Musk Can't Dodge SEC's Twitter Share Buy-Up Suit

By Jessica Corso

A Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Elon Musk cannot escape a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of failing to timely disclose large Twitter share purchases made before he took the company private for $44 billion.

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Uber Should Pay $144M For Sex Assault By Driver, Jury Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Uber should pay more than $144 million in compensatory and punitive damages for choosing "profit over safety," leading to the rape of a 19-year-old woman by a rideshare driver, her lawyer told an Arizona federal jury at the close of a landmark bellwether trial on Tuesday.

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4 Attys Sanctioned Over AI Hallucinations In Legal Brief

By Elliot Weld

A Kansas federal judge has issued sanctions against a group of lawyers representing a technology company in a patent dispute and has referred one attorney for disciplinary action over case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT appearing in a legal brief.

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Boston IP Firm Sees Malpractice Claims Revived By 1st Circ.

By Elliot Weld

The First Circuit has revived legal malpractice claims from a Colorado tech company that alleged it was betrayed when its lawyers at a Boston intellectual property law firm filed patents for another client, finding that a lower court's ruling that the claims were time-barred assumed the three-person company comprised exclusively of engineers had an understanding of tricky legal concepts.

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NYC Delivery Laws Will Stay In Place During Instacart Appeal

By Irene Spezzamonte

Instacart won't be able to block New York City's laws for app-based delivery workers instituting a new minimum wage, tipping options and disclosure requirements while it challenges a federal court's order, a New York federal judge ruled.

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DOJ, AGs Lodge Cross-Appeal Over Google Search Remedies

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers on Tuesday launched an appeal of a D.C. federal judge's scaled-back remedies in their case targeting Google's search monopoly, after the tech giant filed its own appeal to knock out the penalties.

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XAI Fights Uphill To Keep Alive OpenAI IP Theft Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

Elon Musk's xAI urged a California federal judge Tuesday to change her tentative decision to toss its suit accusing OpenAI of poaching its workers to steal trade secrets, arguing that when considered together, the "whole gestalt" of xAI's allegations against individual employees is enough to state viable claims against OpenAI.

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Google Erroneously Removed Biz Profile, Colo. Law Firm Says

By Zach Dupont

Google's artificial intelligence summary erroneously referred to a nonexistent false review of a Denver bankruptcy law firm before Google removed the firm's business profile without explanation, the firm told a Colorado state court.

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Analysis

Squires And Stewart's Patent Office, By The Numbers

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has seen sweeping changes under Director John Squires and Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart, ranging from pro-patent owner policies at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to employment shake-ups that have prompted departures from the agency.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Yew Warns Of Deepfake Evidence

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

After decades on the bench of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Erica Yew began to regard the future of courtroom evidence with some trepidation, as the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence made it easier to falsify documents, photos and videos.

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SEC Official Floats Using AI In Adviser-Retail Investor Chats

By Sarah Jarvis

The director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investment management division said Tuesday that funds and advisers could one day use artificial intelligence agents to communicate with retail investors about what's contained in fund disclosure documents.

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FCC Says 8th Circ. Media Ruling Clears Path For Deals

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission made it clear Tuesday that broadcasters have more leeway to own two leading stations in a local market following the Eighth Circuit's toss last year of the agency's long-standing bar on owning more than one major network affiliate in a single market.

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Calif. Privacy Agency Taps Meta Alum To Head New Audits Unit

By Allison Grande

The California Privacy Protection Agency on Tuesday announced the creation of a new Audits Division to assess companies' compliance with the state's consumer data privacy framework and named the most recent director of public policy at social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. to lead the unit.

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Brief

Cruz Calls Hearing On FCC's 39% Media Ownership Cap

By Christopher Cole

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Tuesday the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a Feb. 10 hearing on media ownership rules, homing in on the Federal Communications Commission's limit on a single broadcaster reaching more than 39% of national audience share.

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Brief

FCC Hunting For New Cyber Trust Mark Administrator

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will give companies more time to get their bids in to serve as the new administrator of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program, after the first one quit in December.

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Feds, Samsung Urge Justices To Reject PTAB Prior Art Case

By Adam Lidgett

The federal government and Samsung have both urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a patent owner's challenge to the Federal Circuit's finding that the filing date of a patent dictates if it can be considered prior art.

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Full Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink $162K Fee Award In Ramey Case

By Emily Sawicki

The Federal Circuit will not reconsider its earlier ruling upholding a $162,000 fee award against a patent owner represented by attorney William Ramey III and his firm, Ramey LLP, after a district court found Ramey had brought a "weak" patent suit against television maker Vizio.

