California

  • October 15, 2026

    GKN Says Insurers Owe Defense In Overheated Tank Suits

    GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc. told a California federal court Thursday that its insurers are improperly refusing to honor their duty to defend the company in lawsuits and a civil investigation stemming from the overheating of a storage tank and subsequent evacuation of residents in Orange County.

  • October 15, 2026

    Calif. Owners Claim Lennar Homes Have Cracks, Leaks

    A group of homeowners in a California subdivision built by Lennar sued the homebuilder in state court, claiming that construction flaws such as cracking concrete and leaking plumbing have caused at least $1 million in damage.

  • October 15, 2026

    Warehouse Workers Win $1.55M Settlement In Wage Suit

    Thousands of California warehouse workers have reached a $1.55 million settlement with a staffing company over allegations that they were denied proper meal and rest breaks and were not fully paid for their work, according to a court filing.

  • October 15, 2026

    Calif. Pot Shop Escapes Suit Over Alleged Gummy Reaction

    A California appeals court threw out a man's fraud and unfair competition claims against a cannabis dispensary that sold him a gummy he said induced a panic attack, saying his complaint fails to indicate the dispensary or its employee knowingly misled him.

  • October 14, 2026

    Unions, Nonprofits Get USDA Reorganization Plan Blocked

    A California federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from closing offices and reshuffling staff, saying the department's planned reorganization likely amounted to "reprogramming" prohibited by statutory spending restrictions.

  • October 14, 2026

    OpenAI Tells Court Ex-Worker Took Confidential Files To Apple

    OpenAI Foundation on Wednesday alleged one of its former employees absconded with confidential files about an unreleased artificial intelligence product and gave the information to Apple Inc., asking the California federal judge overseeing Apple's nearly identical trade secret allegations for time to investigate and potentially file counterclaims.

  • October 14, 2026

    State Dept. Ordered To Open 2027 Diversity Visa Program

    A California federal judge ordered U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to swiftly open up registration for the 2027 diversity visa program and to make a public announcement of the registration period "no later than midnight" Thursday.

  • October 14, 2026

    Ex-Oakland Mayor Thao Put 'Power Up For Sale,' Jury Told

    Prosecutors told a California federal jury during trial openings Wednesday that Oakland's then-mayor Sheng Thao put "power up for sale" when she and her boyfriend accepted bribes in exchange for potential city contracts to build prefab "tiny homes" for the unhoused.

  • October 14, 2026

    Software Patent Claims Invalidated In Google, Amazon Suits

    A California federal judge found Tuesday that claims in a pair of VirtaMove software patents are invalid, agreeing with Amazon and Google's arguments that the claims asserted against them in the infringement litigation are indefinite.

  • October 14, 2026

    Samsung Says Rival Leans On Fabricated 'Mini LED' Definition

    Samsung moved to dismiss a competitor's suit alleging it falsely markets some of its TVs as having Mini LED technology that provides a higher-quality picture, telling a California federal judge Tuesday the plaintiff wants her to adopt a "fabricated three-part definition" for Mini LED that only exists in the complaint. 

  • October 14, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel Seeks Arbitration Of $1.7M Fee Dispute

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is urging a California federal court to order an entrepreneur to arbitrate malpractice claims stemming from the firm's representation of her in a sexual harassment claim against a technology investor as it seeks to collect more than $1.7 million in unpaid fees.

  • October 14, 2026

    Founder-Focused VC Firm Closes $333M Fifth Fund

    Venture capital firm Pear VC on Wednesday revealed that it closed its fifth fund after raising $333 million in capital, bringing the Menlo Park, California-based firm's total assets under management to $1.1 billion.

  • October 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Blocks Calif. Law Requiring Fed Agents To Show IDs

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday reversed the implementation of a California law requiring federal agents to display identification, saying the Trump administration is "certain to succeed" on its argument that the state statute violates the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause.

  • October 14, 2026

    AGs Say Character.AI Chats Must Be Protected In Ch. 11 Sale

    A group of state attorneys general told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday that protection of minors and privacy concerns need to be addressed before the company behind artificial intelligence entertainment platform Character.AI is allowed to sell its data in its Chapter 11 case.

  • October 14, 2026

    Paramount, State AGs Chose Certainty Over Merger Trial Risk

    Paramount Skydance closed its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6, after reaching a settlement with state enforcers that experts say was driven by both politics and the underlying litigation risk for both sides.

  • October 14, 2026

    Live Nation Says FTC Twists BOTS Act To Target Ticketmaster

    Live Nation and Ticketmaster fought back against the Federal Trade Commission's case accusing the companies of ignoring ticket scalpers and failing to disclose significant Ticketmaster fees upfront, telling a California federal judge the agency is targeting the companies "for not perfectly blocking all ticket purchase abuse on Ticketmaster's platform."

  • October 14, 2026

    Utz Sued Again Over Avocado Oil Potato Chip Labeling

    Utz was sued again Wednesday by customers who alleged in California federal court that they were misled into thinking its Boulder Canyon potato chips are cooked only with avocado oil, despite a recent UC Davis study that suggests the chips aren't consistent with a product containing only avocado oil.

  • October 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Toss Of Hulu Digital Advertising Patent Suit

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld a California federal judge's decision dismissing a suit brought by a patent-holding company accusing streaming giant Hulu of infringing patents covering advertising in digital media, finding the patent claims cover an abstract idea and lack an inventive concept.

