Google Ad Privacy Deal OK'd, But $128M Fee Bid Cut To $22M

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday approved Google's nonmonetary deal resolving allegations it sells consumers' personal data in fast-paced digital ad auctions without their consent, but slashed class counsel's $128 million fee request to $21.8 million due to their "speculative" settlement-value estimates, "limited success" and numerous billing "errors and inefficiencies."

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NJ Federal Judge DQs Beasley Allen In J&J Talc MDL

By Emily Sawicki

A New Jersey federal judge has disqualified the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing hundreds of plaintiffs in sprawling multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, holding that the firm violated ethics rules by collaborating with former outside counsel for J&J, a ruling the law firm has vowed to appeal.

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State Farm Inks $15.6M Deal In Totaled Car Payout Class Action

By Gina Kim

State Farm policyholders scored preliminary approval of a $15.6 million settlement in Arkansas federal court Friday, resolving claims the insurer systematically undervalued totaled vehicles, almost a year after a civil jury found State Farm violated its contract to pay "actual cash value" of the cars by applying typical negotiation adjustments.

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Eli Lilly Keeps Most Of Weight Loss Drug Copy Suit Alive

By Adam Lidgett

A California federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit accusing a pair of telehealth companies of making copies of Eli Lilly's obesity and type 2 diabetes drugs but agreed to trim the case.

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EU's Ribera: Antitrust Must 'Stay Strong' Against Politics

By Bryan Koenig

European Union antitrust chief Teresa Ribera had a word of caution Friday for competition enforcers who let political considerations influence their enforcement decisions, arguing in Washington, D.C., remarks that enforcement should remain stable against shifting political winds.

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State Privacy & AI Watch: 3 Legislative Developments To Know

By Allison Grande

As Congress pushes to limit regulation of artificial intelligence systems and struggles to put guardrails on companies' handling of personal data, states continue to step up, with a key jurisdiction making moves to update its landmark AI protections and the state data privacy law patchwork expanding for the first time in nearly two years. 

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Analysis

Injunction Constraints Impede Utility Patent Counterfeit Cases

By Dani Kass

A Texas federal judge ruled this month that the strongest tool to stop counterfeiters in so-called Schedule A cases doesn't apply to utility patents, which attorneys say cements a long-standing practice of retailers relying on trademarks and design patents.

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Kansas City Fed Pressed For Kraken Account Approval Terms

By Aislinn Keely

The ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee asked the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to share more information about its decision to grant crypto firm Kraken Financial access to Fed payment rails, including what limits it imposed on the new type of tailored master account.

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FCC Can't Waive TV Broadcast Cap For Nexstar, DC Circ. Told

By Christopher Cole

Public interest and labor groups banded together with cable and satellite groups Friday to try convincing the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission can't waive its 39% national audience cap to let the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna Inc. move forward.

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FCC Told It Can't Make Foreign Call Centers Speak English

By Nadia Dreid

The National Creditors Bar Association is not pleased with the Federal Communications Commission's plans to pass new rules that would require companies to make sure their foreign call center operators speak "American Standard English," saying the agency has no power over foreign employees.

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Networks Using Legacy TV As A 'Cash Cow,' Advocates Say

By Nadia Dreid

Networks see local TV stations as little more than "cash cows" and are "sucking the lifeblood out of television stations" by demanding increasingly higher fees in exchange for allowing them to air network content, a pair of media advocacy groups have told the Federal Communications Commission.

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Elizabeth Holmes Gets 11-Year Prison Sentence Cut By A Year

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has shaved off a year from convicted ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' 11-year-and-three-month prison sentence for securities fraud due to recent sentencing guideline amendments, reducing her time behind bars by one year, instead of the two years she requested, amid objections by prosecutors.

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Kalshi Sued By Wash. AG In Latest 'Illegal Gambling' Case

By Rachel Riley

The Washington state attorney general accused Kalshi Friday of operating an illegal online betting platform under the guise of a prediction market, joining a growing number of states that have taken court action against the company over alleged gambling law violations.

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Brief

FCC Bars Another Chinese Test Lab Over Security Risk

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday pulled the accreditation of another Chinese communications device testing lab due to concerns about Chinese state government control.

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Guests Ask High Court To Review Vegas Hotel Pricing Suit

By Matthew Perlman

Las Vegas hotel guests are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that refused to revive their proposed class action accusing casino-hotel operators of using software from Cendyn Group to illegally inflate room rates.

