$440M Cruise Line Ruling Over Cuba Dock May Be In Jeopardy

By Caroline Simson

An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared reluctant Friday to affirm a nearly half-billion-dollar judgment against four major cruise lines for "trafficking" in property seized by the communist Cuban government, as the underlying concession for a port facility in Havana expired in 2004.

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Mercedes Workers Reject UAW In Blow To Organizing Drive

By Tim Ryan

Workers at Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facilities outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have voted against representation by the United Auto Workers, an early setback for the union as it seeks to organize nonunion automakers in the United States.

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Boeing Jury Urged To Award Startup At Least $163M At IP Trial

By Greg Lamm

An electric-jet company told a Seattle jury Friday that Boeing misappropriated its trade secrets to build a copycat plane under the guise of investing in the startup, entitling it to an award of more than $163 million.

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NJ Atty Escapes Malpractice Suit Over UPS Bias Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday refused to revive a legal malpractice lawsuit from a UPS driver alleging his ex-lawyer did not disclose his working relationship with Day Pitney LLP, the firm that represented the delivery company in the driver's underlying racial discrimination suit.

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UAW, Fiat Chrysler Say Ohio Workers' Bribery Suit Untimely

By Linda Chiem

The United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler told an Ohio federal judge Friday that a recent Sixth Circuit decision nullifies a racketeering lawsuit from plant workers trying to tie their claims of lost wages and benefits to an illicit bribery scheme involving former union and company officials.

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Analysis

New Domestic Content Guidance May Boost Energy Credits

By Kat Lucero

The U.S. Treasury Department's new guidance on bonus tax credits for clean energy projects that source domestic-made materials and components aims to simplify the process for determining eligibility and spur more development to get those extra incentives.

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3rd Circ. Won't Rethink Cancellation Of $10M Win In TM Battle

By Matthew Santoni

Texans can continue to be subjected to the earworm that is the "Kars 4 Kids" jingle, as the Third Circuit declined this week to reconsider its ruling against a local charity that had temporarily won a $10 million judgment in a trademark dispute over the name.

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DC Circ. Probes Carbon Capture In LNG Approval Challenge

By Ali Sullivan

The D.C. Circuit on Friday questioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to reapprove a Texas liquefied natural gas terminal without considering the terminal developer's proposal to add environmentally friendly modifications, amid renewed challenges to the agency's authorization of LNG facilities in the Lone Star State.

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Manufacturer Slapped With Sanctions In Seaplane Crash Case

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge sanctioned an aircraft manufacturer for "willful" discovery violations on Friday in a lawsuit over a 2022 seaplane accident that killed 10 people, then ruled during a hearing that maritime law covers the accident, which a plaintiffs attorney says will expand the relief victims' families can seek.

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Texas Justices Side With Car Dealership In Lease Dispute

By Isaac Monterose

The Supreme Court of Texas reversed and remanded a landlord's win against its former car dealership tenant, ruling Friday that the dealership's $1.3 million jury verdict wasn't upended when it gave up its appeal of a separate eviction suit.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen a wave of claims filed against Verity Trustees Ltd., Harley-Davidson hit retailer Next with an intellectual property claim, Turkish e-commerce entrepreneur Demet Mutlu sue her ex-husband and Trendyol co-founder Evren Üçok and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a claim against the former boss of collapsed law firm Axiom. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Trucking Co. Dodges Misclassification Suit, For Now

By Irene Spezzamonte

A trucking company can temporarily escape claims that it misclassified drivers as independent contractors because the driver lodging the suit failed to show jurisdictional diversity, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

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Insurance Cos. Jointly Drop Policy Language Copyright Suit

By Ryan Harroff

An insurance policy licensing group and an underwriting firm told a Connecticut federal judge Friday that they have agreed to end their dispute with two insurance underwriting competitors they accused of infringing their copyrights by copying certain language from a marine transportation policy and using it without permission.

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Chicago Wants Climate Deception Claims Back In State Court

By Lauraann Wood

The city of Chicago says it should be in state court hashing out climate change deception claims against several of the nation's largest oil producers because the companies lodged "objectively baseless" arguments to remove its case to federal court.

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Car Apps, Abuse Survivor Safety And The FCC: Key Questions

A recent request for comment from the Federal Communications Commission, concerning how to protect the privacy of domestic violence survivors who use connected car services, raises key questions, including whether the FCC has the legal authority to limit access to a vehicle's connected features to survivors only, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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Insurer Quota-Sharing Lessons From $112M Bad Faith Verdict

In Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, an Indiana federal jury recently issued a landmark $112 million bad faith verdict, illustrating why insurers must understand the interplay between bad faith law and quota-sharing before entering into these relatively new arrangements, say Jason Reichlyn and Christopher Sakauye at Dykema. 

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Pa. Federal District Judge Gene Pratter Dead At 75

By James Boyle

U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, who joined the bench in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 2004 and presided over several landmark cases, died Friday at the age of 75, according to a statement from the court.

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Baker McKenzie Ends FOIA Suit Over IRS Partnership Audits

By Ali Sullivan

A Baker McKenzie attorney has dropped a public records lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service that sought to compel the agency to turn over documents pertaining to its scrutiny of large partnerships.

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ABA's Education Section Endorses Alternative Atty Licensing

By Matt Perez

The American Bar Association's national accrediting arm for law degree programs announced during a council meeting Friday the adoption of a report that effectively recognizes alternative methods of attorney licensing outside the bar exam.

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Menendez Texts With Wife A Legislative Promise, Judge Says

By Pete Brush

Emoji-laden texts between Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife about an arms sale constitute a legislative promise, a Manhattan federal judge reiterated Monday, as the government seeks to prove the power couple had a corrupt agreement with a New Jersey businessman.

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Girardi Wants To Probe Jurors' 'Real Housewives' Exposure

By Brandon Lowrey

Public defenders for Tom Girardi want to ask prospective jurors in his upcoming fraud trial whether they have seen his wife's reality television show and news reporting about his law firm's massive scandal, according to a recent motion in Los Angeles federal court.

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McElroy Deutsch Says Ex-Exec's Guilt Boosts Home Claim

By Emily Sawicki

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP doubled down on its attempt to seize the home of two former firm executives following a guilty plea on criminal embezzlement charges earlier this month by one of them, the firm's former chief financial officer.

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Trial In Blackmail Case Over Judge's Photos Delayed

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida state judge agreed Monday to push back the trial in a Palm Beach County judge's suit accusing an attorney of trying to blackmail her with nude photographs, after the defendant cited discovery delays and an ongoing bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation against Chiquita that is tying up the schedule of two key witnesses.

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Georgia's 1st Female Chief Appellate Judge Dies

By Madison Arnold

The first woman both appointed and elected to the Court of Appeals of Georgia, Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley, is remembered by her colleagues for the glass ceilings she shattered as well as for two important words she had inscribed in the courtroom.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Leslie A. Pappas

Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.

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