California

  • June 04, 2026

    Draft House Bill Aims To Set Federal AI Regulatory Standard

    A bipartisan pair of House members Thursday released a draft proposal to create a federal framework for AI governance that would require large developers to take steps to address and disclose "catastrophic" risks while prohibiting states from crafting or enforcing laws "targeting the development of AI models" for three years.

  • June 04, 2026

    Meta Says Section 230 Foils Social Media Addiction Verdict

    Meta urged a Los Angeles judge on Thursday to toss a landmark verdict against the social media giant and Google for harming a young woman's mental health, saying it deserves a total victory under Section 230 because the plaintiff was addicted to third-party content, not the platforms themselves.

  • June 04, 2026

    No 'Conspiracy To Hide Asbestos' In Talc, J&J Atty Tells Jury

    An attorney for Johnson & Johnson said Thursday during closing arguments of a six-week bellwether trial that the only way three women's deadly ovarian cancers were caused by the company's talc would be a vast worldwide conspiracy to hide that asbestos is present in the products, but it just "doesn't make sense."

  • June 04, 2026

    Atkore Inks Additional $50M Deal In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row

    Atkore Inc. has reached another settlement in litigation claiming it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices, this time agreeing to pay $50 million to a class of end-user plaintiffs, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the deal filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.

  • June 04, 2026

    Alibaba's Money-Back Guarantees Are 'Illusory,' Shoppers Say

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding makes "illusory" money-back guarantee and refund promises if shipped items are damaged or missing, despite it having "unfettered discretion" to choose whether to provide refunds regardless of the evidence provided by customers, according to a proposed class action in California federal court. 

  • June 04, 2026

    Ex-Football Stars Sue NCAA, Conferences For Lost NIL Pay

    Two college football stars, who went on to play in the NFL, have filed antitrust suits claiming the NCAA, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences exploited them for their abilities while denying them compensation for their names, images and likenesses.

  • June 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs FMCSA Block On Calif. Bus Driver Break Rules

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday validated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's conclusion that national hours-of-service regulations trump California's meal and rest break rules for bus drivers, saying the agency was justified in finding that the Golden State rules strain interstate commerce.

  • June 04, 2026

    Calif. Bar Accuses More Attys In Unlicensed Practice Scheme

    Three more attorneys at the Los Angeles personal injury firm facing investigation for its involvement in a record $4 billion sex abuse settlement against Los Angeles County are facing disciplinary charges by the State Bar of California, alleging the firm illegally practiced law outside the state.

  • June 04, 2026

    Is Pattie Gonna Get Out Of This? Patagonia's IP And PR Pickle

    Patagonia's trademark infringement suit against drag queen and environmental activist Pattie Gonia has caught the attention of both intellectual property attorneys and popular culture aficionados, with lawyers saying the action highlights how IP enforcement and public relations management aren't always in perfect harmony.

  • June 04, 2026

    Al Jazeera Beats DMCA Claim, For Now, In Storm Video Suit

    A California federal judge has dismissed videographers' claim that Al Jazeera falsified copyright attribution on weather footage posted to YouTube, finding the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege the network acted with intent to facilitate infringement, while giving them a chance to amend their complaint.

  • June 04, 2026

    Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk Lead Liftoff Mobile's $437M IPO

    AI-powered advertising platform Liftoff Mobile Inc. hit public markets Thursday, raising $437 million in its initial public offering that was steered by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

  • June 04, 2026

    Ex-Detroit News Anchor Files Sex Bias Claims Against Fox

    Former Fox 2 Detroit news anchor Taryn Asher is accusing her ex-employer of sex discrimination and retaliation, alleging in a Michigan federal lawsuit that her male co-worker got prime assignments, interviews and scheduling and that she was excluded from key news meetings.

  • June 04, 2026

    Calif. And Santa Barbara Beat Land Use Challenge, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed, for now, a lawsuit by a developer seeking to build a multifamily housing project near Santa Barbara's Old Mission over a new state law that allegedly singled out the project for additional environmental review, while acknowledging Tuesday there are "serious constitutional questions raised here."

  • June 04, 2026

    JD Power Claims Chime's Bogus '#1' Banking Ads Rip Off TMs

    J.D. Power has hit Chime Financial Inc. with a lawsuit in New York federal court, accusing the fintech company of willfully infringing J.D. Power's trademarks to support a "widespread, multi-channel" deceptive advertising campaign falsely suggesting that the data analytics firm rated Chime "America's #1 Choice for Banking."

  • June 04, 2026

    Buyers Say Cove Probiotic Sodas Have Artificial Sweetener

    A proposed class of California consumers is suing Cove Drinks Inc. in federal court, alleging that its probiotic sodas contain an artificial sweetener despite advertising claiming that they do not.

