California

  • July 23, 2025

    Spurning Outsiders, Trump Expands Role In Picking Judges

    President Donald Trump is tightly controlling judicial nominations in his second term, eschewing guidance from mainstream groups and instead relying on close advisers and vetting candidates himself.

  • July 22, 2025

    Google, Meta Can't Escape GoodRx Health Data Sharing Suit

    Google, Meta Platforms and Criteo largely cannot escape litigation alleging GoodRx improperly shared patients' protected health information with the tech companies, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2025

    Engineer Cops To Stealing Missile Tracking Tech To Aid China

    An engineer who worked at a tech company admitted in California federal court to stealing trade secrets regarding nuclear missile detection used by the U.S. government after previously seeking to help the People's Republic of China with its military research, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • July 22, 2025

    Shia LaBeouf Settles FKA Twigs' Sexual Battery, Assault Suit

    Shia LaBeouf has reached a settlement with FKA twigs to resolve the English singer's claims that the actor beat and berated her and used his reputation as an eccentric artist to continue a "pattern and practice" of abusing women.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Toss Of U-Visa Holder's Status Adjustment Suit

    Federal district courts can't review discretionary denials of nonimmigrant visa holders' bids to adjust to lawful permanent resident status, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday in a published opinion refusing to revive a Mexican woman's lawsuit that challenged her green card denial.

  • July 22, 2025

    Chime Facing Class Suit In Wash. Over 'Refer-A-Friend' Texts

    Online banking company Chime has been breaking a Washington state ban on unsolicited texts by encouraging customers to send "refer a friend" messages in order to expand its reach, according to a new proposed class action.

  • July 22, 2025

    Meta And Menstrual App Maker Violated Privacy, Users Testify

    Five named plaintiffs testified Tuesday in a 13 million-member class action alleging Meta and Flo Health illegally collected their private health information and used it for ad targeting, telling a California federal jury considering the multibillion-dollar suit that they never gave permission for data from the menstrual-tracking app to be shared.

  • July 22, 2025

    Clorox's $380M Suit Says Cognizant Gave Hackers Passwords

    Bleach maker Clorox hit Cognizant with a $380 million lawsuit in California state court Tuesday, alleging the cybersecurity company enabled a "catastrophic" 2023 cyberattack by handing over highly sensitive Clorox employee passwords after hackers simply asked for them.

  • July 22, 2025

    OCC Defends Ex-Wells Fargo Exec's $10M Fake Accounts Fine

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has urged the Eighth Circuit to uphold a $10 million penalty and industry ban against a former Wells Fargo risk executive for her role in the bank's fake accounts scandal, arguing her post-Jarkesy claims rest on a "fundamental misconception" of the Constitution.

  • July 22, 2025

    IP Atty's FCA Suit Against Valeant Over Apriso Tossed Again

    A California federal judge on Tuesday again threw out an attorney's whistleblower False Claims Act suit alleging Valeant Pharmaceuticals fraudulently obtained a patent to block generic Apriso, but gave him several weeks to amend his case.

  • July 22, 2025

    Sandoz Loses 'Nonsense' Bid To Avoid DOJ Deal In AGs' Case

    A Connecticut federal judge has given dozens of state attorneys general a small but important win in a sprawling price-fixing litigation against generic-drug makers, applying previous admissions of criminal wrongdoing and flatly rejecting "ridiculous" efforts by Sandoz, Taro Pharmaceuticals and a former Sandoz official to avoid that application.

  • July 22, 2025

    Fubo Streamers Get Own Attys In Disney Suit

    DiCello Levitt and Lite DePalma have won out over Bathaee Dunne in a battle to represent FuboTV subscribers suing Disney over ESPN streaming rates, with a judge saying he had "grave doubts" that Yavar Bathaee could adequately represent the plaintiffs after Bathaee undercut their case in a status conference.

  • July 22, 2025

    No Early Release For Former Teen Shooter, 9th Circ. Affirms

    A Ninth Circuit panel declined to grant an early release to a man serving 70 years in prison for a gang-related shooting he committed at age 16, finding that neither the length of his sentence nor his youth at the time of conviction amounted to the type of "extraordinary" circumstances allowing him compassionate relief.

  • July 22, 2025

    Feds Tell 9th Circ. That Judge Misread Trump's Sanctuary Orders

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that a district court's injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco rests on the court's misunderstanding of President Donald Trump's executive orders.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Broker Charged In $9.5M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Investors

    An ex-securities broker was indicted on one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering for allegedly orchestrating a $9.5 million Ponzi scheme involving purported bond investment opportunities and faces a parallel civil suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • July 22, 2025

    Pot Co. Claims Landlord Stole Trade Secrets, Started Rival Co.

