A California federal judge on Friday narrowed the pool of cases set for the first bellwether trials in sprawling multidistrict litigation by school districts and personal injury plaintiffs over claims social media is addictive, choosing six bellwether school districts in Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina and Arizona.
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MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Social Media Addiction MDL Judge Picks Bellwether Trial Pool

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Friday narrowed the pool of cases set for the first bellwether trials in sprawling multidistrict litigation by school districts and personal injury plaintiffs over claims social media is addictive, choosing six bellwether school districts in Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina and Arizona.

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$1.6M Verdict Should've Been Trimmed Sooner, NJ Panel Says

By Ganesh Setty

A New Jersey trial court should've reduced a $1.6 million jury verdict to $200,000 sooner in an automobile accident dispute after the plaintiff told both the trial judge and judge in the defendant's bankruptcy proceedings he would seek only $200,000, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

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2nd Circ. Won't Rehear Trump Appeal Of $5M Assault Verdict

By Cara Salvatore

The full Second Circuit refused Friday to revisit President Donald Trump's challenge to writer E. Jean Carroll's $5 million sexual assault finding against him, with two judges dissenting.

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Wash. Judge Tosses IUD Suit Against Bayer For Good

By Jonathan Capriel

Bayer has beat a negligence lawsuit filed by a woman who claims its Mirena IUD perforated her uterus and migrated after the patient failed to oppose the company's motion to dismiss, a Washington federal judge ruled.

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10th Circ. Affirms Expert DQ In Sig Sauer Gun Discharge Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Gunmaker Sig Sauer Inc. scored a win at the Tenth Circuit on Friday with the panel disqualifying two experts who were ready to testify that its P320 pistol was defectively designed, giving the company an appeals court ruling to lean on as it continues to fend off a rash of suits claiming the gun fires unintentionally.

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1st Amendment Shields MyPillow CEO From Claims, Jury Told

By Zach Dupont

Attorneys representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in his defamation trial told a Colorado federal jury on Friday that their client's words are shielded by the First Amendment, urging the eight-person panel to ignore a former Dominion Voting Systems employee's attempts to confuse them.

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TRANSPORTATION

Trucker Avoids Sanctions In Fla. Suit Over Deadly I-95 Crash

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge on Friday refrained from penalizing a freight company and driver for reneging on drawn-out challenges to discovery requests in a lawsuit accusing them of negligence in a multi-vehicle crash that killed four people along Interstate 95, but overruled some objections after deeming the information relevant.

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Repair Co. Must Still Fight Air Charter Co.'s 'Hot Start' Suit

By Mike Curley

A Kansas federal judge on Friday refused to hand a full win to a repair company in a suit by a charter flight company alleging one of its planes was damaged by a faulty part causing a "hot start," after a magistrate judge declined to exclude the charter company's expert.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Judge Upholds Dallas Ordinance Limiting Adult Biz Hours

By Rae Ann Varona

A Texas federal judge upheld a Dallas ordinance requiring sexually oriented businesses to close for four early morning hours as a bid to reduce crime, shooting down a trade association and adult businesses' attempt to cast doubt on the city's rationale for the measure.

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Pa. Court Faults Agency For Rebuffing Late Child-Death Filing

By Matthew Santoni

Pennsylvania's labor regulator should have at least considered accepting a business's late submission of a response to accusations of child labor stemming from a fatal accident with a wood chipper, a state appellate panel ruled Friday in an opinion that clarified when to make exceptions to agency filing deadlines.

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ENFORCEMENT

Michigan AG Sues Auto Suppliers Over Toxic Pollution

By Danielle Ferguson

The Michigan Attorney General's Office alleged two auto parts suppliers illegally discharged untreated contaminated water that reached multiple bodies of water and emitted an unlawful amount of air pollutants in a new complaint seeking civil penalties and contamination cleanup costs.

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Electronic Tablets Allow Inmates To Connect — With A Cost

By Jack Karp

Authorities say the increased use of electronic tablets in prisons and jails helps inmates communicate with family and access entertainment, but advocates warn that the tablets lead to less connection, more surveillance and greater profits for prison telecoms.

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LITIGATION

Ga. Landowners Sue Carpet, Chemical Makers Over PFAS

By Kelcey Caulder

Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries, 3M Co. and several other major carpet manufacturers and chemical makers face a trio of new lawsuits accusing them of contaminating soil, dust and water across north Georgia with so-called forever chemicals.

