California

  • April 17, 2026

    DOT Immigrant License Crackdown Effects On Trucking

    New lawsuits and a tricky compliance landscape have besieged a trucking industry navigating the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement of restrictions on immigrant commercial truck drivers, as motor carriers, freight brokers and other ground-based shippers worry about escalating rates, driver turnover and service disruptions.

  • April 17, 2026

    Denver Bookshop Says 'Book Society' Can't Be Trademarked

    A Denver independent bookstore asked a Colorado federal judge Friday to declare it is not infringing upon a California book and wine lounge or engaging in unfair competition by using "book society" in its name.

  • April 17, 2026

    HyperSphere Beats Tech IP Suit, Falters On Sanctions Bid

    Georgia-based cybersecurity firm HyperSphere Technologies Inc. escaped a suit alleging infringement of a developer's copyrighted software code Friday but was denied a request for sanctions for having to defend itself from what it called a "frivolous" lawsuit.

  • April 17, 2026

    Rapper Says Coach Ripped Off 'This Is A Blue T-Shirt' Mark

    Los Angeles rapper G Perico alleges in a California federal lawsuit that luxury brand Coach has infringed his "this is a blue t-shirt" trademark and brand by selling shirts that bear the slogan "this is a Coach t-shirt."

  • April 17, 2026

    Solar Co. Freedom Forever Blames Unpaid Bills For Ch. 11

    Solar company Freedom Forever told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday that missed payments that mounted after the passage of the federal budget reconciliation bill last year were largely the cause of its Chapter 11 filing this week.

  • April 17, 2026

    Caitlyn Jenner's Crypto Token Isn't A Security, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed class action against Caitlyn Jenner over the $JENNER cryptocurrency token she created and promoted, finding that the digital assets in question are not securities.

  • April 17, 2026

    'Lion King' Suit May Not Reign In Podcasting Legal Jungle

    A recently filed suit over the alleged mischaracterization of the iconic opening chant in “The Lion King” may not hold up in court, but the case highlights the risks podcasters can face in a freewheeling and increasingly ubiquitous medium, experts say.

  • April 17, 2026

    Thread Count Claims Clear, 9th Circ. Says, Reviving Target Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday found that a lower court erred in dismissing a proposed class action alleging that Target Corp. sold bedsheets claiming to be 100% cotton with a thread count of 600 or more, which can't be achieved with purely cotton fabric, saying that a reasonable consumer can still be deceived by a physically impossible claim.

  • April 17, 2026

    Life Sciences Firm Says Ex-VP Took Trade Secrets To Rival

    A Massachusetts life sciences startup says a former vice president who left the company last fall, purportedly to care for his ill wife, instead took trade secrets with him to a new job at a California rival.

  • April 17, 2026

    Doc Says Texas Man Can't Sue Over Mailed Abortion Pills

    A Texas man suing his ex-girlfriend's out-of-state doctor for prescribing mail-order abortion pills can't prove that the doctor caused the wrongful death of their unborn child, the doctor told a federal court, saying the case should be dismissed because he's not responsible for the woman's actions. 

  • April 17, 2026

    Ex-Hogan Lovells, Wilson Sonsini Attys Join Calif. Bench

    Gov. Gavin Newsom filled judicial vacancies in California state and appeals courts, including appointing former lawyers from Hogan Lovells and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC for state court seats in Silicon Valley, his office has announced.

  • April 17, 2026

    Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Judge Mulls DQ Over O'Melveny Ties

    The parties in a consumer lawsuit challenging Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines have been notified that the federal judge recently assigned to the case intends to disqualify himself unless they sign a waiver over one of his retirement accounts being tied to O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which is representing Alaska Airlines.

  • April 17, 2026

    Judge Finds E-Cigarette Shop Violated State Tobacco Laws

    A California magistrate judge has recommended summary judgment in favor of the state in its suit against an electronic cigarette seller, saying the undisputed facts of the case say the business violated the law by selling e-cigarettes without a license and unlawfully shipped them through the U.S. Postal Service.

  • April 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Reverses $18M Penile Implant Trade Secret Win

    In a unanimous precedential decision, the Federal Circuit on Friday largely reversed a California jury's $18.3 million trade secret verdict over a penile implant, holding that the asserted secrets were already publicly disclosed or generally known and therefore not protectable.

  • April 17, 2026

    Sumitomo's $4.5B Tri Pointe Deal Clears Antitrust Review

    Japanese logging company Sumitomo Forestry Co.'s $4.5 billion all-cash acquisition of U.S. homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes has met an antitrust review requirement for closing the merger, Tri Pointe said in a securities filing.

  • April 16, 2026

    Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

    Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

  • April 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Judge Rips 'Sophistry' By Online Prediction Markets

    A Ninth Circuit judge appeared skeptical Thursday of requests by KalshiEX LLC, Crypto.com and Robinhood to block Nevada from enforcing state gambling laws against sports and election-related contracts, telling Robinhood's counsel "I don't buy" the companies' regulatory interpretation and slamming a Crypto.com argument as "sophistry to the nth degree."

