Justices Urged To Curb Post-Mallory Forum Shopping

By Linda Chiem

Rail industry and legal advocates contend the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Mallory ruling unleashed a wave of forum-shopping by plaintiffs lawyers using states' business-registration laws to sue out-of-state companies, and the justices must intervene and stop litigants from unconstitutionally interfering with interstate commerce.

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Atty Convicted Of Staging Truck Crashes Seeks New Trial

By Parker Quinlan

A disbarred New Orleans attorney has asked a federal judge in Louisiana for a new insurance fraud trial, arguing a suite of issues from her federal trial last month caused her to receive what she described in a filing as a "miscarriage of justice."

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UPS, Teamsters Reach Deal To Limit Driver Buyouts

By Katherine Smith

United Parcel Service Inc. agreed to the terms of a new settlement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which includes limiting the $150,000 buyouts the company can offer to drivers in return for leaving the company, the union has announced in a recent press release.

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NHTSA Closes Probe Into Tesla Remote Driving Feature

By Emily Field

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday said it was closing an investigation into a Tesla feature that allows users to remotely move their car with a phone app, finding that all the reported crashes involved minor property damage with no injuries.

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State Farm Auto Insureds Seek To Triple $38M Win At Trial

By Rachel Riley

Two certified classes of State Farm auto insurance policyholders kicked off a bench trial Monday on the question of damages owed after a Washington federal judge found the insurer had shortchanged policyholders on payouts for totaled vehicles, arguing the $38.3 million previously awarded for State Farm's consumer protection violation should be tripled.

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Widow Sues UPS, Boeing, GE Over Fiery Ky. Plane Crash

By Mike Curley

A woman is suing UPS, General Electric, Boeing and an aircraft maintenance company, saying they owned, built or maintained a cargo plane before its November crash into an industrial complex, which injured her and killed her husband.

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ITC Opens Duty Probe Into Pipes From Taiwan, Austria, UAE

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating whether imports of oil pipes from Taiwan, Austria and the United Arab Emirates are harming U.S. industry after a group of domestic companies said the products were being sold at unfair prices, the agency said Monday.

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High Court Passes On Challenge To Illinois Transit Gun Ban

By Elizabeth Daley

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied plaintiffs' request to consider whether they had the right to bear arms on public Illinois transit, leaving a Seventh Circuit decision denying them this right intact.

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Atlanta Transit Cops Used Excessive Force On Teen, Suit Says

By Chart Riggall

Police officers for Atlanta's public transit system falsely accused a 14-year-old rider of robbery before subjecting him to "excessive force and brutal treatment" that left him hospitalized, the teenager's guardian told a Georgia federal court.

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Uber's Safety Program For Women Biased, Male Riders Say

By Gina Kim

Male Uber riders Monday lodged a proposed class action in California state court alleging a safety initiative that prioritizes matching female riders with female drivers discriminates against male riders, even as the Women Preferences program launched nationwide last month.

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Tool Co. Can't Arbitrate Workers' Misclassification Suit

By MJ Koo

A California federal judge has blocked an Ohio-based tool company from pursuing arbitration in a suit alleging it misclassified its dealers as independent contractors, finding the franchise agreement's arbitration clause likely unenforceable.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-profile corporate disputes, insider trading allegations, contract fights and significant rulings shaping fiduciary duty and deal litigation.

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Fed. Circ. Says ITC Rightly Denied Boat AC Import Ban

By Elliot Weld

The Federal Circuit said Monday that the U.S. International Trade Commission correctly declined to issue an import ban on boat air conditioners at the request of a Swedish manufacturer.

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Norwegian Cruise Settles Suit Over Bermuda Drowning Death

By Carolina Bolado

The estate of a Pennsylvania man who drowned in Bermuda has settled a lawsuit claiming Norwegian Cruise Line should have warned cruise passengers about the risks of swimming at a nearby beach, according to a notice filed Saturday in federal court in Florida.

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Interior Dept. Will Reunite Offshore Permitting, Safety Arms

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Department of the Interior plans to reunite its offshore energy permitting and offshore energy safety agencies, 15 years after they were split apart in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

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FERC Unlawfully Revived Pipeline Project, DC Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission flouted the Natural Gas Act and National Environmental Policy Act when it reauthorized a previously abandoned pipeline upgrade project in the Northeast, environmental and homeowner groups have told the D.C. Circuit.

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Appellate Strategy Lessons From Pa. Excess Coverage Ruling

In FedEx v. National Union Fire Insurance, a Pennsylvania state court recently set forth a clear holding that policyholders may recover postjudgment interest under excess liability insurance policies only when the policy language expressly allows, offering important takeaways for planning appeals, say attorneys at Hunton.

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What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

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Pregnant DLA Piper Atty Fired For 'Sloppy' Work, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former trademark associate told a Manhattan federal jury Monday that DLA Piper "blindsided" her with termination after she announced she was pregnant, but the BigLaw firm countered that she was fired for "repeated mistakes" and other on-the-job shortcomings.

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Files Of 10 Jones Day Clients Breached In Cyberattack

By Aebra Coe

Jones Day is the latest law firm to be hit by a cyberattack, the firm confirmed Monday, revealing that an unauthorized party accessed files of 10 clients.

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Troutman, Ex-Associate Reach Deal In Discrimination Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former Troutman Pepper Locke LLP associate asked a D.C. federal court Monday to pause a suit as the two sides have reported they had reached a settlement agreement over her discrimination claims against the firm, sidestepping a trial set to begin next month.

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Ex-EEOC Leaders Back BigLaw Firms In Trump EO Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

A group of former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials are backing four BigLaw firms in the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders targeting the firms, arguing the president's directives contradict how Congress meant for the EEOC to operate.

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Jackson Walker, Sorrento CEO Hit With RICO Suit Over Ch. 11

By Emlyn Cameron

More than a dozen Sorrento Therapeutics shareholders sued law firm Jackson Walker LLP and the defunct biopharmaceutical company's ex-CEO for over $100 million, accusing them of conspiring to launch an unnecessary bankruptcy in an irrelevant jurisdiction.

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Analysis

Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

By Cara Bayles

As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

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LSC Seeks $2.14B As White House Pushes To Slash Funding

By Marco Poggio

The Legal Services Corp. is asking Congress for $2.14 billion in fiscal year 2027 to fund civil legal services for low-income Americans who cannot afford an attorney.

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Trump Orders Could Chill US Arbitration, Group Warns

By Caroline Simson

The College of Commercial Arbitrators has urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders yanking the security clearances of four BigLaw firms, arguing a contrary ruling would "imperil" arbitration in the U.S.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Loses Bid To Shake ICE Obstruction Conviction

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge Monday refused to overturn a former Wisconsin state judge's conviction for helping shield a defendant in her courtroom from arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, rejecting her contention that, because ICE had no authority to make the arrest in the courthouse, there was no obstruction.

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Ill. Justices Want MAGA Op-Ed Author Judge's Claims Axed

By Emily Sawicki

Illinois Supreme Court justices have asked a Chicago federal judge to throw out constitutional claims filed by a retired Illinois state trial court judge alleging he was wrongfully terminated over protected speech in a political opinion column, with the justices arguing the federal court should not interfere with a state court matter.

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Justices Clear Path For DOJ To Dismiss Bannon's Conviction

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's order upholding Steve Bannon's conviction over his nonresponse to a congressional subpoena investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, clearing the way for the Justice Department to dismiss his indictment.

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