Texas Appeals Court Weighs $38M Electrocution Judgment

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appellate court wanted to know why it should uphold a $38 million judgment against Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC for a man who was electrocuted while trimming trees around a power line, asking Tuesday how Oncor's actions caused the man's injuries.

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Trustee Says Winston & Strawn Is Liable For $1.7B Fintech Bust

By Lynn LaRowe

The trustee of the bankrupt self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi said Winston & Strawn LLP shouldn't be allowed to escape a malpractice lawsuit over the company's $1.7 billion failure, saying the firm was a knowing participant in the allegedly unlawful activities of its then-CEO.

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Texas Court Blocks Discovery Order In Family Dollar Shooting

By Mike Curley

A Texas appeals court on Tuesday blocked parts of a discovery order in a suit over a fatal shooting by a Family Dollar employee, saying the order was overbroad and the trial court abused its discretion in issuing it.

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States Ask Justices To Curtail Federal Trucking Law Shield

By Y. Peter Kang

Ohio and 28 other states have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that a federal trucking industry law can't shield freight brokers from certain state-based injury claims, arguing Congress did not intend to undermine states' authority over regulating road safety.

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Brief

'Policy Corps' Aims To Promote Widespread US Connectivity

By Christopher Cole

A pair of public interest groups on Tuesday started a broad advocacy push for universal service reform and deploying more broadband to underserved areas.

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Nvidia Chips Sent To China In 'Smuggling Network,' DOJ Says

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. has arrested two businessmen for their alleged roles in a scheme to smuggle Nvidia chips to China, while another businessman pled guilty to smuggling the AI tech company's chips, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

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Sabre Tax Dispute Belongs In UK Court, British Airways Says

By Josh White

Flight booking giant Sabre's lawsuit over a U.K. digital tax bill should be dismissed or left for a British court to rule on, British Airways told a Texas federal court, arguing that the digital services tax is a matter for U.K. law.

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7th Circ. Mulls Pension Plan's Decision To Expel Penske Unit

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit judge on Tuesday suggested Penske's push for the judicial review of trustees' internal decision-making was a "long and new stretch" in a dispute over whether a Teamsters pension plan had the power to expel a Penske bargaining unit in Dallas, questioning what law authorizes such scrutiny.

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USAA Says Class Action 'Impossible' In Medical Billing Suit

By Ben Adlin

Two USAA units are fighting class certification in a lawsuit accusing the insurer of underpaying auto crash-related medical bills through the use of third-party claims software, arguing the patients' healthcare claims are too dissimilar to be litigated as a group.

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US Asks 5th Circ. To Revive ACA Employer Tax Penalties

By Kat Lucero

The IRS properly penalized a janitorial services company for failing to provide employees with healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. government said, urging the Fifth Circuit to reverse a Texas federal court ruling that voided regulations promulgating the penalties.

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Nylon Maker Ascend Secures OK For Ch. 11 Plan

By Clara Geoghegan

A Texas bankruptcy judge agreed Tuesday to approve the Chapter 11 plan of nylon manufacturer Ascend Performance Materials, commending the debtor on reaching a largely consensual restructuring proposal eight months after its free-fall bankruptcy filing.

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German Software Co. Settles Suit Over Ex-HP-Owned Patents

By Adam Lidgett

German software company SAP SE has inked a deal to end a lawsuit in Texas federal court accusing it of infringing various patents owned by Valtrus Innovations Ltd. covering computer data and communication.

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Analysis

MLS General Counsel Eye NAR Settlement In Rearview

By Grace Dixon

When the National Association of Realtors unveiled nationwide buyer commission rule changes amid a $418 million antitrust settlement in 2024, multiple listing services and their counsel took on the heavy lift of implementing those changes as their members sought guidance.

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Comcast Can't Get Fed. Circ. To Move Patent Case To Pa.

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday shot down Comcast's bid to overturn an Eastern District of Texas judge's decision declining to transfer an infringement suit the telecom behemoth is facing in his court to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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TTAB Rejection Of 'Kahwa' TM Reversed By Fed. Circ.

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday reversed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of a trademark registration for cafes called "Kahwa," saying just because it refers to a Central Asian green tea drink doesn't mean it's too generic to register as a trademark.

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Latham Adds Energy Ace From Kirkland In Houston

By Lynn LaRowe

Latham & Watkins LLP has strengthened its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice with a Houston-based partner who came aboard after more than a decade with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

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Navigating The New Patchwork Of Foreign-Influence Laws

On top of existing federal regulations, an expanding wave of state legislation — placing new limits on foreign-funded political spending and new registration requirements for foreign agents — creates a confusing compliance backdrop for corporations that demands careful preplanning, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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How MAHA Is Taking Shape At The State Level

The national spotlight on the federal government's Make America Healthy Again movement is bolstering state-level actions regarding potential health impacts of certain food ingredients, increasing the difficulty and importance of maintaining effective compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

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AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Bonus Spotlight

MoFo, Kellogg Hansen Exceed Prevailing BigLaw Bonus Scale

By Anna Sanders

Morrison Foerster LLP and boutique law firm Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC both recently unveiled above-market bonuses, according to a MoFo in-house memo and a media report. 

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Analysis

Hagens Berman's Novel DOJ Referral May Have Chilling Effect

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge's unusual decision to refer prominent plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman LLP to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation over its pursuit of claims related to morning sickness drug thalidomide could have a chilling effect on lawyers' advocacy, law professors and attorneys said.

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Consulting Co. Says Law Firms' Malpractice Cost It $10M

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado consulting company told a state court that an Am Law 200 firm and a now-dissolved law firm committed legal malpractice that cost the company $10 million in a lending transaction. 

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Uber May Win Sanctions On Atty Who Disclosed MDL Docs

By Bonnie Eslinger and Mike Curley

A California federal judge said Tuesday it appeared an attorney for plaintiffs claiming Uber failed to protect passengers from sexual assault "acted in a cavalier manner" with a protective order in the multidistrict litigation, but didn't rule on Uber's requests for monetary sanctions nor its bid to kick the attorney off the plaintiff steering committee.

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Brief

Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

By Courtney Bublé

Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

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DOJ Says It Could Indict Comey Again

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it may once again seek charges against ex-FBI Director James Comey, asking a D.C. federal judge to dissolve a temporary restraining order that bars prosecutors from using evidence seized from Comey's former attorney.

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Analysis

FERC's Fate Uncertain As Humphrey's Executor Teeters

By Keith Goldberg

The future of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may hinge on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will remake its 90-year-old precedent that protects members of independent agencies from being fired at will by the president.

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Senate Confirms 3 Judges For La., Miss.

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed three judicial nominees Tuesday for federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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