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Brief

Texas Justices Pass On Final 'Love Is Blind' Appeal

By Catherine Marfin

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined for the third time to intervene in a suit between the producers of Netflix's "Love Is Blind" and a former contestant who says she was sexually assaulted while filming the show.

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Brief

3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Bid To Toss Boy Scouts' Ch. 11 Plan

By Ryan Harroff

The Third Circuit declined to hold a panel or full court rehearing of its May decision to uphold the Boy Scouts of America's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan in a pair of Friday orders rejecting petitions by two sets of abuse survivors, with the orders implying some judges on the court had supported taking another look.

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IRS, Law Firm Settle $790K Worker Credit Refund Suit

By Anna Scott Farrell

The Internal Revenue Service settled a lawsuit seeking more than $790,000 in pandemic-era worker tax credits by a law firm that had claimed the agency was delaying paying out, according to a dismissal order Friday by a Pennsylvania federal court.

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Chervon, Lowe's Say Recall Blocks Explosive Battery Suit

By Mike Curley

Chervon North America Inc. and Lowe's Home Centers LLC urged an Illinois federal court Friday to throw out a proposed class action alleging they made and sold lithium-ion batteries that were prone to overheating and combusting, saying a December recall already provided all the relief the plaintiffs could receive.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Perspectives

The Reforms Needed To Fight Sexual Abuse By Prison Staff

Prisoners sexually assaulted by corrections staff, such as the California women who recently won a consent decree against FCI Dublin, often delay reporting out of fear of retaliation by their abusers, but several practical reforms could empower prisoners to disclose abuse while the evidence necessary to indict perpetrators is still available, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law.

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Series

Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

7 Willkie Partners Join Cooley Over Trump EO Deal

By Aebra Coe

Seven partners have left Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, including both managing partners of the firm's San Francisco office, to join Cooley LLP, reportedly over their former employer's decision to strike a deal with the Trump administration related to a potential executive order.

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The Law Firm Loophole: How Debt Cos. Snare NC Consumers

By Daniel Connolly

To get around bans in North Carolina and many other states, debt relief companies set up facade law firms — companies that are law firms in name only, with a tiny number of lawyers nominally serving thousands of clients, consumer advocates and regulators say.

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Pro Bono Spotlight

Mayer Brown Helps Get Man Off Death Row After 21 Years

By Lynn LaRowe

A team of Mayer Brown LLP attorneys fought for decades to get the death sentence of a Houston man commuted to life in light of the inmate's intellectual disability, in a case that shows how legal standards have evolved in an area once known as "death county."

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Quinn Emanuel Drops Binance Founder Amid $8M Fraud Suit

By Chris Villani

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has withdrawn as counsel for the founder of Binance amid an $8.1 million lawsuit against him, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that the former cryptocurrency exchange executive has breached an agreement with the law firm and moved for arbitration against it.

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Analysis

Vought's CFPB Finds Industry Fans In Rule Repeal Effort

By Jon Hill

Financial industry groups are lining up behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's push to scrap a trio of Biden-era policies that they say overexpanded its supervisory and enforcement toolkit, urging on the agency's newfound deregulatory zeal.

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Jackson Walker, Ex-Judge Facing Class Action Over Romance

By Catherine Marfin

A former bankruptcy judge and Jackson Walker LLP have been hit with another lawsuit over the judge's secret romance with a former firm partner, this time a proposed class action from a group of bondholders of financial company GWG Holdings Inc.

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Analysis

SEC Scrubs Biden-Era Agenda To Give Atkins A 'Clean Slate'

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is backing away from promised Biden-era regulations on cybersecurity risk management, environmental disclosures and equity market reform, withdrawing over a dozen rule proposals as newly appointed Chair Paul Atkins seeks to rewrite the agency's agenda.

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Calif. State Bar Is Immune From Atty's ADA Suit, 9th Circ. Says

By Gina Kim

The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to revive an attorney's claims alleging the California State Bar violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not granting extra time to respond to disciplinary action based on outstanding debt, finding the bar, as an arm of the state, is entitled to sovereign immunity.

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Akerman Seeks To Move Malpractice Suits From Medical Cos.

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP has asked to have two malpractice cases from medical laboratories moved from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County, where the firm's related unpaid fees case against Rennova Health Inc. is being litigated.

