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Massachusetts
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September 30, 2025
Undercover Cop's Nonwhite 'Bitmoji' May Be Bias, Court Says
A Massachusetts police department's use of a nonwhite "bitmoji" avatar while conducting gang surveillance on Snapchat could reasonably be viewed as selective enforcement, the state's high court said on Tuesday, in a case being watched by a coalition of criminal justice, civil liberties and privacy advocates.
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September 29, 2025
Trump Can Cut Ed Dept.'s Civil Rights Staff, 1st Circ. Rules
The Trump administration can proceed with plans to cut certain jobs at the U.S. Department of Education after the First Circuit on Monday halted a Massachusetts federal judge's injunction that the federal government had argued showed "disregard" to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
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September 29, 2025
DHS Can't Tie FEMA Funds To Immigration Agenda, AGs Say
A dozen state attorneys general sued the Department of Homeland Security in Rhode Island federal court on Monday, accusing it of holding emergency response funding hostage unless they help enforce federal immigration laws, despite a recent court order blocking the department's attempts to condition funds on such assistance.
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September 29, 2025
Boeing Using Rejected Args In 737 Max Fraud Suit, Fund Says
An investment fund has told an Illinois federal judge that Boeing cannot escape a lawsuit alleging it misrepresented the overall safety of the 737 Max 8 after two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, saying it has pinpointed specific misstatements that judges in similar cases have already deemed actionable.
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September 29, 2025
Mass. Appellate Court Revives Hospital Worker's Vaccine Suit
A former surgical technician at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital who was fired after her request for a religious exemption from a mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy was deemed to be based on "demonstrably false" information will get another chance to prove her discrimination claim, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court ruled Monday.
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September 29, 2025
Therapist Admits Sending Patient's Funds To Scammers
A Massachusetts psychologist will plead guilty to charges that he used a patient's accident settlement funds and borrowed money from a relative to invest in what turned out to be a cryptocurrency romance scam, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
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September 29, 2025
Apple Watch Failed To Detect Fall, Mass. Woman Alleges
A Massachusetts woman who suffered a serious brain injury when she fell down her basement stairs says the Apple Watch she purchased specifically for its fall detection feature failed to call 911, leaving her to spend 13 hours without medical help.
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September 29, 2025
Ex-Mass. US Atty Faces Bar Reprimand Over Leak, Texts
Former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has agreed to waive a hearing and accept a public reprimand from state bar regulators as a sanction for leaking confidential material about an investigation to a reporter, then trying to shift blame away from herself in a "disingenuous" text to staff, according to a petition for discipline.
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September 28, 2025
Trump Asks Justices To Rule On Birthright Order's Legality
President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the legality of his executive order denying citizenship to American-born babies of unauthorized immigrants, after lower courts ruled the order is likely unconstitutional and barred it across the country.
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September 26, 2025
Real Estate Recap: EB-5 Evolving, Insurance Impact, $1B Buy
Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including insights into the EB-5 industry amid President Donald Trump's "gold card" investment visa rollout, higher insurance premiums affecting commercial real estate companies, and New York City's first single-asset real estate deal this year to break $1 billion.
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September 26, 2025
States Sue HHS For Order Erasing Gender Ideology In Sex Ed
More than a dozen state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Oregon federal court Friday, accusing it of violating the Administrative Procedure Act by threatening to revoke grant funding for teen sexual health education unless they eliminate language concerning "gender ideology" from their program materials.
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September 26, 2025
Mass. Pot Shop Shareholders Say Investor Trying A Freezeout
A group of shareholders who collectively control approximately 90% of Massachusetts cannabis producer and dispensary chain Atlantic Medicinal Partners Inc. say another investor is trying to steal the business out from under them, according to a complaint filed in state court.
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September 26, 2025
Cellectis, AstraZeneca Face IP Suit From Cell Engineering Co.
A cell engineering company sued pharmaceutical giant Cellectis Inc. on Friday, claiming it had used patented gene-editing protein research technology and purported to license it for use to AstraZeneca.
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September 26, 2025
Judge Wants Clarity On Migrant Green Card Delays
A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday said Trump administration officials may be "wordsmithing," as she asked a government lawyer to explain why some migrants trying to adjust their status from humanitarian parole to legal residency are still being told their applications are on hold despite a court order to resume processing them.
