Transportation

  • September 04, 2024

    Honda Again Loses Patent Challenge After Reprieve From Vidal

    Months after U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal said the Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly refused to review a Neo Wireless patent targeted by Honda because Volkswagen had already challenged it, the board again has rejected Honda's petition.

  • September 04, 2024

    AI Co. Keeps Engine Supplier In Trade Secrets Suit

    An artificial intelligence software developer can continue pursuing a case seeking at least $500 million in Delaware state court from an engine manufacturer over claims that it misappropriated its trade secrets after canceling a deal they had to develop an AI tool.

  • September 04, 2024

    Marathon Faces Wrongful Death Suit Over Refinery Explosion

    The family of a Texas machinist who burned to death in a refinery explosion is suing Marathon Petroleum Co. and others, claiming their shoddy build, maintenance and management of the facility caused the catastrophic failure.

  • September 04, 2024

    Ex-CEO Sues Ferry Co.'s Private-Equity Buyer

    The former CEO of a company that operates a ferry service has told a Michigan federal court that he was wrongly terminated and then badmouthed by the company's new private-equity owners.

  • September 04, 2024

    Towns Say Settlement Doesn't Limit Rail Merger Appeal

    A coalition of Illinois towns challenging the approval of Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern told the D.C. Circuit the federal government is trying to use a settlement struck by Chicago's commuter rail system to limit the issues in the case.

  • September 04, 2024

    Tort Report: 'Landmark' $16M Crash Verdict Against Amazon

    A "landmark" verdict out of Georgia that put Amazon on the hook for an independent contractor delivery driver's negligence and a hearing-impaired Florida physician's disciplinary matter lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • September 04, 2024

    Amazon Says Too Many Differences Among Driver Class

    Amazon urged a Washington federal court to reject class certification in a delivery driver's lawsuit alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor, saying there are too many differences among these drivers to warrant class treatment.

  • September 04, 2024

    NFL Kicker Gets Sexual Assault Suit Tossed, For Now

    A suit accusing former NFL kicker Brandon McManus of sexually assaulting two flight attendants on a team charter flight last year has been dismissed by a Florida state judge, with leave for the women to refile under their real names, which their attorney plans to do soon.

  • September 04, 2024

    Wash. Contractors Must Face Suit Over Off-Site Death

    A Washington appeals panel has revived a wrongful death suit alleging a contractor and subcontractor are responsible for the death of a worker in a forklift accident, saying they may have had a duty to the worker even though the accident didn't happen on the worksite itself.

  • September 04, 2024

    Ex-Mass. Pol 'A Little Sloppy' But Not Criminal, Jurors Told

    Former Massachusetts state Sen. Dean A. Tran denied charges Wednesday that he stole pandemic unemployment assistance and cheated on his taxes, with his attorney telling a jury that Tran simply made a series of paperwork "mistakes."

  • September 04, 2024

    Concrete Co. Owes Workers $370K, Wash. Panel Says

    A Washington appeals court refused to overturn a state agency's determination that a concrete company owes workers more than $370,000 in wages for working at a disposal site, saying the work was sufficiently related to a public works project to trigger the state's prevailing wage law.

  • September 03, 2024

    Army Corps Gets 150K Comments Against Enbridge Pipeline

    Environmental, health and faith groups have joined the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians in submitting about 150,000 comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opposing Enbridge Inc.'s plans to reroute its controversial Line 5 pipeline.

  • September 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Panel Pushes Plaintiff Groups In Oil Terminal Row

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed wary of a claim by several groups who argued they hadn't forfeited arguments relating to vessel traffic on Texas' Gulf Coast, saying during oral arguments last week that the group's brief didn't include anything about forfeiture.

  • September 03, 2024

    Maduro's Private Jet Seized In Fla. Over Sanctions Violation

    Federal officials have seized a private jet used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his affiliates, alleging that it was purchased illegally using a shell company and smuggled out of Florida in violation of sanctions and export control laws, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 03, 2024

    Feds Ask Sixth Circ. To Uphold Highway GHG Rule

    The federal government called on the Sixth Circuit to overturn a district court ruling finding the Federal Highway Administration overstepped its authority by directing states to set targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from federally funded highway projects, arguing the rule aligns with Congress' instructions.

