California

  • March 27, 2024

    9th Circ. Judge Doubts Feds' Gambling Stance Matches Tribe's

    A Ninth Circuit judge pushed back Wednesday against a gambling company's argument that a particular Washington tribe did not need to be a part of its lawsuit over state gambling compacts, pointing out that the federal government is expected to balance competing interests — not necessarily mirror the tribes' position.

  • March 27, 2024

    On Deck In JPML: Baby Food, 23andMe Privacy, NCAA

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's packed meeting Thursday in South Carolina will see the panel mulling consolidation of privacy litigation against 23andMe, claims of heavy metals in baby food, and scholarship-fixing claims by student athletes against the NCAA — and that's just for starters.

  • March 27, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Rust-Oleum's Bid To Sink Class Cert.

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the certification of a class of Rust-Oleum customers who are suing the company for allegedly greenwashing its degreaser products with the terms "non-toxic" and "Earth friendly."

  • March 27, 2024

    CBD Retailer Used Spyware, Recorded Online Chats, Suit Says

    Charlotte's Web Inc., a CBD retailer, is secretly recording conversations of those who visit its website in violation of a California privacy law that is simple to follow, according to a proposed class action removed to federal court on Monday.

  • March 27, 2024

    Minor League Baseball Team's 'Ladies' Night' Illegal, Suit Says

    A California minor league baseball team has been hit with a proposed class action over an allegedly unlawful "Ladies' Night" promotion that offered free admissions to female fans while requiring male and nonbinary fans to pay up to $28 per ticket.

  • March 27, 2024

    Cannabis Real Estate Firm Gets $20.2M In Fraud Verdict

    A Los Angeles County court has awarded a pair of cannabis real estate firms $20.2 million in a suit alleging they were defrauded of more than $14 million in a scheme by a business owner who falsely represented that he'd owned several cannabis facilities in the state.

  • March 27, 2024

    Calif. Rail Biz Attys Face DQ Bid Over Bad Faith, Info Breach

    A Black engineer accusing Pacific Harbor Line of workplace racial bias has urged a California federal judge to bar Buchannan Ingersoll & Rooney LLP from representing the railroad company, citing a sanctions bid against his counsel that had "no evidentiary basis" and "improper" communication with a paralegal for the engineer's legal team.

  • March 27, 2024

    3 Firms Vie To Lead Instacart Pre-IPO Action

    Levi & Korsinsky LLP, Pomerantz LLP and The Rosen Law Firm PA have each asked a California federal judge to lead a securities lawsuit against grocery delivery company Instacart for allegedly misrepresenting its growth potential in the lead-up to its initial public offering.

  • March 27, 2024

    Misconduct In 'Fat Leonard' Case Sinks 3 More Guilty Pleas

    Alleged prosecutorial misconduct has set up three more defendants charged in relation to the U.S. Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal to yank their original guilty pleas so they can plead guilty to much less serious charges.

  • March 27, 2024

    Calif. High Court Gives Guideposts For What Counts As Work

    The California Supreme Court's decision that a construction contractor must pay workers for the time they spent waiting in their cars to go through a security check before leaving the job site provides guideposts for determining when wages are owed in other scenarios, attorneys told Law360.

  • March 27, 2024

    Advice-Of-Counsel Defense Curbed From NC Tax Fraud Trial

    Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent can't fall back on advice-of-counsel defenses during their upcoming tax fraud trial after a federal judge found that they had failed to follow court orders requiring them to hand over information about the advice they sought.

  • March 27, 2024

    Real Estate Exec Asks To Toss Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit

    The president of a real estate management and investment firm asked a California federal court to toss a derivative shareholder suit accusing him of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue in various ways, including hiring a business he owned with his mistress.

  • March 27, 2024

    Jury Convicts Ex-LA Official Chan In City Hall Bribery Scandal

    A California federal jury on Wednesday convicted former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan of racketeering conspiracy, honest services wire fraud and bribery stemming from his role linking corrupt public officials with wealthy developers in the so-called CD-14 Enterprise.

  • March 27, 2024

    Meta Settles Fired Worker's COVID Vax Religious Bias Suit

    Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to settle a Washington federal suit brought by a former project manager who claimed he was illegally fired after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because of his religious beliefs.

  • March 27, 2024

    Kirkland-Led Percheron Closes Sophomore Fund At $1.55B

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Percheron Capital on Wednesday announced that it clinched its sophomore fund after securing $1.55 billion in capital commitments, which will be used to invest in essential services businesses across North America.

