California

  • March 16, 2026

    Paramount Head Countersues Over $150M 'Shakedown' Suit

    Paramount President Jeff Shell fired back Monday at a $150 million lawsuit filed against him in California state court alleging he failed to pay for crisis communications services and revealed insider company information, filing counterclaims against the plaintiff he says is a professional gambler who "overplayed his hand" perpetrating a "shakedown."

  • March 16, 2026

    Flyers Say Alaska Airlines Can't Ditch Merger Challenge

    Airline passengers told a Hawaii federal judge that they have sufficiently alleged that Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines has diminished consumer choice on a dozen routes, giving the Seattle-based airline "monopolistic dominance" over the West Coast market in violation of antitrust laws.

  • March 16, 2026

    Capital One's $5B Brex Purchase Must Be Blocked, Judge Told

    A group of consumers wants a California federal judge to bar Capital One's proposed $5.15 billion acquisition of fintech company Brex, arguing it violates antitrust laws, after the group's first bid to halt the bank's purchase of Discover Financial Services failed. 

  • March 16, 2026

    States Sue Over Trump Cuts To Housing Bias Programs

    A group of 15 states and the District of Columbia claimed on Monday that the Trump administration is undermining their enforcement of fair housing laws by threatening to cut off funding from local government programs that enforce fair housing protections for people who are discriminated against for traits such as their sexual orientation.

  • March 16, 2026

    Grok Makes Child Abuse Images For XAI's Profit, Victims Say

    Elon Musk's xAI puts profits above all else by knowingly serving pedophiles who use the Grok generative artificial intelligence platform to transform ordinary photographs of children into child sexual abuse material they can trade with other predators across the internet, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in California federal court.

  • March 16, 2026

    Judge Tosses Kaiser Whistleblowers' Claims After $556M Deal

    A California federal court on Monday officially dismissed False Claims Act lawsuits from the federal government and three people alleging that Kaiser Permanente affiliates engaged in Medicare fraud, on the heels of Kaiser's $556 million settlement reached in January.

  • March 16, 2026

    J&J's Lack Of Malice Gets $966M Talc Verdict Cut To $16M

    A California state judge slashed $950 million in punitive damages from a $966 million jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson on Friday in a lawsuit involving an 88-year-old woman who died of mesothelioma, saying the estate's counsel failed to sufficiently show the pharmaceutical giant acted maliciously.

  • March 16, 2026

    Anduril Nabs $20B Army Enterprise Contract

    Anduril Industries Inc. secured a new $20 billion enterprise contract with the U.S. Army, under which the agency consolidated its procurement of the company's existing and future commercially available technologies, including Anduril's artificial intelligence platform Lattice.

  • March 16, 2026

    Medtronic Seeks To Ax 'Extreme Outlier' $382M Antitrust Loss

    Medtronic has urged a California federal judge to scrap its nearly $382 million trial loss to rival Applied Medical over Medtronic's bundling practices that a jury found suppressed competition for advanced bipolar devices, arguing the verdict is an "extreme outlier" in antitrust law that can't survive.

  • March 16, 2026

    Disney Exec's $40M Bias Suit Says HR Tried To 'Dig Up Dirt'

    A Walt Disney Co. gaming executive accused the company Friday in California state court of discriminating and retaliating against him after he complained about a human resources executive contacting his executive coach to "dig up dirt," claiming the poor treatment is because he is Asian.

  • March 16, 2026

    Tree Top Can't Toss False Ad Suit Over '100% Juice' Claims

    A California federal judge ruled Monday that Tree Top must face a proposed class action alleging it mislabels some of its apple juices as being made with "100% juice" despite adding synthetically produced ascorbic acid, finding the plaintiff plausibly alleged the ascorbic acid added to the beverages aren't made from apples.

  • March 16, 2026

    Salesforce Beats IP Suit As Fed. Circ. Affirms No Standing

    The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed a district court judge's decision to toss a patent infringement suit brought against Salesforce, agreeing that the patent holder lacks standing to bring the case.

