Social Media Cos. Fight Uphill To End Schools' Addiction MDL

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge appeared skeptical Monday about dismissing school districts' claims that social media companies harmed them by getting their students addicted to their platforms, telling defense counsel that the case poses "classic" factual disputes for a jury, and setting the first bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation for June 15.

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Ill. Jury Rejects Ex-CTA Worker's Vax Bias Claims

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal jury sided with the Chicago Transit Authority on Monday over a former employee's claim that he was illegally terminated for noncompliance with the agency's COVID-19 vaccine mandate after the agency flatly rejected his religion-based exemption request without meaningfully trying to accommodate it.

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Texas Jury Clears AUO And Hisense In LCD Patent Trial

By Ryan Davis

An Eastern District of Texas jury has decided that Taiwan-based electronics company AUO Corp. and Chinese TV maker Hisense did not infringe two Phenix Longhorn LLC display patents, in a rare defense verdict for Taiwanese and Chinese companies in the Texas district's Marshall division, according to defense counsel.

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Analysis

Justices' FCC Review Could Reshape IRS Penalty Disputes

By Kat Lucero

The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming review of a pair of cases questioning the validity of the Federal Communications Commission's penalty authority could have ripple effects that further delineate the Internal Revenue Service's authority to impose penalties.

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Masimo Chafes Against Apple's Bid To Duck $634M IP Verdict

By Theresa Schliep

Masimo has urged a California federal court to turn down Apple's request for relief from its $634 million trial loss in the companies' patent infringement fight over the Apple Watch, arguing that the company has made "extraordinarily untimely" attempts to change the meaning of "patient monitor."

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Samsung Settles Semiconductor Fight 2 Years After Jury Win

By Hailey Konnath

Samsung and litigation outfit Demaray have agreed to settle litigation over a pair of semiconductor patents, according to an order Monday in Texas federal court that dismissed the initially $4 billion case, for good, two years after a jury cleared Samsung.

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Judge Won't Block Bombing Evidence From Fluor Fraud Trial

By Madeline Lyskawa

A South Carolina federal judge declined for now Fluor Corp.'s request to block all evidence and testimony related to a suicide bombing at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan and employee retaliation from an upcoming trial over accusations that the company overcharged the military.

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Justices Nix 4th Circ. Ruling That Affirmed New Criminal Trial

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ditched a Fourth Circuit ruling that affirmed habeas corpus relief for a Maryland man convicted of attempted murder, saying the appeals court overstepped federal habeas limits by second-guessing a state court's decision.

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Amex Seeks First Approval Of $17M Antisteering Settlement

By Katryna Perera

American Express Co. has asked a New York federal judge to grant the first green light to a $17.5 million settlement reached with consumers who claimed the credit card company's so-called antisteering rules caused non-Amex cardholders to pay higher charges, after a New York federal jury ordered Amex to pay $12 million to one class of consumers.

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Southern Glazer's Wants To Compare FTC Case To Kroger

By Bryan Koenig

Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC urged a California federal judge Friday to give it key material from the Federal Trade Commission's successful challenge to the Kroger-Albertsons merger, sparring with the FTC on arguments that the agency is contradicting itself in a price discrimination lawsuit.

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Texas Jury Returns $46 Million Verdict Against Stone Supplier

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas jury slapped a stone supplier with a $46 million verdict, finding that a truck driver who ran over and killed a man in DeWitt County in 2019 was driving on behalf of the company at the time of the accident. 

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RJR Owes Transplant Patient $14M Over Smoking, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida jury heard in closing arguments Monday that R.J. Reynolds should pay $14 million for 14 years of pain and suffering endured by a lung transplant patient who was smoking heavily by the 1970s.

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Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling May Limit Charge-Stacking

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Barrett v. U.S. that the double jeopardy clause bars separate convictions for the same act under two related firearms laws places meaningful limits on the broader practice of stacking charges, a reminder that overlapping statutes present prosecutors with a menu, not a buffet, says attorney David Tarras.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

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Law Student Recruiting Moves Further Off Campus

By Emma Cueto

About four-fifths of law school summer associate recruiting in 2025 happened through employer-sponsored channels, as opposed to more traditional law school-sponsored channels, with recruiting also happening increasingly early, according to research unveiled Monday by the National Association for Law Placement.

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Fla. Bar Clears Gaetz Despite US House Ethics Report

By Courtney Bublé

The Florida Bar has decided to not discipline former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who was briefly President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, despite the House ethics committee's findings that Gaetz regularly paid for sex, including with a minor.

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Texas Law Firm-Linked Plane Crashes In Maine With Fatalities

By Lynn LaRowe

A private plane connected to Texas-based litigation firm Arnold & Itkin LLP overturned and caught fire Sunday night as it attempted to take off from a Maine airport, killing at least six people on board, according to authorities and public records.

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Indiana Judge Was Shot Through Front Door, Cop Says

By Hailey Konnath

An Indiana Superior Court judge and his wife were shot by a man standing on their front porch, through their closed front door, according to an affidavit, which noted that the suspected shooter was connected to a man with pending charges in the judge's courtroom.

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Foley & Lardner Can't Dodge Pro-Palestinian Atty's Bias Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A Chicago federal judge on Monday denied Foley & Lardner LLP's bid for an early win against claims brought by a former summer associate who said discrimination led to the firm's decision to rescind a job offer after she publicly supported Palestinians amid Israel's war with Hamas.

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Minn. Judge Probes Limits Of ICE Enforcement Actions

By Ganesh Setty

A Minnesota federal judge on Monday considered whether to preliminarily block the Trump administration from sending thousands of immigration enforcement officers to the state, questioning if the surge is a coercive federal act in violation of state sovereignty.

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Full 3rd Circ. Passes On Alina Habba DQ Challenge

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit on Monday declined to reconsider its decision blocking Alina Habba from serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, denying the Justice Department's petition for rehearing and leaving intact a decision that sharply curtailed the government's use of creative maneuvers to install interim federal prosecutors.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court wrapped up the week with a slate of high-stakes deal challenges, governance rulings and oversight decisions, including an emergency bid to block a $10.9 billion bank merger, a state Supreme Court reversal reshaping stockholder agreement litigation and a major opinion allowing sexual misconduct oversight claims to proceed.

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