Stormy Daniels Tells NY Jury 'Fear' Drove Hush Money Deal

By Frank G. Runyeon, Stewart Bishop and Rachel Scharf

Adult film star Stormy Daniels detailed for a Manhattan jury on Tuesday how a sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006 led to an alleged $130,000 hush money payment in 2016, describing how it was "fear and not money" that led her to make the deal.

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Coverage Recap: Day 9 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Rachel Scharf, Stewart Bishop and Frank Runyeon

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day nine.

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Florida Judge Delays Trump's Classified Docs Trial Indefinitely

By David Minsky

The Florida judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses former President Donald Trump of holding onto classified documents upon leaving office extended indefinitely the planned May 20 start of the trial, citing "myriad and interconnected pretrial" issues regarding the Classified Information Procedures Act, according to a federal court order filed on Tuesday.

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Amazon Blasts Writer's Ownership Claim Over New 'Road House'

By Ivan Moreno

Amazon Studios and others involved in the 2024 remake of 1989's "Road House" movie told a California federal court that the writer behind the original film who is suing for copyright infringement does not own the rights to the script for the original.

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Atty Dons Muppet Head To Open Sesame Place Race Bias Trial

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A federal jury in Philadelphia on Tuesday gazed at the googly eyes and blue fur of an attorney who donned the head of Sesame Street's Grover to tell them that performers wearing the fluorescent bodysuits of other beloved Muppets discriminated against children at a Pennsylvania theme park because of the color of their skin.

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TikTok Urges DC Circ. To Ax 'Unprecedented' Divestment Bill

By Allison Grande

TikTok on Tuesday lodged its highly anticipated challenge to a new federal law that would exclude the popular app from the U.S. market unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company, telling the D.C. Circuit that the measure amounts to an unconstitutional and unprecedented ban on free speech. 

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3rd Circ. Unsure Miss. Law Saves Kavanaugh Classmate's Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Weighing whether New York or Mississippi law controls a libel lawsuit that Justice Brett Kavanaugh's former classmate filed against The Huffington Post could be moot if neither state's law offers an extension for refiling claims dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, a Third Circuit panel suggested Tuesday.

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US News' Suit Over SF Ranking Probe Premature, Judge Says

By Henrik Nilsson

A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed without prejudice U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the suit jumps the gun because U.S. News is not bringing a valid pre-enforcement claim.

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Dave Chappelle Attacker Sues Hollywood Bowl Over Injuries

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Los Angeles County man who says he was beat "ruthlessly" by security after he rushed the stage and tackled Dave Chappelle at a Hollywood Bowl show in 2022 to protest the comedian's "discriminatory" jokes has sued the venue for negligent security and battery.

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50 Cent Accuses Ex-Partner Of Making False Rape Allegations

By Catherine Marfin

Rapper 50 Cent has accused his former romantic partner of a "calculated plan" to prevent him from obtaining full custody of their child, saying in a Houston defamation lawsuit that she falsely accused him of rape after a New York suit against rapper Diddy claimed she was previously a sex worker.

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Spacey To Face UK Civil Trial Over Sex Assault Claim

By Ronan Barnard

Kevin Spacey successfully bid to overturn a default judgment against him at a London court on Tuesday — but the actor now faces a trial to fight off a man's £457,000 ($574,000) sexual assault claim.

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Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Susman's Brook, Shackelford

By Sydney Price

Susman Godfrey LLP attorneys Davida Brook and Stephen Shackelford Jr. learned very early on in their working relationship that they needed to trust each other. That concept, they say, has been foundational to their success as defamation attorneys, and those who have worked alongside them say everyone else has reason to trust them, too.

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GOP Reps. Want IP Enforcers To Get Tougher On Infringers

By Andrew Karpan

Republican lawmakers complained at a Tuesday congressional hearing about the Biden administration's move to end the controversial Trump-era "China Initiative" aimed at curbing suspected economic espionage and questioned administration officials over how diligently they have pursued intellectual property cases on behalf of U.S. manufacturers, retailers, movie studios and vape companies.