    A Los Angeles dispensary and cannabis grower has claimed that its landlord, the Art Rubinstein Family Trust, lured it into a business partnership so the landlord could steal trade secrets and later coerce the tenant into extending its lease, according to a lawsuit filed in California state court.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge OK To Make Own ID Of Bank Robber, 9th Circ. Rules

    A San Diego bank robber did not have his right to a fair trial violated when the judge trying his case used her own judgment to identify him as the person shown committing the crimes in surveillance video, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2025

    Netflix Fired Atty For Reporting On 2 Senior Execs, Suit Says

    Netflix's ousted labor relations counsel filed a retaliation suit in California state court on Monday alleging she was fired after speaking up about sexual harassment and racial bias by two senior executives, and that she was passed over for job opportunities in favor of white colleagues. 

  • July 22, 2025

    YouTube, TikTok Poised To Beat 'Choking Challenge' Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge appeared inclined Tuesday to toss a proposed class action alleging YouTube's and TikTok's reporting features are defectively designed to overlook deadly "choking challenge" videos and similar dangerous content, noting that content moderation tools are typically shielded by Section 230, even if those tools "get it wrong."

  • July 22, 2025

    IP Notebook: Cox Piracy Appeal, Ugliest House, Keyword Feud

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Cox Communications Inc.'s appeal regarding the liability of internet service providers for their customers' music piracy has prompted defendants to request stays in separate intellectual property litigation until the question is resolved, but plaintiffs say that's no reason for delays.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

    An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.

  • July 22, 2025

    OpenAI Scores TM Win Against Open Artificial Intelligence Co.

    A California federal judge has granted OpenAI Inc. a win in a trademark infringement case it brought against a company with a similar name, finding the other company had made misrepresentations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • July 22, 2025

    Boeing Says Calif. Ties Not Related To 737 Max Midair Blowout

    The Boeing Co. is asking a California federal court to throw out claims against it stemming from the midair blowout of a door plug on one of its 737 Max 9 jets, saying the plaintiffs have failed to show that the incident had anything to do with the company's ties to California.

  • July 22, 2025

    Sable Aims To Sink Groups' Suit Over Calif. Oil Platforms

    Sable Offshore Corp. told a California federal judge that green groups didn't follow proper litigation notice rules, dooming their lawsuit alleging the federal government failed to require the company to update safety and pollution control plans at drilling facilities.

  • July 22, 2025

    Eversheds Sutherland Launches Silicon Valley Office

    Eversheds Sutherland is expanding its West Coast operations, announcing Tuesday it is opening a Silicon Valley office with Bradford Newman, a litigator from Baker McKenzie specializing in trade secrets and artificial intelligence, as its head.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Trends Responsible For Declining FLSA Filings

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    In 2024, the number of Fair Labor Standards Act claims filed in federal courts continued to decrease, reflecting a steady decline in federal FLSA filings since 2015 due to a few trends, including increased compliance and presuit resolution, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • When Physical And Cyber Threats Converge: 6 Tips For Cos.

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    Amid an ongoing trend of increased digital threats of harm made against corporations, organizations and high-profile individuals, an emerging legal framework is providing a risk management road map for general counsel and their teams to navigate the increasingly fraught landscape, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Tips For Companies Crafting Tariff Surcharge Disclosures

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    As the Trump administration imposes tariffs on imports, retail businesses considering itemizing tariff-related costs separately for consumers must ensure that any disclosures are both accurate and defensible to avoid regulatory enforcement or private suits, says Christopher Cole at Katten.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Berry Ruling Shows Why Plant IP Suits Can Be Thorny

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    A California federal court's recent decision in Driscoll's v. California Berry Cultivars illustrates that while a path exists for asserting U.S. plant patent rights against extraterritorial breeders, it can be difficult to prove infringement based on importation of plant parts, say Travis Bliss and Stephany Small at Panitch Schwarze.

  • Calif. Smoke Claim Ruling Gives Insurers Support On Denials

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    Far from being an outlier among ash, soot and smoke coverage cases, a California appellate court's recent opinion in Gharibian v. Wawanesa General Insurance reinforces the principle that policyholders must establish entitlement to coverage as a threshold matter, while supporting denials of coverage for meritless claims, says Kyle Espinola at Zelle.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Opinion

    Third-Party Funding Transparency Is Key In Patent Suits

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    Third-party litigation funding is a growing industry that could benefit from enhanced disclosure standards to ensure transparency, as challenges in obtaining discovery of such funding can complicate patent litigation against nonpracticing entities, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • A Closer Look At Amendments To Virginia Noncompete Ban

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    Recently passed amendments in Virignia will prohibit noncompetes for all employees who are eligible for overtime pay under federal law, and though the changes could simplify employers’ analyses as to restrictive covenant enforceability, it may require them to reassess and potentially adjust their use of noncompetes with some workers, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Despite SEC Climate Pause, Cos. Must Still Heed State Regs

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    While businesses may have been given a reprieve from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rules aimed at standardizing climate-related disclosures, they must still track evolving requirements in states including California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York that will soon require reporting of direct and indirect carbon emissions, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

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