3M Must Face Suit Challenging Retirement Plans' Fund Lineup

By Patrick Hoff

3M can't avoid a proposed class action alleging its failure to nix underperforming investment options from its $12.4 billion retirement plans cost workers tens of millions of dollars, with a Minnesota judge ruling Tuesday that the workers' allegations identified a comparable fund that performed better.

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Industrial Retailer Settles Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday agreed to stay a proposed class action against industrial retailer W.W. Grainger from ex-workers who alleged the company misspent forfeitures from an employee 401(k) plan, after parties told the court they had settled their dispute.

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Plumbing Co. To Pay $13.75M To End ESOP Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A plumbing subcontracting company will pay $13.75 million to settle workers' class action alleging its co-founders sold company shares to an employee stock ownership plan at an inflated price and later repurchased them for far less, according to a filing in California federal court.

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CSX Settles FMLA Retaliation Suit Over Holiday Leave

By Grace Elletson

CSX Transportation Inc. has agreed to settle a suit from three workers who claimed they were illegally suspended or fired after they were falsely accused of misusing medical leave to take holidays off, according to a filing Tuesday in Maryland federal court.

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Worker Says Meijer Can't Duck Suit Over Tobacco Use Fee

By Susan Smiley

A Meijer grocery store worker on Monday urged a Michigan federal judge not to dismiss his proposed class action saying the Midwestern chain violated federal benefits laws when it imposed a tobacco use surcharge on its employees without properly communicating how the fee could be avoided or refunded.

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Objectors Sink $148M Lincoln National Class Deal At 2nd Circ.

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge should not have certified a policyholder class that secured a $147.5 million cost-of-insurance settlement with Lincoln National and a Cigna unit, the Second Circuit held on Tuesday, in a victory for objectors who are pursuing parallel cases in other states.

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Cognizant Investor Seeks OK For $5.5M Derivative Case Deal

By Sarah Jarvis

A Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. shareholder has urged a New Jersey federal court to give its final approval for a $5.5 million deal to settle derivative claims that board members of the technology and consulting services company damaged the company and exposed it to liability by paying bribes in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

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UPS Says Driver's Colo. Sick Leave Claim Is Moot After Pay

By Zach Dupont

UPS has told a Colorado federal judge that the driver pursuing a proposed class action over paid-sick-leave violations can't win his bid for partial summary judgment because he isn't owed any money for sick leave, according to UPS's response brief to the driver's motion. 

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Navigating The Limits Of Calif. Justices' Public Pension Ruling

Despite the California Supreme Court's recent holding that counties and cities wield discretion over classification and salary decisions for their public retirement board staff, it is important to remember that such authority is not unchecked as unreasonable rejections remain subject to judicial review, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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Are your summer associates prepared for a legal career?

How does your firm shape the summer associate experience and mentor new talent? Invite your summer associates to share their perspectives in this year’s Law360 Pulse Summer Associates Survey.

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Trial Firm Reid Collins To Award 3rd Set Of Associate Bonuses

By Jake Maher

Texas-based trial boutique Reid Collins & Tsai LLP is planning to dole out a third round of bonuses for the year to associates, raising their total bonus pay to between $130,000 and $170,000 on the year so far, with another round expected later in 2026.

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Aperture Expands Litigation Finance Platform To $1B

By Ryan Boysen

Alternative asset manager Aperture Investors is expanding its litigation finance platform to $1 billion in total investment capacity, mostly deployed as direct loans to plaintiffs firms.

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Deal Reached In Class Action Over Botched Calif. Bar Exam

By Emily Sawicki

A settlement has been reached in a proposed nationwide class action brought by bar applicants against the proctor of the botched February 2025 California bar exam, one month after the California State Bar settled its claims against the proctor.

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Law Grad Says Hofstra Ignored Heart Attack Mid-Bar Exam

By Andrea Keckley

A Fordham University School of Law graduate accused Hofstra University in New York state court of failing to intervene in time when she had a heart attack in the middle of the July 2025 Bar Exam, refusing to stop the test and discouraging her peers from rendering aid.

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$190K Or $1.9M? Goldstein, DOJ 'At Impasse' Over Forfeiture

By Jeff Overley

Tom Goldstein and the U.S. Department of Justice aired dramatically divergent views Wednesday of a looming financial penalty for his fraud convictions, with the famed appellate advocate voicing constitutional objections to the DOJ's request for almost $2 million and revealing that prosecutors spurned a far smaller offer.

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Analysis

DOJ Settlements Perceived As Flouting Litigation Norms

By Britain Eakin

A trend of settlements between the Trump administration and friendly parties in fast-track lawsuits to pursue policy changes has legal experts concerned about the endurance of a longstanding norm that federal courts can only hear genuine disputes between opposing parties.

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BakerHostetler Faces Possible RICO Claim From Ex-Client

By Emily Johnson

A trustee who has accused BakerHostetler and an Atlanta-based attorney of legal malpractice has asked a Georgia federal court to allow him to accuse the former de facto general counsel and business adviser of a nonprofit of violating the Georgia RICO Act.

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Q&A

She Has A Point: Shutts & Bowen's Jodi-Ann Tillman

By Dani Kass

Jodi-Ann Tillman of Shutts & Bowen LLP was brought into patent infringement litigation over drum technology just months before trial, and her performance earned high praise from opposing counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP partner Laura Ganoza.

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Trent McCotter Follows Blanche As DOJ's 2nd-In-Command

By Courtney Bublé

Following confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice official Trent McCotter is taking his former post as deputy attorney general on a temporary basis.

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Trump, DOJ Say Firing Seattle US Atty Was Within Their Rights

By Emily Sawicki

The White House and the U.S. Department of Justice are fighting a demand for immediate reinstatement brought by Seattle's former top federal prosecutor, who was fired within an hour of a court appointing him to the role, arguing his due process rights were not violated.

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