Woman Says Starbucks' Coffee, Flimsy Cup Caused Burns

By Mike Curley

A woman on Wednesday sued Starbucks Corp. in California state court, alleging she suffered severe and permanent burns when she spilled "scalding" coffee onto her lap because of a structurally defective cup.

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Atty DQ Over Inadvertent Doc Disclosure Overturned

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has upended the disqualification of defense counsel in a sexual battery suit, saying documents undermining the case that were accidentally produced via a Dropbox link were not privileged.

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Judge Poised To OK NJ's $3B PFAS Deals With 3M, DuPont

By George Woolston

A Garden State federal judge on Wednesday signaled that she would sign off on proposed deals worth a combined $3 billion between New Jersey, 3M Co. and various DuPont entities to resolve the state's claims over contamination caused by the manufacture and discharge of forever chemicals.

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Camp Mystic Files For Bankruptcy After Deadly Texas Floods

By Alex Wittenberg

Camp Mystic filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court Wednesday, almost a year after extreme floods killed 28 people at the summer camp in central Texas.

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Insurer Says No Coverage For Home Care Co. In Abuse Suits

By Hope Patti

A Liberty Mutual unit told a Pennsylvania federal court that it owes no coverage to a home care service provider in litigation over the abuse and death of a patient by a caregiver who was convicted of neglect and financial exploitation.

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A Midyear Look At Antiterrorism Act Jurisprudence And Policy

Plaintiffs have filed comparably fewer new actions under the Antiterrorism Act this year, though a handful of key decisions further defined the statute’s aiding-and-abetting standard and highlighted continuing risks for financial services companies, say attorneys at Skadden.

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Why Highly Specialized Experts May Risk Exclusion At Trial

Expert witnesses with highly specific areas of focus may be vulnerable to exclusion in court, making it important for attorneys to check how potential witnesses' qualifications can be bolstered by their publications and other professional activities, say Evan Weisberg and Christopher Cunio at Hunton, and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

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Groombridge Wu Tops Milbank Pay Scale For Associates

By Kevin Penton

Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone LLP is the latest firm to top the pay scale for associates announced earlier this month by Milbank LLP, with attorneys set to earn as much as $470,000.

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Senate Confirming Judges Faster Than In Trump's 1st Term

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate has confirmed 45 judges in the second Trump term, outpacing the rate of his first administration, Senate Republicans announced on Thursday.

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Attys Urged To Challenge Clients Who Demand AI Research

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge urged attorneys during a Thursday sanctions hearing to push back against clients who demand lawyers use generative artificial intelligence tools to conduct legal research, saying the technology is no substitute for professional judgment and discretion because it "aims to please" and can misstate the law.

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Lack Of Evidence Sinks Insurance Fraud Case, Atty Says

By Emily Sawicki

A Louisiana law firm and lawyer found guilty of criminal conspiracy and wire fraud for staging vehicle crashes as part of a scheme to defraud insurance carriers and trucking companies are seeking acquittal or a new trial, arguing that federal prosecutors failed to support their claims with evidence.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Blasts 'Inflated' DOJ Tax Math

By Jared Foretek

Convicted SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein and federal prosecutors are clashing again over their dramatically divergent sentencing recommendations, with the defense accusing the government of presenting a "one-dimensional caricature" of the famed lawyer in seeking an eight-year sentence, and prosecutors accusing him of potentially deleting "secret chats" with his gambling backers.

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Feds Say Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Was Let Off Easy

By Nadia Dreid

Both federal prosecutors and a Stephen Miller-founded public interest group believe that a Maryland federal judge let a woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh off too easy because of her gender identity and want the Fourth Circuit to order resentencing.

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Quinn Emanuel Says 3M Fee Proposal Undervalues Its Work

By Carolina Bolado

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has objected to a special master's recommendation on the allocation of common benefit fees in the $6 billion settlement that ended multidistrict litigation against 3M over allegedly faulty combat earplugs, saying the amount doesn't value the "length, extent and impact" of the firm's work.

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