Atty's 'Reptile Theory' Argument Sparks Assault Suit Retrial

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has greenlit a new trial in a case where a jury awarded $1 million to a woman who was allegedly assaulted by a hotel owner during an eviction dispute, saying plaintiff's counsel improperly used the "reptile theory" trial technique to sway the jury.

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DuPont Can't Shake $1B PFAS Pollution Suit In NJ Appeal

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appeals court on Tuesday shut down a bid by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Chemours to toss a suit brought by a small Garden State town seeking $1 billion for the cleanup of forever chemical contamination at a former manufacturing plant, ruling that the town has standing to bring the suit.

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Hagens Berman Referred To DOJ For Alleged Misconduct

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday recommended to the U.S. Department of Justice that it investigate powerhouse plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's conduct in connection with several since-dropped product liability cases that a special master found to be filed in bad faith.

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Vapor Evidence Tossed From Causation In Camp Lejeune Suit

By Mike Curley

A panel of federal judges has excluded evidence of water vapor intrusion from the analysis of causation in the Camp Lejeune water contamination suit in North Carolina federal court, siding with the government in its argument that water vapor is not included in "the water" named in the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

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Fla. Judge Reduces Damages In Megan Thee Stallion Verdict

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge on Tuesday reduced the amount of damages awarded to Megan Thee Stallion after a jury found that an online blogger shared a deepfake porn video over the internet and accused the rapper of lying in court, ruling that the writer was not served with a pre-suit notice for defamation.

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Accusers Seek To Revive Katt Williams Suit Over Judicial Bias

By Lynn LaRowe

Four women whose suit against comedian Katt Williams was tossed by a Georgia federal judge on a finding that the claims related to a 2016 altercation outside a nightclub were time-barred, asked the court Tuesday to reconsider on the basis that the judge is hostile to their lawyer and did not render an impartial decision.

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Roundup

Defamation Litigation Roundup: FDA, Lively, Alexander Bros.

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights a pharmaceutical company's suit against a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official, as well as the latest decision siding against President Donald Trump in his fights with media companies.

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9th Circ. Judges Criticize Ship Captain's Actions In Deadly Fire

By Craig Clough

An attorney for a ship captain convicted of manslaughter over the deaths of 34 people in an onboard fire urged a Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday to reverse his conviction, but he received pushback from two judges who suggested the evidence against his client was "damning" and his actions were indefensible.

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Protesters Drop Use-Of-Force Suit After Feds Leave Town

By Lauren Berg

Clergy, protesters and journalists on Tuesday dropped their lawsuit accusing federal agents of violently violating their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully and report news during the Trump administration's now-quiet immigration crackdown in Chicago, telling a federal judge the plaintiffs "won our case the day they left town."

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Ga. Woman Says Fall Behind $1.8M Verdict Was A 'Big Deal'

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia woman who won $1.8 million from QuikTrip after breaking her finger in a fall at one of its gas stations urged the state's Court of Appeals Tuesday to uphold her verdict, arguing that the injury was life-altering contrary to the company's claims.

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CR Bard's Faulty Blood Filter Killed Wash. Woman, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

The family of a woman allegedly killed by a faulty blood filter implant accused device maker C.R. Bard Inc. in Washington federal court Monday of taking dangerous shortcuts as it rushed its line of products to market.

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Walmart Stabbing Victim Says Mich. Store Ignored Red Flags

By Danielle Ferguson

A man who was one of 11 people stabbed at a Traverse City Walmart this summer sued the retail giant in Michigan state court on Tuesday, alleging the company flouted its own safety policies when employees didn't flag the attacker's suspicious behavior and call police.

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3rd Circ. Weighs 'Information' Meaning In Credit Report Rift

By George Woolston

A panel of the Third Circuit on Tuesday considered whether Experian acted reasonably when it reported that a New Jersey consumer was behind on child support payments despite the consumer's efforts to dispute that report's accuracy, questioning whether the purported delinquency had to be reported in the first place.

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Justices Skeptical Of NJ Subpoena For Anti-Abortion Donors

By Carla Baranauckas

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Tuesday to an anti-abortion pregnancy-center network's bid to challenge a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general, pressing the state on whether its demand for donor identities and internal documents risked unconstitutionally chilling First Amendment associational rights.