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Fed. Circ. Backs Nearmap Win On 2 Out Of 3 PTAB Challenges

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday stood by Nearmap's successful challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to a pair of patents covering a system for identifying attributes in a roof by using aerial imagery, but also refused to undo its unsuccessful challenge to another patent.

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3rd Circ. Says Contractor Payments Not Payroll Costs For PPP

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit sided with the Small Business Administration on Tuesday in the case of an IT company seeking full forgiveness of a $7.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, ruling that the SBA was within its rights to deny forgiveness because the company's payments to independent contractors did not count as "payroll costs."

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Fed. Circ. Questions Bid To Undo Google, Microsoft PTAB Win

By Ryan Davis

A Federal Circuit panel appeared unpersuaded Tuesday by an inventor's arguments that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should have ended reviews of computer-locating patents challenged by Google and Microsoft due to actions by LG in a related case, and that the board wrongly invalidated the patents.

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1st Circ. Pushes For Settlement In Mass. 'Right-To-Repair' Suit

By Chris Villani

The First Circuit suggested Tuesday that major automakers and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office should work together to resolve a suit over compliance with a state law requiring open access to vehicle telematics systems.

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5th Circ. Unsure Child Online Safety Law Tramples Speech

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of a tech media trade group's stance that a Mississippi internet safety law is unconstitutional, suggesting that the challenged statute may not implicate speech. 

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NFL Fans' Antitrust Suit Over Bluesky Fumbles, Judge Rules

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an antitrust suit two football fans lodged against the NFL, saying they failed to allege they were injured by a league policy barring teams from posting on the social media platform Bluesky.

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Chancery Slashes Mootness Fee Proposal In Bolt Suit

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware vice chancellor on Tuesday pruned to $4.1 million a $7.5 million attorney fee request for litigation that ended with cancellation of more than $37 million in Bolt Financial Group shares used by a company controller to secure a later-defaulted-upon, company-guaranteed loan.

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Medtronic's Bundling Isn't Anticompetitive, Prof Tells Jury

By Craig Clough

A University of Chicago economics professor testified Tuesday in a California federal trial over antitrust claims against Medtronic, saying its practice of bundling its advanced bipolar devices for sales with other products isn't anticompetitive but is actually a very common American practice used by the likes of McDonald's and Costco. 

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Zillow, Microsoft Say Users' Wiretapping Case Still Falls Short

By Ben Adlin

Zillow and Microsoft urged a Seattle federal judge to put an end to a proposed class action accusing Zillow of improperly using Microsoft software to track users' activity on the real estate giant's website, claiming the plaintiffs have failed to fix fundamental flaws in their case despite multiple tries.

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TikTok, Cellspin Duel On Effects Of Sale In Patent Challenge

By Adam Lidgett

TikTok has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the sale of its majority stake in its U.S. operations to a new joint venture should eliminate a patent owner's argument that the app's alleged relationship with the Chinese Communist Party should tank its patent challenges.

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AI Robot Co.'s Microsoft Ties Were Overblown, Investor Says

By Emilie Ruscoe

The developer of a purported artificial intelligence-powered bartender robot faces a proposed class action accusing it of misleading investors about Microsoft's involvement in its project, causing the company's share price to sink after the truth was revealed but not before the developer locked in a $38.7 million private placement deal.

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Paperless Law Firm Seeks Coverage For Ransomware Attack

By Gianna Ferrarin

A personal injury law firm told a Kansas federal court that an excess insurer owes it coverage for lost business revenue from a ransomware attack, arguing that as a paperless firm it was essentially shut down for several days because of the attack.

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Trump Admin Sued Over 'Pay-To-Play' Gold Card Program

By Rae Ann Varona

Immigrants and an academic professionals union filed suit Tuesday to block President Donald Trump's "gold card" visa program, telling a D.C. federal court that the "pay-to-play" program unlawfully takes visas away from professionals the existing employment-based visa system prioritizes.

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AAA Faces Malicious Prosecution Claim Over Influencer Case

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association, an arbitrator and several AAA employees have been hit with a $5 million lawsuit accusing them of malicious prosecution and infliction of mental distress for allegedly trying to force a manager for TikTok's most-followed influencer to arbitrate a dispute over a soured endorsement deal with Skechers.

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RealPage, Landlords Must Face Ky. AG's Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

A Kentucky federal court refused to toss an antitrust case from the state attorney general's office accusing RealPage Inc. and several landlords of inflating rental rates through use of the software company's revenue management system.