  • October 14, 2026

    Watchdog Wants Probe Of Trump Press Secretary's Atty Claim

    A nonprofit government watchdog on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether the new White House press secretary has claimed to be an attorney without being licensed to practice law.

  • October 14, 2026

    Sidley Taps Kirkland Atty As Private Equity Funds Co-Leader

    A Kirkland & Ellis LLP investment funds partner has moved to Sidley Austin LLP to become a co-leader of its private equity funds group.

  • October 13, 2026

    Dodgers Owner's Insurers Hid Affiliate Loans, Suits Say

    Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and insurers owned by his holding company, Guggenheim Partners, have been hit with multiple proposed class actions alleging they sold annuities based on misrepresentations, with policyholders' premiums being siphoned into loans and financing that benefited Walter-affiliated companies.

  • October 13, 2026

    Feds' Mich. SNAP Records Fight Paused Pending Calif. Ruling

    A Michigan federal judge Tuesday paused the Trump administration's lawsuit that seeks to force Michigan into handing over certain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applicant records, saying a California federal court overseeing the same "core legal issue" in a lawsuit filed by Michigan and other states should rule first.

  • October 13, 2026

    Landlord Discovery OK'd In Yardi Rental Rate Software Suit

    A Washington federal judge said Tuesday that renters can pursue discovery from landlords in a proposed antitrust class action targeting Yardi's rent-setting software for multifamily property managers, while largely denying the tech firm's summary judgment bid — a ruling that would allow for more factfinding before definitively resolving the arguments.  

  • October 13, 2026

    Mommy's Bliss Melatonin Isn't Safe For Kids, Suit Says

    Mommy's Bliss is improperly hawking its melatonin supplements as being suitable to treat children with insomnia or sleeplessness, despite numerous studies that say melatonin isn't safe for kids, as ingesting it has resulted in overdoses, hospitalizations and even death, alleges a proposed class action filed Monday in California federal court. 

  • October 13, 2026

    OpenAI Accused Of Mining Kids' ChatGPT Data To Train LLMs

    OpenAI has preyed on children by extracting "vast amounts of highly sensitive and valuable data" from millions of young ChatGPT users without valid consent and then using that information to train its large language models, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

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    The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • How Litigants Are Testing Conversion Therapy Ruling's Scope

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    Litigants are already using the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chiles v. Salazar ruling, which applied strict scrutiny to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, to challenge laws limiting algorithmic rental pricing, artificial intelligence-based discrimination and anti-union employer speech, and courts must soon decide Chiles’ First Amendment limits, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Illinois Audit Law Will Make AI Clauses Actually Enforceable

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    A law recently enacted in Illinois creates a first-in-the-nation requirement for artificial intelligence developers to undergo annual audits, providing objective standards that can be incorporated into private contracts and addressing the problem of defining responsible AI use, says William Tanenbaum at Moses & Singer.

  • Opinion

    Shareholder Derivative Litigation Needs A Better Framework

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    Uncoordinated, multiforum shareholder derivative litigation is a growing issue for corporate defendants that have little to no recourse for organizing and consolidating actions, but several commonsense steps should be utilized to preempt such disputes, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Occupier Contract Strategies For Locking In Expansion Rights

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    In a market defined by record-setting demand, shrinking availability and rising rents, large commercial office occupiers must treat expansion space planning as a strategic priority, including by auditing existing rights, understanding the competitive landscape within their buildings and exploring creative lease provisions, says Josh Winefsky at HSF Kramer.

  • How State, Local Rules Are Expanding Debt Collection Reach

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    Consumer protection rules recently enacted by several states signal that the rules of debt collection are being rewritten at a pace that should command the attention of every creditor, servicer, debt buyer, collection agency and collection law firm operating across state lines, says Weldianne Scales at Reed Smith.

  • 2 AI Washing Rulings Apply Familiar Securities Fraud Rules

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    Two recent federal court decisions to allow AI washing complaints to proceed begin to clarify the line between nonactionable optimism and actionable misstatements by framing the core issue as not overstating the promise of artificial intelligence, but misrepresenting the current state of a company's products, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • A New Regulatory Environment For PE In Calif. Healthcare

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    The California Office of Health Care Affordability's proposed revisions to its cost and market impact review regulations, amid broader state scrutiny of private equity-backed healthcare arrangements, represent a qualitative shift in California's regulatory posture toward institutional healthcare investment, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • CFIUS' Mandate Misses Foreign Risk In Project Subcontracts

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    Recent calls for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review equity transactions like the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. deal miss a consequential oversight gap — CFIUS' inability to review the subcontracting layer of U.S. infrastructure projects, says Thibaut Giret at Alstef Group.

  • AI Governance Tips For Avoiding Securities Suits

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    A recent securities class action in California federal court against lending platform Upstart highlights how statements about artificial intelligence are increasingly being scrutinized not only by regulators, but also by shareholders, meaning companies should ensure oversight frameworks keep pace with the technology, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Ultra-Processed Food Legal Risks

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    A wave of litigation and government scrutiny directed against ultra-processed foods is now gaining momentum, following patterns seen previously in other industries — and food companies that recognize those patterns early will be better positioned to manage the increasing risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

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