  • June 04, 2026

    Yurok Tribe Sues California City Over Sacred Land Authority

    The Yurok Tribe is asking a California district court to block the city of Trinidad from asserting jurisdiction over matters affecting an Indigenous village site, arguing that the city exceeded its authority in appointing another tribe to oversee its protection.

  • June 04, 2026

    Live Nation Remedies Discovery To Wait On New Trial Motions

    A New York federal judge said that state attorneys general will have to wait on discovery to bolster their bid for a Live Nation Entertainment Inc. breakup, preferring to first tackle the live music giant's bid to upend jury findings faulting the company for monopolizing the industry.

  • June 04, 2026

    Judge Won't Rethink Insurer's Duty To Cover Data Center Row

    A California federal judge refused to allow Navigators Specialty Insurance Co. to file a reconsideration motion for a prior ruling that dismissed the insurer's claims in its coverage suit against a client company taken into arbitration over a California data center project.

  • June 04, 2026

    Parking Cos. Face Privacy Class Action Over Plate Readers

    Four private parking operators and technology vendors in Maryland are facing a proposed privacy class action after five drivers accused them of illegally pulling their personal information from the state DMV to send them invoices with exorbitant fees.

  • June 04, 2026

    Meta Says 9th Circ. Needn't Revisit Facebook Genocide Ruling

    Meta Platforms Inc. is fighting a petition from two women asking the Ninth Circuit for a full court rehearing of their suit alleging that Facebook's 2009 algorithms contributed to the destruction of their villages during the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, saying the circuit's interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act doesn't need revisiting.

  • June 04, 2026

    Calif. Judge Orders DHS To Allow Detention Center Inspection

    A California federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow San Diego County officials to complete a health and safety inspection of the Otay Mesa immigrant detention center.

  • June 04, 2026

    SEC Disgorgement Powers Stay Intact After High Court Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could collect ill-gotten gains from alleged fraudsters without having to identify victims who were financially harmed by the fraud, declining to place further limits on the agency's disgorgement powers six years after it last did so.

  • June 03, 2026

    Balwani Takes Theranos Conviction Challenge To Justices

    Former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his criminal fraud conviction and nearly 13-year prison sentence, arguing that the Ninth Circuit used the wrong review doctrine in rejecting his argument that prosecutors had failed to correct allegedly false testimony given by investor victims.

  • June 03, 2026

    Blank Rome Beats DQ Bid In Cannabis Dispensary Loan Fight

    A married couple who operate a New Jersey cannabis dispensary cannot escape claims that they misused roughly half of a $1.6 million business loan, a California federal court ruled on Wednesday while also rejecting the entrepreneurs' attempt to disqualify the lender's law firm.

  • June 03, 2026

    'This Is Their Document': Jury Told J&J Docs Prove Talc Lies

    Counsel for the families of three women who died of ovarian cancer delivered closing arguments Wednesday in their six-week-long bellwether lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, telling jurors that decades-old internal documents prove the company hid that its talc was contaminated with asbestos.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

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    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

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    Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • Small And Midsize Business Finance Faces More State Regs

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    Recent developments in state credit disclosure, consumer debt collection, and lender licensing and registration requirements suggest that companies extending financing to small and midsize businesses are likely to encounter a significantly more stringent legal climate moving forward, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Steps To Consider As DOJ Launches Fraud Division

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    The establishment this month of the National Fraud Enforcement Division within the U.S. Department of Justice is a significant reorganization that suggests an increase in enforcement activity involving federally funded programs but leaves a number of important questions unanswered, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Why Justices Seem Skeptical Of Curbing SEC Disgorgement

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    Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission presents an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the disgorgement limits it set six years ago in Liu v. SEC, with recent oral arguments suggesting the court sees disgorgement as an equitable remedy akin to unjust enrichment, say attorneys at Hueston Hennigan.

  • Series

    Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

  • Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Fresenius v. Bonta suggests that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities, even if those donations are motivated by economic self-interest, potentially calling into question years of Anti-Kickback Statute proceedings against pharmaceutical manufacturers for making similar donations, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • How College Sports EO Raises Stakes, Casts Uncertainty

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    The effectiveness of President Donald Trump's recent executive order urging national action to "save" college sports depends on NCAA implementation and judicial tolerance, neither of which is certain, so college athletics will remain governed by an unstable balance between executive pressure and judicial authority until Congress acts, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Written Consent Ruling May Signal Change For Telemarketing

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    The Fifth Circuit's ruling in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control is a takedown of the Federal Communications Commission's prior express written consent regulation, and because Loper Bright empowers courts to disregard agency interpretations, Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigants now have an opportunity to challenge previously settled FCC regulations, orders and interpretations, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

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    As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

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