California

  • August 22, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Halts Land Swap With Idaho Tribes' Backing

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to invalidate an Interior Department land transfer in Idaho for the expansion of a phosphogypsum plant, saying that a 1900 federal law limits the disposal of treaty-ceded lands.

  • August 22, 2025

    Apple Users' Attys Near OK On $28.5M Fees For Privacy Deal

    A California federal judge indicated Friday he'll grant final approval to Apple's $95 million settlement with tens of millions of users who claimed its voice-activated software Siri eavesdropped on their conversations without consent, and called the plaintiffs' attorneys' request for a 30% cut amounting to $28.5 million "legally appropriate."

  • August 22, 2025

    CFPB Inks Synapse Deal That Opens Door To Consumer Relief

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for Synapse Financial Technologies Inc. that could unlock millions of dollars in relief for consumers whose funds were stranded in the middleware provider's collapse.

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    OpenAI Wants $10M In Atty Fees After Win In Trademark Case

    After winning a trademark case last month, OpenAI has asked a California federal judge to order a company with a similar name to pay almost $10 million in attorney fees, saying the other litigant had "extraordinarily weak positions" and used unreasonable legal tactics.

  • August 22, 2025

    Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law

    A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.

  • August 22, 2025

    Marathon Petroleum Cos. Near Final OK On $7M Wage Deal

    A California federal judge on Friday said he'd grant final approval to a $7.2 million deal by Marathon Petroleum and two related companies to resolve a 2,200-member class action accusing the oil refiners of shorting unionized workers on rest breaks and pay.

  • August 22, 2025

    Jay-Z Aims To Keep Buzbee Suit Alive After Losing Other Case

    Texas attorney Tony Buzbee's request to shut down a federal lawsuit in Alabama based on a state trial court's dismissal of a different action in California related to sexual abuse allegations connected to Sean "Diddy" Combs is a "desperate attempt to evade accountability," rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has argued.

  • August 22, 2025

    Shopify, Sales Workers End Commission, OT Suit

    A California federal judge agreed to conclude a suit accusing e-commerce company Shopify of a slew of California Labor Code violations, including misclassifying sales employees as overtime-exempt and having an illegal commissions plan.

  • August 22, 2025

    Ex-Calif. Judge Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Court Staffer

    A former California Superior Court judge has been charged with sexually assaulting a court employee and seeking to cover up that purported incident and another alleged assault, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

  • August 22, 2025

    'Gorilla Mind' Energy Drink Can't Block Rival Amid TM Suit

    A company that sells energy drinks and dietary supplements called "Gorilla Mind" lost its bid to block a rival from selling energy drink products with the word "Gorilla" while its trademark infringement suit plays out in California federal court.

  • August 22, 2025

    DOJ Expands Expedited Docket For Families Facing Removal

    The Executive Office for Immigration Review is expanding a program the Biden administration rolled out in 2021 to fast-track removal proceedings for families facing removal, directing immigration courts nationwide to place more cases on the so-called dedicated docket.

  • August 22, 2025

    SEC Scores $67M In Judgments In 'Weedgenics' Fraud Case

    Four individuals and several entities allegedly tied to a $61.7 million scheme to defraud would-be investors in a purported cannabis cultivation business named Weedgenics have been ordered to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roughly $67 million, a federal judge has ruled.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses Wash. City's Win In Military Leave Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel threw out a Washington federal judge's ruling that a City of Ocean Shores firefighter was not entitled to pay for military leave after the state's top court decided otherwise.

  • August 22, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: 401(k) Boost, Eyes On Florida

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insights into what President Donald Trump's executive order on retirement fund investing means for real estate assets, as well as the biggest issues Florida real estate practitioners are watching in the second half of 2025.

  • August 22, 2025

    DLA Piper Adds Wilson Sonsini Emerging Growth Ace In SF

    DLA Piper is boosting its West Coast corporate team, bringing in a Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC emerging growth specialist as a partner in its San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

  • August 21, 2025

    Amazon Bags Toss Of Grocery Delivery Fee Disclosure Suit

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday threw out a proposed class action that alleged the Amazon Fresh website waited too late in the checkout process to disclose delivery fees, saying the conditions of use on Amazon.com Inc.'s websites prevented a woman from lodging claims under California law.

