California

  • May 06, 2026

    Judge Tosses 'Futile' Leaf EV Fire Risk, Charging Defect Suit

    Nissan has defeated a proposed class action brought by Leaf owners who claimed the electric vehicle's battery contains a defect that makes fast charging a fire risk, with a California federal judge ruling that the drivers failed to show the cars were unsafe and that amending at this point would be "futile."

  • May 06, 2026

    Fla. Court Asked To Lift Freeze In $91M Fake Health Plans Suit

    Two siblings asked a Florida federal court Wednesday to lift an asset freeze in the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit alleging they sold $91 million of fake health benefits on the Affordable Care Act exchange, arguing they need money to pay their attorneys. 

  • May 06, 2026

    Calif. Tribe Can't Get ATF's Cigarette Sales Decision Tossed

    A Ninth Circuit panel determined Wednesday that federal tobacco regulators acted appropriately when placing the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians on a noncompliance list, concluding the tribe's remote cigarette sales to retailers of other tribes count as "off-reservation" activities covered by California state tax and licensing laws.

  • May 06, 2026

    Igloo's Ads 'Uncool' But Not Unlawful, Split 9th Circ. Says

    It may have been "uncool" for ice chest company Igloo to wrongfully take credit for the first biodegradable cooler, but its claims are not unlawful under the Lanham Act, a split Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

  • May 06, 2026

    Judge Questions OMB Justification For Voiding Grants

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday pushed back on arguments by the Trump administration that federal agency grants are subject to termination at any time based solely on a change in priorities — a situation, she suggested, that would essentially render any contracts with the government "illusory."

  • May 06, 2026

    Altria, Juul Ask For Stay During Antitrust Class Cert. Appeal

    Altria and Juul are asking a California federal court to pause a case alleging the companies schemed to have Altria exit the e-cigarette market while they appeal a class certification ruling to the Ninth Circuit.

  • May 06, 2026

    Google Users Say DOJ Win 'Leaves Only Damages For Trial'

    Consumers want a California federal judge to go straight to trial over the amount of damages Google owes them for illegally monopolizing online search, arguing the company's violation of antitrust law "is now an undisputed fact as a matter of law."

  • May 06, 2026

    EDTX Urged To Deny Samsung New Trial After $78.5M Verdict

    A patent owner that won a $78.5 million infringement verdict in the Eastern District of Texas against Samsung urged the court to reject the electronics giant's bid for a new trial, saying the South Korean company wants to turn the law "on its head."

  • May 06, 2026

    High Court Rejects Apple's Bid To Pause App Store Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Apple's request to pause a mandate in the case from Epic Games that directs a lower court to determine what commission Apple can charge developers for purchases made outside of its app store through links.

  • May 06, 2026

    Calif. Justices Seem Divided On Gilead HIV Negligence Claim

    The California Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday over whether Gilead should face a negligence claim for allegedly withholding a safer HIV drug from the market to maximize profits from an older drug with more harmful side effects. 

  • May 06, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Hospital Workers' Vaccine Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused Wednesday to reopen a religious bias lawsuit accusing a Washington hospital of unlawfully denying employees' requests to avoid a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, finding that the medical center demonstrated that exemptions would've been too burdensome under a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • May 06, 2026

    Alto Says Investors Use Hindsight In Suit Over Drug Trial

    Alto Neuroscience has urged a California federal judge to toss an investor suit alleging the psychiatric biotech company and its top brass overstated the efficacy of their lead drug candidate for treating major depressive disorder, saying the suit is a "classic case of trying to plead fraud by hindsight."

  • May 06, 2026

    Judge Approves $2.25M Walmart Wage Deal On Third Try

    A decade-long wage lawsuit against Walmart has come to a close after a California federal judge granted final approval of a $2.25 million class action settlement that includes claims under California's Private Attorneys General Act.

  • May 06, 2026

    Nvidia Must Face Most Of Authors' AI Copyright Suit

    A California federal judge has tossed vicarious infringement claims in a proposed class action brought by authors accusing chipmaking giant Nvidia Corp. of using their copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence, but let stand claims that Nvidia lifted books from online shadow libraries to develop various AI models.

  • May 06, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs Atty Fees In Bicycle Design Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday agreed with a Massachusetts federal judge that a case related to a set of design patents for a bicycle warranted attorney fees being awarded to Hyper Bicycles Inc., saying the judge's finding that the case was weak and unnecessarily dragged out was supported by the evidence.

  • May 06, 2026

    Feds Say Stolen BigLaw Deal Info Aided Huge Trading Scheme

    Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled indictments outlining a massive insider trading scheme that allegedly netted tens of millions of dollars using nonpublic information about mergers and acquisitions worked on by some of the nation's biggest law firms.

  • May 06, 2026

    IRS Gets Protest Of Wedding Gift Penalties Narrowed

    A Chinese citizen seeking a refund of penalties imposed by the IRS over a failure to report wedding gifts she received from abroad cannot argue the agency must collect the penalties through a civil action, a California federal court said, partially dismissing her suit.

  • May 06, 2026

    Judge Tells FEMA Officials To Preserve Signal Chats

    A California federal judge has ordered Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials to preserve Signal messages tied to FEMA operations in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's restructuring efforts, citing concerns that officials used disappearing-message settings while discussing matters relevant to the case.

  • May 06, 2026

    'Varsity Blues' Coach 'Not Close' In New Trial Bid, Judge Says

    A former University of Southern California water polo coach convicted in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case missed the goal by a wide margin in his bid to secure a new trial, a Massachusetts federal judge said.

  • May 05, 2026

    DJ Khalil Hit 'Dead End' With Ye Over Song Use, LA Jury Told

    DJ Khalil testified Tuesday in a California copyright infringement suit that he was initially excited Ye was using his instrumental track for what became the rapper's Grammy-winning song "Hurricane," but ultimately sought help from an artists rights company when he hit a "dead end" seeking payment from the rapper.

  • May 05, 2026

    Musk Sought Control Of OpenAI To Fund Mars City, Jury Told

    OpenAI President Greg Brockman defended OpenAI's for-profit conversion during a California federal jury trial Tuesday and accused Elon Musk of demanding "unilateral absolute control" over OpenAI to fund his plans for a city on Mars, while acknowledging under examination that Musk proposed his stake would "change quickly" with additional investors.

  • May 05, 2026

    Ex-FDA Chief Testifies 100s Of J&J Docs Tie Asbestos To Talc

    A former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner on Tuesday testified in a Los Angeles bellwether trial over claims Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused deadly ovarian cancer in three women, saying hundreds of internal company documents reveal the company knew for decades that its talc contained asbestos.

  • May 05, 2026

    Meta Should Have Warning Label, NM Witness Says

    New Mexico unveiled further details of safeguards it says a court should impose on Meta in a $3.7 billion bench trial, calling an expert witness Tuesday who said displaying a warning pop-up to minors is an idea that's backed by the former surgeon general and desperately needed.

  • May 05, 2026

    Apple Reaches $250M Deal Over Claims It Overhyped IPhone AI

    Apple customers asked a California federal judge Tuesday to greenlight a $250 million settlement resolving claims that the tech giant falsely promised the iPhone 16 would include new artificial intelligence Siri features, saying the "exceptional" deal will put cash in class members' hands and provide free future AI software updates.

  • May 05, 2026

    Worker Fights 2nd Circ.'s Toss Of Teamsters Fund ERISA Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court should revive claims that the New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund was mismanaged, a Teamsters-represented worker argued, asking the justices to breathe new life into his twice-dismissed Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit.

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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