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6th Circ. Won't Revive Ky. Bourbon-Makers' Fight Over A 'First'

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Kentucky distillery that claims to be the first African American-owned company to make bourbon at its own facility in the Bluegrass State can't revive its false advertising lawsuit against another distiller claiming the same distinction, the Sixth Circuit ruled in a Thursday published opinion.

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DC Law Change Thwarts Sportsbook Recovery Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. federal judge threw out a lawsuit seeking to claw back millions in gambling losses from major sportsbook operators under an old "Statute of Anne" law on the district's books, ruling that local officials clearly exempted authorized sports wagering from its recovery provisions.

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Chanel Ducks The RealReal's Antitrust Counterclaims For Now

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal court has tossed antitrust counterclaims lodged against Chanel by used luxury goods retailer The RealReal after the fashion house accused it of selling counterfeit handbags.

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Delaware Judge Lets Juul Suits Proceed, Trims Claims

By Jarek Rutz

Delaware Superior Court has largely allowed a set of lawsuits against Juul Labs Inc. to move forward, rejecting the company's bid to dismiss claims brought by more than a thousand plaintiffs who say they were misled about the risks of its e-cigarettes.

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Ill. Judge Trims Parents' Colgate Fluoride Deception Claims

By Lauraann Wood

Parents bringing deceptive labeling claims against Colgate-Palmolive can pursue accusations that the company misleadingly markets certain fluoride mouthrinses as though they are safe for kids of all ages, but parents targeting kids' toothpaste have read too much into the product labels to proceed plausibly, an Illinois federal judge said Friday.

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Judge Denies NAR Mandatory Membership Antitrust Claims

By Nate Beck

A Louisiana federal judge has rejected an antitrust lawsuit brought pro se by a group of brokers claiming they are illegally forced to join a trio of real estate associations to access the Multiple Listing Service online home listing system.

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Uber Crash Liability Case Review Denied By Texas High Court

By José Luis Martínez

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to review a case brought by passengers injured in a car crash during a trip arranged through Uber Technologies Inc.'s app, leaving intact a lower court ruling rejecting their liability claims and finding that the company's drivers are independent contractors under state law.

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Texas Justices Pass On Uri Suits Targeting Power Suppliers

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday turned down a bid to revive claims that power plant companies' negligent handling of equipment and staff harmed electric consumers during a deadly winter storm in 2021.

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Uber Again Says It's A Tech Co., Not A Transportation Provider

By Jonathan Capriel

Uber is once again fighting efforts to frame it as a transportation provider that owes a duty of safety to passengers, telling the California federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation over sexual assault liability that it only operates a technology platform.

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Timeshare Exit Patrons Seek Wash. Justices' Insurance Input

By Rachel Riley

Former Timeshare Exit Team customers who claim the now defunct firm's insurers failed to defend it from a consumer protection class action that yielded a $630 million deal have suggested that a Seattle federal judge request clarity from the Washington State Supreme Court on certain coverage questions.

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Meta Reads WhatsApp Users' Messages, Class Action Claims

By Bonnie Eslinger

Meta Platforms Inc. read and stored the messages of WhatsApp users' in violation of the law and of promises that the communications would only be viewable by the sender and recipient of the messages, according to a putative class action filed in California federal court.

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Gun Buyer Says Trigger Guard Doesn't Nix No-Safety Suit

By Mike Curley

A gun buyer leading a proposed class action alleging that Sig Sauer Inc.'s P320 pistol is dangerously defective is urging a Washington federal court not to throw out his claims, saying the presence of a trigger guard doesn't negate the complaint's claim that the gun lacks external safety features.

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Vital Farms' New Software Cracked Its Revenue, Suit Says

By Sydney Price

Pasture-raised eggs producer Vital Farms was hit with a proposed shareholder class action Friday in Texas federal court alleging the company misled investors about a software system rollout that disrupted shipments to retailers and triggered a stock drop when its impact was revealed.

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Audi Door Lock Defect Trapped Infant In Back Seat, Suit Says

By Zak Kostro

Electronic door-locking systems in dozens of Audi models intermittently fail to lock or unlock, according to a proposed class action in California federal court, in which a driver alleged the defect once left his infant son trapped in the back seat of his car.

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NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Exits, Duke Ducks Climate Suit

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court saw an unexpected shakeup with one judge's retirement, rendered a pivotal decision in a first-of-its-kind climate change case against Duke Energy and oversaw a trial between the feuding owners of a commercial bed skirt company.

