trans Woman Sues Hilton Over Security Guard Sex Assault

By Mike Curley

A transgender woman is suing Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and its affiliates in Texas state court, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a security guard who later used hotel records to find her phone number and send unwanted, sexually explicit videos.

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Atty Fees In Meta Pixel Privacy Action Reduced In Final Deal

By Joyce Hanson

A New York federal judge has reduced an attorney fees award by about $100,000 in a Video Privacy Protection Act class action settlement with Scientific American's publisher, modifying the fees to approximately $200,000 in his order granting final approval of the deal.

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Sens. Pitch Hemp Regulation Bill Following Passage Of Ban

By Sam Reisman

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would regulate products with hemp-derived cannabinoids, with an emphasis on age gating, manufacturing standards, and testing and labeling requirements.

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HealthEC Data Hack Class Seeks OK Of $5.5M Privacy Deal

By Gina Kim

Over 1.6 million patients affected by HealthEC's cybersecurity attack in 2023 asked a New Jersey magistrate judge for her final stamp of approval on a $5.48 million class action settlement, arguing Monday the resolution includes additional, significant benefits like Medical Shield Complete which protects them from healthcare-related fraud. 

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10th Circ. Asked To Rehear Colo. Opt-Out Interest Rate Suit

By Katryna Perera

Banking groups have asked the Tenth Circuit for a full court rehearing of their challenge to a Colorado law intended to curb high-cost lending in the state, arguing that a recent panel decision upholding the law restricts state-chartered banks' interstate lending and creates a circuit split over the meaning of where loans are "made."

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Capital One, Influencers Seek OK For Commissions Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Financial services giant Capital One has pledged to pay influencers commissions, plus up to nearly $4 million in attorney fees and costs, and make changes to its online shopping browser extension to settle claims that it siphoned commissions away from influencer participants in its affiliate marketing program.

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Amazon, P&G Sue Chinese Sellers Over Counterfeit Bug Traps

By Mike Curley

Amazon.com Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. are suing a group of Chinese people and entities, alleging they have used Amazon's storefront to sell counterfeit insect traps using P&G's trademarks.

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UScellular Can't Call 'Checkmate' In Fraud Suit, Justices Told

By Christopher Cole

Two whistleblowers told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that UScellular cannot escape claims of spectrum auction fraud by arguing they had "pleaded themselves out of court" at an earlier stage of the False Claims Act suit.

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Dreyer's Misleads Fruit Bar Buyers About 'Processed' Treats

By Gina Kim

Dreyer's falsely claims that its Outshine fruit bars are nutritionally equivalent to eating real fruit, despite containing large amounts of added sugar and artificial ingredients, which means the products are "engineered, processed desserts, not simple frozen fruit," a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court alleges.

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6 Ways To Nuke-Proof Litigation As Explosive Verdicts Rise

As the increasing number of nuclear verdicts continues to reshape the litigation landscape, counsel must understand how to create a multipronged defense strategy to anticipate juror expectations and mitigate the risk of outsize jury awards, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Bonus Spotlight

Litigation Shops Paying Above-Market Bonuses, Reports Say

By Andrea Keckley

Litigation boutiques Yetter Coleman LLP and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP are giving above-market bonuses to their associates, according to reports from Above the Law and Bloomberg.

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Jack Smith To Launch Firm With Willkie Partner, 2 Ex-Deputies

By Jack Rodgers

Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel appointed to investigate President Donald Trump, is set to launch his own firm alongside two of his former top deputies and the co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's investigations and enforcement practice.

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Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

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Analysis

Wanted: Temporary US Attorney, No Experience Needed

By Phillip Bantz

Frustrated by a string of court rulings disqualifying several of his U.S. attorney picks, President Donald Trump lamented recently that he might "just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one." Experts say the idea raises legal and practical issues.

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Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

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Fla. Atty Faces Bar Referral Over 'Hallucinated' Case In Filing

By Madison Arnold

A Florida appeals court will refer an attorney to the state's Bar after she filed a brief that included a "hallucinated" case.

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AGs Say Judicial Safety Threats Reaching 'All-Time Highs'

By Matthew Santoni

Attorneys general for 43 states, three territories and the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress urging more financial support for judicial security in the face of threats against judges, including funding for a program that lets judges scrub addresses and personal information from online databases.

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Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

By David Minsky

A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

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McIver's Immunity Disputed In Detention Center Assault Case

By Elizabeth Daley

Federal prosecutors asked a New Jersey federal judge to maintain all charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was accused in an indictment of assaulting federal officers outside an immigration detention center during a scrum in which the mayor of Newark was arrested in May.

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