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Judge Limits Valve's Arguments In Controller Patent Fight

By Adam Lidgett

A federal judge in Seattle has partly granted a bid from Ironburg Inventions Ltd. to block Valve Corp. from raising certain arguments when challenging a video game controller patent at district court based on estoppel rules from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

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Google Founder And CEO Eyed In Texas Deposition Push

By Peter McGuire

Texas and allied states have pressed a Texas federal judge not to release Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai from sitting for depositions in a suit alleging the tech company illegally dominated the online advertising market.

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Amazon Says Zulily Lacks Standing To Bring Antitrust Claims

By Hailey Konnath

Amazon is asking a Washington federal court to throw out now-defunct online retailer Zulily's lawsuit accusing it of using its monopoly power to shut out competition from other online retailers, arguing that Zulily merely "parrots" allegations made by regulators and has singled out "plainly procompetitive practice."

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New IPad Buyers And Complaint OK'd In Amazon-Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

Two new iPad buyers filed an amended antitrust complaint Tuesday over the Amazon-Apple pact restricting iPhone and iPad sales to approved vendors after a Washington federal judge overrode defense arguments that the named plaintiff swap is too late and replaces an unsuitable class representative.

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7th Circ. Ruling Imperils Anonymity In NCAA, Netflix Cases

By Rose Krebs

Anonymous plaintiffs suing the NCAA and Netflix in separate cases in Indiana federal court must explain why they should be allowed to keep their identities hidden following a recent Seventh Circuit ruling that established "a stringent standard" relating to anonymity, a magistrate judge has ruled.

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NJ Justices Say Survivor Gag Orders Flout #MeToo Law

By George Woolston

A nondisparagement clause in a former New Jersey police sergeant's settlement agreement resolving sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation claims against her former employer is against public policy and unenforceable, the New Jersey Supreme Court held on Tuesday.

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Google Says Exec's Firing Based On Behavior, Not Bias

By Emmy Freedman

Google urged a New York federal court to toss a lawsuit from a former executive who said he was fired for being a white man, arguing his termination came because he threw a raucous, alcohol-fueled party at his lake house despite receiving prior warnings about bad behavior.

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Apple, Amazon Accused Of Shorting Background Actors

By Abby Wargo

Apple TV and Amazon Studios LLC failed to pay background actors their full overtime wages, denied them meal breaks and forced them to cover work-related expenses, a former actor for the studios said in two proposed class actions filed in California state court.

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Trump Media Co-Founders Seek Chancery Contempt Order

By Jeff Montgomery

Two early investors in Trump Media & Technology Group have called for a Delaware Court of Chancery contempt ruling against Donald Trump's Truth Social media company, saying its attempt to claim their shares in a Florida lawsuit contradicted earlier representations in Delaware.

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Truth Social Investor Grilled By Feds At Insider Trading Trial

By Pete Brush

A Florida investment pro on trial for allegedly exploiting confidential plans to take Truth Social public in a $23 million insider trading case was challenged Tuesday by prosecutors on the timing of trades and communications before the "special" media deal.

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Gronk, Others To Pay $2.4M In Voyager Crypto Promoter Suit

By Katryna Perera

Retired football star Rob Gronkowski, NBA player Victor Oladipo and NASCAR driver Landon Cassill have agreed to collectively pay $2.4 million to settle allegations they helped promote failed cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital Holdings Inc.

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Magic Johnson's Name Used As Bait For Investors, Jury Hears

By Craig Clough

A California man falsely told investors as the COVID-19 pandemic raged in March 2020 that he had a cure and that NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson was on his company's board, a federal prosecutor told a Los Angeles federal jury Tuesday during opening statements in the man's wire fraud trial.

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LA Sued For Landmarking House Marilyn Monroe Died In

By Gina Kim

Owners of a Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe died sued the city in California state court saying it orchestrating an illegal, rigged process to designate it as a historical landmark, arguing Monday nothing in the home shows the actress spent a single day in it.