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Under New Chair, Fed. Vax Panel To Redo Hep B Vote

By Yeji Jesse Lee

The new chair of an influential federal vaccine advisory panel is set to lead a vote this week on whether to roll back federal recommendations that newborns get vaccinated against hepatitis B.

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Boeing Faces New Passenger Suits Over 737 Blowout

By Rachel Riley

The Boeing Co. has been hit with a pair of fresh lawsuits in Washington state court by two California couples who say they were traumatized when a panel blew off a 737 Max jet during a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight over the West Coast, which triggered an "explosive and violent decompression of the aircraft cabin."

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Mass. Court Lets MBTA Escape Rider's Fare Gate Injury Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A Massachusetts commuter cannot proceed with her personal injury lawsuit against the state's transportation authority, a state appeals court ruled to end the case, because she sent her notice of injury to the wrong transit officials.

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Football Player Contests University's Win In Negligence Suit

By Abigail Harrison

An ex-varsity football player who sued his alma mater for negligence following an altercation with fellow players told a North Carolina state appeals court that it should reverse a summary judgment ruling in the university's favor, arguing that a number of key factual disputes linger.

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Florida Throws A Wrench Into Interstate Trucking Torts

Florida's recent request to file a bill of complaint in the U.S. Supreme Court against California and Washington, asserting that the states' policies conflict with the federal English language proficiency standard for truck drivers, transforms a conventional wrongful death case into a high-stakes constitutional challenge, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

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Opinion

Nursing Home Abuse Cases Face 3 Barriers That Need Reform

Recent headlines reveal persistent gaps in oversight and protection for vulnerable residents in long-term care, but prosecution of these cases is often stymied by numerous challenges that will require a comprehensive overhaul of regulatory, legal and financial structures to address, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

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Bonus Spotlight

Sheppard Mullin To Offer Larger Bonuses To Busy Associates

By Kevin Penton

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP associates who labored past 2,000 hours in 2025 can expect to see a little extra in their upcoming bonus checks, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360.

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King & Spalding Atty Dies In Mountain Climbing Accident

By Kelcey Caulder

People at King & Spalding LLP are mourning after an appellate attorney from the firm and a mountain guide fell to their deaths climbing New Zealand's tallest mountain.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Robart On Living Under Threats

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

It's been nearly nine years since U.S. District Judge James Robart blocked President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, and though the judge has had a long career — including groundbreaking patent and securities decisions — he still occasionally gets recognized as that "so-called judge."

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Twitter Investors Lose Bid To DQ Musk Counsel Spiro

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has denied an attempt by Twitter investors to have Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner Alex Spiro disqualified from serving as both lead counsel for Elon Musk and a witness in a trial over claims that Musk tried to tank Twitter's stock.

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Dentons Sees Ex-Partner's Appeal Nixed In California

By Caroline Simson

California's highest court has quietly tossed litigation filed by a former Dentons partner who was fired over a $34 million contingency fee due from a Chinese client following an arbitration matter, several months after advising the parties to prepare for oral arguments.

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The Top In-House Hires Of November

By Sue Reisinger

Elon Musk's xAI has a new but familiar general counsel, while several sports groups — including the New York Mets, PGA of America and the SEC college athletic conference — also brought on new legal leaders in November.

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SDNY Head Backs Good Deals For Quick Cooperation By Cos.

By Stewart Bishop

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on Tuesday said he's prepared to offer "real benefits" to corporations facing criminal investigations if they quickly agree to cooperate and compensate victims, ideally in the form of comprehensive, government-wide resolutions.

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Exclusive

14 Ex-Lawmakers Tell USPTO Proposed Rules Violate The Law

By Ryan Davis

A group of 14 former members of Congress, including America Invents Act sponsor Patrick Leahy, has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the agency's proposal to restrict many patent challenges "violates foundational American legal principles and the AIA."

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The FTC urged a D.C. court to block a deal involving a new heart valve treatment, and courts rejected the commission's monopolization case over Meta's past acquisitions and the agency's challenge of a medical device coatings deal. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from November.

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2 New Judges Confirmed To NC Federal Court

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed two federal judges for North Carolina on Tuesday.

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