California

  • December 16, 2025

    Judge Trims Ziff Davis Copyright Claims In OpenAI MDL

    A Manhattan federal judge has dismissed part of a suit from digital media publisher Ziff Davis Inc. against OpenAI alleging that its chatbot ChatGPT was trained on copyrighted content scraped from the internet and gives re-creations of those works when prompted.

  • December 16, 2025

    'Choking Challenge' Suit Against YouTube, TikTok Is Tossed

    A California federal judge has dismissed without leave to amend a suit by parents and an advocacy group alleging YouTube and TikTok's reporting and moderating tools are defective and fail to take down dangerous videos, saying the complaint suffers from the same deficiencies that got a previous version dismissed.

  • December 16, 2025

    Bullivant Houser Files For Ch. 11 After November Closure

    The now-shuttered Bullivant Houser Bailey PC has filed for Chapter 11 protection in California, with its chief dissolution officer saying the bankruptcy was filed so the firm can liquidate its assets as it continues "an orderly wind-down" of its operations.

  • December 16, 2025

    Hagens Berman Sanctioned For Bot Errors In OnlyFans Case

    A California federal judge sanctioned Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for submitting four briefs that contained errors blamed on ChatGPT while representing OnlyFans users pursuing proposed class fraud claims against the online platform, tossing the suit but allowing the users a chance to refile.

  • December 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Stunned By 'Numerous' Flaws In Patent Appeal

    The Federal Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a patent licensing company's infringement lawsuit over a software patent, finding there were so many issues with the appeal that they "are almost too numerous to count."

  • December 16, 2025

    Jury Says Magnolia Medical Is Owed $1.6M After Patent Trial

    A Delaware federal jury on Tuesday morning found that Magnolia Medical Technologies Inc. is entitled to nearly $1.6 million after Kurin Inc. infringed its patents tied to devices meant for drawing blood.

  • December 15, 2025

    'Hardworking' 9th Circ. Senior Judge Sandra Ikuta Dies At 71

    Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta of the Ninth Circuit, who has been semi-retired since early November, died on Dec. 7 at the age of 71, exactly one month after assuming senior status, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

  • December 15, 2025

    LA Angels Did Nothing To Prevent Pitcher's Death, Jury Told

    The Los Angeles Angels "did absolutely nothing" to stop its employee from distributing illicit drugs to Tyler Skaggs, plaintiffs' counsel told California jurors Monday during closing arguments in his family's wrongful death lawsuit, while an Angels attorney argued that the pitcher was responsible for his own overdose death. 

  • December 15, 2025

    Racial 'X-Acto Knife' Used For Prop 50 Map, Calif. Panel Told

    A three-day hearing before three federal judges kicked off Monday in Los Angeles over challenges brought by California Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice to the state's Proposition 50 voter-approved congressional districts, with a RealClearPolitics election analyst testifying that one district was created using a racial "X-Acto knife" rather than a political one.

  • December 15, 2025

    DC Judge Won't Block Calif. Tribe's Recognition Status

    Three California residents and a nonprofit cannot have an emergency order blocking a decision by the U.S. Interior Department to give federal recognition to California's Ione Band of Miwok Indians, a D.C. federal judge ruled, saying the plaintiffs didn't comply with federal rules governing such requests.

  • December 15, 2025

    Smartwatch Giants Sued Over Fall Detection Patents

    A company that makes medical alert watches for the elderly has sued Apple, Samsung, Google and Garmin in federal court and the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that the fall detection features in their smartwatches infringe two patents.

  • December 15, 2025

    Social Media MDL Judge Warns Attys Against Flooding Docket

    A California federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over claims that social media is addictive warned counsel for the plaintiffs Monday that she'd sanction them if their 17,000 pages of exhibits they plan to submit in response to defendants' summary judgment motions "[litter] the docket with irrelevant documents."

  • December 15, 2025

    Microsoft Seeks To Exit ChatGPT Users' OpenAI Antitrust Suit

    Microsoft has slammed a proposed class action accusing the company of bullying OpenAI into a cloud computing deal as devoid of fact and economic sense in two motions filed in California federal court, saying the plaintiffs, ChatGPT subscribers, are trying to dodge an arbitration clause in the chatbot developer's user terms.

  • December 15, 2025

    States Fight Sandoz Bid To Argue Duplication In Generics Row

    Multiple attorneys general have told a Connecticut federal court that Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. can't claim the states' grievances over allegations of price fixing are duplicative of claims that were already settled, since there are some claims and forms of relief that only state plaintiffs can seek.

  • December 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Honeywell Over Engineer's Retaliation Claims

    The Ninth Circuit rejected an ex-Honeywell engineer's challenge to her firing after voicing concerns about avionic software that was part of a Boeing defense contract, finding any potential fraud to the government was too far removed to support a retaliation claim.

  • December 15, 2025

    FTC Joined By 21 States In Accusing Uber Of Deception

    Twenty-one states joined the Federal Trade Commission on Monday in a California federal lawsuit accusing Uber of enrolling consumers into its paid subscription service without consent and keeping them in a "loop" of obstacles that deter or prevent cancellations.

  • December 15, 2025

    USPTO Replaces Denver Office With Center In Montana

    Montana has been picked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to be the first state to oversee community outreach in the area formerly serviced by the now-shuttered Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office in Denver.

