California

  • June 13, 2025

    GM Can't Arbitrate Driver's Transmission Defect Suit

    General Motors can't rely on an arbitration clause contained in a purchase agreement between a plaintiff customer and a dealership to arbitrate his claims alleging GM made cars with a defective transmission, after a Michigan federal judge ruled Friday the clause doesn't cover GM, which wasn't a party to the contract. 

  • June 13, 2025

    Google Defeats $1.3B Contract Case Over Advertising Tech

    A California state jury has rejected a company's breach of contract case that accused Google of misappropriating information about its digital advertising technology to build similar products, ending the suit that had sought $1.3 billion in damages.

  • June 13, 2025

    Injunction Sought After J&J Unit's Catheter Antitrust Loss

    Innovative Health is seeking a permanent injunction that would ban Johnson & Johnson health tech unit Biosense Webster from conditioning the provision of cardiac mapping services on purchases of cardiac catheters, after Innovative Health netted a $442 million trial win on its antitrust claims.

  • June 13, 2025

    Apple Lets Crypto Fraud Schemes Onto App Store, Suit Says

    Apple has been hit with a class action in California federal court alleging it allows fraudulent cryptocurrency trading applications to exist and be available for download on its App Store, causing consumers to become victims of pig butchering and other trading scams.

  • June 13, 2025

    PetroSaudi Unit Liquidators Seek Pause In $380M Award Suit

    Liquidators seeking to establish control over a PetroSaudi unit that won a $380 million arbitral award asked a California federal judge to let them join U.S. Justice Department litigation targeting the award over ties to funds embezzled from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

  • June 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Renews Copyright Claims In Software Cos. Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel has partially revived an intellectual property dispute between software companies Cloanto Corp. and Hyperion Entertainment, ruling that the lower court erred in tossing Cloanto's copyright claims while correctly axing its breach of contract claim.

  • June 13, 2025

    Calif. State Bar Is Immune From Atty's ADA Suit, 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to revive an attorney's claims alleging the California State Bar violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not granting extra time to respond to disciplinary action based on outstanding debt, finding the bar, as an arm of the state, is entitled to sovereign immunity.

  • June 13, 2025

    OpenAI, Altman Slam Attempt To Block 'IO' Name

    OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman have fired back at technology company IYO Inc.'s effort to bar their use of the IO Products Inc. name, arguing its claims are "insufficiently ripe" as the company hasn't provided evidence of the name being used in commerce or the likelihood of confusion.

  • June 13, 2025

    Calif. Residents Sue Over 'Pick 'Em' Fantasy Sports Contest

    A pair of San Francisco residents filed a proposed class action in California federal court against SidePrize LLC for allegedly telling customers its "Pick 'Em" daily fantasy sports contests are legal in the state when they are actually prohibited gambling operations.

  • June 13, 2025

    Nelson Mullins Adds Smith Gambrell's Korea Leader In LA

    Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has hired the former leader of Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP's Korea practice to bolster its corporate, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment transaction, and other services.

  • June 13, 2025

    Cannabis Fund Seeks End Of $145M Mismanagement Suit

    An investment fund has decided to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit against two California businessmen who allegedly squandered $145 million given to them by a now dead Russian billionaire to launch cannabis grow operations in the state.

  • June 13, 2025

    Judge Denies DOJ Bid To Shield Docs In TPS Removal Suit

    A California federal judge has agreed with a magistrate judge that the Trump administration must turn over documents pertaining to the removal of temporary protected status for Venezuelans and Haitians, holding that the documents are not covered by the executive branch's privilege.

  • June 13, 2025

    Oregon Takes Cannabis Labor Peace Row To 9th Circ.

    Oregon officials will appeal a federal judge's order barring enforcement of a voter-approved law that required licensed cannabis businesses to enter into labor peace pacts with their workers.

  • June 13, 2025

    2024 Patent Litigation: A Year In Review

    The Eastern District of Texas held onto its newly regained title as the busiest patent venue in the U.S., with nearly three times as many cases in 2024 as the once-dominant Western District of Texas. In addition, Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings bounced back after falling to a record low in 2023.

  • June 13, 2025

    Calif. AG Accuses Landlord Of Running 'Slum-Like' Empire

    California Attorney General Bob Bonta has sued a landlord with a multibillion-dollar real estate empire for allegedly flouting housing and tenant laws to an extensive degree, subjecting thousands of mostly low-income renters to inhumane living conditions with often "tragic results."

  • June 13, 2025

    Hemp Vape Maker Wants Out Of Buyer's Delta-9 THC Suit

    The maker of hemp-based electronic cigarettes under the Cake brand is asking a California federal judge to throw out a buyer's claim that the products illegally exceed federal thresholds for delta-9 THC content, saying his vague complaint doesn't meet pleading standards.

