Transportation

  • May 29, 2025

    GM Gets Initial OK For $150M Engine Defect Post-Trial Deal

    A California federal judge on Thursday said he'd grant preliminary approval to a $150 million deal General Motors reached with car buyers over an engine defect following a trial verdict against the auto giant that class counsel said, with prejudgment interest, would have cost the company more than $270 million.

  • May 29, 2025

    DOT Calls States' EV Charging Funding Suit Premature

    The U.S. Department of Transportation urged a Washington federal judge to reject an attempt by 16 states to block the Trump administration from cutting off funding for electric vehicle charging projects, saying their claims aren't yet ripe for review.

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Order To Monitor Indian River Manatees

    Florida's Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it is appealing an injunction requiring the agency to implement new manatee monitoring programs after a federal judge found it violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing wastewater pollution into the North Indian River Lagoon watershed.

  • May 29, 2025

    Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Mayer Brown Guide $4B Rail Deal

    Wells Fargo, represented by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, unveiled Thursday a $4.4 billion deal to sell its rail assets to a joint venture formed between Mayer Brown LLP-led GATX and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, which is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

  • May 29, 2025

    8th Circ. Says Gov'ts Can't Give Up Eminent Domain Powers

    An Eighth Circuit panel vacated an injunction barring a North Dakota county from taking private property it said was needed to build a bridge over the Little Missouri River, although the parties had already settled their claims in April.

  • May 29, 2025

    DOJ Officially Files To Drop Boeing 737 Max Conspiracy Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday formally moved to drop its criminal conspiracy case against Boeing over the deadly 737 Max 8 crashes and asked a Texas federal judge to vacate the June 23 trial date, saying a $1.1 billion nonprosecution agreement is a meaningful resolution that holds the company accountable.

  • May 29, 2025

    Tariff Rulings Undercut Trump's Trade Authority, Dealmaking

    U.S. trading partners have inadvertently found new leverage in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration after federal courts found several of the president's duties were improperly imposed, raising larger questions about future tariff authorization in the midst of a global trade spat.

  • May 29, 2025

    JetBlue Fights American's NEA Suit, Pivots To United Deal

    JetBlue has told a Texas federal judge that American Airlines' lawsuit seeking to recover $1 million in alleged unpaid payments related to their now-scrapped codeshare agreement covering New York and Boston is preempted by federal law and potentially conflicts with a Massachusetts federal judge's antitrust ruling.

  • May 29, 2025

    Big Oil Caused Woman's Heat Wave Death, Novel Suit Says

    The daughter of a Seattle woman who died during a 2021 heat wave filed a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit in Washington state court Thursday against oil and gas giants — including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell — alleging the companies knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

  • May 29, 2025

    Kids Launch New Climate Case Over Trump Energy Orders

    The U.S. government on Thursday was hit with a fresh lawsuit from youths alleging that federal energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change, specifically targeting President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at boosting fossil fuels.

  • May 29, 2025

    Deere Says No Monopoly, Seeks End Of Right-To-Repair Suit

    Deere & Co. is pushing to end a suit from the Federal Trade Commission and five states alleging it violated the Sherman Act by restricting access to its repair tools and services, saying it doesn't participate in the repair market so it can't have a monopoly.

  • May 29, 2025

    Flexjet Predecessor Must Pay $24M In Excise Taxes On Fees

    An aviation company whose customers pay to share private jets owes $24 million in excise taxes under an Ohio federal court ruling that found the Internal Revenue Service gave the company precise guidance that it was required to collect taxes from its customers on monthly management fees.

  • May 29, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. OKs Acting NLRB GC's Drop Of Teamsters Case

    A divided Fifth Circuit panel again blessed the National Labor Relations Board's order that supported a former acting general counsel's withdrawal of an unfair labor practice complaint against two Teamsters locals, analyzing the dispute on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • May 29, 2025

    Car Dealership Settles Bias Case On Heels Of Recusal Bid

    A Philadelphia auto dealership has resolved a former manager's suit in Pennsylvania federal court claiming her boss made inappropriate sexual remarks and propositioned her nearly every day, days after the company said a magistrate judge was inappropriately pushing it to settle.

  • May 29, 2025

    High Court Restores Federal Approval Of Utah Oil Railway

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federal government's approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin.

