Pa. Court Wipes Out $1B Seat Belt Verdict Against Mitsubishi

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday vacated a $1 billion judgment against Mitsubishi in a suit accusing the automaker of causing a motorist's paralysis because of a defective seat belt, saying a new trial is warranted because the jury was given erroneous instructions.

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Ex-Derailment Deal Admin Will Pay $17M To End Contempt Bid

By Matthew Santoni

The ousted administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement over the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will pay $17.25 million to resolve claims that it mishandled the distribution of payouts, according to deal terms approved Monday. 

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Texas Court Clears State Military In Airman Crash Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas appellate court has thrown out a family's suit against the Texas Military Department over a collision involving a senior airman, finding that the agency has immunity because the airman was on duty and within the scope of his duties at the time.

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21 AGs Support Gun Ban For Cannabis Users

By Jonathan Capriel

A federal law that prohibits habitual drug users from possessing firearms is constitutional and necessary for public safety, a coalition of attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C., told the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the justices to overturn a finding that the law violates the Second Amendment except when a user is actively intoxicated.

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BMW's Recall Fix 'Too Late,' Says Widow In SUV Fire Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A widow claims an engine fire in her BMW spread to her home and caused fatal injuries to her husband, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Georgia federal court, which points to a defective part at the center of a 721,000-vehicle recall as the primary culprit.

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Airbus Sued Over Fatal Helicopter Crash In New Jersey

By Matthew Santoni

The families of a pilot and a news photographer killed in a helicopter crash while working for a Philadelphia television station have sued helicopter manufacturer Airbus, along with companies that maintained the helicopter and supplied the hydraulic system parts blamed for causing the crash two years ago in New Jersey.

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Yale Appears Poised To Escape Ex-Student's Defamation Case

By Aaron Keller

Yale University and a sexual assault accuser on Monday appeared poised to escape an expelled student's defamation lawsuit, with a federal judge saying the criminally acquitted ex-student failed to disclose other misconduct allegations and led online followers to reveal the accuser's identity despite orders banning him from directly naming her.

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Aurora Sues Denver Over $2.8M Protest Aid Lawsuits

By Zach Dupont

The city of Aurora sued the city and county of Denver in Colorado state court Friday, saying Denver owes it $2.8 million from settlements stemming from civil rights lawsuits filed by participants of the 2020 George Floyd protests against the Aurora Police Department and its officers.

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Mich. Justices Reopen Female Inmates' Harassment Suit

By Danielle Ferguson

The Michigan Supreme Court has said nothing in a state prisoner litigation statute requires judges to permanently dismiss actions that don't meet all the procedural requirements, giving female inmates of the Wayne County jail a potential second chance at their harassment lawsuit.

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Opinion

Judges Carry Onus To Screen Expert Opinions Before Juries

Recent Second Circuit arguments in Acetaminophen Products Liability Litigation implied a low bar for judicial gatekeeping of expert testimony, but under amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, judges must rigorously scrutinize expert opinions before allowing them to reach juries, says Lee Mickus at Evans Fears.

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Bonus Spotlight

Haynes Boone, Seward & Kissel Announce Year-End Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Haynes Boone is handing its associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those offered by a significant portion of BigLaw this year, largely adhering to a bonus scale first put forward by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in November, a firm spokesperson confirmed Monday.

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Analysis

4 Legal Ethics Matters That Rocked 2025

By Emily Sawicki

This year, judges across the country grappled with attorneys' use and misuse of generative artificial intelligence, and prominent federal prosecutor battles dominated headlines in some of the top legal ethics matters of 2025.

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DOJ Challenges ABA's Standing In Law Firm Intimidation Suit

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration is not waging an intimidation campaign against U.S. law firms, the government said Friday, calling an American Bar Association lawsuit challenging its alleged "law firm intimidation policy" as total speculation that must be dismissed due to lack of standing.

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JPMorgan Rips Javice Attys' 'Absurd' Bills For Candy, Booze

By Dorothy Atkins

JPMorgan has unveiled new details in its ongoing legal fee fight with Charlie Javice, accusing the convicted financial aid startup founder's Quinn Emanuel defense counsel and other firms of billing for "absurd" and "outrageous" expenses, including specialty cocktails, cellulite butter, a Cookie Monster toy and $530 on gummy bears.

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Ex-CIA Director's Lawyers Accuse DOJ Of Judge Shopping

By Carolina Bolado

Former CIA Director John Brennan's attorneys asked the chief judge for the Southern District of Florida on Monday to block prosecutors from trying to steer any potential charges against him for investigating Russia's 2016 election interference to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's courtroom.

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Analysis

2025 Was A Policy Year Like No Other For Immigration Attys

By Britain Eakin

This year brought nonstop immigration policy whiplash as the Trump administration ramped up enforcement, triggering panic among employers about I-9 compliance in a landscape of constantly shifting adjudication and work authorization policies. Here, Law360 looks at how policy shifted attorney practice in 2025.

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Calif. Atty Slams 'Protectionist' ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By Emily Sawicki

A California attorney has pushed back on opposition from California's attorney general and the state's bar association amid his efforts to block enforcement of a ban on fee sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonattorneys, arguing the new state law is a "protectionist act, in defiance of the constitution."

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LawFirms.com Beats LegalForce's TM Suit After Bench Trial

By Ivan Moreno

A California judge has concluded that a company that operates LawFirms.com did not infringe a law firm's trademarks for LegalForce, saying that during a four-day bench trial in October the court found "no one was actually confused or misled."

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Schumer Pushes Senate To Sue Over Epstein File Release

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution on Monday that would direct the Senate to take legal action to force the Trump administration to fully comply with the law to release the files of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Analysis

As US Executions Decline, Florida Surges

By Brandon Lowrey

During Florida's 1994 gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Jeb Bush accused Democratic incumbent Lawton Chiles of being too soft on crime; Chiles' immediate predecessor, Bush pointed out, had signed almost 10 times as many death warrants as Chiles had.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's justices threw the Court of Chancery in reverse big time last week, rescinding a decision by the state's chancellor that last year effectively canceled tech tycoon Elon Musk's multi-year, then-$56 billion stock-based compensation package. It was a decision that lit up the court's relatively low-key, pre-holiday wind-up. It also highlighted the endless, 3D tug of war over Delaware-chartered companies and the interests of boards, officers, controllers, stockholders and the corporate bar.

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