  • June 13, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Voting Order Requiring Citizenship Proof

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday blocked enforcement of what she called a likely unconstitutional Trump administration executive order requiring physical proof of citizenship to vote and invalidating ballots received after Election Day, saying the president lacks authority to override existing voting laws.

  • June 12, 2025

    Calif. Insurance Chief Probes State Farm's Wildfire Coverage

    California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday that he is launching an investigation into State Farm's handling of thousands of claims from the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires, as complaints continue to grow.

  • June 12, 2025

    Kate Beckinsale Sues Over 'Dangerous' 'Canary Black' Set

    Kate Beckinsale has sued the producers of action-thriller film "Canary Black" over allegedly "unsafe and dangerous conditions" during filming that left her with "severe and debilitating injuries," according to an amended complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

  • June 12, 2025

    Ex-UPS Workers Urge 9th Circ. To Revive State Law Claims

    An attorney for some former United Parcel Service workers urged a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday to undo a decision barring them from proceeding with some state employment claims because the workers memorialized them on union grievance forms, telling the panel the claims aren't preempted by federal law.

  • June 12, 2025

    Google Again Asks To Trim Yelp's Antitrust Suit

    Google is once again asking a California federal judge to trim Yelp's case accusing it of monopolizing the local search market, arguing that the reworked complaint doesn't fix deficiencies the court pointed out in a dismissal order earlier this year.

  • June 12, 2025

    'I Want Names': YouTube Attys' MDL Redactions Face Scrutiny

    A California federal magistrate judge ordered YouTube on Thursday to provide him with unredacted versions of documents it produced in sprawling multidistrict litigation over claims social media is addictive, and demanded that YouTube identify counsel who made its relevance-redaction determinations, saying. "I want names and I want teams."

  • June 12, 2025

    Holmes Seeks 2 Year Cut, Commits To Criminal Justice Work

    Elizabeth Holmes has asked a California federal judge to knock two years off her 11-year prison sentence, arguing she's eligible for the adjustment under sentencing guidelines and has spent her time behind bars tutoring and advocating for her fellow prisoners.

  • June 12, 2025

    Trump's Deployment Of National Guard Illegal, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Thursday granted California's request for a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump's order sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, calling the president's actions "illegal" and unconstitutional, but the decision was quickly paused by the Ninth Circuit.

  • June 12, 2025

    USPTO Tells Fed. Circ. Not To Review Ruling In Xencor Case

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has found that the full Federal Circuit doesn't need to review a decision rejecting Xencor Inc.'s application for an antibody patent, saying that a panel of the appellate court applied the right standard.

Expert Analysis

  • How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

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    The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

  • What's At Stake In High Court's Class Member Standing Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Labcorp v. Davis could significantly alter how parties prosecute and defend class actions in federal court, particularly if the court determines some proof of member standing is required before a class may be certified, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Challenge Is Not Rooted In Law

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    Legal precedents that date back as far as 1990 demonstrate that the U.S. Department of Justice's recent challenge to the proposed $14 billion merger between Hewlett Packard and Juniper is misplaced because no evidence of collusion or coordinated conduct exists, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • How Crypto Firms Should Approach Patchwork Of State Laws

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    The Money Transmission Modernization Act was designed to create uniformity across state digital regulations, but the reality remains far from consistent — as demonstrated by the patchwork of laws in states like Texas, Vermont, New York and California — so as state legislatures convene in the coming weeks, crypto firms should watch closely for developments that could shape the regulatory landscape, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Opinion

    NFT Bill Needs Refining To Effectively Regulate Digital Assets

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    A recent bill in the U.S. House proposing to regulate nonfungible tokens as digital assets would leave key concepts undefined until the U.S. comptroller general completes an after-the-fact study of NFTs, showing it needs more work before it is comprehensive enough to meaningfully protect the market, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • The Political Branches Can't Redefine The Citizenship Clause

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wong Kim Ark opinion and subsequent decisions, and the 14th Amendment’s legislative history, establish that the citizenship clause precludes the political branches from narrowing the definition of citizen based on how a parent’s U.S. presence is categorized, says federal public defender Geremy Kamens.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Appealing An Interlocutory Order On Insurer Duty To Defend

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    A recent First Circuit decision on a motion regarding an insurer's duty to defend underlying litigation highlights how policyholders may be able to pursue immediate appeals of interlocutory orders, especially in light of other circuit courts' stances on this issue, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 9th Circ. Draws The Line On Software As A Derivative Work

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Oracle International v. Rimini Street clarifies the meaning of derivative work under the Copyright Act, and when a work based upon a preexisting item doesn't constitute a derivative, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

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    Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

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