California

  • March 21, 2024

    LA City Official Ran Secret Consulting Firm, RICO Jury Told

    Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan secretly ran an outside real estate consulting firm for years while still employed at City Hall and covertly worked to help get his client's planned $700 million hotel renovation approved, his former business partner testified Thursday at Chan's federal racketeering trial.

  • March 21, 2024

    Silvergate Must Face Investor Suit Over FTX Ties, Judge Says

    The now-defunct Silvergate Bank and its CEO must face a proposed class action brought by customers of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a California federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding that Silvergate owed a duty to FTX customers and that its conduct harmed them.

  • March 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Backs Meta Class Cert. In Ad Reach Row

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday affirmed certification of a damages class of Meta Platforms advertisers who were allegedly deceived about Facebook's "potential reach" tool, but upended certification of an injunction class, telling the district court to take a fresh look at whether the lead plaintiff actually has standing.

  • March 21, 2024

    LinkedIn Must Face Monopoly Lawsuit

    A California federal judge refused Thursday to toss a proposed antitrust class action accusing LinkedIn of using online interface access to pay off would-be rivals, even as he signaled potential trouble ahead once the factual details of those access agreements come into play.

  • March 21, 2024

    Sen. Warren Wants SEC To Probe Musk Control Of Tesla Board

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to investigate whether Tesla's board of directors is independent from CEO Elon Musk, saying recent reports suggest the billionaire controls the board for his personal benefit.

  • March 21, 2024

    'Sit Down!' DC Judge Snaps At Atty Over False Ad Defense

    Oral arguments over footwear nearly got an attorney kicked out of court Thursday, as a D.C. federal judge told a defense counselor to "Sit down!" for making "snide remarks" before ultimately denying most of his motion to dismiss a Federal Trade Commission suit alleging deceptive advertising.

  • March 21, 2024

    Social Media Cos. 'Can't Hold Back' Execs In MDL, Judge Says

    A California federal magistrate judge warned social media companies Thursday that they must disclose relevant executive witnesses in high-stakes multidistrict litigation over social media's allegedly addictive design after plaintiffs' counsel complained that Meta and Snap's CEOs weren't identified in initial disclosures, telling defense counsel "you can't hold them back."

  • March 21, 2024

    Microsoft, Meta, Others Say Apple Violating Court Order

    Major developers including Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Spotify have told a California federal court that Apple is not complying with an order secured by Epic Games barring Apple's use of anti-steering rules in the App Store.

  • March 21, 2024

    AGs Urge Congress To Address Hemp Intoxicants In Farm Bill

    A bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general is urging Congress to address what the state officials call a public health and safety crisis by amending federal hemp policy to clarify that intoxicating products derived from hemp extracts are not legal under federal law.

  • March 21, 2024

    Calif. Panel Revives Diner's COVID Sanitization Coverage Bid

    A California state appeals court revived a diner's bid for property insurance coverage of COVID-19 losses after it determined the restaurant credibly alleged direct physical losses and that the policy's language covering losses attributable to a virus applied to COVID-19 sanitization efforts.

  • March 21, 2024

    CymaBay Investor Sues For Books On $4.3B Gilead Merger

    A shareholder of liver disease-focused biopharmaceutical company CymaBay Therapeutics Inc. sued the company in Delaware Chancery Court to extract more information over a proposed $4.3 billion merger with Gilead Sciences Inc., saying CymaBay has refused to hand over previously requested documents regarding the valuation analyses without a legitimate excuse.

  • March 21, 2024

    Canadian Supplement Co. Seeks US Bankruptcy Recognition

    A nutritional supplement supplier based in Montreal told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Thursday it needs the U.S. court to recognize its Canadian insolvency proceedings, reasoning that an eviction threat may cut off access to assets in California the debtor needs for its sale plans.

  • March 21, 2024

    Healthcare Co. Beats Suit Over TDF Funds' Performance

    A California federal judge granted a win to a healthcare company and its investment adviser in a class action challenging what former workers claim are shoddy target-date-funds included in the company's 401(k) plan, saying the funds at issue performed better than comparable investments.

  • March 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Rethink Apple App Store Rival's Antitrust Suit

    A split Ninth Circuit panel has refused to rehear a rival app store developer's bid to revive an antitrust suit alleging that Apple monopolizes the market for app distribution on iOS devices with its App store.

  • March 21, 2024

    Food Service Co. Settles Ex-Recruiter's Suit Over DEI Initiative

    A corporate food service company has agreed to end a former recruiter's lawsuit alleging she was unlawfully fired after speaking up against a diversity program that discriminated against white men, according to a Thursday filing in California federal court.

  • March 21, 2024

    Hospital Operator Alecto Healthcare Gets OK For Ch. 11 Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed to give hospital operator Alecto Healthcare Services LLC the all-clear on the company's Chapter 11 reorganization plan, saying the scheme was fair, achievable and made appropriate provisions for disposable income.

  • March 21, 2024

    12 Ex-Constantine Cannon Attys Launch Whistleblower Firm

    A dozen attorneys who have represented whistleblowers from Facebook, Theranos and Boeing have left Constantine Cannon LLP to form their own stand-alone boutique to support whistleblowers and boost corporate accountability globally, according to a Thursday announcement.

