California

  • June 24, 2025

    Anthropic Can Train AI On Books But Faces Trial On Pirating

    A California federal judge said artificial intelligence firm Anthropic can use books to train its LLM under the principle of fair use, but said the company would go to trial against a group of authors over the storage of millions of pirated books.

  • June 24, 2025

    Pot Dispatcher Can't Upend Co-Worker's $400K Wage Deal

    A California appeals court has upheld a $400,000 wage-and-hour settlement between a cannabis delivery driver and The Highest Craft LLC, finding that a dispatcher whose claims are also covered under the settlement failed to show the deal was unfair or insufficiently investigated.

  • June 24, 2025

    Father Sues Truck Manufacturer Over Son's Death From Heat

    The father of a delivery driver is suing truck manufacturer Morgan Olson LLC in Michigan federal court, alleging that its trucks are defectively designed with cargo compartments without any climate control and that the high temperatures in the trucks led to his son's death.

  • June 24, 2025

    Pillsbury Adds Goodwin Venture Capital Ace In San Francisco

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP continues adding to its investment funds team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Goodwin Procter LLP venture capital expert as a partner in its San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

  • June 23, 2025

    Deep-Sea Mining Co. Beats Investors' Accounting Fraud Suit

    A California federal judge has tossed an investor suit accusing deep sea miner The Metals Co. Inc. and its top brass of flawed accounting related to a strategic partnership, saying the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead the challenged statements were false or that the defendants acted with knowledge of wrongdoing.

  • June 23, 2025

    Judge Lets Trimmed Crocs Shrinkage Suit Proceed

    Consumers who sued Crocs Inc. claiming their shoes shrank under normal heat and exposure to the sun saw their claims partially trimmed by a California federal judge, who said the buyers haven't pointed to specific ads that say the footwear is made for sunny days.

  • June 23, 2025

    Ex-CEO Of CBD Water Co. Must Face Pump-And-Dump Case

    The former CEO of a cannabis-infused water company and a stockholder must face all claims made in a federal indictment accusing them of artificially inflating company shares so they could sell them for a profit, an Ohio federal judge ruled, saying the government has properly alleged a single conspiracy.

  • June 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Antitrust Counterclaims Against CoStar

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday revived counterclaims accusing CoStar of monopolizing commercial real estate information markets in the company's case accusing a rival of engaging in "industrial-scale" copyright infringement.

  • June 23, 2025

    Olaplex Cites Slack Ruling In Attempt To Curtail Investor Suit

    Hair care brand Olaplex is urging a California federal judge not to certify a class of investors who allege the company failed to flag a regulatory risk ahead of its initial public offering, arguing that "at a minimum" the proposed class should be narrowed under the rubric of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Slack decision.

  • June 23, 2025

    X Nears Deal In Contract, Antitrust Fight With Data Scraper

    A California federal judge overseeing litigation launched by X Corp. accusing data scraper Bright Data Ltd. of improperly accessing its servers granted the parties' request to stay the case after receiving a joint stipulation stating they'd reached a settlement in principle and were "working diligently" to finalize the deal.

  • June 23, 2025

    Mullen Auto Investors' $7.25M Settlement Gets Final OK

    A California federal judge has granted final approval to a $7.3 million settlement between Mullen Automotive Inc. and a class of its investors that alleged the company made misrepresentations about its revenues and order volumes to inflate share prices ahead of a merger.

  • June 23, 2025

    Ontrak Founder Gets 3½ Years In Novel Insider Trading Case

    A California federal judge sentenced Ontrak Inc. founder Terren Peizer to 3½ years in prison Monday, following a first-of-its-kind insider trading conviction on accusations that he based a $20 million share sale on material nonpublic information that his health technology company was about to lose its biggest client, Cigna. 

  • June 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs $26M Fraud Penalty Against Importer

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday upheld a $26 million tripled fraud verdict against a pipe importer over allegations it made false statements on customs forms to avoid paying tariffs on some imports from China, rejecting the company's argument that the Tariff Act leaves no room to invoke the False Claims Act.

  • June 23, 2025

    Calif. Property Co. Denied Early Win In Defect Coverage Suit

    A California federal court refused to hand a partial win to the owner of a Brentwood retirement community seeking excess coverage for an underlying settlement stemming from homeowners' construction defect claims, saying genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the claims constitute "suits" under the policy.

  • June 23, 2025

    Western Digital Gets $553M Patent Judgment Slashed To $1

    A California federal judge has agreed to wipe out a $553 million verdict against Western Digital for infringing a SPEX Technologies Inc. data security patent, instead finding that Western Digital owes just $1, according to an order docketed Monday.

