'Do Not Use This Report': J&J Hid Asbestos Test, Jury Told

By Craig Clough

Johnson & Johnson and a consultant it hired in the 1970s altered the conclusions of tests that found alarming levels of asbestos in the company's talc products before giving different results to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a former FDA commissioner told a Los Angeles jury Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nvidia Must Face Most Of Authors' AI Copyright Suit

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has tossed vicarious infringement claims in a proposed class action brought by authors accusing chipmaking giant Nvidia Corp. of using their copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence, but let stand claims that Nvidia lifted books from online shadow libraries to develop various AI models.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Users Say DOJ Win 'Leaves Only Damages For Trial'

By Bryan Koenig

Consumers want a California federal judge to go straight to trial over the amount of damages Google owes them for illegally monopolizing online search, arguing the company's violation of antitrust law "is now an undisputed fact as a matter of law."

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Meta's Exploitation Reporting Needs Work, NM Judge Told

By Cara Salvatore

An executive for a child protection organization told a New Mexico judge Wednesday that "ongoing quality issues" with Meta's reporting and the use of message encryption have made it harder to deliver actionable reports to law enforcement, as the state seeks $3.7 billion in reforms at the social media company.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sony Reaped 'Windfall' From Illegal Tariffs, Gamers Say

By Dylan Moroses

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC retained a "substantial windfall" generated by illegal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, two Sony PlayStation console owners said Wednesday in a proposed class action in California federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Sanctioned Over Bogus Citations In Forced Labor Case

By Jake Maher

A Maine federal judge has sanctioned an attorney for submitting court filings with fake legal citations to oppose the dismissal of a forced labor trafficking suit against a school, after using an artificial intelligence platform.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

10th Circ. Orders Class Cert. In Kansas Gas Royalty Fight

By Keith Goldberg

The Tenth Circuit has ordered the certification of a class action accusing driller Merit Energy Co. of underpaying Kansas gas royalty owners in violation of a previous settlement with Oxy USA Inc., reversing a lower court decision.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Approves $2.25M Walmart Wage Deal On Third Try

By MJ Koo

A decade-long wage lawsuit against Walmart has come to a close after a California federal judge granted final approval of a $2.25 million class action settlement that includes claims under California's Private Attorneys General Act.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

NJ Judge Says Honeywell Fee Bid Must Wait For Appeal

By Tom Lotshaw

A New Jersey federal judge has said a Honeywell request for nearly $81,000 in attorney fees must wait while a former worker appeals the dismissal of a proposed class action alleging that the company violated federal law by mismanaging 401(k) forfeitures.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BofA Can Shield OT Docs In Mortgage Officers' Suit

By MJ Koo

A North Carolina federal judge has sided with Bank of America in a discovery dispute over documents the bank withheld as privileged in a mortgage loan officers' overtime lawsuit, finding the materials were part of a protected legal review process.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Target Workers Fight Walking-Time Suit Dismissal Bid

By Benjamin Morse

Target warehouse workers urged a Washington federal judge to reject the retailer's bid to dismiss a proposed class action claiming employees weren't paid for time spent walking inside a distribution center before and after shifts, arguing they plausibly alleged they were on duty during that time.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fast Food Co. Is Reading ERISA All Wrong, Workers Say

By Chart Riggall

Workers claiming Inspire Brands' health plans illegally charge higher rates to tobacco users told a Georgia federal court Tuesday that the company's reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ignores the law's plain text and "leads to an absurd result."

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Safeway Hit With Wash. Break Pay, OT Suit

By Ben Adlin

Safeway Inc. broke Washington state law by denying employees required meal and rest breaks and failing to adequately compensate them for missed or interrupted breaks, a former worker has claimed in a proposed class action filed in King County Superior Court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Says Fund's Revised 737 Max Fraud Suit Still Doomed

By Katryna Perera

Boeing has urged an Illinois federal judge to permanently toss a securities fraud suit accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max 8 jets after two deadly crashes overseas, reiterating that the Massachusetts-based investment fund cannot pursue claims purportedly assigned to it by a defunct assignor.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alto Says Investors Use Hindsight In Suit Over Drug Trial

By Katryna Perera

Alto Neuroscience has urged a California federal judge to toss an investor suit alleging the psychiatric biotech company and its top brass overstated the efficacy of their lead drug candidate for treating major depressive disorder, saying the suit is a "classic case of trying to plead fraud by hindsight."

