Analysis

AI Copyright Licensing Is Helping To Fuel Tech's Evolution

By Ivan Moreno

While courts wrestle with fair use questions around artificial intelligence training, legal experts say the growing number of licensing deals between tech companies and copyright owners is setting market norms for accessing the troves of content needed across rapidly evolving AI applications.

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Analysis

HPE's Trump-Tied Lobbyists Cast 'Pall' Over Merger Review

By Bryan Koenig

The firing of two senior officials in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division who complained after being forced to accept a merger clearance settlement has caused many practitioners to question whether the traditional separation between competition enforcement and other White House priorities is a thing of the past.

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Fed's Lisa Cook Preps Lawsuit Over Trump Firing

By Sarah Jarvis

Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook is preparing to file a lawsuit over President Donald Trump's announcement that she has been terminated from her position, allegedly for committing mortgage fraud, her lawyer said Tuesday.

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Judge Won't Pause Order To Reinstate Foreign Aid

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge denied Monday night the Trump administration's request to stay his preliminary injunction requiring the government to commit certain foreign aid funds by Sept. 30, writing that the administration had said months ago that it could begin obligating money earlier this month if it had to.

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DOJ Can't Throw Out Kidnapping Charges, DC Circ. Says

By Parker Quinlan

The D.C. Circuit has ruled federal prosecutors used an improper mechanism when trying to toss portions of a kidnapping conviction for a man as part of a bid to retrofit his plea deal.

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3rd Circ. Says Tossing Undated Mail Votes Is Unconstitutional

By Matthew Santoni

The Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that Pennsylvania discarding mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates violates voters' constitutional rights, reasoning that preventing the loss of votes outweighed any claimed benefits of enforcing the state's date requirement.

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Ill. Defends Extended Mail-In Ballot Deadline At High Court

By Nadia Dreid

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up an Illinois congressman's last shot at reviving a suit challenging the state's policy of counting ballots for two weeks after Election Day, the state is hoping the justices will come down on the side of the extended ballot counting policy.

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Atty In Voting Machine Case Tries To Delay Discipline Hearing

By Danielle Ferguson

Michigan lawyer Matthew DePerno, who is facing felony charges accusing him of illegally accessing voting machines after the 2020 election, urged an attorney disciplinary panel on Monday to push back his September misconduct hearing, claiming he is having trouble finding counsel to represent him.

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5th Circ. Says Fed. Law Explicitly Bars Ex-CEO's NCUA Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

The Fifth Circuit on Monday refused to revive a former Texas credit union CEO's constitutional challenge to an enforcement action the National Credit Union Administration had brought against him for alleged banking misconduct, saying in a published opinion that federal law explicitly stripped a district court's jurisdiction over the matter.

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CFTC's Last Dem Member Departing Agency

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's sole remaining Democrat, Kristin Johnson, announced Tuesday that she will be departing the agency next week, leaving it in the hands of acting Chair Caroline Pham.

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Fed Pushes To Dismiss Trump Ally's Suit Over Meeting Access

By Katryna Perera

Federal Reserve officials and members of the Federal Open Market Committee have urged a D.C. federal judge to toss a suit brought by an investment firm led by a supporter of President Donald Trump that seeks public access to monetary policy meetings, arguing they are not covered by the federal Sunshine Act as the investment firm claims.

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FERC Urged To Ignore Ill. Grid Project Policy Fight

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been told that it shouldn't second-guess Illinois lawmakers and courts to declare that incumbent utilities in the state have a right of first refusal to build new, regionally planned transmission projects.

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Wash. Cities Settle Yacht Club's Clean Water Act Suit

By Ben Adlin

Two Washington cities have tentatively settled a yacht club's federal lawsuit claiming the municipalities muddied the waters of its marina by failing to maintain critical stormwater infrastructure and allowing the discharge of silt-laden runoff.

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FOIA Results Wanted Before Ruling In DOGE Disclosure Suit

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge said he wants to see how the Trump administration responds to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted in February before deciding on the government's motion to dismiss an environmental group's suit claiming that DOGE teams working in federal agencies have violated transparency laws.

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Farmers Defend Climate Superfund Law Against Challenges

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Farmers and environmentalists are asking a Vermont federal judge to toss the U.S. government's, industry groups' and red states' lawsuits challenging the state's climate change Superfund law, saying it's a lawful method to pay for damages caused by the phenomenon.

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Split 9th Circ. Upholds Oregon Pharmaceutical Reporting Law

By Hailey Konnath

A split Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday vacated a lower court's order blocking an Oregon law requiring drug manufacturers to report information related to certain prescription drugs to the state, ruling that the law is indeed constitutional under both the First and Fifth amendments.

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Christian Clinic Says Mich. Stance On Bias Law Still Unclear

By Carolyn Muyskens

The state of Michigan should be forced to clarify if it believes a Christian medical clinic's opposition to gender-affirming care and its pronoun policy is discriminatory under state civil rights law, the clinic told a Michigan federal judge. 