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SEC Tosses Biden-Era Case Against Wyoming Crypto Co.

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has walked away from an attempt to block the issuance of a pair of digital tokens offered by a Wyoming-based company, saying that changes in federal policy toward the cryptocurrency industry necessitated an end to the administrative proceedings.

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Insurance Claims Data Fair Game In Instagram Addiction Suit

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts judge said the state's attorney general may continue reviewing health insurance claims data from two agencies it subpoenaed months after the close of discovery in its social media addiction lawsuit against Instagram.

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Ex-SPAC CEO Cops To Defrauding Lottery.com Investors

By Emilie Ruscoe

The former CEO of a blank check company that took Lottery.com public pled guilty on Tuesday to securities fraud over charges that he schemed to inflate the revenue of the lottery products platform by means including a $9 million round-trip transaction.

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Zillow, Redfin Oppose Pausing FTC Case For Shutdown

By Isaac Monterose

Zillow and Redfin are fighting an attempt by the Federal Trade Commission and multiple states to pause consolidated antitrust claims against the property listing companies, arguing in Virginia federal court that the recent partial federal government shutdown doesn't justify staying litigation.

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Online Betting Co. Beefs Up Penalties For Harassing Athletes

By David Steele

Online betting platform BetMGM will now suspend the accounts of users who harass or direct abuse toward an athlete, coach or other participant in a sporting event, potentially solving a problem leagues and players have tried to address recently.

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JAMS Adds Frost Brown Atty With Healthcare, Tech Chops

By Emily Johnson

Alternative dispute resolution provider JAMS has brought on a Frost Brown Todd LLP partner in its Atlanta office, strengthening its panel with an attorney experienced in regulated industries like healthcare. 

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Limiting Worker Surveillance Risks Amid AI Regulatory Shifts

With workplace surveillance tools becoming increasingly common and a recent executive order aiming to preempt state-level artificial intelligence enforcement, companies may feel encouraged to expand AI monitoring, but the legal exposure associated with these tools remains, say attorneys at MoFo.

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How Insurers Are Wording AI Exclusions

Artificial intelligence exclusions are now available for use in insurance policies, meaning corporate risk managers must determine how those exclusions are interpreted and applied, and how they define AI, says David Kroeger at Jenner & Block.

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Habeas Cases Flood Courts After Immigrant Detention Shift

By Jack Karp

Federal courts have been inundated with a flood of cases stemming from the Trump administration's revised approach to the detention of unauthorized immigrants, with judges routinely ruling against the government as immigration attorneys scramble to keep up.

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Baker McKenzie Describes Client Fallout After Assault Claims

By Alison Knezevich

Several clients asked the leader of Baker McKenzie's Washington, D.C., office to stop handling work for them after he was accused of sexual assault, according to a new filing in a defamation case against the former firm associate who made the allegations.

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Goldstein Knew What Was On His Returns, Accountant Claims

By Jared Foretek

The top outside accountant handling tax returns for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein and his law firm said Tuesday that Goldstein wasn't forthcoming about his gambling records and that he firmly believed the former U.S. Supreme Court attorney knew what was in his allegedly false tax returns when they were filed.

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Pretti Killing Highlights Free Speech And Gun Rights Tension

By Marco Poggio

The killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and lawful gun owner, by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis last month brought to the fore a long-standing tension between two constitutional rights that the U.S. Supreme Court has never resolved, legal experts say.

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Floyd Prosecutor, Defense Atty To Represent Pretti's Family

By Lynn LaRowe

The relatives of a Minnesota intensive care nurse killed by ICE agents have secured legal representation from a former federal prosecutor who helped secure the conviction of an ex-police officer in the killing of George Floyd, and a criminal defense attorney coming off a high-profile murder case.

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Feds Fight Cyberstalking Atty's Bid For Pretrial Release

By Adrian Cruz

The U.S. government has asked a Texas federal judge to reject a bid for pretrial release from a currently detained attorney charged with cyberstalking other attorneys at BigLaw firms.

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Queens Defenders Ex-Director Admits Embezzling Over $100K

By Pete Brush

The former longtime head of Queens Defenders copped to a count of fraud conspiracy in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday after prosecutors said she diverted over $100,000 intended for indigent residents and used the money for a lavish lifestyle.

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Senate Confirms Picks For Texas, Ark. District Court Seats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed two U.S. district court judges, for Texas and Arkansas, on Tuesday.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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