VW Beats 'Clean Diesel' NY Shareholder Derivative Suit

By Linda Chiem

A New York state trial court has thrown out a shareholder derivative suit seeking to hold current and former Volkswagen AG supervisory board members and executives in Germany liable for perpetrating the 2015 emissions cheating scandal, saying the dispute doesn't belong in the Empire State.

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Fiat Chrysler Loses 'Absurd' Arb. Bid In Defect Suit At 9th Circ.

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit panel has rejected Fiat Chrysler's request to send a certified class action over allegedly defective Jeep and Dodge headrests to arbitration, finding that FCA's theory would lead to "absurd" results in which third parties with "no connection whatsoever to the underlying arbitration agreement" could force arbitration.

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Boeing, Bell Textron Get Fatal Osprey Crash Suit Tossed

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a suit from the families of eight U.S. service members killed in a V-22 Osprey crash in November 2023, saying their claims against The Boeing Co., Bell Textron Inc. and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. have to proceed under the Death on the High Seas Act, not through state law.

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Norfolk Southern Must Face Jury On Age Bias Claims

By Chart Riggall

An Alabama federal judge rejected Georgia-based Norfolk Southern's bid to shut down a suit from a longtime rail worker who said he was forced out of his job due to his age, ruling that there was "ample evidence" to send the case to a jury.

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Volkswagen Doubted In Bid To Defeat Seat Heater Burns Case

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge hinted on Wednesday that a jury will probably need to weigh in on an Evergreen State resident's product liability claims against Volkswagen over second-degree burns allegedly caused by a vehicle seat heater, saying there's evidence that the subject heater reached "potentially unsafe" temperatures.

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Teamsters, United Defeat Bid To Revive Suit Over Pay Formula

By Benjamin Morse

A memorandum alleging union misconduct and claims that a union representative may have simultaneously worked for United Airlines do not justify reopening a lawsuit accusing the airline and the Teamsters of underpaying workers, a California federal judge ruled.

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Juror Nondisclosure Can't Trigger Crash Retrial, Panel Says

By Y. Peter Kang

A car crash plaintiff who sought $1 million in damages but was awarded only $20,000 can't get a new trial because of juror misconduct, a Florida state appeals court ruled Wednesday, saying a juror's lengthy legal history could have been easily uncovered online.

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NJ Car Dealer Accused Of Picking Pricey 401(k) Funds

By Carla Baranauckas

Holman Automotive Group Inc. was slapped with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court accusing the company and unidentified plan fiduciaries of breaching their duties under ERISA by saddling employees with unnecessarily expensive retirement plan investments that allegedly drained more than $1 million from workers' savings.

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FedEx Says NY Attys And Medical Providers Staged Crashes

By Hope Patti

FedEx accused a network of lawyers, medical providers and clinics of orchestrating an insurance scam in which they staged motor vehicle accidents in order to defraud the delivery giant through sham lawsuits and inflated medical bills, according to a suit filed in New York federal court.

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Prudential Can't Enforce 'Illusory' Policy, Beneficiaries Say

By Hope Patti

The beneficiaries of two pilots who died in a plane crash said a Prudential insurer can't escape their suit seeking accidental death and dismemberment benefits under an aviation company's life insurance plan, telling a Washington federal court that the policy departs from the industry standard because it is "illusory."

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DLA Piper Offered Pregnant Atty 'Dignified' Exit, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former DLA Piper associate who claims she was unlawfully fired after announcing her pregnancy was offered a chance to transition out of the firm "without anyone knowing that her work was subpar," a partner told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday.

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Spencer Fane Adds 75 Attys Through Tie-Up With Okla. Firm

By Tracey Read

Missouri-headquartered Spencer Fane LLP announced Wednesday that it plans to combine with Southwest firm Conner & Winters LLP on July 1 in its largest tie-up to date and its third already in 2026.

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AEG, BigLaw Atty In Hot Seat As Live Nation Trial Nears End

By Stewart Bishop

Live Nation on Wednesday concluded its defense case with glowing testimony about it from the manager for rap star Drake, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case said rival company AEG Worldwide and a Hogan Lovells lawyer may face sanctions for revealing confidential information about a witness.

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DOJ's Lead Google Attys Both Leave Agency Same Day

By Bryan Koenig

The lead attorneys on both of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's monopolization cases against Google left the agency Wednesday or said they would be doing so.

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Mich. Federal Judge Pleads No Contest In Drunk-Driving Case

By Gina Kim

A Michigan federal judge pled no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge in Emmet County court in connection with an incident where he crashed his Cadillac and registered a 0.27% blood alcohol level, apologizing and saying he "looks forward" to continuing his judicial service.

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ABA, State Bars Blast DOJ Proposal To Block Bar Probes

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association and a chorus of state and local bar groups have come out against a proposed rule that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to pause and review state-level ethics complaints against its attorneys, calling the proposal "unlawful and unconstitutional."

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ABA Rates Montana Judicial Pick 'Not Qualified'

By Courtney Bublé

Katie Lane, senior legal counsel at the Republican National Committee who has been tapped for a federal judgeship in Montana, is the first nominee to receive a majority "not qualified" rating by the American Bar Association in the second Trump administration.

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NY Panel Backs DLA Piper's $482K Fee Win In Malpractice Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

A New York appellate court affirmed Tuesday the dismissal of a Chinese software company's legal malpractice suit against DLA Piper, along with a $482,000 sanctions order against the company and its counsel, noting that the company's frivolous claims also drew a $635,000 sanctions ruling in "mirror" federal court litigation.

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Bondi To Skip Epstein Deposition After DOJ Cites AG Exit

By Courtney Bublé

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for her scheduled deposition next week on the Epstein files now that she has left the role, and the Justice Department has asked the House Oversight Committee to withdraw its subpoena.

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Trump Asks NY's Top Court To Toss AG's 'Flawed' Fraud Case

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked New York's highest court to throw out New York Attorney General Letitia James' "deeply flawed" civil fraud judgment entirely after a lower appellate court tossed what it called an "excessive" $489 million penalty against the president, his sons and his real estate companies.

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