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Brief

Doctors Press 5th Circ. To Reverse Surprise Billing Ruling

By Catherine Marfin

Three physician trade associations urged the full Fifth Circuit to reverse a panel's ruling on how qualifying payments are calculated under the No Surprises Act, writing that the current decision harms underserved communities by narrowing provider networks.

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Artist Seeking Copyright Of AI Image Equates Use To Cameras

By Elliot Weld

A Colorado man who used artificial intelligence to create an image that won an art award at a state fair told a federal judge that he should be allowed to copyright the image just as those who used technology such as cameras and cellphones had been allowed to copyright their works.

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Brief

TikTok Takes State's Addictive App Case To NC Top Court

By Hayley Fowler

TikTok and its Chinese parent company are taking the state of North Carolina's lawsuit accusing it of intentionally designing the app to addict young users to the state's highest court after a Business Court judge rejected their early exit bid.

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Brief

Standard General's Racial Bias Claims Against FCC Fall Flat

By Nadia Dreid

Hedge fund manager Soo Kim has failed to convince a D.C. federal judge that the Federal Communications Commission and a cadre of media players were part of a racist conspiracy to kill his $8.6 billion merger with broadcaster Tegna.

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USDOT Threatens States With Funding Cuts Over Truck Safety

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday threatened to withhold funds from California, Washington and New Mexico over their apparent failures to enforce federal mandates that all commercial truck drivers be proficient in the English language.

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Uber Eats To Pay Couriers $15M To End Seattle's Wage Claims

By Rachel Riley

Uber Eats has inked a $15 million settlement to end allegations that it flouted the city of Seattle's worker protection laws by failing to pay drivers what they were promised, including bonus earnings and minimum payments for canceled fares. 

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OpenAI, ChatGPT Blamed In Suit Over Calif. Teen's Suicide

By Hailey Konnath

The parents of a California teenager who died by suicide earlier this year filed a wrongful death suit in Golden State court Tuesday, claiming that OpenAI's artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT encouraged self-harm and suicidal ideation and then helped the 16-year-old plan his death.

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Texas AG To Probe Heavy Metals In Baby Foods

By Emily Field

The Texas attorney general on Tuesday announced an investigation into leading baby food makers that may have deceptively advertised and sold products containing dangerously high levels of heavy metals, such as arsenic.

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Gun Group Argues For Members' Ability To Buy Nationwide

By Spencer Brewer

A gun rights group challenging a federal law that bars handgun purchases by buyers outside their state of residence has asked a Texas federal judge to find that an injunction, if granted, should apply to all of the advocacy group's members and not just named plaintiffs.

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Commerce Announces Final Steel Duty Rates For 10 Countries

By Dylan Moroses

Brazilian and Vietnamese corrosion-resistant steel products entering the U.S. could face triple digit antidumping duties, according to final rates the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday for 10 trading partners.

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EU Defends Digital Taxes Following Trump's Tariff Threat

By Josh White

The European Commission said Tuesday that it stands by European Union member states keeping digital taxes in place despite President Donald Trump's renewed threats to impose tariffs on countries with measures hitting the U.S. tech giants.

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Brewer Can't Challenge Home Distilling Ban, US Tells 6th Circ.

By Anna Scott Farrell

A brewery owner who wants to make his own whiskey can't bring a suit challenging the tax code's prohibition on home distilleries because he hasn't shown that he's likely to start making spirits or that the government would come knocking if he does, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Sixth Circuit.

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Tax Credit Dispute Sparks $1.3M Lawsuit Against Jersey City

By Carla Baranauckas

A prominent Garden State developer filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's second-largest city, claiming the city improperly reversed its position on a longstanding tax agreement — demanding nearly $1.3 million in back payments that the developer says it does not owe.

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Calif. Senate OKs New Tax Default Property Sales Rules

By Jaqueline McCool

California county boards of supervisors would be required to take new steps before approving the sale of a tax-defaulted property under a bill passed by the state Senate. 

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Puerto Rico Utility Bondholders Say They'll End Reorg Deal

By Rick Archer

A group of Puerto Rican electric utility bondholders have told a New York federal judge they will pull out of a three-year-old deal to support the utility's proposed restructuring plan if it is not confirmed by October.

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Judge Axes Habeas Suit, Tells DOJ To Use 'Proper' Forum

By Emily Sawicki

A Virginia federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging a standing order from Maryland federal judges temporarily pausing the removal of noncitizen detainees who have filed habeas petitions, telling the U.S. Department of Justice that if it wants to challenge the court policy, it must follow the "proper" channels.

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Ex-Judge Says He Was Told to Rubber-Stamp DHS Dismissals

By Britain Eakin

A former immigration judge said in a new court filing that his assistant chief immigration judge directed him to grant the government's motions to dismiss removal cases, clearing the way for immigration agents to immediately apprehend and detain those leaving court.

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Denver Says Sanctuary Policies Not Undone By Federal Law

By Zach Dupont

Denver and Colorado told a federal judge in two motions to dismiss on Monday that local laws prohibiting using city or state resources for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement are not preempted by federal law.

