Washington

  • May 21, 2026

    FTC Wins Partial Ruling On Doxo's Online Signup Practices

    Online bill pay service Doxo violated federal law by failing to disclose the terms of its doxoPLUS subscription before obtaining customers' payment information, a Washington federal judge ruled Thursday, granting the Federal Trade Commission a partial win in its suit accusing the company of duping consumers into paying hidden fees.

  • May 21, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Judge Overstepped In Fluoride Risk Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel scrapped a ruling that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action to address potentially unsafe levels of drinking water fluoridation, concluding a California federal judge improperly commandeered the case.

  • May 21, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Guatemalan Father-Daughter Duo BIA Cases

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel has revived a Guatemalan father and daughter's bids for protection from removal from the United States, finding on Thursday that the father faced extreme persecution in the Central American country when a family member repeatedly shot at their home in a drunken rage in an attempt to force them out.

  • May 21, 2026

    9th Circ. Told To Reject J&J Unit's $442M Antitrust Appeal

    Cardiac catheter refurbisher Innovative Health urged the Ninth Circuit to reject the appeal from Johnson & Johnson's Biosense Webster unit seeking to upend its $442 million antitrust judgment, saying the lower court rightly found that Biosense forced hospitals to avoid refurbished catheters in favor of its own.

  • May 21, 2026

    IQ Data Targets Ex-Renters For Bogus Debts, Tenant Says

    A former Washington state apartment renter has accused collections agency IQ Data International Inc. of trying to extract money from tenants after they move out for debts they do not owe, according to a proposed class action the company removed to Seattle federal court on Wednesday.

  • May 21, 2026

    Live Nation Reaches Deal With Families Of Slain Concertgoers

    Entertainment giant Live Nation will settle a lawsuit from the families of two concertgoers slain in a 2023 shooting at the Beyond Wonderland music festival, the families announced in a Washington state court filing Wednesday ahead of a trial set to begin June 1.

  • May 21, 2026

    Hermès Urges 9th Circ. To Back Toss Of Birkin Antitrust Case

    Hermès asked the Ninth Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a suit from shoppers alleging the company illegally ties the sale of its iconic Birkin handbags to other expensive luxury items, saying the plaintiff's case reflects "a fundamental misunderstanding of tying law."

  • May 21, 2026

    Nexstar Asks 9th Circ. To Narrow Tegna Merger Block

    Nexstar urged the Ninth Circuit to narrow a preliminary injunction preventing it from fully integrating with Tegna Inc. that was issued in a challenge to the broadcasters' $6.2 billion merger by state enforcers and satellite provider DirecTV.

  • May 21, 2026

    2nd Circ. Agrees Amazon Not Liable In Fur Import Evasion

    A U.S. fur company couldn't show that Amazon willfully ignored a 15-year scheme carried out by foreign fur sellers to avoid certain tariffs and import fees, a Second Circuit panel found, affirming the dismissal of a False Claims Act suit against the company.

  • May 21, 2026

    Zillow In FTC Case Says Redfin Debt Forced Noncompete Deal

    Zillow has answered a complaint in Virginia federal court from federal authorities over a deal to pay Redfin $100 million to stop competing on multifamily listings, arguing that the syndication deal came as the smaller competitor faced no other path to increase its apartment listings and dig itself out of debt.

  • May 20, 2026

    Jack In The Box Can't Dodge Franchisees' Indemnity Claim

    A Washington state judge Tuesday denied Jack in the Box Inc.'s effort to sidestep liability for job postings that allegedly violated a Washington pay transparency statute, ruling that two franchisees suing the fast-food giant adequately stated an equitable indemnity claim under California law.

  • May 20, 2026

    Amazon Rebuffs Lost Doc Allegations In COVID Pricing Case

    Amazon called on a Washington federal judge Tuesday to deny two consumers' bid for sanctions against it in a proposed class action over alleged price-gouging on the e-commerce platform during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the plaintiffs are trying to dodge major legal hurdles by leveling baseless claims of failure to preserve evidence.

  • May 20, 2026

    Live Nation Can't Split Festival Shooting Trial Into 2 Phases

    A Washington state judge denied Live Nation's effort to split an upcoming trial over a 2023 music festival shooting into separate liability and damages phases, siding with victims' family members who argue they would be unfairly prejudiced by bifurcating the case.