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Grammarly Suit Flags Right Of Publicity As Key AI Issue

Angwin v. Superhuman Platform, filed recently in New York federal court against the parent company of Grammarly, highlights an overlooked question for any company using artificial intelligence — whether someone's identity has been used for commercial purposes without consent, possibly violating rapidly shifting state right-of-publicity laws, says Nicholas Schneider at Eckert Seamans.

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8 Tariff Refund Questions For Restructuring Professionals

For restructuring and turnaround professionals, seeking refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act raises several questions about how to capture legitimate recoveries while protecting an enterprise from the consequences of its own history, says Jonny Frank and Laura Greenman at StoneTurn, and Andrew Popescu at Province.

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Series

Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

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Firms Targeted By Trump Urge DC Circ. To Uphold EO Rulings

By Alison Knezevich

Four law firms targeted last year by President Donald Trump urged the D.C. Circuit on Friday to affirm lower court rulings that struck down executive orders restricting their ability to practice law, saying the directives blatantly violate the Constitution.

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Ex-Williams & Connolly Clerk Accused Of Posting Client Info

By Hailey Konnath

A former Williams & Connolly LLP clerk has been posting confidential firm information — including client information and work email exchanges — and he's threatening to "keep leaking" the materials, which he called "a fun read," according to a suit filed in District of Columbia Superior Court.

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BigLaw Races To Capture Expanding Fund Finance Market

By Kevin Penton

Debt financing work at the fund level has long been dominated on the lender side by attorneys from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, Haynes Boone and Mayer Brown LLP, but other firms are increasingly crafting formal practices and poaching fund finance stars from the more established players.

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Apollo, BlackRock Deny Asking Kirkland To Abandon Optimum

By Tracey Read

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other major financial companies have denied Optimum Communications' claims accusing them of "bullying" Kirkland & Ellis LLP into withdrawing as the telecommunications company's transaction counsel to get revenge for a collusion lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

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Atty Sanctioned For AI Hallucinations In Workers' Comp Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey appellate court on Friday ordered an attorney to pay $1,000 in sanctions for failing to rectify AI-hallucinated case citations pointed out to him in an appeal concerning reimbursement sought by a workers' compensation carrier.

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Brief

Amazon Swaps MoFo In, Perkins Coie Out In Cooker Suit

By Ben Adlin

Amazon.com LLP switched counsel Friday in a customer's product defect suit accusing the retail giant of selling a faulty pressure cooker that allegedly malfunctioned and caused her severe burns, substituting two Morrison Foerster LLP attorneys in place of an outgoing Perkins Coie LLP lawyer.

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Judiciary Nixes Amicus Disclosure Reform Over Potential Chill

By Emily Sawicki

The federal judiciary has been asked not to move forward with a plan to add to amicus brief disclosure requirements designed to curb "dark money" groups from bankrolling amicus briefs, after rules committee chairs pulled the recommendation over concerns of a possible chilling effect.

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Apple hit back at a tech company's wireless charging patent claim, a flurry of businesses bring COVID-19 pandemic insurance claims as a key deadline draws closer and Ipulse Partners LLP file a claim against a luxury yacht company it represented in a trademark dispute. 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 Sue Reisinger

A federal judge has stopped the Pentagon from dropping AI giant Anthropic from the government's supply chain, and Latham & Watkins ranked first in a survey of in-house legal leaders on which law firms are most helpful in developing business, followed by King & Spalding, Jones Day and Ropes & Gray.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Lanier Law Firm, Kiesel Law LLP, Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and Beasley Allen Law Firm lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California state jury in a bellwether trial found Meta and Google liable for harming the mental health of a woman who says she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child.

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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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Mich. Judge Signals No Stay If Attys Exit Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge said Friday she is not inclined to pause a long-running sexual harassment suit again if counsel for an attorney who is suing her ex-mentor and former firm are allowed to withdraw, telling the parties, "We've been here. We've done this," as she heard arguments over a motion to exit the case.

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Mayer Brown's $21M Fee Bid In RI Truck Tolls Suit Rebuffed

By Linda Chiem

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday rebuffed Mayer Brown LLP's bid for $21 million in attorney fees for representing the commercial trucking industry's lead trade group in long-running litigation over the state's truck tolling program, saying the American Trucking Associations ultimately was not the "prevailing party."

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