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Scholars, Others Back Students Facing Foreign Policy Removal

By Britain Eakin

A group of habeas corpus scholars threw their support Tuesday behind Turkish college student Rümeysa Öztürk, whom the Trump administration wants to deport on foreign policy grounds, warning the Second Circuit that the government's tactics threaten to effectively suspend the great writ.

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Feds Look To Dismiss Calif. Tribe's $700M Casino Dispute

By Crystal Owens

The U.S. Department of the Interior, with the backing of two tribes and the California Gaming Association, is looking to dismiss a lawsuit over its decision to temporarily nix eligibility for a proposed $700 million casino and hotel project, arguing it doesn't constitute a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.

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FCC Ordered To Turn Over More DOGE Docs

By Christopher Cole

A D.C. federal judge ruled Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission must produce more documents related to its communications with Elon Musk's government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency.

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DC Seeks Toss Of Challenge To Cannabinoid Rule

By Jonathan Capriel

There is nothing unconstitutional about the District of Columbia's laws which lump delta-9 THC into same category as marijuana and mandates all sellers to obtain a medical cannabis license, the city told a federal court, urging it to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to upend the city statutes filed by a hemp retailer whose shop was shut down.

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Hemp Interests Say Conn. Policy Inconsistent With Federal Law

By Sam Reisman

A group of Connecticut hemp farmers and product manufacturers alleged in a federal lawsuit Tuesday that the state's crackdown on hemp products is incompatible with the federal law that legalized it.

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Trump Tax Law's Most Impactful Corp. And Individual Changes

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act built on and reshaped elements of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including business interest deductions, bonus depreciation and personal income relief, delivering substantial changes to both corporate and individual tax policy, say attorneys at Weil.

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Opinion

Fla. Misses Opportunity To Rectify Wrongful Death Damages

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent veto of a bill that would have removed certain arbitrary and unfair prohibitions on noneconomic wrongful death damages in medical negligence cases highlights the urgent need for reforms to current state law, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

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Annual Report Shows CFIUS Extending Its Reach In 2024

The recently released 2024 annual report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reveals record civil penalties and enhanced internal capabilities, illustrating expanding jurisdiction and an increasing appetite for enforcement actions, says Nathan Fisher at StoneTurn.

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Cybersecurity Risks Can Lurk In Gov't Contractor Acquisitions

The Justice Department’s recent False Claims Act enforcement activity against Raytheon and Nightwing-related defense contractors demonstrates the importance of identifying and mitigating potential cybersecurity compliance risks when acquiring a company that contracts with the federal government, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

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From Clerkship To Law Firm: 5 Transition Tips For Associates

Transitioning from a judicial clerkship to an associate position at a law firm may seem daunting, but by using knowledge gained while clerking, being mindful of key differences and taking advantage of professional development opportunities, these attorneys can flourish in private practice, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

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DC Judicial Vacancy Crisis Could Be Easing Soon

By Courtney Bublé

The White House is in the process of finalizing some judicial nominees for the vacancy-plagued Washington, D.C., local courts, an issue that has been highlighted by the federal government's takeover of D.C. law enforcement and the surge of National Guard troops to the nation's capital.

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Eastern District Of Pa.'s Former Chief Judge To Retire In Sept.

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who was chief judge until earlier this month, will retire on Sept. 19, according to an update from the federal judiciary posted on Wednesday.

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Fenwick Fights New Claims In FTX Crypto Scam MDL

By Ryan Boysen

Fenwick & West LLP has asked a Florida federal judge to shut down a bid by victims of the infamous FTX Trading Ltd. cryptocurrency scam to bring new claims against the firm, calling allegations that it knew about FTX's misuse of customer funds an "irresponsible falsehood."

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Ex-Jackson Walker Partner Says Romance Suit Is 'Déjà Vu'

By Catherine Marfin

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner accused of hiding a romance with a former Texas bankruptcy judge asked a court Tuesday to toss a group of bondholders' proposed class action over their company's Chapter 11 proceeding.

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Personal Injury Firm Accuses Rival Of 'Bait And Switch'

By Chris Villani

A Boston personal injury firm facing claims it ripped off another firm's marketing plan launched a countersuit claiming that the rival is using an illegal business model and lying to try to stop a growing competitor.

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Undercover Operation Detailed In Trial Of Slain Fla. Law Prof

By David Minsky

Law enforcement agents took the stand in Florida state court Wednesday to provide details of an undercover operation in the investigation of Donna Adelson, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding a conspiracy to have assassins kill university law professor Dan Markel in 2014.

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DOJ Throws Lifeline To J&J At 3rd Circ. After $1.6B FCA Loss

By Jeff Overley

A district judge made multiple errors in an opinion and jury instructions underpinning a staggering False Claims Act verdict tied to Johnson & Johnson's drug marketing practices, and a fresh look is needed "under a correct view of the law," the U.S. Department of Justice told the Third Circuit on Wednesday.

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Negligence Suit Over Arrest On Stale Warrant Gets New Life

By Jared Foretek

A Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday vacated a South Carolina county clerk's summary judgment win against allegations that her negligence resulted in a man being arrested twice over the same unpaid child support dispute, kicking the case back to trial court for new proceedings.

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