  • April 16, 2026

    Yelp Seeks To Bind Google To DOJ's Search Monopoly Win

    Yelp urged a California federal judge Wednesday to preclude Google from arguing in defense of antitrust claims that it is not a monopolist in the general search services market, saying the issue was already determined in the U.S. Department of Justice's landmark antitrust win over the search engine company.

  • April 16, 2026

    Nvidia Fights Uphill For Big Trim Of Authors' AI Copyright Suit

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't grant Nvidia Corp.'s request to permanently toss the bulk of a proposed class action by authors who say the artificial intelligence giant unlawfully copied their copyrighted material to develop its LLMs, but will pare some claims with leave to amend.

  • April 16, 2026

    San Diego Alleges Fire Truck-Makers Attempted Monopoly

    San Diego has alleged in a federal lawsuit that fire truck manufacturers REV Group and Oshkosh Corp., along with private equity firm American Industrial Partners, orchestrated an anticompetitive scheme to consolidate the market and charge municipalities across the nation inflated prices.

  • April 16, 2026

    OpenAI, Musk OK With Bifurcated Trial And Advisory Jury

    Elon Musk, OpenAI and Microsoft agreed Thursday to a California federal judge's proposal to bifurcate the trial's liability phase from the remedies phase in a case challenging the artificial intelligence company's conversion to a for-profit entity, and that the jury for the liability phase should serve on an advisory basis.

  • April 16, 2026

    Calif. Trader Raised $40M In Ponzi-Like Fraud, Feds Say

    The head of a California-based trading firm has been accused by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding at least 400 investors out of about $40 million with false representations about his success and Ponzi-like payments.

  • April 16, 2026

    Ramey Says Sanctions Violation Was 'Misunderstanding'

    William Ramey, an intellectual property attorney sanctioned in several federal jurisdictions, told a California federal judge Thursday that any violations of a previous sanctions order regarding his ability to practice law in the state were due to "good-faith misunderstanding of the scope of the court's order — not willful disregard."

  • April 16, 2026

    AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

    Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

  • April 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Security Officer's Firing OK For Court Review

    The Ninth Circuit found Thursday that it was fair game for a jury to consider whether a nuclear facility manager illegally fired a security officer due to his prescription opioid use, ruling the revocation of his fitness-for-duty certification didn't amount to a security clearance decision blocked from judicial review.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Tips For Employers On Calif. Decision-Making Tech Rules

    Author Photo

    Over the next eight months, many California employers must prepare to comply with challenging new requirements under the California Consumer Privacy Act that constitute the most comprehensive set of rules in the country on the use of automated decision-making technology, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

    Author Photo

    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Employer Tips As Calif. Law Rewrites Retention Pay Rules

    Author Photo

    California's recent enactment of A.B. 692 disrupts how employers structure sign-on bonuses, retention payments and other incentives tied to continued employment, but employers that adjust their compensation strategies can attract and retain talent while managing their compliance risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • CFTC Chair's Speech Hints At Innovation-Friendly Policies

    Author Photo

    Remarks made by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig at the Futures Industry Association's conference last month provided the most comprehensive articulation of his regulatory agenda and signaled a shift in the CFTC's regulatory posture, including a rare focus on agency coordination and support for digital asset innovation, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • 5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

    Author Photo

    Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Gender-Expansive Calif. Equal Pay Laws Widen Employer Risk

    Author Photo

    California's recent amendments to strengthen its Equal Pay Act and Pay Transparency Act aim to shrink the wage gap, not only for women, but also for nonbinary and transgender employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers and increasing their potential exposure, say attorneys at the Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.

  • Insights From OppFi Suit On Building Calif. Bank Partnerships

    Author Photo

    A California state judge’s tentative ruling, walking through business evidence that Utah bank FinWise was not a “rent-a-bank” that fintech firm Opportunity Financial used as a front to dodge interest rate caps on in-state lenders, offers a helpful road map for structuring legally compliant bank-fintech partnerships under California law, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

    Author Photo

    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • Rebuttal

    FTC Case Reinforces Established Price Discrimination Rules

    Author Photo

    Far from redefining price discrimination, as contended by a recent Law360 guest article, the Federal Trade Commission's suit against Southern Glazer's falls squarely within the historical interpretation of the Robinson-Patman Act, says retired attorney Irving Scher.

  • Prepping For White House's Proposed AI Framework

    Author Photo

    The artificial intelligence legislative framework issued by the White House last month reframes the policy landscape, creating a number of near-term developments for companies to track as congressional committees attempt to convert the framework into legislative text, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

    Author Photo

    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • Lockdown To Ledger: COVID Rulings Inform Crypto Coverage

    Author Photo

    As cryptocurrencies move deeper into mainstream financial markets, courts tasked with determining whether traditional insurance policies respond to digital asset losses have been evaluating coverage through the analytical framework of COVID-19 business interruption litigation, with one key recurring theme, say attorneys at Kennedys.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

    Author Photo

    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here