Alex Spiro Says Twitter Atty 'Misremembering' Offer To Settle

By Bonnie Eslinger

Elon Musk attorney Alex Spiro testified before a California federal jury Tuesday that a lead Twitter lawyer who said Spiro tried to renegotiate Musk's $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform was "misremembering," saying Twitter's counsel offered the discount and asked for legal waivers over the company's bot claims.

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Social Media Jury Told Of Plaintiff's 'Embarrassing Sexual Act'

By Craig Clough

A psychiatrist who assessed a bellwether plaintiff alleging a harmful addiction to Instagram and YouTube told a California jury Tuesday that the plaintiff's turbulent home life, genetic factors and even an alleged "embarrassing sexual act" that got her suspended from school supports a conclusion the plaintiff does not have a social media addiction.

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Judge Blocks Perplexity AI Assistant From Amazon Shopping

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has granted Amazon's request for a temporary injunction that could block Perplexity AI Inc. from using its artificial intelligence assistant Comet to purchase things on the retail site, an order that Perplexity has already appealed.

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Anthropic Asks Judge To Block DOD's Security Risk Label

By Madeline Lyskawa

Anthropic has urged a California federal judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing an order designating the artificial intelligence company a supply chain risk to national security, arguing the government has retaliated against Anthropic for its constitutionally protected speech.

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Judge Fumes As Live Nation Antitrust Trial Remains In Limbo

By Stewart Bishop

The status of Live Nation Entertainment's antitrust trial and proposed settlement over federal and state government claims of anticompetitive conduct remained up in the air Tuesday amid pushback by several states, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case upbraided the parties for keeping him out of the loop about negotiations.

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Calif. Atty Gets Over 11 Years For Solar $1B Ponzi Scheme

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has sentenced a corporate attorney to 11 years and five months behind bars after he pled guilty to nearly two dozen charges for his role in DC Solar's $912 million Ponzi scheme, which duped major investors including Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and SunTrust Equipment Finance & Leasing.

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Oakland Diocese Calls Abuse Claimants' Plan Unreasonable

By Rick Archer

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland on Tuesday told a California bankruptcy judge that a committee representing sexual abuse claimants is making unreasonable demands for cash and oversight in its newly proposed Chapter 11 plan for the diocese.

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$1.3B Award Set-Aside Decision Captures 9th Circ.'s Attention

By Caroline Simson

A lawyer representing satellite communications company shareholders looking to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award found himself in the hot seat during a Ninth Circuit hearing Tuesday, as U.S. Circuit Judge Lucy Koh sharply questioned him about the effect of an Indian court ruling setting aside the award.

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Instagram's Advertisers Influence Safety Focus, Head Testifies

By Cara Salvatore

Instagram's head took the stand in New Mexico on Tuesday in Meta's defense case against the state attorney general's claims that its social media platforms harm mental health, telling a jury that one of the biggest economic reasons for the company's safety focus is pressure exerted by its advertisers.

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CAA Settles Ex-Atty-Turned-Client's Suit On Verge Of Trial

By Rae Ann Varona

Creative Artists Agency has settled a prosecutor-turned-script writer's breach of contract and fiduciary lawsuit just before trial was slated to begin in a Los Angeles courtroom, capping off a nearly 7-year dispute.

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AFSCME Sues Trump Admin Over $600M Health Funding Cuts

By Katherine Smith

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is seeking to block a federal government directive to cancel more than $600 million in public health grants administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alleging that the directive was issued to target Democratic-led states.

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Feds Urge End To IRS Wind, Solar Safe Harbor Fight

By Keith Goldberg

The Trump administration has told a D.C. federal judge there's no basis to sustain a lawsuit challenging an IRS notice eliminating a safe harbor test that wind and solar projects could use to qualify for clean energy tax credits.

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Calif. Woman Sues Pet Food Co. Over Synthetic Preservatives

By Mike Curley

A San Diego woman is suing the makers of Instinct Pet Foods in California federal court, alleging its products are falsely advertised as having no artificial preservatives because they contain synthetic citric acid and tocopherols.

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Uber Says $8.5M Bellwether Sex Assault Verdict Can't Stand

By Y. Peter Kang

Uber has urged a California federal judge to wipe out an $8.5 million bellwether verdict putting it on the hook for a Phoenix driver's alleged sexual assault of a passenger, arguing that Arizona law bars a finding that the company can be liable for an ostensible employee's actions.

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Apple AirTag Plaintiffs Can't Get Class Cert. In Tracking Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge refused to certify a class of stalking victims suing Apple for designing AirTags that were susceptible to abuse by stalkers, after comparing the case during a hearing last week to mass tort litigation against Uber Technologies Inc. over driver sexual assaults.

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Mortgage Biz Mr. Cooper Can Fight User Data Claims In Texas

By Emilie Ruscoe

Mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper can fight claims over its customer data use practices in its preferred federal district court in Texas, a California federal judge has ruled, finding its website gives "reasonably conspicuous" notice of its terms of use that include a forum selection clause.

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Justices Advised To Keep Law Clear In 'Skinny Label' Case

By Ryan Davis

Several intellectual property groups have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to use a case involving "skinny labels" on generic drugs to set clear guidelines on what constitutes induced patent infringement, saying the outcome has implications beyond pharmaceuticals.

