California

  • April 17, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Learning From Loan-Guarantor Litigation

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a deep dive into how an uptick in lender-guarantor claims is shaping new loans.

  • April 17, 2026

    'Constantly Shifting': Judge Rips Musk, OpenAI As Trial Nears

    A California federal judge Friday appeared frustrated with Elon Musk and OpenAI ahead of trial over Musk's challenge to OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit entity, criticizing the parties' "constantly shifting" positions and doubting whether she has the authority to grant the relief Musk requested.

  • April 17, 2026

    Rocket Lab Beats Investor Suit Over Launch Timeline For Good

    A California federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed shareholder class action alleging that Rocket Lab USA Inc. and its top brass intentionally concealed issues that would delay the test and commercial launches of a vehicle it developed, finding that the suit did not adequately allege a motive for fraud by the defendants.

  • April 17, 2026

    Dodgers Fan Struck By LAPD Projectile Wins $11.8M At Trial

    A California federal jury has awarded $11.8 million to a Los Angeles Dodgers fan who was shot with a police projectile, which permanently damaged his vision, during a downtown celebration of the baseball team's World Series victory in 2020.

  • April 17, 2026

    States Seek Win To Restore DOE's Diversity Grant Cuts

    Eight states have asked a Massachusetts federal judge to restore $160 million to federal programs providing professional development to new teachers cut by the U.S. Department of Education last year, which the states said were unlawfully targeted by the Trump administration as diversity initiatives.

  • April 17, 2026

    Federal Judge Blocks DOJ's DEI, Citizenship Grant Conditions

    A Rhode Island federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Justice from imposing new conditions related to diversity, equity and inclusion activities and immigration status on domestic violence assistance grants, finding a nonprofit coalition likely to succeed in a legal challenge.

  • April 17, 2026

    Impossible Foods Says No Harm Shown In $3.25M TM Loss

    Impossible Foods urged a California federal judge Thursday to reject lifestyle brand Impossible X's request to award it over $3 million in attorney fees and enhance a jury's $3.25 million verdict that found the food company willfully infringed its "Impossible" marks, saying the evidence shows no "actual harm" came from the infringement.

  • April 17, 2026

    OpenAI Drops 9th Circ. Appeal Over 'Cameo' TM Block

    OpenAI has abandoned its Ninth Circuit appeal of an injunction blocking it from using the term "Cameo" in relation to a component of its artificial intelligence video generator Sora 2.

  • April 17, 2026

    Psychiatrist Challenges Uber Rider's Memory In Assault Trial

    A psychiatrist testified Friday that a North Carolina woman who has accused an Uber driver of sexually assaulting her in 2019 has "pervasive" memory issues due to her history of substance abuse, telling a Charlotte federal jury she is a "pretty poor historian of her own history."

  • April 17, 2026

    'Systemic' Bias Norm At Taiwan Semiconductor, Engineer Says

    A software engineer for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has alleged the microchip-maker systematically discriminates against women by hiring them less frequently than men, underpaying women and fostering a "sexually-charged environment" rife with innuendo and harassment.

  • April 17, 2026

    Google Wins Ax Of Last Targeted Ad Patent Claim In Suit

    A Delaware federal judge has found the sole remaining claim in a targeted advertising software patent Google was accused of infringing is invalid, saying it is abstract and doesn't cover an inventive idea.

  • April 17, 2026

    California Is Latest Battleground In Defining Access to Justice

    A pair of dueling California ballot initiatives both purport to increase consumers' access to justice — a righteous cause, most would say. If only the initiatives' backers agreed on what that means.

  • April 17, 2026

    Judge Says USCIS Can't Keep Delaying Iranians' Work Permits

    A California federal judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to unfreeze its processing of work permit applications for several dozen Iranians and a Sudanese national, finding the agency likely violated federal administrative law by indefinitely delaying decisions.

  • April 17, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: SEC And FCC Enforcement Authority

    The U.S. Supreme Court's final argument session of this term kicks off Monday, when the justices will consider the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to seek disgorgement orders against alleged wrongdoers without proving investors were harmed. Here, Law360 breaks down the week's oral arguments.

  • April 17, 2026

    DOT Immigrant License Crackdown Effects On Trucking

    New lawsuits and a tricky compliance landscape have besieged a trucking industry navigating the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement of restrictions on immigrant commercial truck drivers, as motor carriers, freight brokers and other ground-based shippers worry about escalating rates, driver turnover and service disruptions.

  • April 17, 2026

    Denver Bookshop Says 'Book Society' Can't Be A Trademark

    A Denver independent bookstore asked a Colorado federal judge Friday to declare it is not infringing upon a California book and wine lounge or engaging in unfair competition by using "book society" in its name.

  • April 17, 2026

    HyperSphere Beats Tech IP Suit, Falters On Sanctions Bid

    Georgia-based cybersecurity firm HyperSphere Technologies Inc. on Friday escaped a suit alleging infringement of a developer's copyrighted software code but was denied a request for sanctions for having to defend itself from what it called a "frivolous" lawsuit.

