Musk Lied About Tesla To Fund Twitter Buy, 9th Circ. Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Tesla shareholders urged the Ninth Circuit Thursday to revive their allegations that Elon Musk lied about the capabilities and safety record of Tesla's self-driving technology, saying the district court erred in finding no evidence of fraudulent intent since the billionaire clearly needed to boost Tesla's share price to buy Twitter.

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9th Circ. Urged To Revive Google Maps Antitrust Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

App makers urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive a proposed class action targeting Google's Maps product, arguing that the lower court erred in failing to accept at the pleading stage their antitrust arguments that Google's terms suppressed competition, allowing Google to increase developer costs up to 1,400%.

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Chancery Says $33M Nikola Deal 'More Than Fair'

By Jarek Rutz

Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick granted final approval Thursday to a pair of settlements totaling more than $33 million, including more than $1.8 million in fees and expenses, resolving years of shareholder litigation tied to Nikola Corp.'s fraud-shadowed SPAC merger.

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Judge Raises Sanctions In Eletson Affiliate Ownership Row

By Rick Archer

The New York bankruptcy judge overseeing Eletson Holdings' Chapter 11 case has raised sanctions against three Cypriot corporations connected to the shipping company's former owners to $5,000 a day for failing to reverse changes to the board of an Eletson affiliate.

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NY Appeals Court Reinstates Holland & Knight In Fuel Dispute

By Joyce Hanson

A New York state appeals court has reversed an order disqualifying Holland & Knight LLP and one of its partners from representing a fuel company in an arbitration proceeding being conducted in New York over its supply of allegedly defective marine fuel.

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1st Circ. Tosses Challenge To Maine Lobster Boat Tracking

By Elliot Weld

The First Circuit has declined to revive a case brought by several Maine lobstermen who said their privacy rights were violated by the state's tracking of their vessels, ruling that the tracking devices were part of administrative searches of a closely regulated industry and do not violate the Fourth Amendment.

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FedEx Says Drivers' Argument In OT Suit Is Late

By Irene Spezzamonte

Drivers who worked for FedEx through intermediary entities were late in arguing that they spent enough time on light trucks to make them overtime-eligible, the company argued, pushing a Massachusetts federal court to toss their unpaid overtime suit.

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Chinese Logistics Co. Investors Sue Over 95% Stock Crash

By Katryna Perera

Investors of China-based Jayud Global Logistics have filed suit in New York federal court, alleging the company's stock price was artificially inflated through fake social media posts before it suddenly collapsed by 95% in one day, leaving everyday shareholders holding the bag.

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DocGo Investors Get First OK For $12.5M Settlement

By Sydney Price

Investors of mobile medical provider DocGo have received preliminary approval of their $12.5 million settlement of claims that the company deceived stockholders before a $432 million contract with New York City to provide emergency migrant housing came under public scrutiny.

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FERC Looks To Put LNG Project Work On A Faster Track

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it will explore speeding up its permitting of liquefied natural gas projects by creating a blanket authorization process for certain project activities that wouldn't require individual approvals.

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How Cos. Should Prepare For Prop 65 Listing Of Bisphenols

California regulators are moving toward classifying all p,p'-bisphenol chemicals as causing reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65, which could require warning notices for a vast range of consumer and industrial products, and open the floodgates to private litigation — so companies should proactively review their suppy chains, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

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Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

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Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

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Bonus Spotlight

Law Firms Begin Upping The Ante For Associate Bonuses

By Tracey Read

Trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff LLP is exceeding the year-end associate bonus scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, announcing bonuses late Wednesday that are 150% of market.

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CFPB Will Shift Remaining Lawsuits Over To DOJ

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be handing off its enforcement lawsuits and other litigation to the U.S. Department of Justice as the Trump administration prepares for the consumer agency to run out of money, Law360 has learned.

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Analysis

Trump's Epstein Directive Puts SDNY Prosecutor In A 'Pickle'

By Phillip Bantz

Manhattan chief federal prosecutor Jay Clayton appears to have been backed into a "horrible" corner with a "no-win" outcome as a result of a directive from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, experts say.

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Comey Says DOJ's Conduct 'Shocks The Conscience'

By Hailey Konnath

James Comey on Thursday reiterated his request that the U.S. Department of Justice be forced to disclose all grand jury materials related to his indictment, noting the government has conceded that the grand jury never saw the operative indictment and saying the purported misconduct "shocks the conscience."

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NJ Panel Expands Scope Of Ex-Reed Smith Atty's Bias Claims

By Rose Krebs

A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday ruled that a former Reed Smith LLP attorney is entitled to pursue more damages and obtain expanded wage data in her gender discrimination suit against the firm, saying a trial court incorrectly applied certain statutes when it limited the damages and data she could seek.

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X Corp. Ends $90M Fee Suit Against Wachtell

By James Mills

X Corp. has ended its California state lawsuit against Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over $90 million in legal fees tied to the fight over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to a court filing.

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Analysis

Meta Loss Shows Time Not On Enforcers' Side In Tech Cases

By Bryan Koenig

Meta's triumph over a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case Tuesday hinged on a D.C. federal judge's finding that the company lacks a monopoly in the present day, highlighting some of the challenges of using slow-moving litigation to challenge fast-moving markets.

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Senate Panel OKs Miss. Judge, US Atty Nominees After Delay

By Courtney Bublé

After weeks of holdup, nominees for Mississippi federal courts and U.S. attorneys were voted out of committee on Thursday, following an impasse between Republican senators.

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Brief

Senate Passes Bill To Protect State Judges From Threats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to beef up security for state and local judges.

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DOJ Antitrust Chief Says Agriculture A 'Top Priority'

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official said enforcers have already opened several investigations in the agriculture sector, including into meatpackers at the direction of President Donald Trump, and called the industry a "top priority" for the agency.

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