Snap Financial Reaches $664M Settlement With Red States

By Spencer Brewer

Consumer financial services company Snap Financial on Wednesday agreed to pay $664 million to 17 Republican-led states to end claims that it used misleading disclosures about its leasing arrangements.

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Watchdog Can Pursue Jackson Walker Fees, Judge Says

By Clara Geoghegan

The U.S. Trustee's Office has standing to pursue millions of dollars in fees paid to Jackson Walker LLP in cases assigned to a judge who was in an undisclosed romantic relationship with one of the firm's ex-partners, a Texas bankruptcy court has concluded.

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X Says OpenAI Can't Nix IPhone Placement Antitrust Case

By Bryan Koenig

X Corp. and SpaceXAI urged a Texas federal judge Wednesday not to let OpenAI scrap their lawsuit targeting a deal integrating ChatGPT into Apple devices, arguing any attempts to paint the deal as nonexclusive or show it hasn't completely foreclosed the market are factual disputes left to the jury.

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Texas Senators Face Off To Succeed Paxton In AG Election

By Lynn LaRowe

Two Texas state senators running next month to serve as the state's next attorney general have offered voters competing visions to succeed Ken Paxton following his more than decade-long run as the state's top law enforcement officer.

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Data Center Co. Looks To Toss Investors' Gas Wells Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A data center infrastructure company told a Texas federal court to toss a proposed securities fraud class action that accused the company of damaging its stock value because of a hidden gas well transfer deal and a fraud lawsuit filed by New Mexico.

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Employers Say United Health Double Dealt With Claims

By Spencer Brewer

Multiple employers with self-funded medical plans including Aramark and Kraft Heinz told a Texas federal judge United Health Group Inc. regularly approved bogus healthcare claims collectively worth millions of dollars and then helped itself to undisclosed fees incurred from those approvals.

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5th Circ. Finds Afghan Educator Didn't Show Torture Risk

By Elaine Briseño

A split Fifth Circuit let stand deportation orders for a former Afghan education official beaten by the Taliban after he protested the closure of girls' schools, finding the evidence did not support he would likely face torture if he returned.

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DHS Seeks High Court OK To Restart Big Bend Wall Project

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let the agency restart construction of the Big Bend border wall, saying the district court lacked jurisdiction to pause the project.

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Brief

Via, RideCo Settle Ride-Hailing IP Case After $4M Judgment

By Elliot Weld

Canadian ride-hailing software startup RideCo Inc. said Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with rival Via Transportation to close a patent infringement case after a jury issued a $1.4 million award to Via that was later boosted to $4 million.

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Chinese Light Makers Reach Deal After $1.5M Patent Verdict

By Adam Lidgett

Chinese company Jiaxing Super Lighting has reached a deal to end a patent lawsuit over LED tube lamp products after a Texas federal jury earlier this year awarded the business $1.5 million in damages for infringing one of its patents.

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Playground Cos. Delay Deal Pending FTC Trial Eyed For March

By Bryan Koenig

Playground equipment makers PlayPower and BCI Burke have agreed to hold off on consummating their merger pending a Federal Trade Commission antitrust trial in California federal court eyed for "no later than March 15, 2027."

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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'Grave Errors': 5th Circ. Boots Judge After AI 'Botch Job'

By Jeff Overley

A Mississippi federal judge's careless use of artificial intelligence tools led to "sloppy edicts" riddled with "falsehoods and fabrications," the Fifth Circuit held in a Thursday night opinion removing the judge from litigation over an anti-DEI law in the Magnolia State because of his "extraordinarily grave errors."

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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