California

  • October 29, 2025

    H&R Block Loses Bid To Compel Arbitration In Privacy Suit

    A California federal judge Tuesday denied H&R Block's bid to make two consumers arbitrate their allegations that it unlawfully shared their private taxpayer data with Meta and Google, finding that unconscionability "permeates" the entirety of an underlying arbitration agreement.

  • October 29, 2025

    Character.AI Will Ban Underage Users From Using Chatbot

    Amid multiple lawsuits over the suicides of at least four teenagers, Character.AI announced Wednesday that it is taking "extraordinary steps" to restrict minors' access to its flagship artificial intelligence chatbot.

  • October 29, 2025

    Portland National Guard Deployment Bench Trial Begins In Ore.

    President Donald Trump overstepped the constitutional bounds of his power when he ordered National Guard members to Portland to address a "manufactured crisis," the Pacific Northwest city told an Oregon federal judge on Wednesday at the start of a bench trial to determine whether the deployment passes legal muster.

  • October 29, 2025

    'Pitt' Producers Appeal Order Keeping 'ER' Suit Alive

    Warner Bros. Television appealed a California judge's order that declined to toss a suit from the widow of writer Michael Crichton alleging its HBO Max show "The Pitt" is a ripoff of his NBC show "ER," saying Tuesday the court was wrong not to kill the suit on free speech grounds.

  • October 29, 2025

    Lockheed Investing $50M In Lethal, Unmanned Sea Vehicles

    Lockheed Martin said it's investing $50 million into California-based maritime drone company Saildrone for a collaboration aimed at delivering armed, unmanned surface vehicles for the U.S. Navy.

  • October 29, 2025

    DOJ Says State AGs Can't 'Second-Guess' HPE Merger Deal

    The U.S. Department of Justice and Hewlett Packard Enterprise separately urged a California federal judge Tuesday not to let a dozen state attorneys general peek behind the controversial settlement clearing HPE's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, arguing public comment, not direct intervention, is their appropriate role.

  • October 29, 2025

    Judge Says He Will End Oakland Diocese Ch. 11 By Nov. 12

    A California bankruptcy judge said Wednesday he will grant a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland to bow out of a Chapter 11 case it started two years ago by mid-November, but rejected calls from creditors to rule the bankruptcy had been filed in bad faith.

  • October 29, 2025

    Google Loses Bid To Transfer Monopolization Case To Calif.

    A Texas federal court has refused Google's bid to transfer a case from Branch Metrics accusing the search giant of monopolizing several markets related to searching on mobile devices to California, where the companies are both headquartered.

  • October 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Insurer's Win Over Retaining Wall Failure

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a Washington federal court's no-coverage decision over a contractor's $2.66 million settlement relating to faulty retaining walls it constructed, agreeing Wednesday that a "sudden and accidental" exception in an "impaired property" exclusion did not apply to reinstate coverage for one wall that had failed.

  • October 29, 2025

    OpenAI Co-Founder Dodges Musk Contempt Bid, For Now

    A California federal magistrate judge refused Wednesday to let Elon Musk tee up contempt proceedings against an OpenAI co-founder for limiting what he'd say in a court-ordered second deposition and imposing conditions on a key document in the California federal court lawsuit challenging the ChatGPT maker's transition to a for-profit structure.

  • October 29, 2025

    Broadcom Beats Netflix Patent Suit In Alice Win, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed a suit Wednesday brought by Netflix accusing Broadcom of infringing several patents, finding that they are not patent-eligible under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision, but allowed the streaming giant to amend some of its claims.

  • October 29, 2025

    Licensing Co. Picks Up Xerox Patent Portfolio

    A unit of a Santa Clara, California-based patent monetization outfit said Wednesday it has boosted its intellectual property assets by acquiring thousands of patents across the globe from Xerox.

  • October 29, 2025

    Google, Epic Can't Delay Play Store Injunction Any Longer

    A California federal judge has refused to push back Wednesday's deadline for Google to begin complying with a three-year injunction requiring it to open up its Play Store to competition, denying the Google and Epic Games' joint rescheduling request following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of Google's bid to stay the injunction.