  • August 21, 2025

    Cannabis Cos. Face $2.9M IT Judgment After Unable To Pay Attys

    Subsidiaries of Canadian cannabis company Halo Collective Inc. were hit with a nearly $2.9 million judgment over claims that they infringed on a Colorado-based firm's patents, losing the litigation after their attorneys withdrew because they could "no longer pay."

  • August 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Dissenters Rip Judge's 'Weaponization Of Sanctions'

    A half-dozen Ninth Circuit judges Thursday denounced six-figure sanctions against attorneys for prominent politicians challenging Arizona election procedures, accusing a lower court of "twisting and contorting" allegations in order to punish lawyers "based on the nature of the complaint and the clients that they represented."

  • August 21, 2025

    Google Got App Data Profits After Pledging Privacy, Jury Told

    A computer scientist testifying in a multibillion-dollar privacy lawsuit alleging Google LLC illegally collected data from 98 million cellphone users who had opted out of tracking told a California federal jury Thursday that the tech giant stores information about their app use in a "shadow account" and uses it to sell ads.

  • August 21, 2025

    Challenge To Fed. Layoffs A 'Fishing Expedition,' 9th Circ. Told

    A federal government attorney told a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday that a group of unions, nonprofits and cities challenging President Donald Trump's massive layoffs of federal workers have no right to communications and documents showing what went into the layoff decisions, saying it's a "fishing expedition in search of a viable legal theory."

  • August 21, 2025

    Nursing Home Wins Appeal In Criminal Case Over COVID Deaths

    Criminal charges against a Southern California nursing home in connection with the COVID-19 deaths of 14 people were properly dismissed, a California appeals court has ruled, finding that the prosecution improperly relied on evidence that was inadmissible under the Fifth Amendment.

  • August 21, 2025

    'Sustainable' Fintech Leader Cops To $248M Investor Fraud

    The co-founder of bankrupt financial services company Aspiration Partners Inc. agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to defrauding investors and lenders.

  • August 21, 2025

    US Navy Sailor Found Guilty Of Spying For China For $12K

    A former U.S. Navy machinist's mate has been found guilty by a California federal jury of espionage and export violations when he shared sensitive military defense information about amphibious assault vessels, their weapons, and desalination systems to a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for $12,000.

  • August 21, 2025

    Biz Groups Appeal Calif. Climate Reporting Ruling To 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have appealed a court order rejecting their bid to block new California state regulations requiring large companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks that they claim violate their First Amendment rights.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

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    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • How NJ's Proposed Privacy Rules Could Reshape AI Data Use

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    Although not revolutionary, New Jersey's proposed privacy rules would create obligations around the management and processing of consumer personal data that will require careful planning before they can be successfully implemented, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Ruling Shows About Rebutting SEC Comments

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    The Ninth Circuit's June opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital suggests that a company's lack of pushback to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comment may be evidence of its state of mind for evaluating potential liability, meaning companies should consider including additional disclosure in SEC response letters, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Business Takeaways Following CCPA Enforcement Actions

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    Advisories and recent enforcement activity by the California Privacy Protection Agency against Honda and Todd Snyder underscore the agency's enforcement interest in the intersection of data minimization and consumer rights, and could make it more challenging for a business to provide a streamlined consumer rights process, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Compliance Lessons From 1st-Ever Product Safety Sentences

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    A California federal judge’s recent sentencing of two former Gree USA executives in a landmark Consumer Product Safety Act case serves as a reminder of the federal government’s willingness to pursue criminal prosecution of individuals who fail to report safety hazards, as well as companies’ need to strengthen their reporting and compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • 9th Circ. Decisions Help Clarify Scope Of Legal Lab Marketing

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    Two Ninth Circuit decisions last week provide a welcome development in clarifying the line between laboratories' legal marketing efforts and undue influence that violates the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, and offer useful guidance for labs seeking to mitigate enforcement risk, says Joshua Robbins at Buchalter.

  • Feds' Shift On Reputational Risk Raises Questions For Banks

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    While banking regulators' recent retreat from reputational risk narrows the scope of federal oversight in some respects, it also raises practical questions about consistency, reputational management and the evolving political landscape surrounding financial services, say attorneys at Smith Anderson.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

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