Washington

  • September 08, 2026

    Seattle Times, Newsday Sue OpenAI Over Content Use

    The Seattle Times and Long Island-based newspaper Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft with claims of copyright infringement, adding to the long list of news organizations claiming their articles were used improperly to train large language models.

  • September 08, 2026

    Boeing Avoids Broad Financial Discovery In IP Suit

    A Washington federal judge has ordered The Boeing Co. to provide some, but far from all, of the information Wilson Aerospace LLC sought for its suit accusing the aerospace giant of stealing patented technology for a NASA moon program.

  • September 08, 2026

    ConocoPhillips Exits Wash. Tribes' Suits Over Climate Harm

    A Washington state judge has granted ConocoPhillips' bid to exit two Native American tribes' revised lawsuits accusing the oil corporation of downplaying the risks of burning fossil fuels, concluding that the tribes haven't pointed to deception that was aimed at Washington state.

  • September 08, 2026

    Insurer Says It Owes No Coverage For Exploding Vape Suit

    An insurer has urged a Washington federal court to find that it does not owe coverage to a vape seller in a product liability suit from a user whose leg was amputated after a vape exploded in his pocket, arguing tobacco and nicotine product and premises exclusions bar coverage. 

  • September 08, 2026

    Calif. Urges Justices To Let Paramount Merger Case Play Out

    California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery have urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to expedite Iowa and Montana's case seeking to block the merger challenge.

  • September 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Reopens Immigration Case After Flat-Tire Delay

    A split panel of the Ninth Circuit has found immigration officials erred by not reconsidering the case of a Guatemalan man facing removal after he was five minutes late to his hearing, saying documentation was not required to prove a flat tire caused the delay.

  • September 07, 2026

    USPS Asks High Court To Allow 'Modest' Mail Ballot Rules

    The Trump administration has once again asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Massachusetts federal judge's order barring the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new mail-in ballot regulations ahead of this year's midterms, arguing the "modest" changes are well within USPS' authority and don't affect election administration. 

  • September 04, 2026

    Boeing OT Suit Says Incentive Pay Was Omitted From Rates

    Boeing shorted its workers in Washington state by failing to factor in bonuses and other nondiscretionary compensation when calculating overtime and sick leave payments, according to a proposed class action that the company removed to federal court Thursday.

  • September 04, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Law Firm Office Tips, Remote Data Centers

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insights into law office strategies in premier markets and the pros and cons of building data centers on unincorporated land.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Tosses Conviction Over Hand Tattoo Testimony

    The Ninth Circuit has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of robbing a store in Washington, finding that he was not testifying in his own defense when he showed jurors that he had tattoos on his hand, unlike the hand of the man seen committing the robbery in security camera footage.

  • September 04, 2026

    Wash. AG Opposes PacifiCorp $1.9B Sale Of State Assets

    The Washington Attorney General's Office has asked the state's Utilities and Transportation Commission to reject Pacific Power and Light Co.'s $1.9 billion sale of its Washington service area to Portland General Electric, saying the deal would raise costs and cut customers off from one of the state's clean energy sources.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Restores Idaho Abortion Ban Enforcement, For Now

    The Ninth Circuit will allow Idaho to fully enforce its abortion ban while the state briefs its request for emergency relief from an order that blocked the ban's application in certain health-related circumstances and declared a fundamental right to some abortions under the U.S. Constitution.

  • September 04, 2026

    United Airlines Violates Wash. OT And Break Laws, Suit Says

    United Airlines is accused of violating Washington labor laws by shorting overtime pay and denying compliant meal and rest breaks to hourly employees who held ground job positions for the carrier, according to a notice filed by the airline Thursday removing the case to the Western District of Washington. 

  • September 04, 2026

    Wash. High Court Won't Review Dispensary License Fight

    The Washington Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a cannabis company, ending the retailer's lawsuit claiming state regulators prevented it from opening a lucrative Seattle dispensary by failing to force a competitor's license to be forfeited due to not being fully operational.

  • September 04, 2026

    Judge Again Blocks USPS Mail Ballot Rule

    A Massachusetts federal judge late Friday again blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing a new rule that would allow it to refuse delivery of mailed ballots in this November's midterm elections.