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Re/Max Hits Ex-Franchisee With Trademark Infringement Suit

By Isaac Monterose

Property listings company Re/Max LLC has alleged in Colorado federal court that a former franchisee failed to pay more than $6.1 million owed under two franchise agreements and keeps using Re/Max's trademarks even though the franchise agreements were terminated.

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AMD, Adeia Settle Claims And Strike Licensing Deal In IP Suits

By José Luis Martínez

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has settled two suits brought by a semiconductor research company that accused it last year of infringing 10 chip manufacturing technology patents.

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Belkin Claims Rival Importing Infringing Screen Protectors

By Jack McLoone

Belkin accused another company of importing screen protectors into the U.S. that infringe a trio of Belkin patents on the products and their application, asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate.

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Paramount President Owes $150M For Crisis PR Aid, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Paramount President Jeff Shell is being sued for $150 million in California state court over allegations he backed out of a deal to develop an English language adaptation of a Spanish television show and failed to pay for crisis communications services that the plaintiff said helped save Paramount $1.5 billion in a streaming rights dispute.

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Calif. Judge Says EFTA Doesn't Cover Wires In Discover Suit

By Sydney Price

Discover Bank has escaped a proposed class action accusing it of failing to reimburse consumers for wire fraud, ruling that a key federal payments law does not make Discover liable for the fraudulent $110,000 transfer made from the plaintiff's account.

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Roblox Investors Aim To Preserve Claims As Clock Runs Down

By Emilie Ruscoe

Funds invested in immersive gaming platform Roblox are asking to intervene in a proposed class action alleging the company understated the likelihood of a post-COVID lockdown user revenue slump, saying the clock was running out for bringing certain claims while the judge weighs dismissing the suit.

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Kirkland-Led Truelink Capital Wraps $2B Fund Above Target

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised private equity shop Truelink Capital on Tuesday announced that it wrapped fundraising for its second fund above target after securing $2 billion of investor commitments.

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Calif. County Says Tribes Can't Renew Dismissed Claims

By Mike Curley

Mendocino County and its sheriff are asking a California federal court to strike claims from the latest complaint by the Round Valley Indian Tribes over cannabis raids, saying they can't amend and reallege claims that were dismissed with prejudice.

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Baker Botts Adds King & Spalding M&A Whiz In Silicon Valley

By James Mills

Baker Botts LLP continues its California expansion, announcing Tuesday it is adding a King & Spalding LLP corporate attorney as a partner in its Silicon Valley office and as its West Coast mergers and acquisitions chair.

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H-1B Registration Tips For New Wage-Weighted Selection

Practitioners participating in this year’s H-1B visa registration, currently underway, must understand that under the new wage-weighted selection process that replaced the random lottery, the crucial first step is choosing the correct standard occupational classification, says Jimmy Lai at Lai & Turner.

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Military Attys In DOJ 'Erodes Democratic Norms,' Ex-JAGs Say

By Lauren Berg

Nearly a dozen former military lawyers raised the alarm about the Trump administration appointing judge advocate officers to U.S. attorneys' offices, urging a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to bar an Army lawyer from prosecuting a case that accuses a civilian of assaulting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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DOJ Official Faces Ethics Case Over Georgetown DEI Letters

By Alison Knezevich

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin has been hit with disciplinary charges in the nation's capital over threatening letters he sent to Georgetown University Law Center last year while he was interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

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Prosecutor Resigns, Judge Shows Slide Deck On AI Errors

By Abigail Harrison

A federal prosecutor told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that he was separating from the office after admitting in open court to using artificial intelligence to help draft a response brief, which he called "the worst decision I've ever made in my 30-year career."

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Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Admits Tax Crimes, Will Pay $2.8M

By Aaron Keller

A former Moses & Singer LLP partner admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina courts has pled guilty to three counts of failing to file personal income tax returns and will pay $2.8 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday.

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Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office

By Katie Buehler

The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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DOJ Unveils Superseding Policy For Corporate Criminal Cases

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released its first-ever, department-wide, corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, outlining how it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct, cooperate with investigators and remediate wrongdoing.

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DLA Piper Can't Rep Itself At Bias Trial, Fired Atty Says

By Pete Brush

DLA Piper should not be permitted to represent itself at trial in a pregnancy discrimination case brought by a senior associate who was fired in 2022, lawyers for the plaintiff told a Manhattan federal judge.

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Judge Nixed Over MAGA Op-Ed Seeks Reinstatement

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state trial court judge pursuing First Amendment claims against the state Supreme Court after his right-wing opinion column resulted in his removal from a temporary judgeship has moved for immediate reinstatement to the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Wisconsin Judges Decline To Extend Interim US Atty's Term

By Courtney Bublé

A majority of judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin have declined to extend the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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J&J Opposes Beasley Allen Reinstatement Bid In NJ Talc Fight

By Emily Sawicki

Johnson & Johnson is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to not take the "extraordinary step" of intervening in an appellate panel ruling that disqualified Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women in product liability litigation against the pharmaceutical giant after the Georgia-based firm "knowingly collaborated" with a former Johnson & Johnson outside counsel.

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