  • June 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives False Ad Suit Over 'Zero Calorie' Supplement

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday reinstated a proposed class action claiming that ProSupps' dietary supplement powder products are mislabeled as containing zero calories and zero carbohydrates, in violation of California consumer protection laws, after ruling that the suit alleges enough facts to avoid preemption by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 

  • June 23, 2025

    Fubo Streamers Demand Own Attys In Disney Suit Settlement

    Subscribers to the Fubo streaming service asked a California federal judge to name them and their attorney the leads in the recent proposed settlement with Disney over the carriage fees for its sports streaming service, and to be "wary" of a motion to appoint the attorney for the two other classes of streaming customers as lead counsel.

  • June 23, 2025

    SAP Unlikely To Get Celonis Suit Nixed, But Antitrust Claims Iffy

    A California federal judge indicated Monday that he wasn't ready to completely toss technology company Celonis' suit alleging that software giant SAP is pushing it out of a market for business process analysis services but said he was having a "hard time wrapping my brain around your antitrust allegations."

  • June 23, 2025

    Illinois Judge OKs CalTech Aid-Fixing Deal Amid Ethics Claim

    An Illinois federal judge gave his final blessing Monday to a $16 million settlement between California Institute of Technology and students who claimed the university conspired to limit financial aid offerings, telling a class counsel associate to bring his free allocation concerns in a motion rather than a letter.

  • June 23, 2025

    Kardashian Chef Offered Adderall Instead Of Breaks, Suit Says

    A chef who works with celebrities including the Kardashian family refused to pay overtime despite requiring employees to work 12-hour days and offered Adderall instead of breaks if workers complained they were tired, a former assistant told a California state court.

  • June 23, 2025

    Buchalter Adds Trademark Pro From Hanson Bridgett In SF

    Buchalter PC is expanding its intellectual property team, bringing in a Hanson Bridgett LLP trademark and copyright specialist as shareholder in its San Francisco office.

  • June 23, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Supreme Court reversed a year-old $199 million judgment against TransCanada in a suit challenging a merger that occurred nearly a decade ago, Aspen Technology Inc. was hit with another suit over its pending $7.2 billion merger with Emerson Electric, and Nielson Holdings Ltd. secured a temporary restraining order against its spinoff. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Delaware Chancery Court.

  • June 23, 2025

    Asus Beats Lenovo's Patent-Based Bid To Bar Laptop Imports

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has terminated a case related to Chinese computer firm Lenovo's efforts to use patent laws to block Taiwanese electronics-maker Asus from importing some of its Zenbook laptops.

  • June 23, 2025

    Wealthfront Joins IPO Pipeline With Confidential Filing

    Digital wealth management firm Wealthfront Corp. said Monday that it confidentially filed for an initial public offering, marking a first step toward going public as more technology firms join a recovering IPO pipeline.

  • June 23, 2025

    States Back PBS, NPR In Fight Against Trump Broadcast Cuts

    A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia backed a pair of motions from the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio Inc. seeking pretrial wins in their challenges to President Donald Trump's executive order that purports to revoke their funding, arguing that only Congress can pull that money.

Expert Analysis

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The Path Forward For Construction Cos. After Calif. Wildfires

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    The increasing frequency of disastrous wildfires, like those that recently occurred in California, presents a set of complex challenges for the construction industry, including regulatory hurdles and supply chain disruptions that can complicate rebuilding efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Pending FCPA Trials Suggest About DOJ Priorities

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order in February instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, developments surrounding five FCPA cases already set for trial provide a glimpse into how the DOJ is attempting to navigate the situation at hand, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Among the most notable developments in California banking in the first quarter of the year, regulators and legislators issued regulations interpreting debt collection laws, stepped up enforcement actions, and expanded consumer protections for those affected by wildfires, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Inside State AGs' Arguments Defending The CFPB

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    Recent amicus briefs filed by a coalition of 23 attorneys general argue that the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will irreparably harm consumers in several key areas, making clear that states are preparing to fill in any enforcement gaps, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Reconciling 2 Smoke Coverage Cases From California

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    As highlighted by a California Department of Insurance bulletin clarifying the effect of two recent decisions on insurance coverage, the February state appellate ruling denying coverage for property damage from smoke, ash and soot should be viewed as an outlier, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • State Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: Tips For Cos.

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    As states increasingly shift the onus of end-of-life product management from consumers and local governments to the businesses that produce, distribute or sell certain items, companies must track the changing landscape and evaluate the applicability of these new laws and regulations to their operations, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Nev. Fraud Ruling Raises Stakes For Proxy Battles

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    Though a Nevada federal court’s recent U.S. v. Boruchowitz decision involved unusual facts, the court's ruling that board members can be defrauded of their seat through misrepresentations increases fraud risks in more typical circumstances involving board elections, especially proxy fights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

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