Public Policy

June 12, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Probes State Farm's Wildfire Coverage

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday that he is launching an investigation into State Farm's handling of thousands of claims from the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires, as complaints continue to grow.
June 12, 2025
Trump Admin Parries Fed Talk As Judge Weighs NCUA Firings

A Trump administration attorney studiously deflected questions about the Federal Reserve at a Thursday court hearing on President Donald Trump's firing of two Democratic credit union regulators, leaving the central bank's independence as the elephant in the room.
June 12, 2025
Ex-Russian Diplomat Pleads Out In Narrowed Sanctions Case

A former Russian diplomat and longtime U.S. resident on Thursday admitted to deceiving FBI agents about his knowledge of dealings between an ex-FBI agent and a purported associate of a Russian oligarch, after prosecutors dropped plans to go ahead with sanctions and money laundering charges at a trial slated to begin next week.
June 12, 2025
Feds Urge 1st Circ. To Allow End Of Immigrant Parole Program

The Trump administration Wednesday urged the First Circuit to lift a district court's block on the federal government from rescinding temporary Biden-era removal protections from more than 500,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan immigrants, saying the U.S. Supreme Court already hinted that the order was a mistake.
June 12, 2025
Air India Crash — Boeing 787 Dreamliner: What Do We Know?

The Boeing Co. is bracing for renewed scrutiny after Thursday's deadly crash of an Air India flight with 242 people onboard as another line of its jets — this time, its 787-8 Dreamliner — is involved in an overseas aviation disaster just as the company was eyeing a fresh chapter following its 737 Max crisis.
June 12, 2025
Judge Pans 'Breathtaking' CFPB Disavowal Of Redlining Deal

An Illinois federal judge Thursday refused to allow the Trump administration to abandon a recently settled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau redlining case, calling the CFPB's bid to refund a Chicago-area mortgage lender accused of discriminatory lending practices "breathtaking."
June 12, 2025
Judge Won't Halt Immigration Registration Rule During Appeal

A D.C. federal judge on Thursday denied advocacy groups' request for an injunction as they appeal a ruling that upholds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new registration form for unauthorized immigrants, finding that they have not shown that they will suffer irreparable harm without the injunction.
June 12, 2025
Lawmakers Draw Battle Lines Over Future Of NCAA Oversight

Following the approval of a $2.78 billion settlement giving college athletes access to a groundbreaking revenue sharing system, lawmakers are beginning the delicate process of deciding how to best regulate and manage a new era of college sports.
June 12, 2025
Dallas Developer Cleared Of Bribery Charges In Retrial

A Dallas jury cleared a real estate executive charged with attempting to bribe city council members in exchange for federal low income housing credits, finding the executive not guilty Thursday after the Fifth Circuit threw out his guilty verdict and ordered a retrial.
June 12, 2025
Senate Dem Worries 'Salt Typhoon' Still Wreaks Havoc

The Senate's lead Democrat on spectrum issues said Thursday that last year's massive "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack linked to China may not be over and that giving wireless carriers vast amounts of new spectrum could only make U.S. networks more vulnerable.
June 12, 2025
Florida, Sandoz Say They've Fixed Generic Drug Price-Fix Deal

The Florida Attorney General's Office and Sandoz Inc. have told a Connecticut federal court they've fixed the problems the court identified with a generic drug price-fixing settlement after other states with claims in the case objected to a clause in the deal.
June 12, 2025
Trump's Deployment Of National Guard Illegal, Judge Says

A California federal judge on Thursday granted California's request for a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump's order sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, calling the president's actions "illegal" and unconstitutional, but the decision was quickly paused by the Ninth Circuit.
June 12, 2025
Protect Public Broadcast Channels, Nonprofit Tells FCC

A media nonprofit serving one of Washington, D.C.'s suburbs urged the Federal Communications Commission to protect access to public, educational and government channels when exploring whether to nix potentially burdensome regulations.
June 12, 2025
8th Circ. Upholds Block On Minn. Generic-Drug Price Law

The Eighth Circuit on Thursday backed a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking a Minnesota law that prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from imposing an "excessive" price increase on generic or biosimilar drugs, agreeing that the law is likely unconstitutional in regulating prices charged nationwide.
June 12, 2025
Live Nation Defending 'Unfair' Arbitration, Justices Told

Concertgoers suing Live Nation over allegedly anticompetitive conduct urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday not to take up the company's bid to force them into arbitration, arguing that lower courts rightly dinged a switch to a new arbitrator with strict rules meant to limit mass arbitration tactics by the plaintiffs' bar.
June 12, 2025
Judge Won't Ax DC Water Fee Suit Against Feds

A Court of Federal Claims judge on Thursday refused to dismiss the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's claims that it is owed various fees from the Armed Forces Retirement Home, finding the Clean Water Act includes a waiver of sovereign immunity.
June 12, 2025
'Forum Shopping' Center Stage At 6th Circ. Drug Pricing Args

As part of an expansive effort to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review, pharmaceutical industry-backed opponents of Medicare's drug price negotiations entered less-than-hospitable territory at the Sixth Circuit, where judges pointedly questioned a local business group's basis for challenging a national healthcare program.
June 12, 2025
Senate GOP Moves To Confirm Trump's FCC Nominee

The U.S. Senate plans next week to bring up President Donald Trump's nomination of Olivia Trusty to the Federal Communications Commission.
June 12, 2025
Ohio Law Bars Cities' Negligence Claims Against Hyundai, Kia