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Altria, Juul Ask For Stay During Antitrust Class Cert. Appeal

By Matthew Perlman

Altria and Juul are asking a California federal court to pause a case alleging the companies schemed to have Altria exit the e-cigarette market while they appeal a class certification ruling to the Ninth Circuit.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Tosses 'Futile' Leaf EV Fire Risk, Charging Defect Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Nissan has defeated a proposed class action brought by Leaf owners who claimed the electric vehicle's battery contains a defect that makes fast charging a fire risk, with a California federal judge ruling that the drivers failed to show the cars were unsafe and that amending at this point would be "futile."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bloom Nu Energy Drinks Have Artificial Ingredients, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Bloom Nu customers filed a proposed class action in New York federal court Tuesday alleging that the health and wellness supplement company deceptively labels its sparkling energy drinks as containing "no artificial colors, flavors, or aspartame," despite the presence of commercially manufactured and chemically processed citric acid. 

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Amazon Sees What You See On Your Fire TV, Users Claim

By Ben Adlin

Amazon customers claimed in a proposed nationwide class action Wednesday that the e-commerce giant's Fire TV products illegally capture and analyze everything that users see and hear through their devices, including streamed content, personal photos and security camera streams.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pot Patients Defend Claims In Dispensary Data Privacy Suit

By Mike Curley

A group of medical cannabis patients are pushing back on a bid from a technology company to dismiss their claims that it shares their medical information with outside vendors, saying they have sufficiently pled their allegations that they did not consent to such sharing and they were injured by the disclosure.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Citizens Bank Customer Says Software Vendor Leaked Info

By Sydney Price

Communications software company Sefas Innovation Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court accusing it of failing to safeguard the data of its clients' customers from cybercriminals, resulting in a breach of its records in April.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Credit Union Says Data Breach Anxiety Can't Spur Suit

By Brian Steele

Threats of future harm and "generalized anxiety" about possible identity theft are not enough to support a proposed class action against a Connecticut credit union hit with a data breach, and there's no reason to believe cybercriminals accessed member accounts, the defense has told a federal court in seeking dismissal.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mortgage Co. Strikes $9M Deal In NC Phone-Pay Fee Suit

By Sydney Price

A certified class of North Carolina borrowers on Wednesday asked a federal judge to preliminarily approve a $9 million settlement to resolve claims their Illinois-based mortgage servicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. charged them excessive processing fees to pay their bills over the phone.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Buyers Drop Cresco, Verano, Cannabist THC Potency Suits

By Jonathan Capriel

Cresco, Verano and other cannabis companies have secured permanent ends to lawsuits accusing them of mislabeling products to get around state-mandated THC potency limits in Illinois, the latest stipulated dismissals following a swell of favorable court rulings for the industry.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Home Security Firms Hit With TCPA Suit Over Sales Calls

By Matthew Santoni

A pair of home security companies violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act by making unsolicited robocalls to try and sell security systems, according to a proposed class action filed in a Pennsylvania federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Won't Certify Minn. Fraud Question In Cancer Drug MDL

By Danielle Ferguson

A New Jersey federal judge won't ask the Supreme Court of Minnesota to weigh in on whether an insurer can pursue claims using a state law typically reserved for the attorney general in litigation alleging drugmaker Celgene used charitable donations to manipulate the price of cancer drugs.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Doubts There's A Fix For Migrant Parole Cancellations

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge said Wednesday she doubted she could restore humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of migrants whose legal status was recently canceled by the Trump administration for a second time.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »