California

  • July 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Geico Win In COVID Auto Rebate Class Action

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Geico's victory in a certified class action alleging it owed additional refunds to drivers who overpaid their auto insurance premiums during COVID-19 stay-home orders, ruling on Wednesday that Geico charged rates that were previously approved by California's insurance commissioner, which bars the plaintiff's state Unfair Competition Law claim.

  • July 10, 2025

    Groups Ask 9th Circ. To Sink EPA Pesticide Seed Exemption

    Green groups on Wednesday asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is violating federal law by failing to regulate pesticide-coated crop seeds.

  • July 10, 2025

    K&L Gates Class Action Litigator Jumps To Shook Hardy In SF

    Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP is boosting its litigation team with the addition of a K&L Gates LLP class action defense attorney as a partner in its San Francisco office, the firm has announced.

  • July 10, 2025

    DOL Urges 9th Circ. To OK Toss Of HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Ninth Circuit to reject HP Inc. workers' bid to revive a proposed class action alleging forfeited employee 401(k) plan contributions were mismanaged, arguing a lower court properly tossed the case for failure to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

  • July 10, 2025

    Students Say Fee Concerns Unfounded In Aid-Fixing Case

    Attorneys for students accusing elite universities of conspiring to limit financial aid told an Illinois federal court there's no need for the schools to look into ethical concerns raised about attorney fees by a "disgruntled" associate for one of the firms representing the proposed class.

  • July 10, 2025

    Stitch Fix Must Face Most Claims In Investor Action

    A California federal judge has declined to toss a revised complaint alleging that Stitch Fix Inc. and two of its former executives deceived investors about the impact of a new business line, saying the suit adequately made the case that the defendants knowingly made misleading statements.

  • July 09, 2025

    Uber Gets Some Driver Sex Assault Bellwether Claims Tossed

    The California federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation accusing Uber Technologies Inc. of failing to prevent drivers from sexually assaulting passengers has partially granted the ride-share company's bid to dismiss 20 bellwether cases.

  • July 09, 2025

    OpenAI Must Give Musk Info On Altman Firing In Fraud Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in Elon Musk's lawsuit challenging OpenAI's now-abandoned transition to a for-profit enterprise ordered the artificial intelligence company to hand over documents related to CEO Sam Altman's brief firing by OpenAI's board, agreeing the information is "relevant" to Musk's charitable trust and fraud claims.

  • July 09, 2025

    Google Notches Deal With Flo Users Ahead Of Privacy Trial

    Google and users of the menstrual cycle tracking app Flo have reached a deal to resolve claims that the tech giant used a data analytics tool to unlawfully retrieve their sensitive health data, releasing the company from a July 21 trial that's still scheduled to proceed with respect to similar privacy claims being pressed against the app maker and Meta.

  • July 09, 2025

    Sierra Club Says OMB Ignoring Funding Freeze Info Requests

    The Office of Management and Budget's refusal to produce records concerning the Trump administration's freeze of federal funding programs is impeding the Sierra Club's mission to advocate for and educate the public about pressing public health and environmental issues, the environmental organization alleged Tuesday in California federal court.

  • July 09, 2025

    California Court Allows Worker To Pursue 'Headless' PAGA Suit

    A California appeals court panel held Monday that a worker who dismissed his individual claims against his former employer for civil penalties under California's Private Attorneys General Act can still pursue claims solely on behalf of other aggrieved employees in a so-called headless PAGA action.

  • July 09, 2025

    Amazon Customer Grilled On Whole Foods Ad Suit At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared critical on Wednesday of a consumer's claim that Amazon duped Prime members by pulling its free Whole Foods grocery delivery perk, as the judges pointed to subscriber terms allowing the e-commerce giant to change the benefits package.

  • July 09, 2025

    Trump Admin Beats Injunction Bid Over Deleted Webpages

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Sierra Club and other nonprofits' request for a preliminary injunction forcing federal agencies to restore webpages the groups said provided critical environmental information, saying they hadn't shown keeping the status quo while their case is pending would cause irreparable harm.

  • July 09, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Upholds Death Sentence In Murder Case

    An Arizona man who authorities say was a white supremacist lost a bid to overturn his death penalty sentence for killing his roommates — one of whom was pregnant — after a split Ninth Circuit panel found Wednesday that his trial attorney's performance did not violate his rights.

  • July 09, 2025

    $2.5M Awarded In Suit Over Fatal Shooting After Pot Delivery

    A California state judge awarded a $2.5 million default judgment to the mother of a teenager who was fatally shot by a man who delivered him marijuana, allegedly ordered from the website Weedmaps.

  • July 09, 2025

    EPA Sued Over Oil Refineries' Hydrogen Fluoride Use

    A group of environmental advocates has hauled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into California federal court to stop the use of hydrogen fluoride in domestic oil manufacturing refineries, arguing it's endangering the public and the Toxic Substances Control Act requires that the agency eliminate those risks through regulations.

  • July 09, 2025

    T.I.'s Big Punitive Damages Win Cut To $1, Teeing Up 4th Trial

    A California federal judge has reduced a jury's $53.6 million punitive damages award for rapper T.I. and his wife, singer Tameka "Tiny" Harris, to a $1 remitter, setting up a fourth trial in the trademark infringement case if the Harrises don't accept the remitter, which they have already said they will decline.

  • July 09, 2025

    LA County, Cities Want In On Immigration Enforcement Suit

    Los Angeles County and several of its cities have urged a California federal court to let them join a proposed class action that seeks to stop the Trump administration from continuing what officials say are unconstitutional immigration raids in their communities.

  • July 09, 2025

    Walgreens Judge OKs $950K Uniform Policy Deal On 2nd Try

    More than 12,000 Walgreens employees have received preliminary approval of a $950,000 class action settlement over claims of unreimbursed uniform expenses, after a California federal judge said the parties had resolved deficiencies he previously cited, including an opt-out timeframe and the chance for class members to challenge proposed attorney fees. 

  • July 09, 2025

    DOJ Says Calif.'s Trans Student Athlete Policies Violate Title IX

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday accused the California Department of Education of illegally discriminating against cisgender female student athletes by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls' high school sports teams.

  • July 09, 2025

    Ticketmaster Deceptive Pricing Suit Moves Forward, For Now

    A lawsuit accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of baiting customers to buy event tickets with deceptively low prices can move forward for now, because the entertainment giants challenged the claims with arguments that are better resolved after gathering evidence, a California federal judge said Wednesday.

  • July 09, 2025

    Wilson Sonsini Adds Cooley Benefits Atty In San Diego

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC is expanding its corporate team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Cooley LLP compensation and benefits expert as a partner in its San Diego office.

  • July 09, 2025

    Retired Calif. Judge Disciplined For Disparaging Defense Atty

    A California judicial ethics body has publicly reprimanded a retired state judge for belittling a defense attorney in court and attempting to prod his client to ditch the attorney while still on the bench.

  • July 09, 2025

    Calif. Atty Drops Out Of Class Action Against Avvo Inc.

    One of two attorneys leveling a class action against online legal service provider Avvo Inc. over allegations it misappropriated the identities of more than 1 million attorneys to promote its legal marketing tools and referral services has moved to drop her claims.

  • July 09, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Snubs Samsung's Bid To Ship Texas Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday shot down Samsung's attempt to send to California a lawsuit claiming its products such as smartphones and tablets infringe a variety of Mullen Industries LLC patents, leaving in place Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap's denial of the transfer bid.

Expert Analysis

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • 'Top Gun' And 'Together' IP Suits Spotlight Similarity Issues

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    The outcome of recent lawsuits revolving around the films "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Together" may set meaningful precedents for how courts analyze substantial similarity in creative works, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

  • State, Fed Junk Fee Enforcement Shows No Signs Of Slowing

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s potent new rule targeting drip pricing, in addition to the growing patchwork of state consumer protection laws, suggest that enforcement and litigation targeting junk fees will likely continue to expand, says Etia Rottman Frand at Darrow AI.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

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    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

  • What Expanding Merchant Code Regs Mean For Processors

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    Arkansas and South Dakota recently joined a host of other states that restrict payment processors' usage of merchant category codes with laws that include noteworthy prohibitions against maintaining registries of firearms owners, with ramifications for multistate payment systems, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes

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    Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Plan For Increased HSR Info Sharing With Wash. Antitrust Law

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    Washington's merger notification requirements, effective later this month, combined with the Federal Trade Commission's new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules, will result in greater information sharing among state and federal agencies, making it important for merging parties to consider their transaction's potential state antitrust implications early on, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

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    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

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