A California federal court sided with Hyundai and Kia by finding that an Ohio products liability law bars negligence claims from five Ohio cities in sprawling multidistrict litigation alleging the automakers knowingly sold vehicles with design flaws that resulted in a car theft crime spree.
June 12, 2025
Wash. Justice Doubts Both Sides In Election Law Fight

A Washington Supreme Court justice said Thursday he believed a political action committee and county auditor are both wrong about the disputed meaning of a state law governing city charter amendment elections, as he and his colleagues flagged discrepancies in the parties' arguments.
June 12, 2025
Suit Over Biden Mining Rule Paused As Trump Plans Changes

State and federal litigants in a suit over a Biden-era regulation that imposed more requirements on states to address possible mining law violations were granted a breather Thursday after the Trump administration said it plans to loosen the mandate once again.
June 12, 2025
DHS Begins Sending Termination Notices To Parolees

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday said it has started sending termination notices to people granted temporary residency and work authorizations through a parole program the Biden administration launched for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
June 12, 2025
Hemp Retailer Sues DC, Feds Over District's Cannabis Policy

A Washington, D.C., hemp retailer has filed a pair of complementary lawsuits challenging the tangled enforcement and regulatory policies that govern cannabis and hemp in the nation's capital.
June 12, 2025
Review Ordered For Alaska Gold Mine As Permits Kept Alive

An Alaska federal judge isn't revoking key permits for a proposed gold mine in the state's Yukon–Kuskokwim region despite finding legal flaws in an environmental review, but she has ordered government agencies to reassess the risks of a catastrophic tailings spill while construction remains paused.
June 12, 2025
Locals Approve $3B Plan To Lure NHL Team Back To Atlanta

Officials in Forsyth County, Georgia, north of Atlanta, have signed off on a $3 billion mixed-use plan anchored by an arena, which developers hope will draw a professional hockey team back to the region.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Price Range, Late-Is-Late

In this month's bid protest roundup, Thomas Lee at MoFo examines three May decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the court’s jurisdiction to rescind an executive order, the impact of agency error in establishing a competitive price range and application of the late-is-late rule to an electronic filing.
How Trump Administration's Antitrust Agenda Is Playing Out

Under the current antitrust agency leadership, the latest course in merger enforcement, regulatory approach and key sectors shows a marked shift from Biden-era practices and includes a return to remedies and the commitment to remain focused on the bounds of U.S. law, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
Justices' Ruling Lowers Bar For Reverse Discrimination Suits

The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, lowering the evidentiary burden for plaintiffs bringing so-called reverse discrimination claims, may lead to more claims brought by majority group employees — and open the door to legal challenges to employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Ice Miller.
Fed's Crypto Guidance Yank Could Drive Innovation

The Federal Reserve Board's recent withdrawal of guidance letters brings regulatory consistency and broadens banks' ability to innovate in the crypto-asset space, but key distinctions remain between the Fed's policy on crypto liquidity and that of the other banking regulators, says Dan Hartman at Nutter.
DOE Grant Recipients Facing Termination Have Legal Options

Federal grant recipients whose awards have recently been rescinded by the U.S. Deparment of Energy have options for successfully challenging those terminations through litigation, say attorneys at Bracewell.
Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.
Loophole To Budget Bill's AI Rule May Complicate Tech Regs

An exception in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could allow state and local governments to develop ostensibly technology-neutral laws that nonetheless circumvent the bill’s ban on state artificial intelligence regulation could unintentionally create a more complex regulatory environment for technologies beyond AI, says Pooya Shoghi at Lee & Hayes.
A Look At Texas Corp. Law Changes Aimed At Dethroning Del.

Seeking to displace Delaware as the preferred locale for incorporation, Texas recently significantly amended its business code, including changes like codifying the business judgment rule, restricting books and records demands, and giving greater protections for officers and directors in interested transactions, say attorneys at Fenwick.
Prior Art Ruling Highlights Importance Of Detailed Elaboration

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent decision in Ecto World v. RAI Strategic Holdings shows that when there is a possibility for discretionary denial, and the examiner has potentially overlooked prior art, patent owners should elaborate on as many of the denial factors as possible, says Frank Bernstein at Squire Patton.
Dissecting House And Senate's Differing No-Tax-On-Tips Bills

Employers should understand how the House and Senate versions of no-tax-on-tips bills differ — including in the scope of related deductions and reporting requirements — to meet any new compliance obligations and communicate with their employees, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
OCC's Digital Embrace Delivers Risk, Opportunity For Banks

As the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency continues to release and seek more information on banks' participation in the crypto-asset arena, institutions may see greater opportunity to pursue digital asset and custody services, but must simultaneously educate themselves on transformations occurring throughout the industry, says Kirstin Kanski at Spencer Fane.
High Court Birthright Case Could Reshape Judicial Power

Recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases challenging President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order primarily focused on federal judges’ power to issue nationwide injunctions and suggest that the upcoming decision may fundamentally change how federal courts operate, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.
Justices Hand Agencies Broad Discretion In NEPA Review

By limiting the required scope of reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County could weaken the review process under NEPA, while also raising questions regarding the degree of deference afforded to agencies, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
Remediation Still Reigns Despite DOJ's White Collar Shake-Up

Though the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced corporate enforcement policy changes adopt a softer tone acknowledging the risks of overregulation, the DOJ has not shifted its compliance and remediation expectations, which remain key to more favorable resolutions, say Jonny Frank, Michele Edwards and Chris Hoyle at StoneTurn.