  • March 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Rescission Of Homeowner's Property Policies

    Two Safeco insurers are entitled to rescind policies issued to a woman who misrepresented that her house wasn't used for business when in fact it was rented to short-term guests, the Ninth Circuit affirmed, saying there's no genuine issue of material fact as to the commercial use of the property.

  • March 21, 2024

    Frost Brown Hires West Coast IP Talent From Lewis Roca

    Frost Brown Todd has announced the addition of two intellectual property attorneys from Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, including the former managing partner of two IP-focused Lewis Roca offices in California.

  • March 21, 2024

    Lawmakers Eye Permanent Status For 10 Federal Judgeships

    A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers has put forward bills in the Senate and House that would make 10 temporary district judgeships permanent in 10 states including Texas, Florida and California.

  • March 21, 2024

    DOJ Sues Apple, Rounds Out US Claims Against Tech Big 4

    The U.S. Department of Justice and several state attorneys general on Thursday launched an antitrust suit against Apple, accusing the world's dominant smartphone maker of maintaining an anti-competitive monopoly over its iron grip over the iPhone, rounding out the quartet of long-anticipated government antitrust litigation already proceeding against Google, Meta and Amazon.

  • March 20, 2024

    Metals Co. Gets Injunction Bid Revived In Fireproofing IP Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld a California federal judge's decision scrapping a royalty award that metals company CEMCO won after a jury found a smaller rival induced infringement of several fireproofing patents, but the circuit vacated the judge's denial of the company's permanent injunction bid.

  • March 20, 2024

    Uber Spars With Calif. At 9th Circ. Over Rationality Of AB 5

    The full Ninth Circuit on Wednesday appeared to not lean one way or the other in determining whether California's Assembly Bill 5 is rational or irrational, indicating that the future of the worker classification law remains uncertain.

  • March 20, 2024

    Latham, Davis Polk Guide Reddit's Long-Awaited $748M IPO

    Reddit Inc. on Wednesday priced a $748 million initial public offering at the high end of its intended priced range, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP and underwriters' counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, completing the first social-media IPO in five years. 

  • March 20, 2024

    USPTO Won't Weigh In On Samsung Chip Patent Fight

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's deputy director has turned down appeals from a California company seeking to overturn patent board rulings that could unravel a $303 million verdict against Samsung that has yet to make it through a federal court in East Texas.

Expert Analysis

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • A Key Tool For Calif. Policyholders With Nonadmitted Insurers

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    As insurers increasingly flee California and residents of the Golden State are forced to insure their properties with nonadmitted insurers, it is crucial to understand the Unauthorized Insurers Process Act, a critical but underutilized tool for policyholders, say Keith Meyer and Kya Coletta at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Gilead Ruling Signals That Innovating Can Lead To Liability

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    A California appeals court's ruling last month in Gilead Life Sciences v. Superior Court of San Francisco that a drug manufacturer can be held liable for delaying the introduction of an improved version of its medication raises concerns about the chilling effects that expansive product liability claims may have on innovation, says Gary Myers at the University of Missouri School of Law.

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

  • Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement

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    Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Potential Defendant Strategies Amid Calif. Privacy Questions

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    Although the current case law surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act is in its infancy, courts have begun addressing important issues related to the notice-and-cure provisions of the statute, and these decisions show defendant-businesses would be wise to assert their notice rights early and repeatedly, say Viola Trebicka and Dan Humphrey at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Deferral Pointers For Employers After $700M Ohtani Deal

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    Darren Goodman and Christine Osvald-Mruz at Lowenstein Sandler examine the legal consequences of Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a high-profile example of nonqualified deferred compensation — and offer lessons for employers of all sizes interested in similar deals.

  • High Court Case Could Reshape Local Development Fees

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    If last month's oral arguments are any indication of how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, it's unlikely the justices will hold that the essential nexus and rough proportionality tests under the cases of Nollan, Dolan and Koontz apply to legislative exactions, but a sweeping decision would still be the natural progression in the line of cases giving property owners takings claims, says Phillip Babich at Reed Smith.

  • Employer Lessons From Nixed Calif. Arbitration Agreement

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    A California state appeals court’s recent decision to throw out an otherwise valid arbitration agreement, where an employee claimed a confusing electronic signature system led her to agree to unfair terms, should alert employers to scrutinize any waivers or signing procedures that may appear to unconscionably favor the company, say Guillermo Tello and Monique Eginli at Clark Hill.

  • How Poor Governance, Weak Contracts Harm Cannabis Cos.

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    Decades into cannabis decriminalization and legalization, many companies in the industry still operate on a handshake basis or fail to keep even minimally required records, which can have devastating effects and lead to costly, business-killing litigation, says Griffen Thorne at Harris Bricken.

  • EEO-1 Ruling May Affect Other Gov't Agency Disclosures

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    By tightly construing a rarely litigated but frequently asserted term, a California federal court’s ruling that the Freedom of Information Act does not exempt reports to the U.S. Department of Labor on workplace demographics could expand the range of government contractor information susceptible to public disclosure, says John Zabriskie at Foley & Lardner.

  • What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits

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    As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.

  • Copyright Lessons Following Ruling In Artist AI Suit

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    The recent California district court ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI — that artists needed to specify how the training of artificial intelligence tools violated their copyrights — shows that lawyers on either side of generative AI matters must carefully navigate copyright issues including temporary copying and data sourcing, says Carlos Araya at Magnolia Abogados.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

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