  • October 29, 2025

    Cruz Claims Calif. Lifeline Undermines Fed. Immigration Law

    Sen. Ted Cruz is upset about a California law that would extend the Lifeline subsidy benefits to all low-income households, including those "not lawfully present in the United States," and has written to both the attorney general and the head of the FCC about his concerns.

  • October 29, 2025

    3 Pharmaceutical Firms Will Pay $4M To Tribes In Opioid MDL

    Indivior, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Zydus Pharmaceuticals have inked deals to compensate tribes for their role in the opioid crisis, according to stipulated dismissals entered on Wednesday in Ohio federal court.

  • October 29, 2025

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Review VirtaMove Venue Cases

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday said it won't rethink its refusal to send back to Texas federal court a pair of suits from a software company accusing Google and Amazon of patent infringement.

  • October 29, 2025

    Cameo Sues OpenAI Over Sora Feature With Same Name

    Cameo, a company that creates personalized celebrity videos, has sued OpenAI over the launch of a feature in its Sora video generator also called Cameo that allows users to create videos with AI versions of celebrities.

  • October 29, 2025

    Fla. Challenges 'Special' Calif. Tax Rule At Supreme Court

    Florida on Tuesday took steps to sue California in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to strike down a California taxation rule as unconstitutional for allegedly discouraging companies from relocating or operating outside the Golden State.

  • October 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Revive Kratom Extract Action

    A group of consumers urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reverse the dismissal of their action against companies that marketed an alkaloid derivative of the kratom leaf they allege is as addictive as opioids.

  • October 29, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Portland National Guard Challenge

    The full Ninth Circuit court will reconsider last week's panel ruling that was poised to allow the Trump administration to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, according to an order issued Tuesday by Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Helen Murguia.

  • October 29, 2025

    Netflix Settles Former India Legal Director's Gender Bias Suit

    Netflix has settled a wrongful termination and gender discrimination suit filed by the company's former director of business and legal affairs in India, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court filing.

  • October 29, 2025

    Alston & Bird Sanctioned $10K For LinkedIn Juror Research

    A California federal judge has sanctioned Alston & Bird LLP $10,000 for conducting juror research on LinkedIn ahead of a trial in which it fended off $174 million in patent infringement claims against GoPro, saying privacy has been eroded in the age of the internet, and he considers LinkedIn research to be juror contact because of the notifications it sends to users.

  • October 29, 2025

    Calif. Co. Cites Export Ban In Bid To Block $490K Judgment

    A Los Angeles boat builder that supplies law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military asked a California federal judge to block a Chinese company's attempt to enforce a $490,000 arbitral award, saying payment would violate federal export controls.

  • October 28, 2025

    LA's Acting US Atty Essayli 'Not Lawfully Serving,' Judge Says

    Bill Essayli "is not lawfully serving" as the acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled Tuesday evening, disqualifying President Donald Trump's pick from serving in that role while declining to outright toss indictments in three criminal cases under his supervision.

  • October 28, 2025

    CVS, Ad Partner Can't Shake Suit Over User Data Tracking

    A California federal judge has refused to release CVS Pharmacy Inc. and a marketing partner from a putative class action accusing them of illegally intercepting personal health information from those who visited the retail chain's website, finding that the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged the disclosure of sensitive information and that consumers' loss of control of this data caused concrete harm.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Continue Protecting Plaintiffs In Mass Arbitration

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    In recent years, many companies have imposed onerous protocols that function to frustrate plaintiffs' ability to seek justice through mass arbitration, but a series of welcome court decisions in recent months indicate that the pendulum might be swinging back toward plaintiffs, say Raphael Janove and Sasha Jones at Janove Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • AG Watch: Illinois A Key Player In State-Level Enforcement

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    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has systematically strengthened his office to fill federal enforcement gaps, oppose Trump administration mandates and advance state policy objectives, particularly by aggressively pursuing labor-related issues, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • How A 9th Circ. False Ad Ruling Could Shift Class Certification

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    The Ninth Circuit's July decision in Noohi v. Johnson & Johnson, holding that unexecuted damages models may suffice for purposes of class certification, has the potential to create judicial inefficiencies and crippling uncertainties for class action defendants, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

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    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

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    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • 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.

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