  • March 16, 2026

    Judge Says Live Witnesses Not Needed For HPE Deal Hearing

    A California federal judge will not permit live witnesses during a hearing next week on a U.S. Department of Justice settlement for Hewlett Packard Enterprise's purchase of Juniper Networks but asked the state enforcers opposing the deal to have an expert available.

  • March 16, 2026

    4 Firms Guide Crypto Firm Abra's $750M SPAC Merger

    Cryptocurrency platform Abra said Monday that it will go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in a deal advised by four firms that's based on a $750 million valuation for Abra.

  • March 16, 2026

    Ski Resort Owner Says Insurers Must Cover Rider Death Claim

    A ski resort owner said it is entitled to coverage for a claim made by the estate of a man who died after falling from a chair lift, telling a Montana federal court that its insurers erroneously asserted that the resort is not a covered location.

  • March 16, 2026

    Jury Hands Kawasaki $48M In Semiconductor Patent Trial

    A California federal jury has said a Japanese technology company owes about $48 million for infringing a Kawasaki semiconductor patent and found that the infringement was willful.

  • March 13, 2026

    Trump Orders Restart Of Calif. Coast Oil Operations

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act directing Sable Offshore Corp. to restart a pipeline in Southern California that was shuttered in 2015 following a massive oil spill, drawing the ire of environmental groups that say the "defective" pipeline is too dangerous.

  • March 13, 2026

    Adobe Inks $150M Deal In DOJ Suit Over App Subscriptions

    Adobe Inc. will pay $75 million in civil penalties and offer customers $75 million in free services under a tentative deal to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit over the company's software subscription practices, including an early termination fee that prosecutors had described as "a bit like heroin" for the company.

  • March 13, 2026

    CFPB Can't Rely On 'Erroneous' Funding Theory, Court Says

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must continue to request needed funding from the Federal Reserve, a California federal judge ruled Friday, saying Trump administration budget chief Russell Vought "acted arbitrarily, capriciously and contrary to law" by refusing to replenish the agency's dwindling funds.

  • March 13, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Iran, Investor Optimism, Construction Debt

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including implications for the real estate sector from the war in Iran, what investors are saying about the market and specific asset classes, and a look at where construction debt is ballooning.

  • March 13, 2026

    States To Head Live Nation Antitrust Trial After Feds Settle

    Over two dozen states and the District of Columbia are forging ahead with monopolization claims against Live Nation in Manhattan federal court after the federal government unexpectedly agreed to settle with the live entertainment giant after a week of trial.

  • March 13, 2026

    Dorsey Defends Twitter Bot Count In Trial Over Musk Takeover

    Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stood by 2022 company statements that bots made up less than 5% of accounts on the platform during video depositions shown Friday in a California federal trial over investor claims that Elon Musk deliberately tanked the company's stock with misstatements about fake accounts to renegotiate the $44 billion deal.

  • March 13, 2026

    Child Abuse Material Is Too Easy To Find On Meta, Jury Hears

    Jurors in New Mexico's social media trial saw deposition testimony Friday in which counsel for Meta questioned an expert hired but not called by the state attorney general's office regarding his review of child abuse material on the company's platforms, which he said was "publicly available for anybody."

  • March 13, 2026

    'Swinging Dicks' Dissent Stirs Uproar Across 9th Circ. Bench

    A raunchy dissent in litigation over transgender spa patrons prompted dozens of Ninth Circuit judges to denounce the "vulgar barroom talk" of a colleague, who returned fire by ridiculing his peers for adopting the "fastidious sensibilities of a Victorian nun."

  • March 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Judges Seem Split Over NCAA's 5-Year Rule Appeals

    Ninth Circuit panel judges expressed differing opinions Friday over whether a dispute between the NCAA and junior college graduates challenging the NCAA's five-year rule are moot since they graduated, with one judge saying lower courts' injunctions still block NCAA from seeking restitution against universities, while another judge called that relief "illusory."