  • September 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Let Roblox Arbitrate Online Safety Suit

    The Ninth Circuit denied Roblox Corp.'s bid to compel arbitration in a suit by a man alleging his daughter was targeted on the platform by adult predators, saying its delay in seeking arbitration while it litigated the suit on the merits waived any right to arbitrate.

  • September 04, 2026

    ERISA Recap: 5 Appellate Rulings To Know From August

    The Seventh Circuit kept an Arkansas pharmacy benefit manager rule in place as not preempted by federal benefits law, the Fourth Circuit revived an Altria ex-worker's dispute over benefit plan documents, and the Eleventh Circuit reversed a pretrial win for Royal Caribbean in cruise workers' suit challenging 401(k) funds. Here, Law360 looks at those and two other major appellate decisions from August involving ERISA that benefits attorneys may want to know.

  • September 04, 2026

    'Bad Faith' Subpoenas On Apple Execs Spur Fee Sanctions

    A California federal magistrate judge imposed sanctions Thursday on Joseph M. Alioto of Alioto Law Firm for repeatedly trying to depose senior Apple executives, including then-CEO Tim Cook, in an attempt to drag the iPhone-maker back into consumer antitrust litigation accusing Google of shutting out rival search engines.

  • September 04, 2026

    Court Slams 'Half-Hearted Compliance' In Crab Price-Fix Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge has given a seafood company until Sept. 11 to meet the discovery obligations it has repeatedly fallen short of in a proposed class action accusing it of fixing prices for Dungeness crabs.

  • September 04, 2026

    4th Circ. ERISA Docs Ruling Deepens Split, High Court Told

    A participant in Netflix's employee health plan asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit's dismissal of his lawsuit alleging that the company unlawfully refused his request for plan documents, arguing that a recent Fourth Circuit decision discredits the streaming giant's argument against a circuit split.

  • September 03, 2026

    Wash. Justices To Hear Gordon Rees Malpractice Transfer Suit

    Washington's Supreme Court will consider whether a Great American insurance unit can inherit an equipment manufacturer's legal malpractice claims against two law firms in what the insurance company has called an issue of first impression, according to a high court order published Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2026

    Oil Cos. Seek Quick Appeal To Nix Suit Over Heat Wave Death

    Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil giants say they plan to seek appellate review of a Washington judge's order refusing to dismiss a civil suit over a woman's 2021 death that alleged the defendants knew their products were intensifying extreme weather patterns but downplayed risks to maximize profit.  

  • September 03, 2026

    More Suits Filed Blaming ChatGPT In Canada School Shooting

    OpenAI Inc. on Wednesday was hit with another wave of 30 lawsuits in California federal court over the February school shooting in Canada brought by surviving teachers, staff members and students who say that ChatGPT assisted and encouraged the shooter in planning the attack.

  • September 03, 2026

    Boeing Investors Say 4th Circ. Ruling Imperils Class Actions

    Boeing investors have asked the full Fourth Circuit to rehear a panel's "extreme" decision overturning class certification in a suit against the aerospace company over its alleged concealment of safety issues with its 737 Max fleet, arguing that the panel decision will create a "vague and unworkable standard" in the circuit if left intact.

  • September 03, 2026

    Judge Suggests Mail Ballot Rule Too Late For Midterms

    A Massachusetts federal judge appeared poised Thursday to extend her block on the U.S. Postal Service implementing new requirements that would allow the agency to refuse to deliver potentially thousands of mailed ballots this November, suggesting the midterm elections are too close to make such a sweeping change.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 9th Circ.'s Silence Prolongs Uncertainty On Cemex Framework

    Author Photo

    By affirming a bargaining order in Cemex Construction Materials v. National Labor Relations Board without opining on the NLRB’s 2023 expansion of its authority to issue such orders, the Ninth Circuit avoided direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s rejection of the same framework, prolonging uncertainty for employers facing union elections, say attorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl.

  • Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • How Oregon Ruling Affects Federal Gender Care Crackdown

    Author Photo

    In a favorable development for healthcare providers, an Oregon federal court recently vacated certain U.S. Department of Health and Human Services restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, but the government's broader campaign against this care, including proposed rulemaking and agency investigations, leaves significant uncertainty, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

    Author Photo

    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Washington archive.