Sunbeam, Newell Can't Get Redo Of $9M Multicooker Verdict

By Mike Curley

A Colorado federal judge denied a bid by Sunbeam Products Inc. and Newell Brands Inc. to upend an almost $9 million verdict in favor of a woman injured by one of their multicookers, saying none of their arguments show that the jury was wrong to side with her.

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Ill. Judge Tosses 'Half-Baked' Nestle Chocolate Labeling Suit

By Lauraann Wood

A Nestle consumer cannot pursue false labeling accusations over the "100% real chocolate" claim on the company's chocolate chip bags because her complaint is "half-baked" and contradicts the widespread understanding that chocolate is made from more than cacao bean-based ingredients, an Illinois federal judge said Tuesday.

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Judge Permanently Halts Counterfeit Modelo Beer Labels

By Elliot Weld

A Texas federal judge has granted judgment to Grupo Modelo and its U.S. licensee in a case brought against a company they accused of selling counterfeit beers and said he would permanently bar labels that copy their designs.

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PBM Opioid Crisis Suit Stays In Federal Court, Judge Says

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday denied a request from the state attorney general to remand to state court a suit accusing two pharmacy benefit managers of fueling the opioid crisis, saying the case will remain in federal court because work performed for federal and nonfederal clients cannot be separated.

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Weber Sued Over Grill Brush Bristle Lodged In Man's Pancreas

By Emily Field

A New Jersey man has hit Weber with a suit in federal court alleging he accidentally ingested a metal wire bristle from one of the grill-maker's recently recalled grill brushes, and that it is now stuck in his pancreas and too dangerous to remove.

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Peloton Escapes Investors' Suit Over Recalled Bikes

By Katryna Perera

Peloton has extinguished a second attempt by investors to hold the company and its top brass liable for how Peloton handled a recall of its defective bicycle seats, with a New York federal judge finding that the company did not make any material misstatements or omissions to investors.

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Wolfgang Puck Gets A Chance To Exit Cookware Injury Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida appellate court on Wednesday reversed dueling trial court rulings in a suit over an allegedly defective Wolfgang Puck-branded pressure cooker, saying an evidentiary hearing is required to determine whether the celebrity chef and his company can be hauled into a Florida court.

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Sig Sauer's 'Feature' Argument Can't Nix Gun Defect Suit

By Mike Curley

A Maine federal judge won't let Sig Sauer Inc. evade trial on a detective's claim that he was injured when a defective P320 pistol went off unintentionally, saying its argument that the lack of a safety is a feature rather than a defect is "bravado," but not sufficient for summary judgment.

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Brief

Wash. Smoke Shops, Insurer Settle Kratom Death Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

An insurance company has reached a deal with two Washington smoke shops to end a dispute in which the insurer argued its policies did not cover defending retailers in a suit by a father who claims they sold kratom products that killed his son.

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Boeing Must Face Trimmed 737 Max Securities Fraud Suit

By Linda Chiem

An Illinois federal judge said equity funds alleging Boeing defrauded investors by downplaying the 737 Max jets' safety flaws can pursue claims related to certain statements made after two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, but not claims tied to a separate door-plug blowout in 2024.

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Berkshire Must Defend Trulieve In Worker Death Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

An insurance company that is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway had an obligation to defend Trulieve Inc. against a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a cannabis worker, a Florida federal judge has ruled, rejecting arguments that the worker wasn't an employee.

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DC Cannabis Co. Sues Firm Over Botched Grow Facility

By Jonathan Capriel

A cannabis industry-focused engineering firm reneged on a promise to build a fully operational indoor grow facility for a D.C.-based medical dispensary, the company told a D.C. federal court, claiming it is now stuck with the unfinished project and $1 million in specialized equipment that can't be resold.

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Mass. Cannabis Businesses Say Repeal Bid Misleads Voters

By Sam Reisman

A coalition of Massachusetts cannabis business owners Wednesday challenged the constitutionality of a proposal to repeal retail marijuana legalization at the ballot box this November.

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17 State AGs Challenge EPA's Repeal Of Coal Plant Air Regs

By Rachel Riley

Attorneys general from Illinois and 16 other states urged the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to undo the Trump administration's recent rollback of Biden-era caps on mercury and other toxins in air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants, warning the loosened standards threaten public health and the environment.   

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Bondi Out As Attorney General After Contentious Time At DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday Attorney General Pam Bondi will be leaving her post. 

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Goldstein Allowed To Move Out After Marriage Falls Apart

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge on Thursday allowed SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein to relocate for the duration of his home confinement, after Goldstein's attorneys said his marriage had fallen apart and it no longer "makes sense" for Goldstein and his wife to share a residence.

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Raskin Blasts DOJ Bid To Shield Attys From State Bar Probes

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice's endeavor to preempt state bar investigations of department attorneys is a "get out of jail free" card.

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DLA Piper, Vax Refuser Reach Deal To End Religious Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

DLA Piper has struck a deal to wrap up a Christian former employee's lawsuit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of his religious beliefs, an Illinois federal judge said Thursday.

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Feds Say Habeas Ruling Could Spur More 'Illegal Orders'

By Jared Foretek

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to reverse a district ruling that upheld a standing order from Maryland federal judges barring immediate removal or transfer of immigrant detainees, arguing the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for district court standing orders.

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Schneider Wallace Fights Uphill For Bigger Cut Of $75M Fees

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal magistrate judge appeared skeptical Thursday about Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's bid to increase its cut of a $75.4 million fee award for representing plaintiffs in a $228.5 million Sutter Health antitrust deal, saying lead counsel Constantine Cannon LLP's allocation of $1.4 million to Schneider Wallace seems fair.

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Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Stymies Paul Weiss, ACLU Fee Bids

By Carolyn Muyskens

American Civil Liberties Union and Paul Weiss attorneys who successfully eased restrictions on voting by mail in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot collect fees for their work because they were discharged in Puerto Rico's bankruptcy proceeding, the First Circuit has ruled.

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Process Server ABC Legal Inks $2.5M Deal Over Cyber Breach

By Ben Adlin

Seattle-based ABC Legal Services LLC, which bills itself as the nation's largest network of legal process servers, would pay $2.5 million under a tentative deal to settle workers' putative class action claiming a 2024 cyberattack exposed their personal information, the plaintiffs told a Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen data giant Sportrader face action from software company Altenar over alleged market abuse, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Pliego sue a man who allegedly defrauded him out of $415 million, and Warner Bros. bring a copyright claim against a YouTuber who leaked set footage of the upcoming Harry Potter series. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

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