DOJ Ad Tech Judge Won't Break Up Google's Biz

By Bryan Koenig

A Virginia federal judge on Wednesday refused to break up Google's advertising placement technology business, opting instead to grant the U.S. Department of Justice a litany of behavioral fixes aimed at limiting the search giant's ability to boost itself and the ads running through its own servers over ads from rival ad tech providers.

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Mass. Sheriff Acquitted Of Extorting Cannabis Co.

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Boston federal jury on Wednesday cleared a sheriff of charges that he shook down a cannabis company for a pre-initial public offering investment opportunity.

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VLSI Presses Court For Full Anonymous Report In Intel Row

By Theresa Schliep

VLSI has urged a D.C. federal court to force the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to release an unredacted version of a report alleging a connection between Intel and a company that successfully challenged a VLSI patent at issue in a multibillion-dollar infringement case.

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Carmen Electra, Models Get $340K In Strip Club Images Fight

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina strip club will pay a group of international models, former Playboy Playmates and a "Baywatch" star $340,000 to resolve claims it misused their images in advertisements, avoiding a trial that was slated to start in August.

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Manslaughter Verdict Vacated Over DNA Analysts' Testimony

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' intermediate appellate court on Wednesday vacated a 2023 manslaughter conviction due to the prosecution's reliance on substitute DNA analysts whose testimony was based on the work of another crime lab staffer.

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Fed. Circ. Backs Micron's PTAB Wins Over Netlist

By Dani Kass

Micron took home a series of wins at the Federal Circuit on Wednesday in its multifaceted patent battle against Netlist, with the court upholding invalidations of five computer memory patents.

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Contractor Seeks Redo After Fed. Circ. Vacates $12.7M Award

By Madeline Lyskawa

A software developer has urged the en banc Federal Circuit to rethink a panel's decision vacating a $12.7 million award against the federal government over unauthorized copies of the company's software, saying the panel wrongly endorsed a hypothetical negotiation between the parties to calculate damages.

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Ex-Dispensary Worker's Punitive $100K Award Cut To $75K

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge cut 25% of a $100,000 punitive damages award in the case of a former dispensary worker who claimed his employer fired him for going on leave to recover from injuries he suffered in a car accident.

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Fla. Driver's Conviction Upheld Over 'Intentional' Gate Damage

By Gina Kim

A rideshare driver who damaged a malfunctioning community gate could have stopped trying to force it open or called the police for help, a Florida state appeals court said Wednesday in upholding the driver's felony conviction for criminal mischief.

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Fla. Appeals Court Cuts Murder Conviction To Manslaughter

By Parker Quinlan

A Florida appeals court Wednesday reversed a man's conviction for second-degree murder, holding that his fatal shooting of his sister's boyfriend following a domestic incident was an "impulsive overreaction" and he should therefore be convicted of manslaughter instead.

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Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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