Drexel Defends Employees In Ex-Administrator's Bias Case

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Drexel University officials on Monday denied that contentious interactions between staff members and a former administrator were motivated by race and gender bias, telling a Pennsylvania federal judge in a bench trial the real driver was concern about her allegedly interfering with the independence of the school's auditors.

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Pokémon Go Maker Gets Judge To 'Avada Kedavra' Patents

By Rae Ann Varona

A federal judge on Monday said he cast the so-called unforgivable avada kedavra curse from Harry Potter to kill three ImagineAR Inc. video game patents in its lawsuit against Pokémon Go maker Niantic Inc., saying the patents were all abstract and lacked any inventive concept.

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Atty Tells Disciplinary Panel $250K Demand Wasn't Blackmail

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania attorney facing discipline for allegedly threatening to blackmail a client's debtor was rightfully trying to collect on a long-standing, highly litigated debt, a state disciplinary hearing panel heard Monday.

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Exxon, BP, Others Keep Dismissal Of Pa. Benzene Suit

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday refused to reinstate a woman's suit alleging that products from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Products North America Inc. and others exposed her husband to benzene, leading to his death, ruling the trial court rightly found that North Carolina is the far better venue.

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Pa. Top Court Snapshot: Clickwrap Agreements, Mail-In Votes

By Matthew Santoni

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will return from its summer break with a couple of familiar issues, including the heavily litigated issue of discarding undated mail-in ballots and a much-anticipated review of common "clickwrap" agreements for apps and websites. Here are some of the cases the state's justices will hear in their Sept. 9-11 session.

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New $25M Vanguard Investor Tax Case Deal Gets Initial OK

By Kat Lucero

A $25 million settlement of a class action accusing Vanguard of improperly triggering an asset sell-off that saddled investors with steep tax bills received preliminary approval Monday, according to an order in Pennsylvania federal court, after a $40 million deal was rejected in May.

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Pennsylvania Powerhouse: Reed Smith

By Rachel Rippetoe

While Reed Smith LLP has no official headquarters in any of its 33 offices around the globe, its founding in Pittsburgh 148 years ago undoubtedly makes Pennsylvania a beloved home base — the BigLaw firm's Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices are home to its global managing partner and a dozen or so other top firm executives.

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Whisper Not Enough To Sustain Worker's Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Pennsylvania federal judge tossed a Merck Sharp & Dohme worker's suit Monday claiming his boss sexually harassed him by whispering in his ear at a staff meeting, ruling the singular incident did not create a hostile work environment at the pharmaceutical company.

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Swedish Video Game Co. Beats Suit Over Compliance Issues

By Katryna Perera

A Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed claims against Evolution AB in a suit claiming the Swedish gaming company misled investors about its growth and that its subsidiaries routinely conducted business with unlicensed customers, finding that the court does not have jurisdiction over Evolution, since it is not "at home" in Pennsylvania.

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Analysis

Tracking The Copyright Fights Between Creators And AI Cos.

By Theresa Schliep

In the three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, artificial intelligence developers like OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic have faced dozens of lawsuits accusing them of infringing the intellectual property of authors, artists, news organizations and the like.

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3rd Circ. Shuts Down Drivers' 'Destination Charge' Suit

By Mike Curley

The Third Circuit won't give drivers another shot at alleging that FCA US LLC unfairly inflated "destination charge" fees when they bought their vehicles, saying their proposed amended complaint still doesn't show how the carmaker violated 11 states' consumer protection laws.

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Appeal Limited To NJ US Atty DQ Ruling, 3rd Circ. Told

By Madison Arnold

The federal government and defense counsel have agreed that the scope of a Third Circuit appeal is limited to the disqualification of New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases.

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3rd Circ. Revives Ex-Lecturer's Suit Over Alt-Right Views

By Dorothy Atkins

The Third Circuit on Monday found school disruptions at the New Jersey Institute of Technology caused by a philosophy lecturer's comments don't outweigh his free speech rights, reversing the school's summary judgment win in the professor's lawsuit alleging NJIT violated his constitutional rights by refusing to renew his contract after his off-campus, alt-right comments drew national attention.

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Analysis

3rd Circ.'s Grid-Planning Ruling Will Coax States To Play Ball

By Keith Goldberg

A Third Circuit decision limiting states' ability to block transmission projects already greenlighted by regional grid operators could make a federal overhaul of transmission planning policies more appealing, even as several states and utilities pursue litigation to block the changes.