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Grassley Budget Bill Calls For More Use Of Injunction Bonds

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has released his portion of the budget reconciliation text, which would bolster the use of injunction bonds to raise the stakes for plaintiffs seeking to halt White House initiatives.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off against Manchester United co-owner Ineos Automotive following a soured sponsorship deal, Acer and Nokia clash over patents for video coding technology, and two investors reignite litigation against the founders of an AI exercise bike business that unlawfully pocketed $1.2 million in investments to fund their own lifestyles. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Compliance experts say corporate leaders with business interests south of the border are worried about possible terrorism-related charges under the Trump administration for inadvertently working with the cartels. Meanwhile, the head of Glass Lewis pushed back against allegations from some lawmakers concerning the firm's "expansive, opaque and ideologically driven influence" on companies. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Institute for Justice, Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP, Spears & Filipovits LLC and attorney Lisa Lambert lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution's supremacy clause cannot shield the federal government from Federal Tort Claims Act suits.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Aaron Katz Law

Addleshaw Goddard

Akerman LLP

Arnold & Itkin

Bandas Law Firm

Berkman Gordon

Blake Morgan LLP

Blank Rome

Borbi Clancy

Brabners LLP

Cain & Skarnulis

Carella Byrne

Clyde & Co

Constangy Brooks

Cooley LLP

Cooling & Herbers

Covington & Burling

Cramer & Anderson

DLA Piper

Davis Wright Tremaine

Debevoise & Plimpton

Domnick Cunningham

Dumas Law Group

Dynamis LLP

Finley Firm

Foster Garvey

Germer PLLC

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Goldberg Miller

Greenberg Traurig

Gross McGinley

Haynes Boone

Heim Payne

Higgs LLP

Jackson Walker LLP

Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Keker Van Nest & Peters

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Scott D. Bergthold

Laytons LLP

Levin Sedran

Lewis Brisbois

Lewis Rice

Lieff Cabraser

Littleton Joyce

Lujan & Wolff

Manatt Phelps

Martin LLP

Mayer Brown

Michelman & Robinson

Mitchell & Shapiro

Morgan Lewis

Motley Rice

Myerson Solicitors

Ostroff Injury Law

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Personius Melber

Phillips Murrah

Pinsent Masons

Pomeroy Heller

Porter Hedges

Poulin Willey

Quinn Emanuel

Rabicoff Law

Recht Kornfeld

Richardson Richardson Boudreaux

Riley Safer

Saltz Mongeluzzi

Searcy Denney

Setfords Solicitors

Shakespeare Martineau

Sheils Winnubst

Shook Hardy

Sidley Austin

Simon Paschal

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Stephenson Harwood

Stewart Tilghman

Stokoe Partnership Solicitors

TLT LLP

Taylor Wessing

Trowers & Hamlins

Wagstaff & Cartmell

Walker Jones

Walker Wilcox

Wallace & Allen

Walton Telken

White & Case

Wiggin LLP

Williams & Connolly

Williams Barber

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Wright Hassall

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3M Co.

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

Abbott Laboratories

Airbnb Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Arbitration Association

American Bankers Association

American Bar Association

American International Group Inc.

Associated Press

Balfour Beatty PLC

Bank Policy Institute

Bayer AG

Beyond Finance Inc.

Binance Holdings Ltd.

Binance.US

Boy Scouts of America

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

British Broadcasting Corp.

Brown & Brown Inc.

Client Services Inc.

Consumer Bankers Association

Cornell University

Corteva Inc.

Discover Bank

DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Glass Lewis & Co. LLC

Hisense Co. Ltd.

Ineos Group Ltd.

Instagram Inc.

Institute for Justice

Internet Archive

Investments Ltd.

Lex Machina Inc.

Lowe's Cos. Inc.

Macquarie Group Ltd.

Manchester United

Meta Platforms Inc.

Mohawk Industries Inc.

Mortgage Bankers Association

National Veterans Legal Services Program

National Women's Law Center

Netflix Inc.

Nokia Corp.

North Carolina Justice Center

North Carolina State Bar

Online Lenders Alliance

Otis Worldwide Corp.

Progress Software Corp.

Regent University

Securus Technologies Inc.

Severn Trent PLC

Shaw Industries Group Inc.

State Bar of California

The Bozzuto Group Inc.

The Chemours Co.

The Cigna Group

The New York Times Co.

The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

TikTok Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

United Services Automobile Association

VSE Corp.

Wells Fargo & Co.

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

City of Dallas, Texas

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Judicial Center

Financial Conduct Authority

Florida Supreme Court

Georgia Superior Court Gwinnett County

Internal Revenue Service

Legal Services Corp.

Michigan Attorney General's Office

North Carolina Attorney General's Office

North Carolina Department of Justice

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Social Security Administration

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Kansas