  • May 20, 2026

    Anker Unit Says Rival Lied About IP To Block Amazon Sales

    The U.S. subsidiary of Chinese electronics giant Anker Innovations Ltd. has urged a Washington federal court to preserve the company's ability to sell robotic vacuum cleaners on Amazon.com, claiming another Chinese seller is using baseless patent infringement allegations in a bid to scrub its products from the online marketplace.

  • May 20, 2026

    Antivax Health Workers Fight Uphill At 9th Circ. Over Firings

    Two Ninth Circuit panelists cast doubt Wednesday on an attempt by a group of former University of Washington employees to revive claims that they were wrongfully fired after they refused COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, with one judge remarking that unvaccinated workers "make the risk worse" in a healthcare setting.

  • May 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Tough On HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit Revival Bid

    The Ninth Circuit appeared reluctant Wednesday to revive a suit alleging that HP Inc. violated federal benefits law by using forfeited 401(k) funds to defray employer-side contribution obligations, with judges questioning whether plan participants backed up allegations that the tech company hadn't been sufficiently loyal or prudent.

  • May 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Questions Jack Daniel's TM Win Over 'Bad Spaniels'

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday questioned whether Jack Daniel's proved that any mark beyond its name was famous enough to support a tarnishment ruling against VIP Products' poop-themed "Bad Spaniels" dog toy, while pressing both sides on whether courts should compare the parties' marks alone or also consider the toy's bottle-like design and crude humor.

  • May 20, 2026

    Boeing Says NASA Program Contract Claim Came Too Late

    The Boeing Co. asked a Washington federal judge to dismiss a breach of contract claim as untimely from a Colorado aerospace company alleging theft of its patented technology, according to a motion for judgment on the pleadings.

  • May 20, 2026

    Armenian Game Maker Won't Give Up Source Code, Suit Says

    The parent of video game company Big Fish Games has sued an Armenian game developer in Washington state court, alleging that when it took ownership of Big Fish, it discovered source code missing from materials returned by the Armenian firm that it has not been able to recover.

  • May 20, 2026

    States, DC Urge 10th Circ. To OK Colo. Social Media Law

    A group of 43 states and the District of Columbia are asking the Tenth Circuit to reverse a trial court order blocking enforcement of a new Colorado law requiring warning labels for social media used by minors, saying that even under strict scrutiny, the law is justified to protect minors' mental health.

  • May 20, 2026

    GEO Says Wash. Detention Center Access Is ICE's Call

    The GEO Group Inc. said Washington state conveniently ignored the fact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied health inspectors access to a detention center when the state asked a federal judge to require the company to let them in.

  • May 19, 2026

    Shoppers Seek Fees At 9th Circ. For Kroger, Albertsons Fight

    Counsel for grocery store consumers urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to find they substantially prevailed in their proposed class action challenging Kroger's since-abandoned $24.6 billion bid for Albertsons and are entitled to attorney fees, arguing that the lower court wrongly concluded the case was mooted by other federal actions blocking the merger.

  • May 19, 2026

    States Tell CIT To Reject Gov't's Request To Stay Tariff Ruling

    The federal government's arguments to stay a permanent injunction against the collection of President Donald Trump's temporary global duties for two small businesses and the state of Washington while it appeals the ruling are overblown, a coalition of states told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Tuesday.

  • May 19, 2026

    9th Circ. Leans Toward FCC In Appeal Over SIM Card Beef

    The Ninth Circuit seemed to have its doubts Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission made the wrong call in finding it had no say over a Haitian mobile carrier's decision to deactivate SIM cards that were brought into the United States and used to evade international calling rates. 

  • May 19, 2026

    Amazon Keeps Tenn. Sales Tax Suit In Wash. Federal Court

    A Tennessee shopper's proposed class action accusing Amazon of collecting excessive sales tax will remain in Washington federal court, a Seattle judge ruled Monday, concluding that the case's value "more likely than not" exceeds a $5 million threshold under the federal Class Action Fairness Act.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

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    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Key Tronic Case Shows SEC Isn't Ignoring Controls Violations

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's first nonfraud enforcement action against a public company during Chairman Paul Atkins' tenure reflects the commission’s willingness to bring enforcement actions that charge books and records and internal controls violations, despite deviating from policing technical violations, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year included reminders about the statute of limitations as a key defense for claims relating to allegedly deficient forms, the importance of focus on the specific contract at issue and further guidance on the contours of Rule 23, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

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