  • May 28, 2025

    16 States Sue Trump Admin Over Cuts To Science Grants

    A coalition of 16 state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration in New York federal court on Wednesday to stop it from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.

  • May 28, 2025

    Brookfield Wins Bid To Vacate Lima's Document Application

    A New York federal judge has nixed discovery orders against global investment manager Brookfield sought by the Peruvian city of Lima as the city fights arbitral awards worth about $200 million based on alleged corruption, ruling the city can't prove it is an aggrieved party.

  • May 28, 2025

    Feds Ask SC Judge To Toss Suit Over Frozen Grant Funding

    The Trump administration urged a South Carolina federal judge to dismiss a complaint challenging its authority to freeze and terminate grant funding for lack of jurisdiction, as it also appeals an order directing it to restore several dozen grants funded by Congress.

  • May 28, 2025

    5 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In June

    The Federal Circuit will hear cases in June that include an attempt to revive and expand a discarded $64 million trade secrets judgment against Goodyear, and a dispute between drugmakers Acorda and Alkermes that asks when licensees who pay royalties on expired patents can get a refund in arbitration.

  • May 28, 2025

    Execs Smuggled Billions In Goods To Skirt Duties, Feds Say

    Two California shipping company executives have been charged with smuggling billions of dollars' worth of goods from the United States into Mexico — avoiding millions of dollars in duties to Mexico — using bogus documents, shell companies, bribes to public officials and kickbacks to drug cartels.

  • May 28, 2025

    Judge Shields NY Congestion Pricing From Feds' Threats

    New York's congestion pricing program can keep running at least through the fall, after a federal judge on Wednesday signaled that the U.S. Department of Transportation likely overstepped its authority by purportedly terminating a federal agreement that gave congestion pricing the green light.

  • May 28, 2025

    Va. Ruling Undercuts Railroads' Broadband Suit, 4th Circ. Told

    Virginia's attorney general is looking to turn a state court loss into a federal court win, telling the Fourth Circuit that a recent Virginia Supreme Court decision curbing a new law that eases access for broadband providers on railroad property actually diminishes a railroad industry association's standing.

  • May 28, 2025

    Amtrak Worker Admits To Part In $11M Benefits Fraud Scheme

    A New Jersey-based Amtrak employee has pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the passenger railroad's health plan for an estimated $11 million in benefits, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced Wednesday.

  • May 28, 2025

    DOJ Tells Justices American Airlines Can't Renew JetBlue Pact

    The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Circuit correctly determined that American Airlines failed to prove at trial that its codeshare agreement with JetBlue in Boston and New York had procompetitive benefits, and the carrier's attempt to revive the alliance is moot anyway.

  • May 28, 2025

    Fla. Ambulance Co. Must Make Missed Payments In OT Deal

    An ambulance service will have to shell out the remaining $42,500 it owes to a group of emergency medical technicians and paramedics to settle their overtime after having missed payment deadlines several times, a Florida federal court ordered Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Measuring And Mitigating Harm From Discriminatory Taxes

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    In response to new tariffs and other recent "America First Trade Policy" pronouncements, corporations should assess and take steps to minimize their potential exposure to discriminatory and reciprocal tax measures that are likely to come, say economists at Charles River Associates.

  • Justices May Clarify What IP Competitors In Litigation Can Say

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on Atturo Tire v. Toyo Tire, it may be able to provide guidance on the murky questions surrounding what companies enforcing their intellectual property against competitors are allowed to say in public, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Among the most notable developments in California banking in the first quarter of the year, regulators and legislators issued regulations interpreting debt collection laws, stepped up enforcement actions, and expanded consumer protections for those affected by wildfires, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Trade Policy Shifts Raise Hurdles For Gov't And Cos. Alike

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    The persistent tension between the Trump administration's fast-moving and aggressive trade policies and the compliance-heavy nature of the trade industry creates implementation challenges for both the business community and the government, says Sara Schoenfeld at Kamerman.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Trending At The PTAB: A Pivot On Discretionary Denials

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    Following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rescission of the 2022 Vidal memorandum and a reversion to the standards under Apple v. Fintiv, petitioners hoping to avoid discretionary denials should undertake holistic review of all Fintiv factors, rather than relying on certain fail-safe provisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

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    Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

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