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Pa. Bill Aims To Stop Reassessments For Small Improvements

By Jaqueline McCool

Pennsylvania would allow small property improvements without the trigger of a reassessment under a bill introduced in the state Senate. 

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Dems Again Ask NY Ethics Body To Investigate Bove

By Jack Karp

Two Democratic senators filed an updated ethics complaint with the New York State Courts' attorney ethics body against recently confirmed Third Circuit Judge Emil Bove, citing what they called his "quid pro quo deal" to drop criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other alleged ethical violations.

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Grassley Blocked On Quick US Attorney Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tried Monday to quickly confirm 10 nominees for U.S. attorneys, but was blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

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PNC To Acquire Colorado-Based FirstBank In $4B Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Banking giant PNC Financial Services Group Inc. on Monday announced plans to acquire Colorado-based FirstBank in a deal valued Monday at $4.1 billion and guided by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

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Steptoe & Johnson Adds Olympus Energy Atty In Pittsburgh

By Christine DeRosa

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has grown its Pittsburgh office with the addition of a senior counsel from oil and natural gas company Olympus Energy LLC.

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Analysis

Class Actions May Be The New Injunction Bid, And Next Target

By Cara Bayles

In the two months since the Supreme Court hobbled universal injunctions, lawyers and trial judges have pivoted to adjust to a new litigation landscape, with class actions playing a larger role in lawsuits seeking to stop presidential policies. That, in turn, could put the tactic in the administration's crosshairs.

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GOP Sens. OK Fla. Judge Who Dems Claim Courted Trump

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Republicans voted on Monday evening to confirm to the Southern District of Florida bench Judge Edward L. Artau, a state appellate judge who ruled in favor of President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit when Democrats say he was simultaneously being vetted for the federal judgeship.

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Calif. Judge Convicted Of Murdering Wife Seeks Trial Do-Over

By Gina Kim

A California judge convicted of murdering his wife earlier this year moved for a new trial, arguing the court's denial of his request to postpone the retrial was a "miscarriage of justice" because it limited his expert witness testimony and violated his right to present his defense that the shooting was accidental.

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Barrett Talks Dobbs, Court's Role In New Book

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and declare there's no constitutional right to abortion in her new memoir, which also provides unique insight into her view of the judiciary's role in American democracy and her approach to interpreting law.

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Litigation Funder Says Ex-GC Stole Secrets To Launch Rival

By Rae Ann Varona

A Houston-based litigation funding company has hauled its former general counsel into Texas state court, accusing him of diverting its business opportunities and using confidential business information when secretly forming a new rival litigation funder.

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Atty In Judge Newman Suspension Feud Moves To DOJ

By Adam Lidgett

An attorney who has been representing Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman in the legal battle over her suspension has jumped from the New Civil Liberties Alliance to work at the U.S. Department of Justice.

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FisherBroyles Can't Nix Stem Cell Patent Malpractice Claim

By Craig Clough

A California judge on Monday denied FisherBroyles LLP's motion to toss a claim in a $10 million malpractice suit brought against it by a stem cell treatment center, ruling the firm missed a deadline to file the motion. 

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Analysis

Immigration Board's Undoing Of Bond Practice Stuns Attys

By Britain Eakin

A Board of Immigration Appeals decision to deny bond and require mandatory detention for anyone entering the U.S. unlawfully has stunned immigration attorneys, who say the upending of decades of precedent will leave few options beyond leaving the country.

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Mass. Justices Asked To Find Atty Had Duty To Seek Plea Deal

By Julie Manganis

A man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a 1983 murder asked Massachusetts' high court Monday to find that his defense attorney's failure to pursue a plea bargain with prosecutors entitles him to a new trial, in a case that could alter the standard for finding a lawyer's work was ineffective.

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Roundup

Securities Class Actions Had A Late Summer Appellate Bloom

By Jessica Corso

While the later summer months are often a quiet time for the nation's courts, the federal appellate courts were hard at work this past July and August issuing important rulings on class certification standards for shareholder lawsuits and handing down split-panel decisions over the future of disclosure litigation.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Sydney Price and Jeff Montgomery

Last week at the Delaware Court of Chancery, a bankruptcy administrator for a generic drugmaker formerly known as Teligent was told he can proceed with duty of oversight claims against most former officers and directors of the company, who the administrator said was complicit in the company's collapse. In an opinion, the Court of Chancery cites its 1996 decision In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation, which refined director duties of care and oversight.

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