  • September 03, 2024

    Texas Justices Will Review $116M Trucking Wreck Award

    Trucking company Werner Enterprises Inc. will get a chance to upend a $116 million jury verdict that found it liable for a crash that killed a 7-year-old and paralyzed a 12-year-old, after the Texas Supreme Court said it would take up the company's appeal.

  • September 03, 2024

    Pedestrian Hit By Off-Duty Uber Driver Can't Sue Over Injuries

    A California appellate panel held Uber can't be sued for the negligence of a driver who hit a pedestrian just minutes after he switched his status to "offline," saying it was speculative to assume the driver was still on duty due to his alleged manipulation of higher "surge" fares.

  • September 03, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Starbucks Firing, Liquor Law In September

    Two National Labor Relations Board cases grace the Third Circuit's September session, when panels will probe the agency's suits against Starbucks Corp. for firing Philadelphia workers attempting to unionize and a plastic company accused of firing a safety whistleblower.

  • September 03, 2024

    Lima Wants No Bond As It Appeals $200M Hwy Contract Case

    The Peruvian city of Lima is urging a D.C. federal court not to force it to post a bond as it appeals a ruling enforcing arbitral awards now worth nearly $200 million following a dispute over a highway contract, saying that requiring a bond would be a waste of public funds.

  • September 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Ax Dad's Removal Over Child's Mental Health

    The Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that a man who entered the U.S. illegally more than two decades ago can't cancel his removal on the grounds that it would cause his daughter hardship, ruling that any adverse impacts would be typical of family separation.

  • September 03, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives Suits Over Fatal Kia Optima Crash

    A split Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday reinstated a pair of suits alleging that a malfunction in the cruise control of a 2008 Kia Optima caused it to accelerate and hit a van, killing the Kia's driver and twin boys in the van, saying the trial court wrongly excluded portions of the plaintiffs' experts' opinions.

  • September 03, 2024

    8th Circ. Says Union Pacific Must Face Color Vision Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit revived a former Union Pacific conductor's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully fired after failing a color vision test, ruling Tuesday that a lower court erroneously said his participation in a defunct class action couldn't save his claims.

  • September 03, 2024

    EPA Should Have Rethought Smog Plan, DC Circ. Told

    U.S. Steel Corp. told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was obligated to rethink its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states once courts partially blocked the plan's implementation, saying those decisions vindicate arguments that the rule can't be legally crafted.

  • September 03, 2024

    Alaska Says Nothing's Changed As Flyers Try Merger 'Do-Over'

    Alaska Airlines wants a nixed flyer challenge to its $1.9 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines to stay nixed, telling a Hawaii federal judge that declarations from the plaintiffs about their travel plans could have been submitted months ago and are "too little, too late" to overcome the judge's ruling that they had no standing.

  • September 03, 2024

    Calif. Eyes New Heavy-Duty Autonomous Truck Testing Regs

    California is forging ahead with plans to test and deploy more heavy-duty autonomous trucks, at the same time that state lawmakers are seeking to ban autonomous trucks from operating without a human driver behind the wheel.

Expert Analysis

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • The Fed. Circ. In May: A Major Shift In Design Patent Law

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    The Federal Circuit's recent en banc decision in LKQ v. GM overruled three decades of precedent and adopted a new standard for assessing the obviousness of design patents, leaving many questions unanswered, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act

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    A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • Tracking Implementation Of IRA Programs As Election Nears

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    As the Biden administration races to cement key regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of the law's programs and incentives are at risk of delay or repeal if Republicans retake control of Congress, the White House or both — so stakeholders should closely watch ongoing IRA implementation and guidance, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli

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    A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Practical Private Equity Lessons From 2 Delaware Deals

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    A pair of Delaware Chancery Court cases remind private equity sponsors that specificity is crucial through the lens of deal certainty, particularly around closing conditions and agreement sections of acquisition agreements, say Robert Rizzo and Larissa Lucas at Weil Gotshal and William Lafferty at Morris Nichols.

  • New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims

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    Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Careful Data Governance Is A Must Amid Enforcement Focus

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    Federal and state regulators' heightened focus on privacy enforcement, including the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on consumer protection in the car industry, highlight the importance of proactive risk management, compliance and data governance, say Jason Priebe and Danny Riley at Seyfarth.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

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