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Canadian Film Producer Skips Fla. Trial On Fraud Allegations

By David Minsky

A Canadian film producer accused of defrauding an investor out of more than $13 million to fund several productions was a no-show at his Florida federal civil trial on Tuesday after informing the court a day earlier that he wouldn't attend because he isn't represented by counsel.

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Ex-Tugboat CEO Can't Reinstate $75M Defamation Verdict

By Mike Curley

A Washington state appeals panel won't let the former CEO of boating company Harley Marine Services Inc. reinstate a $75 million defamation verdict against his former business partners, finding that the comments that formed the basis for the verdict are covered under the state's "absolute" litigation privilege.

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Appeals Court Won't Block Live Nation Astroworld Deposition

By Catherine Marfin

A Texas appeals court declined to block the deposition of Live Nation's CEO and president on Tuesday as it continues to weigh whether the first trial in litigation stemming from the deadly Astroworld crowd crush will be paused pending the resolution of an appeal by Apple.

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What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

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Analysis

In Story Of Sex And Lies, Can Cohen Write Final Chapter?

By Phillip Bantz

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has told a story of scandal and scheming to the jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, setting the stage for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand and wrap up the narrative.

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Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO Cops To $1.5M Theft From Firm

By George Woolston

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former chief financial officer admitted Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and failing to pay income tax, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced.

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Lewis Brisbois Atty Fatally Shot In McDonald's Altercation

By Ryan Boysen

A Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP attorney was fatally shot at a McDonald's in Houston after reportedly stepping in as a good Samaritan and attempting to calm down an irate customer who'd been arguing with staff at the fast food restaurant.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Kelly Dermody

By Irene Spezzamonte

A semester off from Harvard University in the late 1980s meant for reflection instead turned into a pivotal moment in Kelly Dermody's life, settling the roots for her successful career during which she has become a lighthouse for employment and discrimination cases.

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ABA Will Study Rape Questions' Necessity For Bar Applicants

By Cara Bayles

An American Bar Association commission will issue a report and recommendations by August on the practice of requiring would-be lawyers to disclose and discuss their experiences of sexual violence during the attorney licensure process.

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ABA Directs Attys To Avoid Sharing Client Info On Listservs

By Emily Sawicki

It is in the best interest of clients for their legal counsel to avoid sharing information related to representation while seeking advice in an online listserv forum, if the comments or questions could be connected to a client's identity, according to American Bar Association guidance published Wednesday.

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Ga. Appeals Court Will Review Trump DQ Bid In Election Case

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to review a judge's ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to continue prosecuting the election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump.

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Fani Willis Is Outraising Primary Challenger More Than 5 To 1

By Chart Riggall

Less than two weeks from the first hurdle in her bid for reelection, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis is boasting a​​ campaign war chest more than five times heftier than her Democratic challenger's, according to campaign finance disclosures filed this week.

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Biden Picks US Magistrate Judge In Fla. For 11th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his intent to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd to the Eleventh Circuit.

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Robins Kaplan File Flub Bad Look For Both Sides, Panel Says

By Rachel Scharf

A Manhattan appeals panel expressed concern Wednesday that Robins Kaplan LLP had poked through an opposing party's Dropbox database that was accidentally shared in investor litigation, while also criticizing the other side for failing to catch the error.

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NJ Justices Approve Measures For Helping Atty Well-Being

By Emily Johnson

The New Jersey Supreme Court has accepted several recommendations from its committee focused on attorney well-being, paving the way for the committee to examine how attorneys can briefly postpone court dates or possibly receive an extension to meet deadlines so they can handle pressing wellness needs.

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Legal Access Program Being Set Up For Separated Families

By Alyssa Aquino

The Biden administration has tapped the Acacia Center for Justice to manage a court-ordered legal access program to help migrant families stay in the U.S. after they were separated under a Trump-era policy to prosecute anybody caught entering the country unlawfully.

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Colo. Judges Urge Attys To Take On More Pro Se Cases

By Thy Vo

A group of Colorado federal judges tried Wednesday to recruit more lawyers to help pro se litigants, who file about a third of the district's cases each year, with the judges recounting tactical mistakes and case delays that attorneys could have prevented.

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