  • April 17, 2026

    Rapper Says Coach Ripped Off 'This Is A Blue T-Shirt' Mark

    Los Angeles rapper G Perico alleges in a California federal lawsuit that luxury brand Coach has infringed his "this is a blue t-shirt" trademark and brand by selling shirts that bear the slogan "this is a Coach t-shirt."

  • April 17, 2026

    Solar Co. Freedom Forever Blames Unpaid Bills For Ch. 11

    Solar company Freedom Forever told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday that missed payments that mounted after the passage of the federal budget reconciliation bill last year were largely the cause of its Chapter 11 filing this week.

  • April 17, 2026

    Caitlyn Jenner's Crypto Token Isn't A Security, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed class action against Caitlyn Jenner over the $JENNER cryptocurrency token she created and promoted, finding that the digital assets in question are not securities.

  • April 17, 2026

    'Lion King' Suit May Not Reign In Podcasting Legal Jungle

    A recently filed suit over the alleged mischaracterization of the iconic opening chant in “The Lion King” may not hold up in court, but the case highlights the risks podcasters can face in a freewheeling and increasingly ubiquitous medium, experts say.

  • April 17, 2026

    Thread Count Claims Clear, 9th Circ. Says, Reviving Target Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday found that a lower court erred in dismissing a proposed class action alleging that Target Corp. sold bedsheets claiming to be 100% cotton with a thread count of 600 or more, which can't be achieved with purely cotton fabric, saying that a reasonable consumer can still be deceived by a physically impossible claim.

  • April 17, 2026

    Life Sciences Firm Says Ex-VP Took Trade Secrets To Rival

    A Massachusetts life sciences startup says a former vice president who left the company last fall, purportedly to care for his ill wife, instead took trade secrets with him to a new job at a California rival.

  • April 17, 2026

    Doc Says Texas Man Can't Sue Over Mailed Abortion Pills

    A Texas man suing his ex-girlfriend's out-of-state doctor for prescribing mail-order abortion pills can't prove that the doctor caused the wrongful death of their unborn child, the doctor told a federal court, saying the case should be dismissed because he's not responsible for the woman's actions. 

  • April 17, 2026

    Ex-Hogan Lovells, Wilson Sonsini Attys Join Calif. Bench

    Gov. Gavin Newsom filled judicial vacancies in California state and appeals courts, including appointing former lawyers from Hogan Lovells and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC for state court seats in Silicon Valley, his office has announced.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Tips For Employers On Calif. Decision-Making Tech Rules

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    Over the next eight months, many California employers must prepare to comply with challenging new requirements under the California Consumer Privacy Act that constitute the most comprehensive set of rules in the country on the use of automated decision-making technology, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Employer Tips As Calif. Law Rewrites Retention Pay Rules

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    California's recent enactment of A.B. 692 disrupts how employers structure sign-on bonuses, retention payments and other incentives tied to continued employment, but employers that adjust their compensation strategies can attract and retain talent while managing their compliance risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • CFTC Chair's Speech Hints At Innovation-Friendly Policies

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    Remarks made by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig at the Futures Industry Association's conference last month provided the most comprehensive articulation of his regulatory agenda and signaled a shift in the CFTC's regulatory posture, including a rare focus on agency coordination and support for digital asset innovation, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • 5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

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    Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Gender-Expansive Calif. Equal Pay Laws Widen Employer Risk

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    California's recent amendments to strengthen its Equal Pay Act and Pay Transparency Act aim to shrink the wage gap, not only for women, but also for nonbinary and transgender employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers and increasing their potential exposure, say attorneys at the Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.

  • Insights From OppFi Suit On Building Calif. Bank Partnerships

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    A California state judge’s tentative ruling, walking through business evidence that Utah bank FinWise was not a “rent-a-bank” that fintech firm Opportunity Financial used as a front to dodge interest rate caps on in-state lenders, offers a helpful road map for structuring legally compliant bank-fintech partnerships under California law, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • Rebuttal

    FTC Case Reinforces Established Price Discrimination Rules

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    Far from redefining price discrimination, as contended by a recent Law360 guest article, the Federal Trade Commission's suit against Southern Glazer's falls squarely within the historical interpretation of the Robinson-Patman Act, says retired attorney Irving Scher.

  • Prepping For White House's Proposed AI Framework

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    The artificial intelligence legislative framework issued by the White House last month reframes the policy landscape, creating a number of near-term developments for companies to track as congressional committees attempt to convert the framework into legislative text, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

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    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • Lockdown To Ledger: COVID Rulings Inform Crypto Coverage

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    As cryptocurrencies move deeper into mainstream financial markets, courts tasked with determining whether traditional insurance policies respond to digital asset losses have been evaluating coverage through the analytical framework of COVID-19 business interruption litigation, with one key recurring theme, say attorneys at Kennedys.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

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    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

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