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September 26, 2025
Mass. Tax Board Cuts $1M Home Value To Sale Price
A Massachusetts home valued at $1 million by a county assessor should have the value lowered to the price the home sold for, the state Appellate Tax Board ruled.
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September 26, 2025
Oysters Not Covered By Drug Forfeiture Law, Court Rules
Massachusetts' intermediate appellate court on Friday found that the commonwealth may not apply the same forfeiture laws used for seized drugs to 1,600 wild oysters, though it nonetheless upheld the taking of the allegedly ill-gotten mollusks.
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September 25, 2025
Senate Dems Float Bill To Shield Neural Data From Misuse
A trio of Senate Democrats proposed legislation Wednesday that would establish a federal framework for how companies and the government collect and use data derived from measuring brain activity, arguing that the current lack of protections for such neural data leaves consumers open to manipulation and other serious harms.
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September 25, 2025
COVID-19 Orders Could Save Embryo Loss Case, Court Hears
Responding to last-minute arguments during a summary judgment hearing, a Connecticut Superior Court judge Thursday ordered attorneys to brief whether COVID-19 executive orders might save a Massachusetts woman's claims that her fertility doctors misplaced or destroyed her frozen embryos.
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September 25, 2025
Unions' Challenge To Trump Resignation Program Tossed
A Massachusetts federal judge shut the door on three unions' suit to block the president's deferred resignation program, saying the groups' challenge belongs before the agencies Congress created to handle federal personnel disputes.
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September 25, 2025
Private Schools Duck Aid-Fixing Conspiracy Claims, For Now
An Illinois federal judge Thursday tossed an antitrust class action accusing 40 private universities and colleges of illegally conspiring to raise net attendance prices by factoring noncustodial parents' financial information into their nonfederal aid eligibility considerations, deeming allegations of an agreement between them as "conclusory and lacking in plausibility."
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September 25, 2025
SmartLabs Accused Of Dodging Rent On Cambridge Lab
Boston-headquartered SmartLabs is facing a lawsuit over millions in unpaid rent owed to the landlord of one of its Cambridge facilities, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.
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September 25, 2025
In-House Life Sciences Lawyer Joins WilmerHale In Boston
An attorney specializing in the life sciences will be returning to private practice next month after more than nine years as an in-house counsel for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, joining WilmerHale's Boston office.
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September 24, 2025
DHS Barred From Tying Disaster Aid To Immigration Agenda
The Trump administration unlawfully attached conditions to emergency service funding that required states to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled Wednesday, agreeing with a multistate coalition that the conditions are unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious.
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September 24, 2025
Team Owner Fights PR Baseball League's Fresh Dismissal Bid
The former owner of a Puerto Rican baseball team told a federal judge this week that the court has already decided it is the proper forum for his antitrust lawsuit, and it should reject the defendant's motion to shift the dispute back to a local venue.
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September 24, 2025
Swimmers Want Re-Do In Title IX Suit Over Trans Competitor
Three swimmers suing over the participation of a transgender woman in a college meet are asking a Massachusetts federal judge to reinstate the Ivy League and Harvard University as defendants in their Title IX complaint.
Expert Analysis
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APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling
The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.
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Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap
Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion
In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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While On Firmer Ground, Uncertainty Remains For SEC's ALJs
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's recent opinion in Lemelson v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed the legitimacy of the SEC's administrative proceedings, but pointedly left unanswered the constitutional merits of tenure protection enjoyed by SEC administrative law judges — potentially the subject of future U.S. Supreme Court review, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.
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FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges
Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.
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The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Series
Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator
Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.
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Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty
The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma
Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.
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Opinion
4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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Quantifying Trading-Based Damages Using Price Impact
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increasingly rely on price impact analyses to demonstrate pecuniary harm from trading-related misconduct, meaning measuring price impact will be helpful in challenging SEC disgorgement, determining appropriate remedies, and assessing loss causation and damages in private litigation, says Vyacheslav Fos at Boston College and Erin Smith at Compass Lexecon.
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State Law Challenges In Enforcing Arbitration Clauses
In recent cases, state courts in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey have considered or endorsed heightened standards for arbitration agreements, which can mean the difference between a bilateral arbitration and a full-blown class action in court, says Fabien Thayamballi at Shapiro Arato.
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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery
E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.