  • December 15, 2025

    Lady Gaga Can Keep Using 'Mayhem' Mark For Now, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Monday refused to grant a surfing brand a preliminary injunction against Lady Gaga from using the "Mayhem" mark on the clothing she sells, saying the brand had not shown that it was likely to succeed on its trademark infringement claims.

  • December 15, 2025

    Insurer Denies Coverage For Car Shop's Customer Suit

    An insurer told a California federal court it had no duty to defend a car conversion business from a suit alleging it wrongfully used a customer's car in advertisements, explaining that the claims did not fall under the specified ad injury coverage.

  • December 15, 2025

    Cooley Adds Crypto-Focused Atty From Waymaker

    A fintech litigator whose clients have included Mango Markets trader Avraham Eisenberg and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is heading to Cooley LLP after 12 years at Waymaker LLP, Cooley announced Monday.

  • December 15, 2025

    Judge Won't Boot Bondi-Appointed Prosecutor In LA

    A federal judge has refused to reconsider his ruling disqualifying Bill Essayli from holding the role of U.S. attorney but allowing him to serve as the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, finding that Essayli's appointment by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi is valid.

  • December 15, 2025

    The Top Patent Decisions Of 2025

    The Federal Circuit decided its first en banc utility patent case in years and expanded who can use the U.S. International Trade Commission, while both the appeals court and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office took on the eligibility of AI patents. Here's a look at the top patent decisions of 2025.

  • December 15, 2025

    Atty Seeks To Block Law Banning Fee-Sharing With ABS Firms

    The attorney challenging a California law that blocks fee-sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers has petitioned for enforcement of the law to be suspended before it is set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

  • December 12, 2025

    1st Circ. OKs Barring Medicaid Planned Parenthood Coverage

    A First Circuit panel on Friday upheld the Trump administration's ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, vacating a lower court's order that would've kept in place Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood clinics in 22 states.

  • December 12, 2025

    Live Nation Consumers Get Class Certified In Antitrust Case

    A California federal judge Friday certified a class of consumers accusing Live Nation of monopolizing the live entertainment industry, rejecting the company's argument that there aren't common issues that predominate over individual ones and adopting a tentative ruling he issued earlier this month.

Expert Analysis

  • Insights From Recent Cases On Navigating Snap Removal

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    Snap removal, which allows defendants to transfer state court cases to federal court before a forum defendant is properly joined and served, is viewed differently across federal circuits — but keys to making it work can be drawn from recent decisions critiquing the practice, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Workday Case Shows Auditing AI Hiring Tools Is Crucial

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    Following a California federal court's recent decisions in Mobley v. Workday signaling that both employers and vendors could be held liable for discriminatory outcomes from artificial intelligence hiring tools, companies should consider two rigorous auditing methods to detect and mitigate bias, says Hossein Borhani at Charles River Associates.

  • Tips For Cos. Crafting Enforceable Online Arbitration Clauses

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    Recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California indicate that courts are carefully examining the enforceability of online arbitration clauses, so businesses should review the design of their websites and consider specific language next to the "purchase" button, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • 7 Lessons From The Tractor Supply CCPA Enforcement Action

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency's recent enforcement action targeting Tractor Supply for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act provides critical insights into the compliance areas that remain a priority for the California regulator, including businesses with significant consumer interactions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parody Defendants Are Finding Success Post-Jack Daniel's

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    Recent decisions demonstrate that, although the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products did benefit trademark plaintiffs by significantly limiting the First Amendment expressive use defense, courts also now appear to be less likely to find a parodic work likely to cause confusion, says Andrew Michaels at University of Houston Law Center.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • Trader Joe's Ruling Highlights Trademark Infringement Trends

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Trader Joe's Co. v. Trader Joe's United explores the legal boundaries between a union's right to advocate for workers and the protection of a brand's intellectual property, and illustrates a growing trend of courts disfavoring early dismissal of trademark infringement claims in the context of expressive speech, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What 9th Circ.'s Rosenwald Ruling Means For Class Actions

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Rosenwald v. Kimberly-Clark has important implications around the Class Action Fairness Act and traditional diversity jurisdiction — both for plaintiff-side and defense-side class action litigators — and deepens the circuit split concerning the use of judicial notice to establish diversity, says Grace Schmidt at DTO Law.

  • Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

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    As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How Calif. Law Cracks Down On Algorithmic Price-Fixing

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    Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws this month significantly expanding state antitrust enforcement and civil and criminal penalties for the use or distribution of shared pricing algorithms, as the U.S. Department of Justice has recently wielded the Sherman Act to challenge algorithmic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    Expert Reports Can't Replace Facts In Securities Fraud Cases

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    The Ninth Circuit's 2023 decision in Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder — and the U.S. Supreme Court's punt on the case in 2024 — could invite the meritless securities litigation the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was designed to prevent by substituting expert opinions for facts to substantiate complaint assertions, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Hermes Bags Antitrust Win That Clarifies Luxury Tying Claims

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    A California federal court recently found that absent actual harm to competition in the market for ancillary products, Hermes may make access to the Birkin bag contingent on other purchases, establishing that selective sales tactics and scarcity do not automatically violate U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

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