Expert Analysis

  • Algorithmic Bias Risks Remain For Employers After AI Order

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    A recent executive order articulates a federal preference for a minimally burdensome approach to artificial intelligence regulation, but it doesn't eliminate employers' central compliance challenge or exposure when using AI tools, say Marjorie Soto Garcia and Joseph Mulherin at McDermott, and Candice Rosevear at Peregrine Economics.

  • Considerations In Building Guardrails For AI Use In Arbitration

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    A recent California federal court case involving allegations of artificial intelligence ghostwriting an arbitration award, prior analogous practice on tribunal delegation, and emerging generative AI recommendations all support building a forward-looking framework for arbitration rules to minimize the risk of AI-based challenges, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    The regulatory and litigation developments for California financial institutions in the fourth quarter of 2025 were incremental but consequential, with the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation relying on public enforcement actions to articulate expectations, and lawmakers and privacy regulators playing a role as well, says Stephen Britt at Stinson.

  • Series

    Fly-Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Much like skilled attorneys, the best anglers prize preparation, presentation and patience while respecting their adversaries — both human and trout, says Rob Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.

  • 4 Ways GCs Can Manage Growing Service Of Process Volume

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    As automation and arbitration increase the volume of legal filings, in-house counsel must build scalable service of process systems that strengthen corporate governance and manage risk in real time, says Paul Mathews at Corporation Service Co.

  • IP Appellate Decisions Show 4 Shifts In 2025

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    In 2025, intellectual property decisions issued by the Ninth, D.C., and Federal Circuits trended toward tightening doctrinal boundaries, whether to account for technological developments in existing legal regimes, or to refine areas with some ambiguity, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Calif. AI Law Will Have Ripple Effect On Emerging Cos.

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    California's Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act is the first comprehensive state-level AI safety framework with mandated public disclosures in the U.S., and although it may not affect emerging companies directly, companies that embed governance and transparency into their operations will differentiate themselves in highly competitive markets, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Forming Measurable Ties

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    Relationship-building should begin as early as possible in a law firm merger, as intentional pathways to bringing people together drive collaboration, positive client response, engagements and growth, says Amie Colby at Troutman.

  • A Look At EEOC Actions In 2025 And What's Next

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    President Donald Trump issued several executive orders last year that reshaped policy at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and with the administration now controlling a majority of the commission, the EEOC may align itself fully with orders addressing disparate impact and transgender issues, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2026 And Beyond

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    2026 will likely be shaped by issues ranging from artificial intelligence regulatory turbulence to potential evidence rule changes, and e-discovery professionals will need to understand how to effectively guide the responsible and defensible adoption of emerging tools, while also ensuring effective safeguards, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Where States Jumped In When SEC Stepped Back In 2025

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    The state regulators that picked up the slack when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission scaled back enforcement last year should not be underestimated as they continue to aggressively police areas where the SEC has lost interest and probe industries where SEC leadership has actively declined to intervene, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 2026 State AI Bills That Could Expand Liability, Insurance Risk

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    State bills legislating artificial intelligence that are expected to pass in 2026 will reshape the liability landscape for all companies incorporating AI solutions into their business operations, as any novel private rights of action authorized under AI-related statutes signal expanding exposures, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • What's On Deck In Tribal Nations' Prediction Markets Litigation

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    Native American tribes' response to the expansion of sports-based prediction markets enters a decisive phase this year, with appellate courts positioned to address whether federal commodities law permits nationwide offering of sports-based event contracts free from state and tribal gaming regulation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • SEC Virtu Deal Previews Risks Of Nonpublic Info In AI Models

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent settlement with Virtu Financial Inc. over alleged failures to safeguard customer data raises broader questions about how traditional enforcement frameworks may apply when material nonpublic information is embedded into artificial intelligence trading systems, says Braeden Anderson at Gesmer Updegrove.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Boost Access To Justice

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    Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Thumma writes that generative artificial intelligence tools offer a profound opportunity to enhance access to justice and engender public confidence in courts’ use of technology, and judges can seize this opportunity in five key ways.

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