  • March 26, 2024

    Meta Can't Escape Suit Over Collection Of Taxpayers' Data

    A California federal judge refused to release Meta from a consolidated class action accusing it of unlawfully collecting sensitive information from tax filing websites H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer, allowing state and federal wiretapping claims to move forward and permitting the plaintiffs to amend several deficient privacy allegations. 

  • March 26, 2024

    Apple Escapes Antitrust Suit Over Crypto On Payment Apps

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed with leave to amend a proposed antitrust class action claiming Apple's agreements with Apple Cash competitors illegally limit competition by blocking decentralized cryptocurrency technology, saying the consumers failed to adequately allege standing, among other "problematic" reasons.

  • March 26, 2024

    Ex-LA Deputy Mayor's Fate In Bribery Trial Goes To Calif. Jury

    Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan connected corrupt public officials to wealthy developers for years as part of the "CD-14 Enterprise" racketeering conspiracy, a federal prosecutor told California federal jurors in closing arguments Tuesday, saying their shared goal was ensuring they "get money, keep power and avoid the Feds."

  • March 26, 2024

    Banker Describes Confidential Work In 'Shadow Trading' Trial

    An Evercore investment banker who worked on Medivation's 2016 sale to Pfizer testified Tuesday in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel "shadow trading" trial, saying the defendant was involved in a confidential process that identified biopharma company Incyte as comparable to Medivation — information the defendant is accused of trading on.

  • March 26, 2024

    Consumers Push For New 9th Circ. Panel In Qualcomm Case

    Cellphone buyers are coming out strong against Qualcomm's request to have the same Ninth Circuit panel that vacated their class certification hear an appeal to revive the long-running antitrust litigation over the company's licensing practices, saying there is no reason for "meddling with the usual practice for assigning cases."

  • March 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Frees College From Off-Campus Rape Suit

    The Ninth Circuit says a Washington university does not need to face claims by a woman who was raped at an off-campus party during her freshman year, as it was expected to do following a state supreme court ruling in the school's favor. 

  • March 26, 2024

    Sedgwick Judge Rips Attys 'Playing Games' In Clawback Trial

    A California federal judge presiding over the Sedgwick LLP trustee's bid to claw back $1.1 million from two ex-partners overruled defense objections to Sedgwick's financial statements, asking, "How am I supposed to do this without numbers?" and telling counsel, "You're playing games with me on this, because I need to see numbers."

  • March 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Tanker Can't Be Used To Enforce $10M Debt

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed on Monday that a nearly 800-foot crude oil tanker could not be seized to enforce some $10 million in arbitral awards against a defunct gas shipping company, ruling that the plaintiffs couldn't prove the tanker's owner had helped to hide the shipping company's assets.

  • March 26, 2024

    Calif. Pot Co. Glass House Seeks Toss Of Competition Suit

    Cannabis company Glass House Brands Inc. urged a Los Angeles County court to toss a competitor's lawsuit accusing it of intentionally peddling most of its goods to retailers who sell on the illicit market, arguing that the court shouldn't step on the toes of the state's cannabis authority.

  • March 26, 2024

    Indicted Exec Wants Suit Tossed For Prosecutors' Misconduct

    A former healthcare CEO indicted on novel insider trading charges is trying once again to have the case tossed from California federal court, this time accusing prosecutors of improperly contacting a represented party in a separate but related civil case, weeks after a previous attempt to duck the charges failed.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Cannabis Case Lights Up Benefits Of Creative IP Protection

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    A recently filed California federal court case, The Holding Company v. Pacific West Distributors, illustrates potential creative strategies cannabis companies can use to build intellectual property rights, such as combining federal and state registrations for copyrights and trademarks, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement

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    In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Infringement Policy Lessons From 4th Circ. Sony Music Ruling

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Sony Music v. Cox Communications, which in part held that the internet service provider was liable for contributing to music copyright infringement, highlights the importance of reasonable policies to terminate repeat infringers, and provides guidance for litigating claims of secondary liability, say Benjamin Marks and Alexandra Blankman at Weil.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • For Now, Generative AI Is Risky For Class Action Counsel

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    Although a recent survey showed most in-house counsel think that their outside counsel should be using generative artificial intelligence "in some way" in class action work, the technology is more a target for class actions than it is a tool to be used in practice at present, says Matthew Allen at Carlton Fields.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • Steps To Reduce CIPA Litigation Risks For Companies

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    As class action claims brought under the California Invasion of Privacy Act continue to advance new theories under an old law to target companies for commonplace website and app activities, there are steps that organizations can take to reduce exposure and strengthen their defenses against such lawsuits, say attorneys at Hintze Law.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

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